ESPN's John Buccigross Supports the Lighthouse!

HE is my favorite hockey writer! I know that draws ire from some of my other friends who are incredibly talented writers. But Bucci has a way of making me laugh and cry in the same sentence. I love that.

Well, in his latest article, he has through his support towards the LighthouseLI project and it's in-house blog, The Lightpost.

Take a look, it's a good read, even if you may growl a little at where he puts the Islanders in the standings for this season. But hey... we know.

Rock the Vote! For the Town of Hempstead

As we head like a torpedo toward the October 3rd date of certainy request, it may be time to show the Town of Hempstead how you feel. Please check out and vote in the poll on TheLightpost blog as well as putting forth your "Yes" or "No" on NYI PointBlank.

If you are a Town of Hempstead resident, contacting the town itself may also be a good idea, and don't forget to VOTE in the upcoming November election. That is what the Town Board is most concerned about.

The puck will drop soon, I promise.

Mark Your Calendar and Make your Plans

I'm sure you have heard about the meeting on Thursday, March 26th at 7 pm at the Marriott. Of course you have heard. You are an Islanders fan and you are reading here the same thing you read on all the other websites. But I'd like to ask you a favor. I'd like for you to not just read about the meeting for the Lighthouse project, but I'd like you to TELL people about it. You know you have friends who are Islanders fans or Long Island residents that are NOT that attached to the internet as you are.

Tell them to join you on Thursday evening and see how local politics works. Make sure that you keep an eye on The Lightpost and the Let There Be Lighthouse blogs for information and details. We've read the articles in Newsday by the political parties and developers. Now, attend the meeting and formulate your own opinion.

Now, in an effort to "plan" my offseason, I found these dates to mark on my calendar.

Apr. 12: End of Regular Season
Apr. 14: NHL Draft Lottery
Apr. 15: Stanley Cup Playoffs begin
Apr. 24 - May 10: IIHF World Championship in Switzerland
May 25 - 30: NHL Draft Combine in Toronto
June 15: Last possible day for Stanley Cup Final
June 18: NHL Awards Night in Las Vegas
June 26 - 27: NHL Entry Draft in Montreal
July 1: Free agency signing period begins
July 5: Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration
July 6: Deadline for club-elected salary arbitration
July 10: Deadline for eligible players to elect Group 5 free agency
July 20 - Aug. 4: Salary arbitration hearings held
Aug. 6: Deadline for salary arbitration decisions to be rendered

Nassau County drops the Gloves - Just like the Wrecker

So while Nassau County has decided to make some noise regarding the Lighthouse Project and Charles Wang's commitment to this area in Chris Botta's Islanders Point Blank blog, let's not forget that "politics" is the polite word for "mud-slinging."

We're obviously going to be stuck in the middle of He-Said, She-Said with little control over the actual outcome. Read Chris Botta's interview if you haven't done so as of yet. And then wander over to LetThereBeLighthouse for additional information and a plea for sanity.

And don't forget to who up at the Marriott on 3/26/09 for the Community Outreach meeting at 7 pm. More valuable information can be found at The Lightpost by Katrina Doell and guest blogger Tiger Track Tom Liodice who attended the Point Blank II gathering last week.

Oh... and as of 1:49 pm on Saturday, the Isles are down 2 - 0 to the Bruins and young Phil Kessel. The bright side? We have his brother.

TOH Meeting Comes to an End

I've been sitting here on pins and needles kicking myself for not going. But I have some fires to put out at work and knowing that I'm already taking a day off this week, the difficult decision of skipping this very important event had to be made.

It did not mean that I am not 100% behind the project and those who are championing it. It just means my non-paid writer job had to take a back seat to my paying accounting job.

Kudos to those who attended such as Nick Classic. And one huge Thank You to Chris Botta and his trusty Blackberry who kept those of us who couldn't attend informed of the proceedings.

Here is the final from his blog:

1:10 pm - At the conclusion of today’s hearing, the D.G.E.I.S. (Draft Generic Environmental Impact Study) was delivered by the Lighthouse developers. I’m told the document is 1,800 pages.

Traditionally, after a scope is accepted - as it was today by the TOH board - developers take months before delivering a D.G.E.I.S. Charles Wang and Scott Rechler’s group produced it immediately.

Mind you, this is coming as no surprise as one representative told us on the 19th "What some may want to measure by pages on a calendar will actually be measured by the hands on a wrist watch."

I would have loved to have seen the looks on the faces of those sitting on the board when the 1800 page documents were handed over. Please tell me someone had their phone camera ready.

I'm really looking forward to Katrina's LightPost blog entry about this. Everyone involved worked very hard in giving progress a push. Let's hope it starts a snowball effect that ends with shovels in the ground.