Blogs 12 Long Island

Solar Powered Home

By Alison Kosik

Have you ever actually looked at a solar powered home? I did today. It looks and functions the same way any other home may operate. The difference is, it has solar panels on the roof. Oh, and you can save as little at 70% or as much as 100% on your electric bill!

On Long Island, 1,400 homes and businesses are part of LIPA's Solar Pioneer Progam. It offers homeowners the opportunity to supplement their home's energy needs with solar electricity.

So, investing in solar electricity doesn't just help you generate clean electricity, it could also cut the amount of electricity you have to buy from LIPA.

But here's the issue for many consumers: The up-front costs range anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000. But LIPA says you get most of that investment back, after rebates and state and federal tax credits. Plus, you get that savings, every month when you open your LIPA bill.

Fore more information:
Renewable Energy

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By Virginia Huie

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This week I met an incredible woman who battled the disease. She's 49 year old Elaine Beermann of Floral Park. Two years ago, doctors found a pea-size lump in her breast. It was malignant. Beermann says she was terrified but focused on beating the disease. She says she had too much to live for -- three children and a husband. She was determined to see every milestone in their lives.

In March 2006 Beermann had a lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. During this time, Beermann lost her hair and gained a new perspective on life. Beermann told me, "I have a grateful heart. And when you get to be okay, it's all about giving back."

Beermann started a website called "Let's Rock and Roll For A Cure." The name means "let's get the job done."  Money raised from the sale of jewelry and clothing on the website supports clinical trials of breast cancer drugs. People in the community were inspired by Beermann's effort -- and signed up to help the cause. Now there's a wide variety of service providers who are volunteering their skills to help women battling the disease. Those volunteers include hairstylists, yoga instructors and babysitters. Beermann says she's amazed at how "Let's Rock and Roll For A Cure" has grown into a support network to help patients feel stronger, healthier, and more focused while they undergo treatment.

The women who've benefited say Beermann is the amazing one -- for giving those in need a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on,  and the tools to fight the disease.

Click here to learn more about Let's Rock And Roll For A Cure.

Fall Colors

By Meteorologist Rich Hoffman

Wow, its October already.  The hot weather is gone and the baseball playoffs are here, and this year -- no NY teams:(. What is also present on Long Island -- the colors of fall. It's that time of year--when the leaves on Long Island start to change.

Right now, Long Island is reporting about a 5% color change and we should hit are peak color over the next 3 weeks, depending on the weather. Locations around the northeast are starting to see vivid colors.

I lived in Burlington, Vermont, from June 1999 to September 2000, and I was able to see nature in full bloom and it was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. If you are not busy this weekend, you can take a nice drive into the Champlain Valley and see some spectacular colors. Another beautiful place is the Catskills. You can ride the ski lift to the top of Hunter mountain http://www.huntermtn.com/. There are many good places to go hiking this time of year to catch the beautiful colors.  You can even try Guilded Otter Microbrewery (New Paltz) http://www.escapemaker.com/ny/newpaltz/newpaltz.html.  The hamburger is great and the drinks are very good.

List of foliage Reports.

Vermont

New York

Maine

Connecticut

Northeast Foliage Reports -

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Saving Money

By Holli Haerr

With the cost of living so high on Long Island, I was excited when I was asked to do a couple of pieces on saving money as part of News 12's "Handling Hard Times" series. It's always fun to learn new things on the job, and money saving tips can certainly come in handy.

For the first part, I met and interviewed Donna and George Buttner from Mastic.

They're like a "before" and "after" case in a magazine. "Before" getting credit counseling at SafeGuard, they say they ate out a lot, bought a few cups of coffee every day, drove a lot...and basically spent a lot of money. But now, "after" credit counseling, they're saving thousands of dollars a month.

Their counselor helped them consolidate their credit cards and gave them lots of tips. And the Buttners seem to be following those tips to a "T". Among other things, they're eating in, buying in bulk when possible, using coupons, making coffee at home, and carpooling. They're saving a ton of money every month.

For the second part, my mission was to find "unique" money saving tips. Lots of people gave me interesting ideas, and many of them are on the computer. So, here are some links. Also, here are some tips that didn't make it on the air, including: Borrow DVDs from the library for free instead of paying for rentals. Feel free to add your own unique tips to the comment section.

Free Coupons
These two websites will give you coupons, and you don't even have to sign up with personal information. 
www.coupons.com

http://coupons.smartsource.com//index.aspx?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO

Cheap gas websites: (I've found that the first one is more accurate than the second, but here are two.)

Http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx
www.gasbuddy.com

Heating Oil -- You can check out NYPIRG's website http://www.nypirg.org/fbg/, but they recommend you call directly with any questions about their Fuel Buyers Group.

Suffolk
631-673-5536

Nassau
516-783-6400
---
Jiffy Lube website for coupons
www.jiffylube.com

Honda Dealership - link to coupons is on the left. (You can probably Google your own dealership and find similar coupons.)
http://www.northshorehonda.net/
---
OTHER RESOURCES:

U.S. Energy Department- Energy Saving Tips can also save money:
http://www.energy.gov/insulationairsealing.htm#tip

If you don't have prescription coverage you can join a free group.

In Nassau- the website is: http://www2.caremark.com/nassaurx/
In Suffolk it's -- http://www2.caremark.com/suffolkscripts/

According to Nassau officials, the average savings for their program is 20 dollars a month this year.

Being Smart With Sports

By Erin Colton

People often retreat to the sports world to escape all the pressures and hassles of life. Especially during these tough economic times. But we forget that the financial struggles affect athletics as well. What does the family with 3 kids do (all whom play 2 or 3 sports) when each child needs new cleats, a new bat or new football pads? What about the team sign-up costs? If you think about it, it all adds up to a lot of money. You wouldn't even believe how many families I've spoken to, who have cut back on their kids playing sports because they need to save money. And it's not their fault, they don't want to do that, but during this challenging time, they don't have a choice.

That's why I'm writing to tell you about "Play It Again Sports." It's an athletic gear company, who for the past 20 years, has helped parents save money buying new and quality used sports equipment.

Here's how it works. Kids grow out of things faster than you would ever imagine, but most of their gear is still in great condition. So instead of throwing it out, you can either trade it in for something new or used at Play It Again, or get cash for it. It's the same thing for adult gear as well. Looking to get a new set of golf clubs? Don't just leave them for garbage pick up or put them out at your next yard sale, stop by Play It Again and see what you can get in return.

There are now 3 locations here on Long Island, Glen Cove, Oceanside and East Northport. Here's there website www.playitagainsports.com

So during a time when families are looking to cut back, don't eliminate sports all together. Just be smarter about what your spending for your gear. I hope this helps.

Ouch

By Doug Geed

     So as a Met fan since birth (well almost) this one hurt. To me, the '08 collapse was worse than the '07 collapse because we were supposed to LEARN something from last year. And on top of that, this year we had Johan. (Johan, by the way, gets NONE of the blame -- he was a shining star.)

   Losing Billy Wagner hurt. He is one of the premier closers in baseball and if you take away ANY team's closer, you'll hurt their chances a lot. But the team STILL had enough talent to overcome that. And yeah, the bullpen does deserve a lot of the blame for the collapse.

    But the final week, the offense should get most of the blame. They scored a total of 5 runs in their last 3 games combined -- that last series of the year -- the weekend debacle against Florida. The last game before THAT series started, their final game against the Cubs, they had a runner on third with none out in each of the past 3 innings with the score tied. A fly ball would have won them the game, but they couldn't come up with one.

    To me, the team didn't have any heart. They could dominate some games, but look terribly weak in others. So many times during the season, they looked intimidated by their opponent -- and sometimes WEAK opponents like the Nationals or Pirates. I've lived through some brutal seasons, but I can't remember a season where I said so many times to myself, my friends or even on the air "that was the most crushing loss I've ever seen." It's like the '08 Mets somehow could always come up with a new way to win in a more heart-breaking fashion. And the bottom line is, we were playing a weaker team -- the Marlins -- AT HOME in the final weekend of the season. It's the same team that humiliated us last year by beating us on our own turf and knocking us from the playoffs. No matter what, you need to find a way to win at least two of those games.

   The team needs a natural leader. At least one gritty player who may not have tremendous talent but makes up for it in grit and determination -- the "do-anything-to-win" attitude. And I admit, like a lot of stunned Met fans, I'm saying the teams needs to be shaken up. But most fans are also saying they don't want to trade Wright, Reyes or Beltran. For economic reasons, Delgado will probably come back and of course, Santana is our king. So if the "core" of the team stays -- along with GM Omar Minaya and Manager Jerry Manuel -- what's left to "shake up?"

   It won't be an easy off season, but then again, for Met fans, it usually isn't. I don't know what's worse -- having a job where I have to make the moves to bring the franchise to the next level, or being a fan and having to watch your team die a slow, painful death as it nears the playoffs. Ouch.

Green Fashion

By Elizabeth Hashagen

     Their slogan says "UNDENIABLY ECO-FRIENDLY..FROM FIELD TO FINISHED PRODUCT"
     So I headed to Nordstrom at Roosevelt Field to check out Bernardo GREEN.
You may know the fashions because they made a machine washable and dryable suede. (That way you don't use the chemicals at the dry cleaner)
Now they've created the only collection of eco-friendly suede jackets where "green" production is verified and certified.

So if you're wondering-- like I did-- what this entails-- the company uses only biodegradable tanning agents, dyes, and finishes to tan their skins. The skins are tanned without heavy metals and with a system that delivers fertilizer as a by-product.  The process is verified by the British Leather Council - the organization that verifies and certifies "green" production.  It's also the tannery certified by the Soil Association - the organization that sets standards for marketing all organic products in the UK. 

The company also uses waste free production.
The water used for tanning "green" is recycled within the tannery and is drinkable once it has passed through the waste water treatment facility; the remaining solid waste is converted to organic fertilizer.  All elements of design are also eco-friendly featuring nut, coconut or bone buttons, cotton lining and trim.
Even the paper used in the tag will become a California poppy when planted!

And if you want to check and make sure your actual jacket meets all these requirements-- well--- you're in luck.

There's an identification number that is stamped on the tag
So you can track it by heading the their website www.bernardofashions.com