Editorial, May 11, 2018 WERTENBAKER LAND TRUST PRESIDENT The Right Leader, At The Right Time? People generally recognize Otsego County’s geographic schizophrenia. (Schizophrenic, in the best possible way, of course.) To the south, there are 10 Interstate exits – 11 if you count Sidney’s – largely undeveloped (except Exits 14-15, at Southside Oneonta), ideal for commerce, manufacturing, distribution and other job-creating uses. To the north is the pristine Glimmerglass watershed, a national environmental icon, surrounded by pretty hamlets and villages,…
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Column by Adrian Kuzminski on May 11, 2018 Money Made Out Of Thin Air, But Be Sure To Repay Lenders You’ve got to have money to make money, the saying goes. If you have money, you can invest (or speculate) in something you hope will produce a profitable return. If you don’t have money, you’ll need to figure out where you can get some. There are two basic options for most people: work and debt, and they usually go together.…
Column by James Dean, May 11, 2018 To Succeed, Otsego County Must Be Known Editor’s Note: James R. Dean, the Cooperstown village trustee, has been proprietor of New York Custom Curved Wood Stair Railings & Handrailings locally since 1973. In last week’s Part I, he analyzed out economic-development challenges we face. This week, Part II offers solutions. So what is the plan? Almost everything that has been done so far to increase our population and business base, while very good,…
Editorial, May 11, 2018 How Can Anyone Process Eric Schneiderman’s Sudden Fall? The Cooperstown Rotary Club starts its meeting with song, and the first this past Tuesday went, in part: I’d like to build the world a home, and furnish it with love… I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony… I’d like to see the world for once, all standing hand in hand And hear them echo through the hills For peace throughout the land.…
Column by Adrian Kuzminski, May 5, 2018 More Gas? Only If Paired With Equal-Sized Renewable Project When fracking was proposed in New York State a decade ago, the potential benefits were jobs, economic growth, lower energy prices, and energy security. Opponents (like me) worried not only about local degradation of the environment but about the global consequences of methane seepage and emissions for the climate as a whole. In most places outside of New York State, the frackers won the…
Editorial, May 5, 2018 It’s Decision Time. But Is There The Will? Question: Can Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig’s administration make tough decisions? For one thing, whether or not to condemn the Twelve Tribes’ blighted Oneonta Ford property has been hanging fire since before Herzig took office. He’s now in his second term. There is state money in hand to demolish what is a public hazard and state money to prepare the site for new construction. All that’s hanging fire is…
Editorial, May 5, 2018 If We Want Solar Energy, Let’s Get Serious About It If we care about solar energy, it’s time to get serious about it, don’cha think? Happily, Otsego 2000 may be doing just that, having taken a leadership role among local environmental groups on this matter. On Feb. 24, its board adopted a resolution that reads, in part: “Climate change, driven in large party by fossil-fuel use, is a significant threat to our region and way of…
Column by Mike Zagata, April 27, 2018 Christians Told: Help The Poor, But Resist Continental Pipeline Each week while attending church, a member of the clergy reminds us of our responsibility to assist the poor. Doing so is important and something engrained in us by our parents. It is especially important in this area because we are part of Appalachia, a region known for its poverty. Indeed, according to Catholic Charity’s definition of poverty, 30 percent, or three out of…
EDITORIAL: April 27, 2018 Retiring Bright Light Is Inspiration To Rest Of Us A touching and inspiring event happened at Gilbertsville’s Major Inn last weekend: 150 wellwishers, from almost every town in Otsego County and as far away as London, England, packed the landmark mansion to express appreciation to a special lady, Erna Morgan McReynolds. For the past 30 years, Erna has been an investment counselor in Oneonta for Morgan Stanley (and its half-dozen predecessors), and thousands of clients have…
Column by Adrian Kuzminski, April 20, 2018 Nation’s Two-Party System Guarantees ‘The Iron Law Of Oligarchy’ Most voters enroll in one or the other major party, though the number of non-party enrollees has grown in recent years. In our area, and nationally, it’s very roughly one third Democrat, one third Republican, and one third non-partisan, or independent (small “i”). The two-party system goes back to the battles between Alexander Hamilton’s Federalists and Thomas Jefferson’s Republicans. The Jeffersonian Republicans have since…
