Their trademark Drill Instructor style hats are a sure sign that you are looking at a State Trooper and it is a comfort to see them providing security and support at Stewart Airport. The New York State troopers assigned to protect and serve at Stewart take their jobs very seriously. The trooper contingent serving Stewart is actually based at the airport which gives them quick access to all areas of the airport...

The Port Authority filed a motion with the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., Circuit requesting to join a suit that seeks to invalidate a plan by the federal government to auction flight slots at the New York metropolitan region's airports. The Air Transport Association filed the original suit in the same court. The move comes as the Federal Aviation Administration announced an attempt today to stop the Port Authority from receiving Airport Improvement Program funds used to enhance safety and security, and increase capacity for more than 100 million

passengers, so that the administration can pursue an auction plan opposed by the Port Authority, elected officials, airlines and passenger advocacy groups. Today's court action by the Port Authority noted that the proposed slot auction by the FAA would result in higher costs for airlines, increased ticket prices for airline passengers, and fewer flights to small communities.

The US Air Transport Assn. followed through on its threat and filed a lawsuit against FAAover its announced Sept. 3 auction of two slots, or one roundtrip, at Newark. Although the agency is auctioning only two EWR slots for a five-year lease, the move is viewed widely as a precursor to a much broader auction system it is considering implementing at both EWR and New York JFK. "FAA's claim that it can use its property management authority to auction slots is intellectually dishonest and a disturbing end run around Congress," said ATA President and CEO James May. "This administration believes it can ignore the statutory limits of its authority to remake the industry as it sees fit."

Like the mythical hydra, the energy crisis is a many headed problem, and also like the hydra, the solutions require action at each of the sources of the problem. If we simply cut demand by conservation, we are not going to get there. If we just utilize what environmentalists call "renewable" energy, we are still moving only part of the way. The solution needs to be comprehensive and cover a broad spectrum of energy fronts as well as taking steps to cut our energy use. While most

of us are willing to at least try many of these solutions, there are those who want to restrict our efforts and adopt only those methods that do not require fossil fuels. This will not solve our problem; in fact what it may do is depress the economy and have a direct effect on our standard of living and way of life.

I own a Toyota Avalon and my wife owns a Toyota Prius. To travel 1,000 miles, I have to pay nearly $200.00 for gas and wife only needs to expend $75.00. Both cars get to us where we have to go but I have to pay a $125.00 premium every 1,000 miles just to ride in a bigger car. Is this smart on my part? We Americans really need to look at our priorities. It is not just an issue of energy independence. What about our budgets? The next time you park your car, take a look at the SUV's and other large vehicles. And the next time you pay a toll or are delayed in a traffic jam, notice how many people drive alone. Conservation is not something we like to be lectured on but I think Americans as a whole do a poor job of conserving, and really do not pay attention to it unless we are really hurting.

Stewart Airport is not unique in the problems facing small city-regional airports. American cities have long viewed a thriving commercial airport as a source of civic pride, a way to attract businesses and jobs, a selling point promising an easy connection to the outside world. Any community vibrant enough to support a respectable airport, the thinking goes, is a community that counts. At the Lynchburg Regional Airport, travelers are welcomed with a dome in the style of Monticello and the words of Thomas Jefferson etched across the floor. Exposed steel beams slope against heavy brick arches, visually weaving the city's heritage with lofty aspirations for the future. Now Lynchburg and other small-city airports, which represent the majority of the nation's 524 airports with commercial service, are under threat. Airlines are cutting back service to keep their businesses alive as they confront economic contraction and volatility in oil prices. Smaller airports are vulnerable because they rely on smaller, more expensive planes and with fewer passengers have less economy of scale. Airports are putting together contingency plans for service cuts of up to 50 percent. They are halting expansion projects, freezing hiring and trying to preserve what service they've got. Despite millions of dollars spent to improve Lynchburg's airport, departures...