Letter from Dan Buttermann The Common Sense Party Voter registrations are changing quickly. Just five years ago, the Republican party registration outnumbered the no-party registration by 250,000. But in five short years, the no-party registrations have gone way up, and now outnumber the Republicans. The Democratic registration lost ground too. This is a significant change. What has not changed is the requirements for a no-party candidate to be on the ballot — a candidate must secure three times more petition…
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Letter from Ln Alessi A community thank you I am so overwhelmed by all the support, love and kindness which has been extended to my son and me since my daughter Vincenza’s passing. Words seem grossly inadequate as I reflect on all the wonderful things people have done for us. Living in a community where people genuinely care about each other and express that care through their actions is the greatest gift. I know how challenging life can get for…
Column by James Dean Saving Main Street USA As a non-retail small business owner and an astute observer of Main Street USA, I have great sympathy for the economic struggles of Main Street USA storefront retailers. Main Street USA, and its storefront retail businesses, can define their communities desirability and quality of life, by whether they look bright, attractive, welcoming, thriving, and growing, or dusty, dark, stuck in time, just holding on, or dying. The centuries-old, only game in town,…
Commentary: Don’t be fueled A few weeks back I wrote in this space about New York’s gasoline tax; predicting lawmakers from various corners would be calling for its temporary roll-back as a means to relieve the price at the pump. If I remember correctly, I confidently wrote that it couldn’t be done – that lifting the sales tax on anything, however temporarily, is too complicated, too much of a political and logistical lift. I also picked Iowa and Gonzaga for…
Gaslighting Hartwick Editorial: April 14, 2022 The saddest truth, in the end, is a person died several weeks after a horrible in-home accident, and to the family of Flora Polulech, The Freeman’s Journal/Hometown Oneonta sends our sympathy. Late in the afternoon on Friday, April 8, New York State Police issued a press release finally admitting they found a January 2, 2022 incident to be a sad and tragic accident. It’s called a “Friday news dump” — late on a Friday…
Helios Care salutes its volunteers [Editor’s note: This week’s “News from the Noteworthy” comes from Tammy Christman, Director of Community Outreach and Volunteer Services for Helios Care.] April 17-23 is National Volunteer Appreciation Week, and organizations across the country are celebrating the wonderful works of volunteers. The value of hospice volunteers cannot be overstated. The desire to give time and talents freely, to those on the end-of-life journey, emanates from a heart of compassion and a spirit of giving. Whether…
Line 59: “Let me tell you how it will be.” A commentary IKEA opened its first northeast enormostore just outside of Newark, New Jersey, in 1990, at a time when the sales tax there stood at four percent. The company filled New York City subway cars with signs enticing the locals to take a ride over the bridge where they could buy all the things they need and save a bundle on sales tax (the combined New York state and…
Editorial: The inevitable stadium The nation’s football audience was legitimately incredulous several weeks ago when the NFL’s random rules denied the Bills offense a chance at the ball in its overtime loss – in a championship game, no less – to the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s a fair wager that New York sports fans took it particularly hard, as “our team” had a shot at the Super Bowl and then lost it in the closing seconds thanks to the reality…
Join us for ‘Breakfast with the Board’ Commentary by Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, Village of Cooperstown Two years ago, in a May 2020 “Mayor’s Message” in the Village Voices newsletter, I wrote this: “The residents of the Village of Cooperstown should be proud of the way they have responded to this unprecedented health crisis. Recommendations to stay home, to physically distance from others and to wear a mask when not possible to distance, have all been willingly adopted and are successfully…
On bail reform To the Editor: The 2019 Bail Reform Bill is probably better called a Criminal Justice Reform Bill. It did much more than just make changes to the bail laws in New York. We have all heard numerous outcries that many of those changes were too much, and that a new reform bill is required. I agree that parts of the 2019 bill are not improving the system. However, I would not vote to repeal the bill, as many Republicans…
