Builders and environmentalists say don't mess with these programs.

The fact that this was the only significant veto left untouched yesterday shows the success of New York's energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. We're hopeful that we've now closed the chapter on this debate and that we can move forward with the legislature and the Governor on an ambitious agenda to build and strengthen clean energy efforts in New York.

Projects like Cape Wind would help put America on the path toward energy independence. This amendment emerges from nowhere, from the back door, from closed rooms.

Governor Pataki, Senate Minority Leader David Paterson and the other state leaders on both sides of the aisle who are fighting to protect these valuable initiatives deserve great credit. The veto is the right thing to do, and we urge lawmakers to let it stand.

Project 7th Grade is making a positive difference in the lives of kids. The recent Arizona State University study found that 75 percent of participating parents felt that the program likely improved their family's communication about the harmful effects of drugs, and nearly 75 percent of the parents surveyed felt the program likely helped deter their children from using them. Adding the prescription drug element into this program will further enhance its reach and benefit to parents and teenagers.

The Department of Energy is a big bureaucracy.... Energy efficiency hasn't been an agency priority, it hasn't been a political priority, and so the issue has been neglected,