"All New Yorkers, especially those who have been victims of domestic abuse, deserve to have Senator Monserrate step down or be removed from office. Monserrate has been convicted of a deplorable crime. The New York State Senate should set the example that violence against women will not be tolerated in our society."
Congressman Hall's office just sent this to us. We applaud and agree with his position. He joins US Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Congressmen Massa and Joseph Crowley in calling for NYS Senator Monserrate to do the right thing by the state of New York and his district by stepping down.
As John reported over the weekend, Assemblyman Greg Ball, the Republican candidate challenging Democratic incumbent John Hall in the 19th congressional district, is on the receiving end of an FEC complaint that was filed because of alleged violations of campaign finance law.
- On June 5, 2009, Ball's "Congressional Exploratory Committee" hosted a golf outing at Hudson Hills Golf Course and Murphy's Restaurant. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that. But according to the complaint, Ball's committee solicited and accepted corporate contributions for a fundraising auction, which is illegal.
From the complaint:
10. On or about May 1, 2009, Jacqueline Ambrosino, a Ball representative, sent an email to a distribution list soliciting donations for the silent auctions. See Exhibit A. "We are looking for tickets to sporting events, televisions, gift certificates to restaurants and services (such as legal and accounting services), foursomes for other golf courses, trips, plane tickets, spa gift certificates, televisions, just to name a few ..." Exhibit A.
11. The May 1, 2009, email expressly asked for corporate contributions: "You can reach out to your network and try to get donations from both businesses and people. Exhibit A (emphasis supplied).
"When working with a business, you can emphasize the foot traffic that will be generated by having their name featured at our event and in a brochure to be handed out to everyone that attends." Exhibit A (emphasis supplied).
- The complaint also alleges that Ball's committee accepted corporate sponsorships and sought "excessive contributions" for an event.
Again, from the complaint:
12. On or about July 25, 2009, Ball's campaign sponsored a "Rockin' Rib Fest & Battle of the Bands." Exhibit B.
13. The July 25, 2009, event was "sponsored" by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and the National Rifle Association. Exhibit B. On information and belief, both entities are corporations.
14. The Ball campaign sought additional "sponsorships" in connection with the July 25, 2009, event, including a "VIP Congressional Tent Sponsorship" priced at $2,900 - $500 in excess of the federal contribution limit. Exhibit B. Other Ball event solicitations have shown similar indifference to the $2,400 limit. See, e.g., http://www.ballforcongress.com... (Exhibit C) (asking for $2,500 and $4,800 contributions, without regard to the per-election limit).
It should also be clear that the event in question on July 25 was not "sponsored" (that's why it is in quotes and not stated as fact) by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association or the NRA.
As a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, and a member both of the NYSRPA and the NRA, I want to point out that Greg Ball's campaign committee distributed fliers which CLAIMED sponsorship by these entities, but in fact, Tom King---President of NYSRPA--- had no idea that Ball's campaign was going to make this claim. The NRA and the NYSRPA are both 501 (c) 3 organizations, and as such are PROHIBITED from endorsing candidates for election. The NYSRPA has a subsidiary, the Political Victory Fund (PVF) which DOES endorse candidates, but it is not incorporated integrally with NYSRPA. Likewise, the NRA-PVF endorses, but these are NOT the organizations advertised as "sponsoring" the July 25th event. (He also claimed that Senator Vincent Leibell was a sponsor---uh, no he wasn't.) The NRA and NYSRPA will not like the specter of seeming to have expressly endorsed a political candidate...they do not break the law. Ball did.
- The complaint also alleges illegal robocalls that were paid for by the Ball committee but not attributed to his committee and did not include who authorized the call. Federal laws require calls of that magnitude to include who paid for the call and to say that it was authorized by the candidate.
19. Ball's July 15 Quarterly Report discloses an in-kind contribution made on June 29, 2009, by Brian Callaghan in the form of "Automated Calls." Exhibit E.
20. On or about June 29, 2009, an automated call featuring Ball was distributed to voters in the 19th Congressional District. The call contained no statement indicating who had paid for the call, or whether Ball had authorized it. See Exhibit F.
- The last allegation is that Ball transferred money from his Assembly campaign committee to his congressional committee, a big no-no since you can't use non-federal monies for a federal race. To date, there have been two filings for Ball4NY, Ball's committee. Nowhere does it show payment for these items for the use of resources from his nonfederal campaign and his official New York State Assembly office.
17. Ball's federal campaign has made and is making repeated use of photos, videos and other assets from his nonfederal campaign and/or his official New York Assembly office.
See, e.g., http://www.ballforcongress.com... (Exhibit D). Ball's filings to date with the Federal Election Commission show no payment to his Assembly campaign, nor to the State of New York, for the use of these photos
Gary Levine, the man who has brought the FEC complaint against Ball, had this to say to me when I inquired about the complaint:
The reason for the complaint was because Assemblyman Ball violated FEC laws. If he wants to play politics he should play by the established rules and he didn't. Whether it was flagrant or unintentional it does not matter. Either way it is a violation and it does not bode well for the Assemblyman, his campaign or his current constituents.
The charges here are pretty serious. Some of these charges revolve around things that are basic. His committee should know the FEC guidelines and that there are limits on contributions. Setting $2,900 contribution levels just comes off as lazy (or intentional) to me. It's clear that either they were ignorant in regard to the rules, or they intended on trying to get by without anyone noticing. That's tough in politics, since everyone is watching.
Not only has Republican Assembly member Greg Ball (who's running for Congress against Democrat John Hall in NY-19) been getting government-paid, single-payer health care for most of his adult life via the Air Force and now the State Assembly, he also fondly recalls how the Kennedy family paid for his health care when he was a child.
From the article in Hindu Business Line a publication in India:
Ball narrates an incident from his childhood that sowed the seeds for his passion. "My godmother was personal secretary to Joseph Kennedy, the father of Jack Kennedy. As an infant I had cat-scratch fever, and Jean Kennedy- Smith, Jack Kennedy's sister, asked my parents to take me to a hospital. When my parents said they couldn't afford it, she said she would take care of everything. And, within five minutes, there were 10 doctors around me. I think those little interactions that I had as a kid with that family in particular showed me how well power could be used."
He feels that people should use their abilities to impact others positively, because there is both good and evil in this world. "Evil exists, and we have to fight it at every turn."
Yesterday, John Hall's The Hall Report arrived in my email inbox. He seems to be chastising other members of Congress, presumably Republicans and Blue Dog Dems, for delaying the health care bill. He quite correctly points out what could happen if Congress does nothing. Then in the next breath, the Congressman advocates for only the most limited change, which would address none of the evils of doing nothing.
File this under "O RLY?" It seems the sad-sack dreamers at the NRCC have already started to circulating their, ahem, rather ambitious "target" list for 2010. That list includes five New Yorkers, including all three freshmen.
It makes some sense to me that they'd think they might have a shot at taking back NY-29. It's a pretty red district. Massa is smart and tireless. They'll make a run at him, but they ain't gonna out-hustle the guy.
To take back NY-13, they'd have to, ya know, actually find a candidate, something that turned into quite a soap opera last summer for them. And I don't think they are going to have a realistic shot at Maffei, even as a frosh.
They damn near picked off Arcuri in NY-24 last year, but I don't think that they'll catch him napping again, not to mention D-trip.
Gillibrand has proven to be one hell of a fundraiser and has worked her tail off to seal the deal with her district. She isn't going to be beaten anytime soon. I'm also pretty sure that they won't be lucky enough to find another self funding gazillionaire moron to take her on. Running a credible challenge to Gillibrand is going to cost money. Will they have it? I have my doubts. Even if they do have the moolah, I find it hard to believe they'd dump it into NY-20.
What's interesting to me is who didn't make their list. It seems that the NRCC won't be taking another shot at John Hall in NY-19.
Sorry, Mr. Lalor.
Oh, and I have a feeling that much of their effort in New York just might be sunk into defending NY-3.
The Cook Political Report (sub req'd) seems to have caught on to something that has been apparent for quite some time, namely that the race in the 19th isn't exactly playing out the way the GOP had hoped.
This Hudson Valley-based district, site of a 2006 election result many Republicans called a fluke, has been a recruiting nightmare for the GOP this year. National Republicans aren't showing much interest in their nominee, Kieran Lalor, whose conservative profile is a far cry from the moderate resume of longtime former GOP Rep. Sue Kelly, who carried this district easily for years before losing in the tidal wave of 2006. Hall doesn't face a real race for a sophomore term.
It looks as if the folks at CQ Politics have finally noticed that there doesn't seem to be much of a race in the 19th:
New York's 19th(New Rating: Democrat Favored. Previous Rating: Leans Democratic). The failure by the Republican Party to recruit a top-tier candidate to challenge first-term Democratic Rep. John Hall has pushed the race further in favor of the former Orleans rocker ("Still The One"). Republican Kieran Michael Lalor, an Iraq War veteran who works the night shift of a union job and campaigns during the day, is a first-time candidate. The Republican county committees rallied behind Lalor as their standard bearer for the Hudson Valley district, but only after recruitment stumbles. The DCCC lists Hall as one of their "Frontline Democrats" that the party will fight to protect and Hall enters the race with a serious fundraising advantage. He reported raising $1.9 million and had $1.3 million on hand by June 30 while Lalor reported raising $227,000 and had $151,000 on hand by the same date.
All told, CQ updated 14 House races this morning, all but two of them in favor of Democrats.
This weekend, 5,814 people stood up for peace in Ithaca, attempting to set a world record for the largest human peace sign. From above, it looked like this: http://cmsimg.theithacajournal... (sorry, this photo is copyrighted, so you will have to go to the site to see it-- as you can imagine, Robinia is one tree in the peace forest, rather than photographer-- she does own a camera, but not an airplane!)
The inspiration for this uplifting event at the Ithaca Festival came from Trevor Dougherty, a local teen who has become a YouTube rock star for his viral video Stand Up for World Peace, which has been viewed 729,222 times, and won the 2007 YouTube "Most Inspirational" award. That video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... . You can view his promo video for Ithaca Stands Up for World Peace, here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... , featuring Trevor himself, friends, and that most-inspiring messenger of world peace, Bishop Desmond Tutu.
Keep reading for a kinda personal (but inspiring) reflection on the long rock and roll set that followed the Ithaca Stands for Peace event, graciously and masterfully performed by long-long-long-time Ithaca musical favorites (and Rep.John Hall's original band), Orleans . "You're still the one," we are still "dancing in the moonlight," and we are still the ones we are waiting for- go make peace happen.
Earlier today 10 New York Democrats voted to eviscerate the 4th Amendment and to retroactively excuse the lawless warrantless surveillance of tens of millions of Americans by an out of control Executive as well as the telecom companies that that facilitated these crimes. Their votes were disgraceful and we should never forget them, but the majority of New York Democrats stood up for our Constitution today and we shouldn't forget their votes either. The following New York Democrats stood tall today:
Clarke (NY-11)
Hall (NY-19)
Hinchey (NY-22)
Israel (NY-2)
Maloney (NY-14)
McNulty (NY-21)
Nadler (NY-8)
Rangel (NY-15)
Serrano (NY-16)
Slaughter (NY-28)
Towns (NY-10)
Velazquez (NY-12) (My Congresswoman. Way to go, Nydia.)
Weiner (NY-9)
It should probably go without saying, but all New York House Republicans (with exception of Tom Reynolds, who was apparently napping) voted for this abomination.
Republicans just seem to love the song "Still the One", a song written by our own freshman Rep. John Hall. The Bush campaign used the song until then private citizen Hall asked them to stop. Now John McCain is doing it again and Hall, an Obama supporter, is none too happy.
At a campaign rally in New Hampshire yesterday, the McCain campaign played the classic 1970s song "Still The One" over the loudspeakers. One problem: The principal author of the song, John Hall, is a freshman Democratic Congressman from New York who is supporting Barack Obama.
Hall reacted strongly in an interview with NBC News, saying the GOP should immediately stop using his song: "The only one John McCain is 'Still the One' for is George Bush."
Turns out that New York's members of Congress aren't all at the top of the class, but most are getting a passing grade, says the Drum Major Institutes's congressional scorecard website, TheMiddleClass.org. The site rates members of Congress based on their votes on legislation that has a significant impact on the current and aspiring middle class.
So how did New York's senators and representatives rate? Senator Chuck Schumer received a B and Hillary Clinton earned an A+. Schumer, it turns out, missed a vote on immigration legislation and voted wrong on a trade deal with Peru that would have moved American jobs overseas and brought down the wages of American workers. Clinton voted "with the middle class" on all of the bills. As DMI says of its grading,
"TheMiddleClass.org 2007 Congressional Scorecard takes a closer look at the decisions made by Congress, from the one-year freeze to prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from hitting middle-class families to the filibuster that originally torpedoed a minimum wage increase (later passed) and the trade bill that put the interests of multinational corporations and large investors before the concerns of middle-class Americans. After examining 13 bills in detail, the 2007 Congressional Scorecard assigns a grade to each Member of Congress based on his or her support for the middle class."
New York's representatives were more of a mixed bag, weighing in with 9 A+s, 11 As, 3 Bs, 4 Cs, 1 D and 1 F. Check out the grades of the individual members here.
DMI held a press conference/reception for legislators who received As on the scorecard, and several of New York's representatives were in attendance. Check out this video of Rep. John Hall, where he speaks about issues of importance to his constituents and the importance of "tilting the balance of power back towards regular folks." "There is a middle class squeeze going on, and many people who thought they were in the middle class are being squeezed down," he said.
John Hall has sent an editorial to various media outlets outlining his feelings about the present FISA debate. I attended a meeting of local Hall supporters and the Congressman in Dutchess County recently, and he distributed The editorial.
Roll Call is reporting on a NRCC memo that lists 23 House seats and an open seat as targets this fall. Two New York Democrats are on the list, Krsten Gillibrand (NY-20) and Michael Arcuri (NY-24). What's interesting to me is who isn't on the list, John Hall (NY-19). I guess the NRCC, after failing at least three times to recruit a quality self funding challenger to Hall, is basically tossing rookie Kieran Michael Lalor to the wolves and taking a pass on mounting a serious challenge in the 19th.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting 23 Democratic incumbents, including several freshmen, and one open seat, according a memo obtained by Roll Call that was prepared by the NRCC for a March 5 briefing to political action committee officials.
The memo, titled "Two Dozen Reasons the NRCC will Pick Up Seats in 2008," shed some light as to where the NRCC might direct its limited resources in the fall, although the seats included on the committee's target list come as no surprise. The NRCC used the memo to highlight pickup opportunities in the November elections and urge PACs to donate to the committee and help Republicans take back the House.
The full list, which is heavy with freshmen in districts won by Bush in 2004, is in the extended entry...
After striking out at least half a dozen times trying to find a credible challenger for Freshman Rep. John Hall, the GOoPs appear to have at least someone other than Kieran Michael Lalor willing to take the plunge, Westchester County Legislator George Oros.
Rep. John Hall has gained another Republican opponent: Westchester Legislator George Oros.
Oros, a Cortlandt Republican, said today that he intends to enter the race against Hall and will file paperwork formally establishing his candidacy sometime within the next two weeks.
"I think I have electability," Oros told Politics on the Hudson just after today's Board of Legislators' meeting in White Plains. "I've been out there. I'm proven."
Oros, who joined the legislature in 1995, has been considering a possible candidacy for almost two months. He joins Iraq War veteran Kieran Michael Lalor of Peekskill as the only two announced GOP candidates in the 19th Congressional District.
Pardon me for thinking like a Republican, but George Oros sounds suspiciously like "George Soros," the scourge of all things good, holy and wholesomely American. I wonder how many GOoPs in the 19th will mistake them for each other.
Or is it strike five? Honestly, I've lost count. Here's another Republican taking a pass on NY-19.
Republicans have eyed Rep. John Hall's seat almost since the day the Democrat snatched it from one of their own - 12-year incumbent Sue Kelly - in 2006.
Orange County Executive Ed Diana has been mentioned as a possible challenger, but he ended the speculation on Monday during a discussion with the Times Herald-Record editorial board.
"Have I been asked? Yes," he said. "Am I running? No."
Diana's not up for re-election until next year, and he laughed at the notion of announcing his candidacy so soon. But he'd already hinted at his political plans by saying his plan to build a new county government center was a "project for another term."
The only announced Republican candidate for New York's 19th Congressional District is Kieran Michael Lalor, a 31-year-old Iraq veteran from Peekskill. Millionaire Andrew Saul declared his candidacy but backed out of the race, and former state Assemblyman Howard Mills passed.
Freshman Assemblyman Greg Ball has announced that he will not challenge Freshman Rep. John Hall in next year's race for the 19th Congressional seat. At this point, it looks as if the GOP may be stuck with Kieran Michael Lalor's long shot run at the seat. Will the race for NY-19 be a snooze? It's sure starting to look that way.
Freshman state Assemblyman Greg Ball will run for re-election in 2008 and not for Congress, as he had speculated during the past few weeks.
Ball, who defeated longtime Republican Assemblyman Willis Stephens in a primary last year and then went on to best Democrat Ken Harper in the November election, wants another two-year term in Albany.
"A little over a year ago I was elected in a grassroots upset that sent a clear message to the good old boys in Albany and back home. Since my election victory, we have made extraordinary progress by elevating the debate on tough issues like taxes, illegal immigration and dysfunction in Albany. On all of these fronts, and more, we are making a substantial difference and I absolutely love being the assemblyman," said Ball, R-Carmel, in a statement.
Ball had considered running for New York's 19th Congressional District seat, which is currently held by U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains. He even traveled to Washington shortly before Christmas to meet with the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Ball didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking further comment.
So far, Kieran Michael Lalor of Peekskill is the only Republican to announce a bid against Hall.
I've always thought that Hall holds this seat no matter who the GOP decided to run. Now his seat looks like a pretty solid keeper.
Kieran Michael Lalor, who hopes to unseat freshman Rep. John Hall next year is having problems getting anyone to take his candidacy seriously. The NRCC appears to be less than enthused and local GOP bigs aren't exactly jumping on the KML bandwagon just yet. In an effort to finally have someone pay some attention to his fledgling effort, it appears that Mr Lalor is going back to the tried and true GOP playbook by basically just making stuff up. From Lalor's truly awesome blog:
In yet another outside the mainstream vote, Rep. John Hall voted against a measure that would save 2 million American families from paying an average of $2000 to the onerous Alternative Minimum Tax. The same bill included funding for ammunition and supplies for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still Hall voted "Nay."
The measure passed the House 272-142. Seventy-Eight Democrats, including Kirstin Gillabrand (sic) from the neighboring 20th Congressional District, voted in favor of the measure. As if his Monday fundraiser at the home MoveOn.org's patron George Soros wasn't enough proof that Hall is well outside the mainstream, voting against tax relief for the middle class and funding for troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan seals the deal.
John Hall did indeed vote against the massive spending bill. In doing so he "voted against" all manner of things, but most specifically he voted against another blank check for the war in Iraq. That said, Hall's record on ammending the Alternative Minimum Tax is quite clear and bears no resemblance whatsoever to the smear Lalor is trying to perpetuate. In fact, here's John Hall in the Congressional Record:
The nineteenth district of New York is one of the districts in this country most affected by the AMT. Last year over 30,000 families in my district paid AMT. I wish we had the support in both the majority, and the minority, that we need to advance the major tax reform necessary to prevent the AMT from unfairly penalizing thousands of families in the Hudson Valley. The "patch" legislation that we considered today is the best legislation that we can pass at this time to prevent more families from being impacted by the AMT, and will ensure that an additional 70,000 families in my district alone will not be hit next year by the AMT.
I am proud that the Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives has twice passed a responsible AMT patch; offsetting the $50 billion in lost revenue from the AMT by eliminating tax loopholes for some of the richest people in the country, who choose to use offshore tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. However, neither the President nor his allies in Congress are fiscally responsible. They will not accept any legislation that acts responsibly by ensuring that the cost of protecting working families from the AMT will not be borne by their grandchildren. I believe I was elected to Congress last year to help restore fiscal integrity to the federal government, and I stand by the numerous votes I have cast in support of a responsible Pay-Go system.
Although I am deeply disappointed that we will not be able to pass a version of AMT reform with a revenue offset this year. I am unwilling to let working families in my district suffer as a result of the President and the minority in Congress. That is why, despite its obvious inadequacies, I feel that I must support this bill. I am disappointed that we were forced to pass this bill by borrowing the resources to do so. As Congress continues its work in the future, I am committed to working to make sure our government operates within its means and respects the principle of fiscal responsibility.
Trying to paint Hall as an enemy of fixing the AMT is absurd and demonstrates a distinct antipathy to the truth on Mr Lalor's part.
UPDATE: John Hall's statement on yesterday's passing the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, which will provide AMT relief to 73,000 households in NY-19 is on the flip...
Assemblyman Greg Ball has been making the rounds in NY-19 seeking support for a potential challenge to freshman Rep. John Hall. He's even been talking to the NRCC about it. The NRCC is having a hell of a time finding a viable candidate for the race and it seems their top priority is finding one who can self finance their race. There's a good reason for that. They're all but broke. It's also pretty obvious that they aren't exactly enthused about the Ball or the only declared candidate, Kieran Michael Lalor.
Ken Spain from the National Republican Congressional Committee, in an e-mail today, said the committee "doesn't promise money to anyone." Spain was getting back to me on the issue of state Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Carmel, contemplating a run for Congress. Ball, if you recall, is thinking of challenging Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains.
One factor that would figure in his decision, Ball had said, was a financial commitment from the NRCC. Spain said the committee has spoken with both Ball and Republican Kieran Michael Lalor of Peekskill about the race.
"The NRCC doesn't promise money to anyone," Spain wrote. "We make that decision as we draw closer to the election. We've talked with Ball as you know and think he would make a good candidate. We have talked with Lalor as well, but we do not pre-primary endorse."
I'd just like to remind the NRCC that Greg Ball is very creative when it comes to financing his campaigns and doing so in a way that most Congressional Republicans will love.
You may wonder how the neophyte freshman Assemblyman bankrolled his Assembly campaign and why he had so much support from out of state. Ball set up a charity to teach poor kids to play polo (No, really.) and a separate PAC focusing on issues in the district he was running in. He then sold tickets to a charity event attended by those who think teaching poor kids to play polo is an awesome idea. And that's where he displays the type of creativity that the NRCC should take note of.
But why did Ball, 29, now a busy freshman state assemblyman, even want to keep running a youthful charity party several hours from his home district? Perhaps because it helped him win his seat.
The Reliable Source found that a New York political action committee started by Ball -- which later transferred its entire treasury to his campaign -- netted as much as $10,000 by selling tickets to the 2005 Courage Cup. That's four times the amount the polo match raised that year for its prominently advertised beneficiary, Work to Ride, a Philadelphia charity that teaches poor kids to play polo.
It's unclear whether anything about the arrangement was improper. But it shocked several D.C. area Courage Cup ticket buyers, who said they had never heard of the group and were stunned to find their names in Ball's campaign finance records.
"I thought the money was going to kids," said Andrew McKenna."I'd be pretty [infuriated] if I found out this was for a political race."
...
We randomly contacted a dozen of these D.C. donors to ask why they gave to a New York state PAC. None could remember ever hearing of the group, let alone giving it money. But all, as it turned out, had bought tickets to the 2005 Courage Cup, held that year on June 18 in Poolesville, Md.
"I think it was billed as a fundraiser to get kids involved with polo," recalled Britt Jung, who was surprised to find herself listed as a $55 donor to CUEG -- an amount she thinks she spent on her Courage Cup ticket.
"I don't recall supporting him," said Eden Ellis, an acquaintance of Ball's who remembered hearing about his political aspirations but didn't know how $50 in her name ended up in CUEG's filings. "I think I would have remembered that."
...
According to New York state newspaper accounts at the time, Citizens United for Ethical Growth was founded in fall 2004 with Ball as its president. Its goals were to promote "smart growth" and regional planning in the small-town and suburban communities north of New York City, with special concern for traffic congestion on state Route 22. The following April, Ball announced he would run as a Republican for state assembly against a longtime incumbent. In December 2005, CUEG -- then described in its press releases as being led by a Dutchess County, N.Y., landscaper, Frank Chiera -- announced it was transferring its $18,000 in assets to Ball's campaign.
I guess what I'm trying to say, dear friends at the NRCC, is that Greg Ball is a go-getter and certainly worth another look...
