HERZIG: Un-PAUSE STALLS, BUT ONLY UNTIL SATURDAY Southside Mall’s Inside Stores Stay Shut, But May Open Soon UTICA – In disappointing news for Southside Mall – locally owned interior stores had hoped to open tomorrow (Friday) – Governor Cuomo failed to deliver guidelines that would allow Phase 2 of his un-PAUSE program to open, at least until Saturday. Contrary to expectations, malls can’t open, although stores with outside entrances may open, Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig, who’s a member of Mohawk Valley…
Online home of The Freeman's Journal and Hometown Oneonta
Advertisement
david bliss - Page 11
After County Resolution, CSEA Changes Its Mind On Benefits To Laid-Off…
EDITORIAL Action Needed, And Responsible Majority Acted 9 ACCEPTED IMPERATIVE; 5 DIDN’T Sometimes things have to be done. Imperatives, they’re called. Such is the regrettable layoff of 59 county workers, a decision made May 20, a week ago Wednesday, by the Otsego County Board of Representatives. The layoffs go into effect Monday, June 8, the day county government is allowed to reopen. The vote was 9-4-1, with the nays all Democrats: a veteran county rep, Andrew Stammell, Town of Oneonta,…
COUNTY CLERK SAYS: Numbers Show Why Oneonta DMV Closed By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – When she saw the numbers, it was clear the Oneonta DMV had to be shut instead of Cooperstown’s office, according to County Clerk Kathy Sinnott Gardner. In response to a question from county Rep. Michele Farwell, D-Morris, at last week’s meeting of the county Board of Representatives, Sinnott Gardner drilled down in to the relative revenues generated by the two offices, she said…
In Turnaround, CSEA Accepts County’s Offer Laid-Off Workers Will Get Extra Protections After All By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTESGO.com COOPERSTOWN – At week’s end, the CSEA, which represents the 59 Otsego County employees who will be laid off June 8, changed its mind and accepted additional benefits offered by the county board to soften the blow. “Membership got ahead of their leadership,” county board Chairman David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield, surmised today. “I’m sure (leadership) got a lot…
Cooperstown’s DMV Is Generating 9 Times What Oneonta’s Does By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – The tallying’s been done, and it determined the county DMV office in Oneonta generates $500,000 in sales-tax revenues annually, a fraction of the $4.5 million equivalent generated in the Cooperstown one, county board Chair David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield, said today. The county keeps only 12.7 percent of those revenues, but the proportion generated by each office shows the relative amount of…
(new) NORMAL ARRIVING OTSEGO COUNTY ABOUT TO ENTER PHASE 1 OPENING In Week, Debate Over Baby Step Turns Into Big Forward Strides By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com For Otsego County businesses (and local governments that depend on the sales taxes they generate), it was the week the iceberg cracked. Just last Wednesday, May 6, the county Board of Representatives heatedly debated a mild resolution nudging Governor Cuomo to “reopen” Otsego County as soon as he could, please. “Leave…
Chamber Chair: Reopening Chance For Growth, Creativity By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – Though Phase One of “un-PAUSE” is limited to construction, manufacturing and curbside retail, Al Rubin, chair, Otsego County Chamber of Commerce Board, wants to make sure all businesses are ready to begin the process of rebuilding the local economy. “It’s exciting,” he said. “Now is the time for innovation and creativity. Now is not the time to be shy. We need to be sharing…
UPDATED AT 2:32 P.M. TODAY OTSEGO COUNTY WINS PHASE ONE REOPENING SLOT By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – County board Chairman David Bliss has announced shortly after 2 p.m. that Otsego County businesses and industry have been included in Phase One of the state’s reopening from the coronavirus lockdown, effective this Friday, May 15. “This is the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Bliss. “But we’re still in the middle of the tunnel. We have…
AUTOMOBILE SHOWROOMS OPEN AGAIN Appointments, Social Distancing Convince Cuomo They Can Be Safe By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – Happy days are here again at Otsego County’s automobile showrooms. At noon today, a press release arrived from the New York State Automobile Dealers Association breaking the news: From County Club Motors to Five Star Subaru, Oneonta’s Southside and everywhere in between, auto dealers, severely limited by Governor Cuomo’s March 13 emergency declaration, can again do what they…