Continued from previous message.

social. These better segregate foot and road traffic. Some of measures 
were at first severely contested. By now, with adjustments, they are 
universally hailed; the results are just too fantastic to deny. 

Astropolitics 
 -----------
    In early February, Amateur Astronomers Association president 
Michael O'Gara announced there was an apparent second crime-like 
incident at AAA-HQ. According to his story, unknown persons entered 
the premises in owl hours of 2004 January 23. They filled several 
trashbags with AAA papers and property from AAA file cabinets. The 
matter is under inquiry by NYPD's 19th precinct, who, O'Gara said, has 
one former AAA member as a suspect.  
    O'Gara's efforts to enforce fielty and constrain certain meetings 
to AAA members totally fell apart on February 12th. For the Seminar on 
that evening, Mike gave chair Frank Schmidt instruction to allow at 
the meeting only approved AAA members. Mike would attend the meeting 
to check people at the door. 
    The scheme evaporated. O'Gara arrived at the Seminar after just 
about every one else was seated. Present were certain persons whose 
membership reasonably could be challenged. Mike took a seat near the 
corner diagonally opposite from the door. He could not intercept any 
arrivals for the barrier of furniture and attendees in the way. 
    Frank conducted his Seminar in the ordinary mature and caring 
manner. O'Gara left soon after the meeting with no attempt to 
interrogate any attendee. He didn't show up at all at the next Seminar 
on the 26th, altho nonAAAers were reasonable expected to attend. 
    March opens the runnings for new seatholders on the AAA Board of 
Directors. Some incumbents will want to be reseated. If they are put 
on the president's nominating committee list, they'll be rubberstamped 
into new terms. Members whose terms expire in May are Susan Andreoli, 
Alice Barner, Lee Baltin, Arline Caldwell, Lynn Darsh, John Pazmino, 
Irving Robbins, and Frank Schmidt. 
    At end February there are no announced challenges to the prescribed 
succession of seatholders by petition candidates. However, petitions 
should be started within March to take benefit of the many meetings in 
March and April to collect signatures. 
    NYSkies, as it did last year, offers its message room as a forum 
for candidates to present their views. These will be archived in the 
'AAA stuff' folder of the files area under the member's name. I'll 
include commentary and statements from recent months for continuity 
and context. Board members whose terms go beyond this season are also 
included so prospective new candidates can assay the character of 
their future seatmates. 
    The Board met on February 19th with a reported 13 presents and 5 
absents. The major action was the defeat of the remaining 14, #6 thru 
#19, proposed ByLaw reforms. The reported votes to kill off the 
reforms, in the minutes issued on the 26th, were almost unanimous. An 
other action was to waive the president's two-term limit in order to 
allow Mike O'Gara to run for president again. 

NYSkies 
 -----
    Astronomers are exploiting NYSkies as a quick, handy, friendly, 
and potent source of astronomy news relating to the City. And there is 
LOTS of astronomy stuff going on around New York! Since it revived on 
28 September 2001 (it was interrupted by World Trade Center) NYSkies 
became the definitive forum and public record for matters bearing on 
home astronomy in and around New York. 
    Granted, some of the banter relates particularly to the Amateur 
Astronomers Association. It's the major astronomy union in town and 
every home astronomer around here eventually runs up against it. It 
pays to listen to those discussions (rants? blusters? tirades?), even 
if you opt out of playing in them. At the least, you take into account 
the words of the senior members before joining the Association. Or you 
can let NYSkies dialog modulate your choice to renew AAA membership. 
    NYSkies is the soapbox the AAA Board and rank-&-file had to speak 
out on various Association problems. They turned to NYSkies simply 
because the AAA as yet does not have a good faith sincere forum for 
its own members within itself. 
    Joining NYSkies is easy. Send an empty email to this Yahoo maillist 
at 'nysky-subscribe{at}yahoogroups.com'. Its posts are sent to you in 
your email and you post to it by email. It's that simple! 
    Or you may go to 'groups.yahoo.com/group/nysky'. If you are 
already signed up with Yahoo, you go and sign in and then 'join' 
NYSkies. If not, you have to go thru a silly 'registration' that's a 
oneshot chore, valid for all groups you may eventually join. The files 
area of NYSkies are accessible only thru the website. 


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