STATE OF CITY: ‘We’re Onta Something,’ Mayor Declares Editor’s Note: This is the text of Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig’s 2019 State of the City address, delivered Tuesday, March 5, at the Foothills Performing Arts Center. He also announced $2.3 million in grants through the city/state Downtown Revitalization Initiative. During the past year, some have questioned whether we have lost some of our momentum in revitalizing and reinventing the City of Oneonta. I want you to know that the answer to…
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Editorial - Page 32
In City Of The Hills, Candidate Avalanche In Oneonta, go figure.Five Common Council members retiring – not a record, Council member Dana Levinson reminded us: there were six retirements in 2016, but an exodus nonetheless.And the resulting ferment: Len Carson confirmed Thursday, Feb. 21, he was running in Ward 5, and within days, 11 more candidates emerged. Most were Democrats in that Democratic enclave, but three were Republicans, signaling party politics – missing since 2011 – may be coming back…
‘Reform Caucus’ Proving Its Worth, But Will It Survive 2019 Elections? Leading up to the 2017 election of the Otsego County Board of Representatives, the terms “Reform Caucus” and “Sensible Center” were used in this space, and they were controversial. Some of the candidates identified with that label won election or reelection. (Whether that was because of or despite of the designation is certainly fodder for debate.) Foremost among them, as it turns out, was David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield,…
EDITORIAL Congressman Emerging As Moderate, Balanced If anyone was looking for a bomb-thrower – Urban Dictionary: “A colloquial term used to describe people who stir up trouble” – Antonio Delgado isn’t he. That had to be the conclusion of any objective ear at his Feb. 18 “Town Hall” in Cooperstown Village Hall, where one speaker, opining President Trump is “mentally ill,” asked the freshman congressman if he would vote for impeachment. The reply was perfectly circumspect: “I’m going to do…
Lower Taxes, More Broadband Would Help Keep Upstate Folks Here President Trump and Governor Cuomo were recently in a war of words again – certainly not breaking news. This time around, the back and forth centers on the Upstate economy, with President Trump advising Upstate residents to move out. The president’s actual words to people who feel things aren’t going their way, “If New York isn’t gonna treat them better, I would recommend they go to another state where they…
County Board Committee Adjusts Policy To Affirm Public, Press Have Rights Regarding the county Board of Representatives’ policy, “Use of Photographic and Recording Devices At County Meetings,” the stated goal – “to allow meetings to be conducted in an orderly manner” – was never objectionable. Two aspects of the policy were: One, that reporters need to “sign in” (i.e., register with a local government to do their job) and, two, if failing to do so would be “excluded” from board…
INTERVIEW WITH DR. GERALD BENJAMIN WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH UPSTATE? It all began with a technological breakthrough – in Syracuse. Air conditioning. Air conditioning used to be very expensive. Installation as well as maintenance were something not everyone could afford. However today, according to Coolest Gadgets the best AC units won’t break the bank anymore. Its development by General Electric in that central New York city opened the way for the industrial development of the South and Southwest, and the…
Until Available 24/7, Renewable Energy Not Ready For Prime Time The Otsego County Chamber board and president deserve a heartfelt “thank you” for having the vision and courage to host the “Energy Summit” Thursday, Jan. 31, at The Otesaga. Speakers from New York and Pennsylvania talked about fossil fuels and renewables, including biomass, ethanol, electric cars, wind, solar and geo-thermal. At the end of the day, it was clear that, although promising for the future, renewables are not currently capable…
EDITORIAL County Rep. Kennedy Right To Seek Faulty Policy’s End State Law ‘Silent’ On Issue – So Stick To What Law Does Say The end of what is, at best, an anomaly, may be in sight. County Rep. Meg Kennedy, C-Mount Vision, says she plans to ask the Administration Committee she chairs to remove two extralegal clauses from a policy it passed last month: “Use of Photographic Equipment and Recording Devices at County Meetings.” The complete policy appears in the…
From The Heart Of Ohio A Tale Of Three Books – At Once .Lately we have taken on a project that we not only do not like very much, but also would not recommend, namely reading more than one book at a time. Although the he-we would often be reading more than one book, we have never been a fan of doing so. However, due to an interesting set of circumstances, we found ourselves doing just that. Not long…