Village of Arkport Blog

If you are planning a trip to Italy and you want to visit Rome, you definitely need to have a look first at BeatRome.com, the place to find the best accommodation in Rome.

Whether you are searching for cheap hotels, luxury apartments or Rome bed and breakfast, you’ll find here all the info you need: an easy to use map of the city, a full list of all the apartments in Rome, hotel and bed and breakfasts available along with prices, location, pictures and contact form - you can even ask directly the owners for a quote or an information request and, if you find the right place for you, book directly and securely online using PayPal and your credit card.

BeatRome.com is the definitive guide for whoever is coming to Rome and needs to find a good accommodation, whether it’s a luxury suite or a good and affordable apartment.

In the May 26, 2008 issue of Fortune, Allan Sloan, rails banks and large brokerage firms for borrowing to prop up capital reserves while at the same time paying dividends to stock holders. See “The Bucket Fillers” at the end of the article.

This is the equivalent of borrowing to give it away. Something people do at Christmas and then pay back over the coming year or years. That’s a attempt to buy love, and the financial firms are attempting to buy shareholder love so they won’t dump the stock. The difference to me is that these are for profit firms that are taking depositors money and giving it away.

The real estate market in Arkport and many other markets are reeling in part from practices underwritten by the large financial companies. I really have to question what’s going on at these companies. The lapses of judgment and business practices that contributed to the real estate and economic mess that we are in now, seem to continue. Sloan calls for these firm to take a remedial course in Common Sense 101.

Citi received a $7.5 billion capital infusion from The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). It’s current annualized dividend is $6.9 billion. It’s hard to argue, with Sloan when he says that they are borrowing to pay dividends - at an 11% interest rate.

We have to wonder how this affects you and me. The banks have tightened mortgage lending requirements, are lousy at dealing with people experiencing trouble paying their mortgages, slow to respond to short sale offers, and expecting government bailouts for their losses. There practices are putting a throttle on the economy. It appears their business model includes keeping profits and socializing losses through government bailouts.

Sloan asks, “Why would you fill a bucket from the top while letting water gush out the bottom?” Good question. Think about it.

Welcome to the Village of Arkport, a small community located in Steuben County in Western New York. In 1997, Arkport celebrated is Bicentennial anniversary of its founding by Christopher Hurlbut, who served in the Continental Army directly under the command of George Washington. In 1797, he purchased 637 acres in what is now Arkport. As new settlers arrived, the fertile valley became farmland. The Canisteo river, which flows through the village, flows east and south, and eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay.

In 1800, the New York legislature passed an act declaring the river a public highway for the shipment of goods. Arks were constructed in the town; goods, produce, and timber rafts began their journeys to the regional markets. By 1830, Arkport was a well-established frontier community. In the years that followed, the opening of the Erie Canal took over the river trade. The exodus of settlers to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan kept the population of the village at a constant small number.

Today, Arkport is home to approximately 900 hundred inhabitants. It is mostly a bedroom community, with employment in nearby Hornell and, to the north, the City of Rochester. The village is still a farming community and has several small businesses. The Arkport Central School is one of the more progressive schools in the Southern Tier region of New York State. Village government consists of a Mayor, four trustees, a clerk/treasurer, a small Department of Works, and a well-organized volunteer fire department. Reminisce Magazine, which awarded the village with its “Burma-Shave” theme signs, honored Arkport in 1995; only one community in each state is awarded this program. Community spirit runs high, with annual “Summerfest” celebration each July and a well-organized baseball/softball program for youngsters. The Village Park is filled all summer with adult and youth activities.