News from the Noteworthy: Have a plan: Start the conversation New York State is 50th in the nation for hospice utilization, and I wish I knew why. I believe most people know about hospice. It is a service that helps and supports those with life-limiting conditions to address their symptomatic needs. Additionally, hospice supports the patient families, including bereavement care after the patient passes. New York has a hospice utilization of 30 percent, meaning only 30 percent of those who…
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Columns - Page 49
Oh, there’s a surprise! By Ted Potrikus We New Yorkers used to leave it up to our state Legislature to fulfill the once-a-decade duty of redrawing congressional and state election district lines. They got so good at it they made the map of the state’s voting boundaries look like the inside of a lava lamp. We New Yorkers got a little tired of it, so we voted in 2014 to amend our state constitution to establish an Independent Redistricting Commission.…
Bound Volumes 210 YEARS AGO Pocket Book Found! Picked up between Moss’ store in Burlington and DeForests’ tavern in Edmeston on Wednesday the 25th—a Red Morrocco Pocket Book; a good deal worn, containing a number of notes and a small sum of money. The owner can have it again by proving property and paying charges. Roswell Patterson. January 25, 1812…
News from the Noteworthy: Gov’s budget a reason to be cheerful Happy New Year! I had difficulty celebrating the 2022 New Year. I was certainly unable to make any resolutions. After all, I’ve spent the last two years being very resolute. As the third year of the pandemic loomed, I saw the year beginning with a continued onslaught of information, from new or revised protocols, to new plans to protect our health, our community, and our way of life. But…
Don’t underestimate her By Ted Potrikus Her beloved Buffalo Bills lost in a weekend heartbreaker, but aside from that, Governor Kathy Hochul has had a pretty good couple of weeks. She’s able to talk about turning the corner against the winter Omicron surge, with seven-day averages for new hospital admissions, new cases, and cases-per-100,000 declining in every part of the state. She laid out a blueprint for New York’s upcoming fiscal year, a $216 billion bonanza adorned with property tax…
Be afraid but do it anyway: Changing Countries Changing countries? Are you always afraid to do that? Or do you learn to take big moves in stride? Do you become starry-eyed over the next adventure? Maybe. Stars sure danced in front of my eyes when a former partner lured me to move from New Zealand to London. One of the most exciting cities in the world and one where English was the native language. On top of that, all of…
Bound Volumes 210 YEARS AGO Congress has agreed to raise 25,000 men. This looks like a certainty of war; but whether we have peace or war, it is an event in which all must rejoice, that within the walls of Congress there never was greater harmony than at present prevails. All seem to be convinced that the time has arrived when our national forces ought to be increased both by sea and land, so as to combine strength with dignity,…
News from the Noteworthy: Spotlight on county’s Hunger Coalition The Community Foundation of Otsego County (CFOC), a 501c3 nonprofit public charity founded in 2019 to bring together financial and human resources to address challenges and increase opportunity in Otsego County, recently conducted a survey asking respondents to prioritize the work we should address. Nearly 300 people told us the greatest needs fall in the category of Basic Human Services: food insecurity, affordable housing, transportation, child care, mental health/addiction, special needs…
Evolving disease, evolving guidelines By Richard Sternberg, M.D. People have questioned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of changing recommendations for treatment, isolation and quarantine, vaccination, and social distancing. Some say these agencies and the government are lying to us. Covid-19 management, though, remains an evolving scientific investigation. Development of prevention, treatment, and best practices to prevent the disease while minimizing overall societal impact is constantly changing. Research and data has…
Wordle. Batman. COVID. By Ted Potrikus I’m addicted to Wordle. It’s a part of the morning routine now – pour the coffee, read the news, tell myself that I’ll wait until later to Wordle, then Wordle nonetheless. If you’ve not heard about this nifty little online game, a warning: Do it once and you’re hooked. It’s almost too simple – it’s free, it’s not an app that you have to download, there are no ads clogging the site (powerlanguage.co.uk). Once…
