JASON J. CZARNEZKI

Writes the NY Times: "It looks as though the “super PAC” era is coming to New York. A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that a conservative group supporting Joseph J. Lhota, the Republican nominee for mayor of New York City, can immediately begin accepting contributions of any size because New York State’s limit on donations to independent political committees is probably unconstitutional."

The Second Circuit opinion came down yesterday and a summary of the case, worked on by Pace Law 3L student Jeffrey Peters, is available online. Pace Law serves as the law school covering the Second Circuit each day, but its particularly great that our students are working on these cases and, thus, deserve a shout out. The court decision media alerts pages can be found at: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/justice_center/federal_judicial_improvements/mediaalerts/2ndcircuit.html.

I am right now attending the 2013 Environmental Law Institute – Miriam Hamilton Keare Policy Forum:
U.S. Agriculture and the Global Environment. I pasted the notice for the panel below. The key concerns brought up by the panel in the opening series of questions were global food insecurity, how to balance yields and environmental concerns, preservation of wetlands, and agricultural runoff from nonpoint sources. The panel is very balanced between those concerned more about yield/economics and those concerned about environmental issues. Some implicit points of conflict are inputs (e.g. fertilizers), water usage, air and water pollution due to agriculture, biodiversity loss, and farm bill incentives/subsidies.

***

This year’s ELI – Miriam Hamilton Keare Policy Forum will focus on the environmental and human effects of modern agriculture. Congress is once again considering the once-every-five-years Farm Bill, which is now three years late. And although the fate of the bill remains undecided — the Senate has passed its version while the House has failed to pass its version — experts envision both costs and benefits of its passage.

This year’s Keare Forum will not only consider the potential environmental costs and benefits of the legislation, but also the effects on consumers and the 47 million Americans who depend on food assistance. From there, the conversation will turn to international implications of our domestic agriculture policies. Policies in the developed world — chiefly the United States and Europe — produce bountiful harvest at great cost to taxpayers, while harming the environment and undermining farmers and hungry citizens in the developing world. Our expert panel will consider the global context of the Farm Bill and the complex relations among agricultural policy, environmental impacts, and harvest and famine on a global scale.

Panelists:
Andrew McElwaine, President & CEO, American Farmland Trust (moderator)
William Eubanks II, Partner, Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal
Scott Faber, Vice President of Government Affairs, Environmental Working Group
Valerie Hickey, Senior Biodiversity Specialist, Agriculture and Environmental Services, World Bank Group
Blake Hurst, Board of Directors President, Missouri Farm Bureau
Robert Johansson, Deputy Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture

http://www.eli.org/dinner/policy_forum.cfm

http://m.washingtonpost.com/world/choking-smog-paralyzes-cities-in-northeast-china-closing-schools-airports/2013/10/22/ba2c46d6-3b04-11e3-b0e7-716179a2c2c7_story.html

Check out this NY Times Op-Ed by my colleague Dick Ottinger:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/opinion/activism-in-the-court.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_medium=App.net&utm_source=PourOver&_r=0

I received an email from the farmer at my old CSA. She writes, in part:

"In 2014 the farm will be closed in order to allow me the chance to take a step back and reassess. As we all know, climate change is affecting our lives in different ways. This past spring’s rains made farming more of a challenge than usual and this in no small part affected my decision. As in life, when new hurdles arise it is important to consider how we must adapt and change."

Register Now!

Only three weeks left for early-bird pricing.

The Land Use Law Center’s annual Land Use & Sustainable Development Conference is a significant educational event in the region, with more than 200 attorneys, business professionals, and local leaders learning about national, regional, and local challenges and innovations. This year’s theme: Leading Communities toward a Resilient Future

Join us on December 6th at the NYS Judicial Institute at Pace Law School in White Plains to discuss the challenges communities in the New York Metropolitan area face because of natural disasters, a changing climate, new demographics and technologies, and inequitable living conditions. Leaders are emerging who are creating new strategies for community resiliency in the face of economic, social, and environmental change. They are Leading Communities toward a Resilient Future. We invite you to attend to learn about the flexible tools, models, and policies that strengthen communities to build equitable, sustainable, and economically prosperous places for people. CLE and CM credits available.

~ Early-bird pricing closes Nov. 6th~

CONFERENCE KEYNOTES

Opening Keynote

Majora Carter

Urban Revitalization Strategist, Majora Carter Group LLC

Majora Carter is an internationally renowned urban revitalization strategy consultant, real estate developer, and Peabody Award winning broadcaster. She is responsible for the creation and successful implementation of numerous green-infrastructure projects, policies, and job training and placement systems.

Her long list of awards and honorary degrees include accolades from groups as diverse as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, John Podesta’s Center for American Progress, Goldman Sachs, as well as a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. Her 2006 TED talk was one of the first 6 videos to launch their groundbreaking website.

Lunch Keynote

Stephen Hardy, AICP LEED AP

Chief Community Builder, Mind Mixer

As a practitioner Stephen Hardy has managed a host of complex community planning projects. In Greensburg, Kansas, Stephen helped the City plan for recovery after a catastrophic EF-5 tornado wiped out most of the community’s structures. In 2008, the Greensburg Comprehensive Master Plan—for which Stephen was the lead planner—received international recognition with the prestigious Sustainable Cities Award from Financial Times and the Urban Land Institute, and in 2009 was recognized by the APA with the Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan. He also has experience staffing on Capitol Hill, working at the Conservation Fund, and pioneering a community planning practice at BNIM, all of which he brought to his current role with MindMixer as Chief Community Builder.

Stephen’s areas of expertise include Sustainable comprehensive planning, disaster recovery, whole-systems integrated planning, high level facilitation, public engagement, the integration of design and planning, and project management. His experience and his passion for community building make him a strong advocate for better communication leading to community transformation.

CONFERENCE SESSIONS

Planning Ethics in a Changing Environment

Hot Topics of Land Use: The Rare Variance, Effective Comprehensive Planning, Ethics and Case Law Update

From Vision to Implementation: Making Our Main Streets Complete Streets

Rebuilding a Resilient Community

Controlling the Local Impacts of Hydrofracking

Here Comes the Sun: Barriers and Opportunities in Solar Power

Tensions and Opportunities in Urban Revitalization Efforts

Overcoming Barriers to Cultivating Urban Agriculture

Filling the Gaps with Form Based Codes and Other Zoning Techniques

Respecting, Regulating, or Rejecting the Right to Rebuild Post Sandy

Getting Ahead of the Storm – Understanding and Implementing Green Infrastructure

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-new-method-against-genetically-modified-salmon-get-retailers-to-refuse-to-sell-it/2013/10/18/6aee28bc-3101-11e3-9c68-1cf643210300_story.html?hpid=z1

http://www.brennancenter.org/newsletter/voting-newsletter-two-tier-voting-confusion-posner-concedes-voter-id-mistake

…at Volokh Conspiracy: http://www.volokh.com/2013/10/15/climate-change-goes-back-court/

Summary from Legal Planet: http://legal-planet.org/2013/10/15/supreme-court-grants-cert-on-one-aspect-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-suit/