Federal Overreach . . .

From CNYCentral out of Syracuse: 55 colleges, including 4 from NY, facing sex assault investigations

55 colleges are facing Title IX sexual assault investigations, and four of them are in New York, according to the Education Department.

This, just two days after the White House task force promised government transparency on sexual assault in higher education. . . . “We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said. . . .

The four NY institutions are Hunter, Hobart & William Smith, Sarah Lawrence, and SUNY Binghamton. . . . But don't let that distract you from the real issue here . . .

While people talk about what it is about these institutions that gives cause to the investigations, no one seems to be asking how sexual assault -- a crime in probably every locality and state where the institutions are located -- became a FEDERAL ISSUE?

The Washington Post version of the story fills in the missing detail . . .

The [US Department of Education]’s Office for Civil Rights is examining complaints it received from individuals on campuses and those it discovered as part of its regular efforts to see if schools are in compliance with the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender at schools that receive federal funding.

So if a student gets sexually assaulted at a school that is NOT receiving federal funding, there is NO Title IX violation!

We have here a bureaucracy, the Dept. of Education, that is alleged to be focused on education injecting itself into what are local and/or state crime prevention/enforcement matters. No doubt there are lawyers, investigators, administrative proceedings, etc that goes with this.   Compounding this overlap with state penal authority, the US Dept. of Education is, itself, an unnecessary and Constitutionally unauthorized involvement with State's matters, because education was never made the responsibility of the Federal Government.

What allows the Federal Government to inject itself into state and local matters?  Federal Dollars!  With the taxpayers going into hock 40 cents for each dollar spent.

The Constitution gives the Federal Government specific responsibilities:  defense, border security, international trade regulation, etc. Remaining matters were reserved to the States and the People. Cutting the Federal government out of the non-essential matters will result in less debt, better focus on Federal responsibilities, non-duplication with lower levels of government, and decisions being made closer to the people affected (which hopefully will be better ones).

As Mies van der Rohe once said, "Less is more."

Griffiss International: Crash and Burn?

Per the 4/21/14 OD: Takeoffs, landings drop significantly at Griffiss 

In 2013, total operations, which include takeoffs and landings, were 33,503, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. That’s a drop of more than 21 percent from 2012’s 42,474.

It's an even bigger drop from the 60,265 operations in 2011!

The taxpayers are getting the impression they are propping up this airport for (1) aircraft maintenance companies and (2) potential drone companies.  There certainly isn't any passenger or cargo service to speak of to serve our regional needs. . . . Those needs are taken care of out of Syracuse and Albany.

At some point the County Legislature needs to step back and objectively assess whether what we get out of this albatross balances what we put into it.

The Latest RINO Meme . . .

An interesting juxtaposition of subject matter yesterday from the Republican camp . . .

First this post on Facebook from our own Congressman Hanna . . .

"Today my House Committee on Small Business subcommittee examined the impact of occupational licensing laws on business startups and the economy overall. 

For many workers and would-be entrepreneurs, licensing requirements are presenting a barrier to economic opportunity."

This was soon followed by this video from Sen. Marco Rubio on CNBC Squawkbox . . .
Both Hanna and Rubio talk about the need to get rid of burdensome regulations to foster entrepreneurship . . . and who could disagree with that? We have all seen how New York State's heavy handedness (along with high taxes) has driven out our Upstate manufacturing base over the years . . . but there seems to be something more going on here . . .

A day earlier Rep. Hanna posted a link to a video of an entrepreneur being arrested for braiding hair. It would seem to most people like a pretty outrageous situation that needs fixing. But then one has to stop and think:  Occupational licensing (such as in the cosmetology area) is generally a STATE responsibility, not one of the Federal Government.  Should it not be the STATE's responsibility to clean up its own overly burdensome regulations?

The Rubio post also seems to be targeted at STATE regulations.

While it is a valid point that States must not unduly impede interstate commerce with their own regulations, there is already a mechanism for dealing with that:  The Federal Court System.

States have a responsibility to protect the health and safety of their citizens. And, yes, some states may use their regulatory powers to protect their own resident businesses. . . . but that may be protecting small businesses.

What the RINOs seem to be doing, under the guise of protecting "small" businesses, is setting things up to have the Federal Government supplant or regulate State and local regulations on business. . . . which would favor BIG (national and multinational) businesses.

Rep. Hanna and Sen. Rubio both seem to suggest that we need increased Federal involvement in our lives.   The "one-size-fits-all" "top-down" approach is contrary to our Founding Fathers' concept of a Limited Federal Government . . . and usually hurts the average citizen.

If States want to mess themselves up with regulations, so be it . . .

We do not need the Federal government -- the level furthest from its citizens -- becoming more powerful to "fix" things.  

SUNYwhatchamacallIT . . .

Per the Rome Sentinel

State overseers have approved the merger of the SUNY Institute of Technology and the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. . . .
"The merger of CNSE and SUNYIT sets a high bar for what a 21st-century entrepreneurial college campus can achieve for the Capital Region, Mohawk Valley, and the entire State of New York," said Zimpher. "We are bringing together two institutions with similar missions and existing partnerships to create a high-tech academic and economic development juggernaut that does not exist anywhere else in public higher education."

"Bringing these two institutions together is exactly the type of forward thinking we need here in Upstate New York," said County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. . . .
State Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-47, Rome, said, combining the two institutions into one makes sense.
"Both recognize this growing industry needs people in the Mohawk Valley and Capital Region who are educated and trained – and they're doing their best to meet that demand," he said. I see this as a wonderful opportunity for our local university to become more attractive to prospective students, without sacrificing other disciplines that are needed in this area as well."

Assemblyman Anthony J. Brindisi , D-119, Utica, said the consolidation is a boost to economic development .

"By further positioning Utica as a dynamic economic driver for New York, the merger will prime our region to become even more competitive in global markets and further revitalize the local economy," he said.

While everyone is toasting this as a good thing . . . and it may be . . . where are the questioning voices exposing potential downsides to this?

It is important for the public to remember the original name which revealed the original purpose of that college up on that hill:  SUNY Upper Division College -- a place where students from MVCC and HCCC could continue their studies and earn Bachelors and Masters Degrees.

While the expansion to a four year institution was welcome, and the addition of engineering and contemplated PhD programs is looked forward to with anticipation,  the original mission must not be forgotten.

Where will governance of this new SUNY-XYZ be located?  What will be its focus?  If governance  is out of Albany, you can be sure that the original mission will become lost.   And that must not happen.

Billions for Nano-What?

Headline Albany Business Journal: Tech boom isn't stopping 'out migration' :

Thousands of new jobs have been created in recent years, and billions of public and private dollars invested in the region's growing tech economy. Still, out-migration continues . . 

So, even with the practically recession-proof economy in Albany (because government is the main industry) and the much-touted, heavily taxpayer-financed, tech "boom" there, more people still leave the region than come in.

This is proof positive that the heavily-government-involved model of economic development simply does not work.

What does work? What has always worked:  Leverage our natural/public assets to lower overall costs of doing business, and then leave private businesses alone to figure out their own way.

New York's assets a century and a half ago were (1) lots of natural, low-cost hydropower and (2) a natural route to the West (the Mohawk Valley) .  NY leveraged the latter by constructing the Erie Canal.  With Cheap Transportation and Cheap Power, New York (driven by Upstate NY in particular) became a magnet for industry and thrived.

What has happened since?  We now tax transportation in NY (the Thruway) -- turning transportation into a liability.  All the cheap hydropower is sent Downstate to cheapen electricity rates there (where cost of electricity is likely a smaller percentage of income), which has the effect of raising Upstate's rates -- turning cost of power into a liability here.

Upstate will never regain it's role as an economic engine for New York State while policies are forged in a Downstate-dominated state government.

Returning to a form of government that gives Upstate more control over its destiny will solve economic problems, stop the out-migration, and benefit the entire state as a whole.

Why We Don't Produce Enough STEM Majors . . .

Study Finds That One In Four Americans Don’t Understand This Basic Scientific Fact About the Earth

More than a quarter of Americans incorrectly believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth, according to a new study by the National Science Foundation.

Students are not going into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math studies in college because they lack even the basic knowledge to understand the world around them, much less than succeed in advanced studies.

Let's cut back on the group activities and student's "constructing their own knowledge" and get back to direct instruction of the knowledge they need.

Duplicitous . . .

Duplicitous -- adjective -- "marked or characterized by duplicity."

Duplicity -- noun -- "deceitfulness in speech or conduct, 

as by speaking or acting in two different ways . . . 

double dealing . . ."

Rep. Richard Hanna: Why I voted Yes on the House Amendment to S. 540, the Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act.

"This legislation prevents our nation from defaulting, which has never happened in our history. . . . Default is entirely unacceptable for the United States of America and it would be painful for most every family and household I represent. . . .we need to pursue overdue reform to the long-term, structural drivers of our debt . . . I believe my constituents sent me to Washington to govern responsibly and not engage in petty politicking, so I look forward to resolving our serious fiscal problems in a thoughtful and productive way that allows us to stop borrowing from our children to spend on ourselves."

Rep. Hanna, why don't you and the other members of Congress recognize the existence of the debt ceiling when proposing new spending -- like YOUR spending proposal for universal Pre-k -- and stay under it?  The only reason why you are now forced to raise the ceiling to prevent "default" is because you and other members of congress are undisciplined, spending money that you already know we don't have.

Portraying yourself as concerned about borrowing while proposing a massive new spending program illustrates the definition of duplicitous, no? 

You may technically prevent a default, for now, by raising the debt ceiling, but you cannot not stop its effects from eventually happening. When the world starts thinking that we might not be able to repay our debts, the game is over.

We are just about there now.  Some countries have already stopped trading using the dollar, in spite of its status as the world's reserve currency, over fears that its value will no longer be there. When American companies issue bonds in other currencies (like Verizon's recent issue in Euros) the handwriting is on the wall.

The dollar will be devalued, like with other countries and their currencies, overnight. The value of a portion of people's lifetime savings will be wiped out.  And when people can't get their money out of the bank, there will be civil unrest.  And Congress' spending beyond our means will be to blame.

The debt ceiling is there to prevent over-spending.  Raising it only allows over-spending to happen.

APPLE-Flavored Lipstick . . .

On the Common Core Pig?

When government leaders want to implement a program that proves unpopular, sometimes the program is re-branded with cosmetic changes (like a name change), but the program is still basically the same.  Is that the case with the Common Core reform package entitled “Achieving Pupil Preparedness & Launching Excellence (APPLE) Plan?”

According to Assemblywoman Malliotakis' website:

The APPLE plan solution addresses critical issues in the areas of Curriculum, Teacher Support, Funding, Student Anxiety, Special Education and Data Collection and concludes with two reform options recommended by members of the Assembly Minority Conference. Proposed solutions within the APPLE Plan include: 

•  Stopping the rushed implementation of the Common Core State Standards; 
•  Providing funding for professional development; 
•  Eliminating the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA); 
•  Reducing the over-reliance on student testing; 
•  Reasserting that an IEP is the supreme document for the education of a child with special needs; and 
•  Requiring that parents must consent to any disclosure of student information to a third party. 

“We need to put the brakes on Common Core implementation. You only get one chance to educate a child,” said Borelli. “Thanks to Ed Ra and the rest of the minority conference, we finally have a good plan in place for the proper education of our children.”

While the Assembly Minority members should be commended for producing a plan (available here) that addresses the most controversial aspects of the Common Core rollout, THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS STILL REMAIN.  These are standards that many psychologists are calling developmentally inappropriate.

As I blogged in December, there is a real problem with the Common Core Standards themselves, with their emphasis on performance over knowledge.  I concluded:

"Critical thinking" is "wisdom" . . . which comes with age and cannot be taught.  Common Core teaches the mimicry of wisdom while withholding the substance of it: knowledge.  

If you care about the next generation and the well-being of the nation, you will fight implementation of Common Core.

Universal Pre-K FAIL. . .

Rep. Hanna and Senator Gillibrand are at it again, promoting their "Strong Start for America's Children Act".

"If we expect our children to walk through the doors of our colleges and universities tomorrow, and succeed in our economy in the years ahead – we need universal pre-k," Gillibrand said in the release."High quality early learning leads to strong cognitive, social, emotional and language development – key skills for a bright future."

The problem with this proposal is that these things have been tried before, but research -- performed by think tanks on both sides of the political aisle -- shows that the results are inconclusive.

Heritage: Universal Preschool’s Empty Promises

For most children, “70 to 80 percent of the cognitive gains associated with attending prekindergarten have faded out by the spring of the first grade.”[19]

Brookings: Can We Be Hard-Headed About Preschool? A Look at Universal and Targeted Pre-K

If a year of Head Start does not improve achievement in elementary school, should we assume that a year of state pre-K does?

Since we now borrow 40 cents out of every federal dollar spent, should we borrow more to achieve inconclusive results?

Predetermined Conclusions?

Per the OD: Hinckley Reservoir proposal elicits concerns for some, hope for others

The authority is asking permission from the state's Department of Environmental Conservation to withdraw up to 48.5 million gallons of water a day, the maximum amount it can legally take, said Patrick Becher, executive director of the authority.

As pointed out a month ago, although the application says 48.5 and MVWA confirms they are seeking 48.5 MGD, both the Notice of Complete Application and, now, the recent re-notice to extend the comment period only refer to "a maximum taking of up to 32 million gallons per day . . .."

Since MVWA seeks 48.5 MGD and has sent DEC plans to increase water treatment plant (WTP) and intake main capacity to accommodate 48.5 MGD, the language of the Notices (which were drafted by DEC) seems to suggest that DEC has already made the determination to issue the permit, but with withdrawals limited to 32 MGD (which happens to be the capacity of the existing WTP).

Another cue that a decision has already been made is the statement in the OD article coming out of DEC Central Office:

The DEC has considered the effect on the area wildlife if this was granted, and there doesn't seem to be an adverse impact, said Emily DeSantis, director of media relations for the department's hub in Albany.

Of course not!  MVWA's projection of an imperceptible increase in demand out to 2030 coupled with no specific expansion plans present nothing that would allow an impact to be identified  . . . But that would be putting the blinders on, ignoring: (1) that MVWA intends to draw 48.5 MGD, (2) that the new agreement with Canal Corp frees MVWA from any requirement to make compensating flows, (3) that no environmental impact study was ever made of the effect of that new agreement, and (4) that in 2007 we already had a water "emergency" caused in large part by the lack of compensating flows. That avoidable "emergency"  resulted in the fishery being shut down, harm to aquatic life, lost electric power generation, and lost income for many businesses.

It is difficult to believe that DEC's conclusion would apply when 32 MGD (much less than 48.5 MGD) is removed from the creek on a sustained basis during dry weather and the creek flows are allowed to drop to 160 cfs for prolonged periods of time . . . .  especially when no study has told us how much more often we can expect these minimum flows to occur.

One gets a feeling that just enough facts (i.e., the minimum projected increase in demand, unspecific "need" for water for economic development purposes in the 4 Towns) will be cherry-picked to justify a politically-motivated DEC (commanded from Central Office) to see no environmental impacts and "rubber-stamp" this application with a 32MGD withdrawal limit, which defacto already exists, to make it look like DEC is doing something.
 
If this happens, expect a slow degradation of the West Canada Creek as withdrawals increase over many years.  Maybe by the time the creek is completely destroyed, no one will remember what a magnificent stream it once was.

A Tale of Two ODs . . .

At left is a comparison of two "ODs" -- Operating Diagrams -- for the Hinckley Reservoir. The top was drafted in 1920 and became part of a 1921 Agreement between the State and Utica Gas & Electric. The bottom was drafted in 2012 and became part of a 2013 Agreement between the State Canal Corp and the Mohawk Valley Water Authority.

The former was the subject of litigation between Erie Boulevard Hydropower, LLC and the State over the State's deviation from the 1920 OD during the 2007 drought.  The State released less water from Hinckley Reservoir than called for in the OD in order to keep reservoir levels above MVWA's intake.  (Had levels dropped, the intake would be high and dry and we would have no water at our taps).  Less water released from the dam means less water turning the power company's turbines -- producing less power to be sold causing lost income to the power company. The Court of Claims threw out Erie's lawsuit citing language in the 1921 agreement that allowed deviations from the OD without compensation to the power company in certain emergency situations.  Erie appealed . . .

A few days ago the Appellate Division reversed the Court of Claims saying . .

Because defendants altered the release rate for the purpose of preserving safe drinking water during a drought – a legitimate public and State purpose (see ECL 15-0105 [5]) – and not for a canal-related purpose, defendants are liable for breaching the contract.

So, unless deviations are for a canal-related purpose, the State's taxpayers will be responsible to the power company for the lost income the deviations cause.

The 1920 OD assumed that Utica's water supplier adds to the flow into Hinckley from its own reservoir to make up for what it takes out of Hinckley during dry periods.  The 2013 agreement between MVWA and the Canal Corp does away that requirement.  The 2012 OD takes that into account and controls reservoir levels to protect MVWA's intakes.

So does not that make the 2012 OD a deviation from the 1920 OD for a non-canal-related purpose?

With MVWA not contributing water to Hinckley, but taking more out as it ramps up to taking 48.5 million gallons a day per its new proposal, how much money will the power company lose in the future?

Since the power company did not approve of the 2013 agreement, it seems like the Canal Corp just locked itself into a course of conduct that exposes us taxpayers to liability to the power company.

I wonder how long this situation will be allowed to last???

Hidden In Plain Sight 3 . . .

In case you missed the MVWA's full page color advertisement in Friday's and Sunday's Observer Dispatch (which YOU paid for!) it is reproduced at left. It is almost verbatim the March 2013 newsletter you already received with your water bill. Both trumpet the agreement reached between the MVWA and NYS Canal Corporation that settled their lawsuit.  Why do we hear about this again, now?

The bold text 2/3 down gives a clue:

"While this agreement does ensure prudent management of reservoir levels, it is important to note that neither the MVWA nor the Canal Corporation controls the flow of water into the West Canada Creek below that reservoir.  The operations of a privately-owned hydroelectric plant determine how much water will be released and when."

Blame for flows of the West Canada below the reservoir is being deflected to a "privately-owned" company -- but not mentioned is the fact that MVWA and Canal Corp (your government) are the only ones who divert water away from the Creek (the power company does not).

With West Canada Creek's natural flows ranging from about 150 cubic feet per second up to over 30,000 cfs, there is plenty of water available for all sorts of uses -- provided that "excess" water is captured when flows are high and released when flows are low. Although MVWA has often claimed a "right" to take 48.5 million (75 cfs) gallons of water per day, that right was contingent upon it maintaining a storage reservoir upstream of Hinckley Reservoir of a size per the table reproduced at the right. Doing the math with these figures reveals that MVWA should be holding about 120 days' worth of water use in storage.  At the full 48.5 MGD, 6 billion gallons should be in storage. That's almost 1/4 the size of Hinckley reservoir itself! MVWA should be using this 120 day storage to replace what it takes out of Hinckley when creek flows are low.

MVWA's ad is drumming up public support for the MVWA-Canal Corp agreement now perhaps to avoid it being scrutinized as part of MVWA's pending application before the Department of Environmental Conservation to expand its service area. The new agreement does not hold water.  It was made without benefit of an environmental impact statement. The two "consumers" of West Canada Creek water went into a closed room and divided the creek's water among themselves. The agreement relieves MVWA of the storage and flow augmentation requirements which means that water will be removed by MVWA and not replaced.  Ultimately that means less water available for the creek below Hinckley Dam. 

Slick public relations campaigns may distract, but they cannot paper over the math.  

MVWA and Canal Corp hope no one notices that their agreement comes at the expense of everyone who uses the creek below the Hinckley dam. 

Hidden In Plain Sight 2 . . .

Observer-Dispatch: Authority wants to increase output from Hinckley Reservoir

The Mohawk Valley Water Authority is requesting permission to withdraw roughly 27 million more gallons of water a day. The authority is asking the state Department of Environmental Conservation to modify its water-supply permit, from 21.4 million gallons per day to its legal maximum of 48.5 million gallons per day from Hinckley Reservoir.

Thank you, OD, for getting the facts out to the public! The public notice was misleading as to the amount of water that was being sought.

And here's a bit more detail that trickled into DEC's public file . . . . The total "peak day" water demand for MVWA's existing service area + 4 Towns + Western Oneida County + certain Herkimer County Towns (including places already getting water from other sources) will zoom from 25.462 mgd  in 2010 to . . . (hold onto your hats). . . . . 26.619 mgd in 2038 (strains of Peggy Lee "Is that All There Is" playing in the background) (see p 17/119 of the added materials).  And this "huge" increase in need justifies spending . . . about $50,000,000?  (see p 118/119)

Of course, as noted in small print, the figures do not include water that may be needed by a chip fab (or 3) . . . But assuming chip fabs come, do you think the chip fabs will be paying for all this infrastructure increase? or any of it?

But there is even MORE that is being hidden in plain sight . . . Stay tuned. 

Ohhh Nooooo. Not Again . . . .

A year ago in the post Sewer District Sleight of Hand I warned that the County was shifting its economic development costs for the new North Utica Interceptor onto the backs of current sewer users rather than paying for it itself.

Well guess what was buried in the Utica Observer Dispatch, Friday, January 3, 2014
Legal Notices?

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the County Legislature of the County of Oneida, New York, will meet at the County Office Building, in Utica, New York, in Oneida, New York, on January 15, 2014, at 1:45 o'clock P.M., Prevailing Time, for the purpose of conducting a public hearing in relation to the proposed $4,000,000 increased cost of the increase and improvement of the facilities of the Oneida County Sewer District in said County, consisting of the North Utica Interceptor improvements at a new maximum estimated cost of $15,630,000. The revised estimated annual cost to the typical property owner in said Sewer District as a result thereof is $5.36 for a single family home and $8.04 for a two family home.

Dated: Utica, New York, December 30, 2013. 

Existing sewer users did not then and do not now need this project to treat their sewage.  Now the cost of an additional $4,000,000 is being dumped onto them in the name of "economic development."  Your water bills are going up some more!

This is a project that will benefit new users who, as yet, do not exist. It should be paid for entirely by those who will benefit from it. 

Hidden in Plain Sight . . .

In the last post it was noted that MVWA water users' bills have skyrocketed because County Sewer District costs for a consent order and sewer system/waste treatment plant expansions have been passed on to water users. Now MVWA seeks permission to expand its own system to serve outlying parts of Towns of Westmoreland, Kirkland, Frankfort, and Schuyler.  Few details of the expansion are provided in MVWA's application to DEC because the "need" to expand the system to these areas is hypothetical, based more on MVWA's desire to relieve itself of future DEC oversight rather than actual planned developments in these places.

What is not hypothetical is the amount of water MVWA is requesting to withdraw. From "Water Withdrawal Application Supplement WW-1" Question #9 (see page 6 of the 68 page PDF of the Application made available to the public at DEC on 12/26/13):

 9. WATER WITHDRAWAL AMOUNTS  This project involves withdrawal of up to: 48.5 gallons per day.

(You should note that the amount requested from DEC (48.5) does not match the amount advertised to the public by DEC (32mgd).)

Also not hypothetical is the construction that MVWA proposes - almost 3 miles of new water main - in order to take additional water from Hinckley Reservoir. From "Exhibit C.1" (see page 16 of the PDF of the Application):

It is the intent of MVWA to construct one new main of sufficient capacity to handle the full amount of authorized withdrawal, 48.5mgd, without utilizing the capacity of existing mains. The existing 36" main will remain in service and function as a back-up to the new main . . .

The Greater Utica area currently served by MVWA uses about 21 mgd of water and has a population of about 130,000.  The 4 Towns proposed to be served combined contain a small fraction of the Greater Utica population.

Does anyone really believe that the proposed new mains are related to MVWA's expansion into the 4 Towns?  The real objective of this project is hidden. 

There is good information that an expensive expansion of the water treatment facility is also in the offing because the existing plant can only handle 32 mgd, but this does not appear in the application available at DEC for public review . . . yet.

Guess Who will be tapped with even higher water bills to pay for all this?

We've seen it with the Sewer District, we've seen it with Griffiss "International" Airport, and we are seeing it again with the MVWA.  The people of Greater Utica, deprived of effective representation in government by design, are being forced by that government to pay for the "economic development" dreams of local developers, contractors, and all the other politically-connected leeches who hope to get rich at the Taxpayers' risk.

When does it end?

There is more about this proposal that is hidden in plain sight.  Stay tuned. . .

Not the Only Reason . . .

In the Christmas edition of the OD: Less water used could mean higher prices paid suggests that

As more and more residents, who get their water from the Mohawk Valley Water Authority, buy water-efficient appliances, the authority is forced to look at continually raising rates. . . . 

"When I came here 16 years ago, the average customer, the whole household used 80,000 to 100,000 gallons a year," [MVWA Executive Director Patrick Becher] said. "That's down to 50,000 gallons a year. We've been seeing a two to three percent declined in actual water sales, which is troublesome because our costs don't go down to operate the system."

Undoubtedly there is some truth to Mr. Becher's assertion that water-efficient appliances contribute to a decline in demand.  But is Mr. Becher ignoring the "elephant" in the room -- the Oneida County Sewer District -- whose charges have caused the bottom lines of all of our quarterly water bills to balloon?

Since Mr. Becher does not control the County charges, he may be forgiven for overlooking their effect . . . but we homeowners cannot.  The County signed the Consent Order, the County determined that a new sewer interceptor and expansion of the Wastewater Treatment Plant were necessary for economic development, and the County passed ITS costs on to the water users.  When it costs a small fortune to water your lawn or garden, or wash your car, you stop doing those things, even in times of drought like we had during 2012.  When you can no longer afford your water-using business (due to rates/taxes/regulations etc.), you leave town. And demand for water drops.

Our local government is so fragmented functionally and geographically that the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing -- making it incapable of adequately responding to the needs of the average citizen or small business. For every action taken by one part there is a reaction elsewhere.

While the reason for the story seems to be a set up for higher water rates, the more likely motivation is MVWA's recent application to DEC (buried in the legal notices last week) to expand its service territory to include all of the Towns of Frankfort, Schuyler, Kirkland, and Westmoreland. We probably will hear that MVWA needs to do this to get new customers to offset the decline in demand. See http://www.dec.ny.gov/enb/20131218_reg6.html#699060001700001 (scroll down to multiple counties).  The comment period expires 1/17/14 -- just in time for Christmas, New Years, and the ML King holidays!  I'll post more on this later.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Innocent Victims . . .

$2 Million settlement reached in Longo lawsuit

A $2 million settlement has been reached to resolve the wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Utica stemming from police Investigator Joseph Longo's murder of his wife in 2009. . . .

The lawsuit stems from Longo's killing of his wife, Kristin Palumbo-Longo, before he stabbed himself to death Sept. 28, 2009, inside their Deerfield home on Cosby Manor Road.

Mr. Longo's actions left his 4 children motherless, fatherless, and without a means of support. This is a real tragedy. One's heart cannot help but to go out to the innocent victims, the children.

But now the Taxpayers of the City of Utica are somehow on the hook for $2 Million. That's over $30 for each resident, over $100 for each family.  How did this happen?   What did UPD do wrong?  UPD took Inv. Longo's guns. . . . UPD confined him to a desk job . . . UPD insisted on counseling . . . But the Longo family insists that UPD did "not do everything it could."  But what more could UPD have been done? What more was UPD obliged to do?

The article speaks of cronyism . . . but that's nothing new . . . or unusual in any government agency. How did cronyism cause these deaths?

The article suggests that UPD could have done an internal investigation regarding allegations of officer-involved domestic violence . . . But what would have been the outcome? How would that prevent what happened?

The article suggests a "fitness-for-duty psychiatric evaluation" . . . But how would that have changed things?  Assuming that Mr. Longo was unfit for duty, what would have been the result?  Discharge from his job?  How would that have helped the marital maelstrom seemingly at the center of this sad story?

Somehow the UPD is the target of the suit.  But the UPD was merely Mr. Longo's employer.  The crime occurred in Deerfield.  UPD has no jurisdiction in Deerfield.  Other police agencies cover Deerfield.  If someone feels that he or she is in danger from another person, and no satisfaction is obtained from the other person's employer, should not he or she have taken other measures of self-protection?

When does the Taxpayer become responsible for the criminal acts of another person?  

Perhaps the Mayor is right to have settled this suit.  With four innocent children, who knows what the outcome of a trial would have been.  The damages could potentially be a lot higher.  But does that not say something troubling about our legal system?

Utica Taxpayers did not cause the Palumbo-Longo dischord.  Utica Taxpayers did not cause Mr. Longo's mental state.  Utica Taxpayers did not give Mr. Longo the knife.  And Utica Taxpayers did not commit the stabbing.  But Utica Taxpayers are now forced to pay for this crime.

Evil created innocent victims here: The four children . . . And the Taxpayers of the City of Utica.  

Home . . . . Again!

WKTV: Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce unveils new name
WIBX: Chamber Of Commerce Introduces New Name And Branding
YNN: Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce announces new name
UticaOD: Chamber of Commerce changes name to Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce
And from WUTR:

Finally, after YEARS of blogging on this issue, Greater Utica's premier booster organization gets it right!

THANK YOU, GREATER UTICA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE!

Why I DON'T Believe in Common Core . . .

In the NY Daily News a couple days ago was an article "Why I Believe in the Common Core" by Brett Peiser, CEO of "Uncommon Schools."

"The parents of our students understand that, contrary to the criticisms levied by a small contingent of opponents of the Core, the new academic standards are about establishing and teaching the skills and knowledge our students need to be ready for college-level work - not about high-stakes testing. . . .

Our country ranks behind too many others in international rankings of math and reading proficiency. Our schools have simply not been preparing children for college well enough, and we all need to do better.

Common Core is part of that solution . . . Common Core challenges teachers and students to get to the "why" behind how things work. So, it's not just learning that 3 x 5 = 15, but how and why that is true. It's a chance for students to become deeper and more critical thinkers. . . .

What's wrong with asking a third grader to figure out multiple ways of solving 12 times 8 or 36 divided by 4? What's wrong with asking a seventh grader to write an essay comparing two similar newspaper articles and how each author approached the same topic? What's wrong with asking any student to cite the evidence behind their answer?"

Mr. Peiser has mastered word-smithing well. . . .  suggesting those in agreement have higher "understanding" while marginalizing the opposition as a "small contingent" focused on trivialities. . . . citing conditions and aspirations that no one disagrees with . . . and, with the reader hopefully roped-in, presenting Common Core as the salvation.

If you had to rely solely upon the contents of Mr. Peiser's "informational text" for data and had no independent knowledge to draw upon, you would probably think that you now know all you need to know about the issue and accept his position as true.  Of course, Mr. Peiser is banking on you being ignorant . . . and that should make you angry!  It would be easy to marginalize Mr. Peiser's article as a crock by someone in a position to gain financially . . . but that avoids the substance.

The bottom line is that we all want our students to be able to think critically . . . but can you have critical thinking without something to think critically about? 

In the past we equipped our students with a "storehouse of knowledge"  -- things most people could agree upon: math facts and basic skills, history of our country and the functions of its government, basic principles of science, geography, world history, etc. That "storehouse" is the substance of critical thinking -- but it is now dismissed by Common Core proponents as "rote learning."

Why teach 10 ways to do multiplication when one SIMPLE "tried and true" way works and, once mastered, comes up with the right answer every time? The end result of the new approach is that NO way is mastered -- and students don't know when they've come up with the wrong answer. How can there be "understanding" of math without that storehouse of knowledge including math facts?

If you know nothing, there is nothing to understand!

The evil here is Common Core's emphasis on performance rather than knowledge (The same was true for Outcome Based Education, the Regents' "higher" standards of the late 90s, and a bunch of other reforms). By depriving our students of that "storehouse of knowledge" held in common with each other and with older generations, communications with the older generation becomes difficult, communications among different disciplines becomes difficult. . . . And this makes it easy to reprogram students, and eventually a population, using "informational texts" for whatever is the ideology of the day.

Example: If you knew nothing about the ice ages, multiple advances and retreats of ice, geologic changes in sea levels, the Vikings farming of Greenland, etc., you would be less likely to be a skeptic, and more likely to accept the "consensus" than humans are causing climate change. Which scenario (the acceptance, or being a skeptic) best represents "critical thinking?"

What does Common Core fill student's heads with besides mindless exercises in processing information?

At our schools, we inspired our students to "show what you know" on test day. Our students discussed Michael Jordan's career and how often he failed on his road to success, and that he was never deterred. Our students loved coming to school in Michael Jordan T-shirts during the exams. As the week wore on, one of our third graders wrote in a reflection about the challenging questions: "I just knew I wasn't going to give up."

Michael Jordan's career might be inspirational and give students something to talk or write about, but it is trivial in the larger scheme of things and spending a week on it is a waste of time.  It is not the "knowledge" the students will need to succeed in the future . . . and not the knowledge that society needs to maintain itself and help it to evolve in the future as new challenges arise.  

"Critical thinking" is "wisdom" . . . which comes with age and cannot be taught.  Common Core teaches the mimicry of wisdom while withholding the substance of it: knowledge.  

If you care about the next generation and the well-being of the nation, you will fight implementation of Common Core.

Flying High - - But Not Here . . .

From Aviation Week: Million Air Expanding Facilities, But Refuses To Grow At All Costs

". . . the newest FBO to join the chain is a facility at Orlando Sanford International Airport. The facility is operated by Freeman Holdings Group, the ninth Freeman location in the Million Air chain. Freeman CEO Scott Freeman calls the Million Air addition a strategic move for the company that operators facilities stretching from California to New York. . . . As part of the addition, the facility is undergoing a $3.5 million renovation that including stripping the facility’s 10,000-ft. attached hangar down to the structural steel and rebuilding. The 7,000-sq.-ft. terminal building is also undergoing upgrades that will include some of the Million Air-standard features, along with a range of amenities such as a theater, flight planning room and executive conference room."

Wow . . . that's lots of money . . . and a theater? and an executive conference room? Think Mr. Freeman will be doing this at Griffiss?

Well, as the headline says, Million Air "refuses to grow at all costs."  Million Air's CEO Roger Woolsey says:

"“If you overpay for your property, you can’t make money ... or you charge ridiculous fuel prices.”"

With its highest sales tax, Oneida County is already behind the curve on keeping Million Air's fuel prices low.  How are other costs at Griffiss compared to elsewhere?  There is a special utility company there that pays some lush salaries for a small operation.  Are its costs lower?

If it costs too much to do business here, the customers . . . and business expenditures to attract them . . . will go elsewhere.

Two Videos, Two Lessons . . .

The first video is by M.J.McDermott, a meteorologist for Channel 13 in Seattle, entitled "Elementary School Math, An Inconvenient Truth." Ms. McDermott does a good job explaining multiplication and division algorithms, comparing the tried-and-true algorithms most of us post-40 year-olds  learned with new algorithms being used in schools today.  Pay close attention to her revelation near the end of the video of comments made in the teacher's manuals by the book publishers.

The second video is by Karen Bracken affiliated with Tenesee Against Common Core, entitled "Common Core - Subversive Threat to Education." In this hour-long presentation she explains the historical context of Common Core, who is behind it, and its links or potential links to the United Nations, eugenics, and the UN's concept of "sustainability." Before dismissing this as an attack on the current administration, look at the "Who's who" revealed at 0:19:20.  Some names may surprise you (and, perhaps, you will no longer be surprised why Republicans often attack the Tea Party).

And before you dismiss the second video as a wild conspiracy theory, go back to the first video and ask yourself why students are studying inefficient algorithms that are never mastered, and then told to use a calculator?

After watching the second video, you will know the answer.

Honesty . . .

"We all knew. . ."


So if you all knew, Ms. Gillibrand, that a promise was being made that could not be kept, why the silence?

Since no one was listening to Republicans, why did the Democrats go along with the lie that was being perpetrated?

Did Our Sheriffs Really Write This Drivel?

OD: GUEST VIEW: New preschool plan can boost pre-K, cut crime By ROBERT MACIOL, CHRISTOPHER FARBER and ALLEN RILEY

We’re talking about children as young as 4 years old who don’t have the opportunity to participate in high-quality preschool. As a result, many start school without the pre-literacy and pre-math skills that form the foundation for academic success, and with behavioral issues that make it difficult for them to interact well with other kids in the classroom. Many then struggle in the early grades and continue to fall behind and eventually drop out of school before turning to crime. . . . Participation in high-quality preschool puts kids on a different path. . . . [emphasis supplied]

I don't know about you, but this does not sound like anything our sheriffs wrote . . . but I could be wrong.  The language used sounds suspiciously similar to that in Congressman Hanna's announcement a few days ago.

But that is not the interesting part.  

The sheriffs cite a slickly-produced report called "I'm The Guy You Pay Later"  which makes the simple argument to pay for preschool education now or pay to incarcerate people later.  The report comes from a group calling itself Fight Crime: Invest in Kids .

 Who funds this "national, bipartisan, non-profit, anti-crime organization?"

"Major funding for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is provided by: Alliance for Early Success • The California Education Policy Fund • The California Endowment • The California Wellness Foundation • Annie E. Casey Foundation • Robert Sterling Clark Foundation • Early Childhood Investment Corporation • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • The Grable Foundation • Grand Victoria Foundation • The George Gund Foundation • Hagedorn Foundation • Irving Harris Foundation • Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation • W.K. Kellogg Foundation • The Kresge Foundation • McCormick Foundation • Ohio Children’s Foundation • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation • William Penn Foundation • The Pew Charitable Trusts • Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation • Rauch Foundation • Dr. Scholl Foundation • W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation."

Of course, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stands out because it is one of the key players behind the "Common Core."  We are all just finding out how "well-researched" that was!  This seems to be more of the same.  How clever, though, to get local law enforcement behind extending federal control over our schools.

It's not about education or crime-prevention, folks. It's about cradle-to-grave federal control over your children. . . or should I say control by our national elites.

It's too bad that our local sheriffs seemed to have been sucked into this power play.

Spending OUR Money -- to Advance THEIR Agendas . . .

Two articles in tonight's OD on very different subjects have something in common:

Mohawk Valley Water Authority receives $112,500 to do study

The Mohawk Valley Water Authority has received more than $100,000 in order to study water in western Mohawk Valley. . . . The authority received $112,500 total for the study through the Local Government Efficiency grants administered by the New York Department of State.

MVWA is a water purveyor, it is not a regional planning organization. MVWA is also a "power broker" in the region, using its base of rate payers in Utica and environs to give a gift of public water to those in outlying areas that MVWA and the regional elite deem worthy, enriching chosen developers at existing water users' expense.  Empirically MVWA has an agenda to expand its sphere of influence, regardless of the negative impacts of the sprawl it induces (an inefficient distribution of urbanization and lowered population densities that mandate increased per capita costs (more taxes and more fees) at various jurisdictional levels to support expanding areas of infrastructure and services).

Water is where Nature put it and it is still where it always has been. Local water supplies were studied to the nth degree back in 1968 (when our regional population was booming and water scarcity was looming) and a plan was crafted by Oneida and Herkimer Counties, in conjunction with the NYS Department of Health, which specified which localities would get water from which resources. Any studies of water needs today should be done by these same entities.

Money given to MVWA "to study water in western Mohawk Valley" is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house: it will undoubtedly produce a report to justify whatever agenda MVWA has.

Hanna sponsor of bill to increase preschool funding

. . . the Strong Start for America’s Children Act would give children and families nationwide better access to affordable high-quality early learning programs such as Head Start and preschool. . . “By focusing on early education, we can begin to break the back of intergenerational poverty, producing more taxpayers and a more competitive America through a better-educated, growing middle class,” Hanna said in a news release. “One in four children starts their life in poverty. This bill will help ensure their lives do not end in poverty."

The problem with Mr. Hanna's position is that he assumes lots of facts that are not in evidence. What is "affordable" and "high quality" to Progressives like Mr. Hanna likely will be something else to the everyday taxpayer.  After years of spending money on "Head Start," at best the results have been equivocal, as explained in a recent Washington Post article which is clearly sympathetic to the program.  So why do we continue with such programs when they do not produce material, easily recognized and lasting positive results?

Such programs, like all the spending on "Race to the Top"  to implement the "Common Core" 'standards,' are there to advance a Federal Agenda. . . . which is not education but control over the minds and hearts of the next generation. This is evidenced by the "rollout" of "Common Core" and the content of modules to be used in classrooms. It has long been accepted that power over education was left by our Founding Fathers to the States. . . . but the Feds have used the power of the purse (OUR tax money) to advance national education policies which have, thus far, produced disastrous results.

Mr. Hanna, who likes to paint himself as a fiscal conservative, is anything but . . . and his sponsorship of this bill is sponsorship of more federal intrusion into our everyday lives.

11/14 Update: National Review Online: Don't Look to the Feds for Pre-School
Syracuse.com: Jennifer Garner's star power boosts Rep. Richard Hanna's early childhood education bill

Common Core: The PREQUEL . . .

Charlotte was not like the other bureaucrats.  She was only supposed to be a place-holder in President Reagan's US Dept. of Education until the department would be eliminated -- which never happened. While there she was shocked to find documents detailing federal plans to control the hearts and minds of our school children, leading to the ultimate goal of a planned economy.  She went public years ago with her findings, but received scant attention.

Implementation of the Common Core, which appears to be the culmination of 40 years of planning, brings new immediacy to Charlotte's discovery.

I found the interview below compelling, and well worth the 1 1/4 hr spent watching it.



Charlotte Iserbyt Interview - The Secret History of Western Education (1 1/4 hr)

For more information:
Charlotte's Book: The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America
Documents: AmericanDeception.com

Shooting the Messenger . . .

NYS Education Commissioner John King must resign . . . at least that is the cry from many parents and teachers and the group "New York State Allies for Public Education" after Dr. King cancelled all of the remaining public forums dealing with the "Common Core" following the one marked by controversy in Poughkeepsie.

While the groundswell may make those calling for the Commissioner's resignation feel a sense of collective power, especially in light of the Commissioner's poor judgement in cancelling the forums, it is doubtful that it will change anything. Dr. King is a minion. At best, Dr. King will simply be replaced with someone else who pushes the same agenda, but with more finesse.  Dr. King may be the face of Common Core in New York, but he did not invent it and did not make it a requirement in New York's schools.

Give your thank-yous to the Board of Regents who "committed" the state to Common Core in January 2010! Also thank the Obama and Cuomo administrations for the "Race to the Top" in which Common Core is the centerpiece.

The Federal grant money is in the State bag and the Common Core is the string attached.

Focus on ridding the State of the Common Core, rather than the Commissioner.

Consider replacing it with the approach taken by "Core Knowledge,"  which is closer to the style of education in the past.   While this, too, has its critics, the approach has already worked, creating the most prosperous society the world had ever seen. The debate will then be over what "knowledge" will be transmitted to the next generation . . .  but at least it will be out there on the table for all to see, instead flying in under the radar of "performance" standards.

Common Core: Too Hot In the Kitchen . . .

YNN Hudson Valley: Parents raise concerns over Common Core standards
Twitchy.com: New York’s education commissioner gets an earful on Common Core [video]

Apparently shortly afterward, the State Ed. Commissioner cancelled the remaining Town Hall Meetings on Common Core, including the one scheduled for October 30th in New Hartford.

According to a post on the NYS PTA Facebook page this morning:

While our goal was to provide an opportunity to learn and share, based on review of the initial October 10 meeting, the Commissioner concluded the outcome was not constructive for those taking the time to attend. Please know that NYS PTA will continue to work with all education and child advocacy partners to keep our members updated and informed on education, health, safety and welfare issues affecting children and families.

My guess is the "sharing" was anticipated to go one way -- and did so for well over an hour -- but the parents insisted on "sharing" what was on their mind when it was their turn, and were in no mood to give the Commissioner more time when he insisted on interrupting during the public's time. The public outcry clearly was not what the Commissioner wanted to hear. In the end, the public was only given 23 minutes to speak.

Public hearings are an important opportunity for government to get feed back on how well it is doing, and to make course corrections when it is on the wrong track.

It will be revealing in coming weeks whether NYS government will respond to the public concern and ditch the Common Core, or if it will forge ahead with this terrible program dictated out of Washington because it "knows better."

8th Grade Math: Then and Now . . .

Common Core standards, testing, and materials have become the topic of conversation in numerous public meetings around the state.  A lot of parents, students and teachers are upset.  What's the fuss about? I thought a simple comparison of "then" and "now" might be helpful.

 On the left is the table of contents from "Making Arithmetic Work" Silver-Burdett Company 1952 edition, an 8th Grade math textbook, editions of which were commonly used in the Utica area throughout the 1950's. Flipping through the book, the "Money and Interest" chapter describes family budgeting, what money and thrift are, what banks do, various kinds of checks, and paying for use of money (interest). "Sharing Risks and Benefits" explains the purpose of fire, auto, hospitalization, accident, and life insurance and how they work.  It also describes different kinds of taxes and common terminology in working with them.  Other chapters to note are "Earning a Living" and "Borrowing and Investing Money."


On the right are the Common Core grade 8 math standards. (I was unable to find a textbook for them.)  In a nutshell it is all mathematical theory.  Searching through CC standards for other grades I was unable to find where the useful practical information from the 60 year old book above are addressed.

An Eighth Grade Education used to be generally accepted as being prepared for everyday life.  That is clearly reflected in "Making Arithmetic Work"'s contents.  It's not clear what these Common Core standards prepare students for, although it is proclaimed that they make students "college and career ready."

What happened to being life ready?

Headlines to Cheer About!

This has been a long time coming . . . .

• Chip companies to spend $1.5B on research at SUNYIT near Utica
• More than 1,000 jobs coming to SUNYIT

Yes, there are grave reservations of the "Public-Private Partnership" model: (1) it's constitutionality under the NYS Constitution (it seems to violate Article VII Sec. 8) and  (2) it's self-sustainability once the initial slug of taxpayer funding is used up.  Comments during the congratulatory speeches to the effect that such partnerships are now necessary because normal market forces no longer work were troubling because national trade policy and state taxation and regulation have changed the market forces.

Yes, there are reservations on the environmental impacts of this development and spinoffs, particularly on the viability of our water supply to support non-chip related uses and population growth.

Yes, there are reservations on whether or not this mega-development will become an excuse to burden area residents with even higher levels of taxation and water and sewer fees.

Nevertheless, this is still a positive announcement.

Let's cheer about it!

Rep. Hanna's "Common Sense" . . .

From Rep. Hanna's Facebook account this morning:

"This morning I voted to pay federal employees who have been furloughed because of the government shutdown. . . .  It isn’t fair for employees to be involuntarily furloughed and lose pay because of Washington’s inability to approve a spending plan. I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House for approving this commonsense measure, and I urge the Senate to quickly send this bill to the President’s desk."

How does this work, Congressman? Are you saying that if furloughed federal employees are not working we are going to pay them anyway? For doing nothing? That's not "Common Sense" --- It's "Nonsense."

Now is the opportunity for you and your Republican colleagues to put your money where your mouths are . . . not only on Obamacare, but on the debt ceiling and our out-of-control federal spending.

Do what the President refuses to do: PRIORITIZE, then cut.

Put the employees in the programs we really need back to work -- and layoff the rest. A Federal Job isn't welfare. People in the private sector are laid off every day and government employees should expect no different treatment. Or are you afraid of prioritizing Federal Spending for fear of offending some of your favorite groups on the dole?

We sent you to Washington to make tough decisions, but you've become like everyone else!

Common Core: What Are They Pushing?

Everyone, not just parents, should be aware of what is being taught in school these days . . .

• Allegiance to the UN instead of the USA? Fifth-grader receives credit for claiming human rights are gifts of government
• Indoctrination? Florida school’s 4th grade writing assignment: “I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights” 
• Pornography? Fifty Shades of the Common Core: how much porn is too much for high schoolers?
• Hate? Common Core writing assignment: “Think like a nazi…argue why Jews are evil”
• Emotional reactivity over logic? How to be manipulative?  Clinical Mental Health Therapist Interviewed (A "must-watch" video here -- especially near the end where "group think" school activities are discussed.)
• False complexity? [What simple subtraction now looks like]

It looks like Common Core is pushing an agenda that most Americans would disagree with ... and it is making the simple so complex that parents are unable to help their children (undermining the family, and blocking the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next).  

It's all the better for government to control the minds of its subjects.    

Beware . . . the next generation will be our keepers . . . What are we creating?

See www.StopCommonCoreinNewYork.com for more information.

Public Schools: Anything But Education!

OD: Community schools address more than academics

“Community schools are designed to address social, emotional and health issues that students have that might interfere with their learning,” said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, an advocacy group.
“It can range from counseling services to health services - anything to make sure that their basic needs as a human being are being taken care of so they can be able to succeed educationally,” Easton said.

And "anything" will mean "everything" if these people get their way . . .

It's particularly beneficial in low-wealth areas where children might face challenges such as malnourishment, unattended health and dental issues, unmet social and emotional needs, or even a lack of a regular place to sleep, according to the Alliance for Quality Education. . . .
On Saturdays, the school would be open for the community from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the school year, and some days over the summer to allow students and their families to see physicians, visit dental clinics, work with librarians and social workers, and get legal advice such as working with parents on leases . . .

In this day and age of welfare, foodstamps, federal school breakfast and lunch programs, and medicaid, one has to ask WHY are children malnourished, have unattended health and dental problems, and lack a place to sleep? The answer, of course, is that the "families" of these children are not meeting their responsibilities. . . . and the lack of responsibility becomes the excuse for the government to step in AND REPLACE THE FAMILY.  And the more the government steps  in, the easier it becomes for individuals to become lazy and abandon their familial responsibilities --- providing an excuse for more government involvement.

Replacing the family is really what these programs are all about, because cohesive family units nurture perspectives and values that might run counter the latest dictates out of Washington and Albany.   

In similar fashion, government-sponsored charter schools are designed to bring about the demise of parochial schools, because parochial schools also nurture perspectives and values that run counter to government dictates.

"Community Schools"  have little to do with education and everything to do with extending government control.

It's time to break this cycle.

So when DO you take action that means something?

OD: Hanna Bucks Republican majority in shutdown battle

Hanna was one of two Republicans who voted against delaying Obamacare . . . "I would take a clean (continuing resolution),” he said. “I have voted dozens of times to repeal, reform and defund Obamacare. There are glaring problems with the law and we see more daily.”

Problem is, the Democrats and the Administration are not negotiating to change Obamacare.  Instead, they simply exempt their friends and politically connected cronies (including THEMSELVES) from Obamacare's onerous requirements.

Mr. Hanna's voting "dozens of times" to repeal Obamacare at times when the votes had no impact are meaningless.

This time, the Republicans are finally using what little leverage they have to bring the Democrats to the negotiating table. . . . but Mr. Hanna sides with the Democrats.  One can only conclude that Mr. Hanna tacitly supports this law.

The American public should have the same exemption from Obamacare that Congress has.

Delay Obamacare for a year.

Dump Fed Education . . .

Joe Bottini is spot on in today's OD's Guest View: Common Sense trumps Common Core anyway

. . . The 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution dictates public education is a state issue. They should dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and help Arne Duncan find a real job. . . .

The federal government sets requirements for states for their “piece of the ill-gotten pie,” and local districts are given state requirements to receive some crumbs from that “piece.”

And like crack addicts, states and local school boards will do whatever is asked of them to get those federal funds. . . with the funds fostering policies and programs of questionable value while advancing the careers of those bringing in the $$$.

Mr. Bottini correctly points to big businesses, the money they will make producing educational materials, and their influence over politicians as motivation for the federal involvement . . . But I believe there is more.

With Federal Funds comes a Federal Agenda a/k/a Federal Control over what is in the hearts and minds of our children. Give them a few more years and control over the nation's populace will be a snap!

Given the state of public education today, can anyone really say that it is better today than 40 to 50 years ago when there was minimal federal involvement? Public education these days is less about giving students knowledge and more about telling them how to think.

While there will be short-term withdrawal pains, we'll all be better off if funds for Federal education programs get cut off.

It's about time!

No communion for Nancy Pelosi: Vatican court head

Mrs. Pelosi should be denied Communion until she changes her advocacy views on abortion, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke said, according to the Western Center for Journalism.  

That’s canon law, not opinion, he said. Canon 915 states that Catholics who are stubbornly contrary “in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

I wondered when someone from the Church would finally set Mrs. Pelosi straight on Church doctrine since she had gotten into a habit of twisting things around to fit her political agenda.

One-Way Parochial Walls??

The OD's View:  Parochial walls must come down.

The smoldering tiff between the Utica Common Council and a committee that recommends federal funding for nonprofits once again puts an accent on the embarrassing parochialism that can threaten growth in our community. . .

In this case, the flames are being fanned by the age-old city residency argument. . .

Hopefully the people that might be considering setting up a multi-billion dollar computer chip operation here aren’t watching all this. It’s theater of the absurd. . . .

To believe that someone from outside one set of lines doesn’t care about what happens across those lines is just plain silly.

What's silly is OD's claim that city officials believe that people from outside don't care about what happens in the city.  Untrue! The city has long recognized that "outsiders" care and invited them in to help -- e.g. the Utica Master Plan steering committee which had several non-residents among its members.

What is absurd is the OD's position that residency requirements are not relevant.  If that is the case, let's get rid of the residency requirement for mayor . . . or how about New Hartford town supervisor?  . . . . Yes, those suggestions are ridiculous.  Even though someone in Utica "cares" about what happens in New Hartford (because NH's decisions have caused increases to Utica's tax, sewer and water rates) NH would not allow a Utican to run for town supervisor. The laws contemplate that municipal officials have "skin in the game" by being resident within the municipality.  If Utica is forming a committee to distribute public funds to city projects, it is Utica's prerogative to limit participants to residents who will live with the consequences of their decisions.  "Caring" is not enough.

It is interesting that it is always Utica that is on the receiving end the OD's cries of  "parochialism."  The "parochial walls" always operate one way,  favoring suburban interests.

If the OD is seriously interested in eliminating "parochialism," it would advocate ridding ourselves of multiple municipal boundaries that allow suburban jurisdictions to accumulate wealth at the expense of city residents.

Municipal Boundaries = Parochial Walls

Somehow I do not think the OD is ready for this.  Until the OD stands for a true merger of city and suburban governments, it should be ignored.

Utica: Letting Others Do Its Planning . . .

OD Today: Carl's Furniture City closing its doors.

Another loss of a taxpaying business from the City of Utica! . . . In hardscrabble West Utica no less. . .

While only Carl knows the real reason or reasons for closing his doors, the closure of his store should come as no surprise.  As this blogger noted back in 2011 in a post about the Utica Common Council's seeming lack of interest in determining the true impacts of the N-S Arterial Project . . .

The Council is apparently prepared to allow huge swaths of properties to be removed from what should be in private hands and have them turned over to highway use. That guarantees that they will never be the site of economically productive activities . . . never create jobs or wealth . . . and never generate a dime of tax revenue for the financially-strapped City of Utica.

. . . no attempt is made to estimate the potential revenue loss that can be expected to result from the change in traffic patterns when Sunset Ave. and Warren St. are cut off. Businesses, such as Carl's Furniture, will lose customers when they become difficult to reach and the city will lose sales tax.

This did not have to happen this way, but it was too easy to let the State do all the planning for its highway with the city just there to "tweak" the plans with suggestions on whether the retaining walls should have ivy covering them or not. The City never had a real plan for the surrounding West Utica neighborhood . . . So the State's arterial plan became West Utica's plan.

Something similar is happening in the Utica Harbor.  While the new Holiday Inn Express is a lovely addition to the neighborhood and it is touted as part of the Utica Harbor development, the hotel is surrounded on three sides by a tall white privacy fence that separates it from the Harbor.  The hotel developer, no doubt, looked at the location near the thruway exit and downtown and thought it was an ideal place for a hotel ... but the harbor played no role in it, otherwise why the privacy fence?  At the Harbor, it looks like individual developers are doing their own planning with no overall view to relate the private developments to each other.  

If the nanocenter becomes a reality, the prediction is 5,000 jobs there plus another 15,000 spinoff jobs. That represents a lot of new money and new people coming into the area.  Where will they go?  Will they create more cookie-cutter sprawl into Marcy, or will they come into Utica to recreate a vibrant, interesting city?  These new people are the "creative class" and will naturally gravitate to a dense diverse urban environment because it is more stimulating.

If Utica is not ready with a vision where the new arrivals can see a place for themselves, they will build anew elsewhere.  

Nano: Finally Getting It Right!

WKTV: Mohawk Valley EDGE finally succeeds in securing Marcy Nano site

Officials with the Mohawk Valley EDGE have travelled the globe time and time again in attempts to lure a chip-fab manufacturing plant to the Marcy Nano site at SUNYIT. In the end, the end user came...from Albany. The problem for years has been that an end user would not commit to the site without a wetlands permit in place, and the Army Corps of Engineers wouldn't grant the permit without an end user committed. But now, the EDGE has announced that CNSE, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, will act as the committed end user; a developer, really, to build a 450 mm manufacturing facility on SUNYIT property in Marcy.

Here's why, for the first time, I think the NanoCenter project is going to succeed.

(1) The "Big Guns" have been brought in . . .

In this post from a year ago I said the following about the elusive federal wetlands permit . . .

EDGE and the County need to turn this problem over to Big Guns who are better equipped to deal with the Federal government and have as much, if not more, at stake: the State of New York. . . . The State has environmental expertise, has working relationships with the Federal environmental agencies, and even has a potential to assume some of the federal authority in certain circumstances. Marcy NanoCenter is beyond local capabilities to pull off.

Bringing in the CNSE as developer is bringing in the "Big Guns." These guys have a track record of success.

(2) The Feds finally have a credible "end user" of the site that they can hold accountable . . .

In another post from over a year ago commenting about EDGE's creation of another not-for-profit I said:

Frankly, if I was the Army Corps I probably would not issue a final permit either. With the "wheels within wheels" approach, just whom would the Army Corps hold accountable to ensure that all permit conditions are complied with? SUNYIT? EDGE? Fort Schuyler Management (with no track record, no assets, and no individual co-signers to secure performance)? An unknown developer or tenant for the site? There are too many players involved for the Army Corps -- or we the taxpayers -- to keep track of.

With CNSE as developer, the Federal Army Corps of Engineers only needs to deal with one entity, CNSE, that will have control over the site. In the end, the situation becomes somewhat similar to the shopping centers which have obtained ACE wetlands permits without securing tenants. EDGE could not credibly substitute as a "shopping center" developer . . . but CNSE can.

This is going to work!

Total Failure!

Obama/Clinton/Kerry's Total Failure foreign policy . . .

From "France 24": Russia 'to renew offer to supply S-300s to Iran'

Russian President Vladimir Putin will offer to supply Iran S-300 air defence missile systems as well as build a second reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.

Get ready for WWIII!

County Mission Creep . . .

OD: $500,000 could be available for flood mitigation in Oneida Co.

A proposal made Monday by Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente . . . could provide municipalities with a chunk of $500,000 to help put a dent in the bill’s associated with flood mitigation projects . . . “This region has been dealing with numerous issues with flooding the past few years,” Picente said. “This past storm really exposed a lot of the flaws in creek beds and streams that we were able to look at afterward and say, ‘Ah, that’s the problem.’”

The problem, Mr. Picente, is not "flaws in creek beds and streams," but, rather, flaws in Town-level decision making on where to allow development and the form that the development should take.

New Hartford's now-legendary storm-water problems are self-induced ... created by allowing development in the wrong places, allowing developers to get away without mitigating the impacts of their developments, and taking monies reserved for addressing adverse impacts and using them to foster more development.

Town of New Hartford government and its cronies have benefited richly from the development, induced by cutting corners, in the form of tax revenue and reduced development costs.  The Town's taxpayers, meanwhile,  have had to fork over millions to fix storm water problems created by poorly regulated development in the past only to see new developments create new problems.

And now the richest municipality in Oneida County will soon have help from ALL County taxpayers?

Lines need to be drawn as to what level of government is responsible for what service.  Storm water management has always been the responsibility of the local municipality because the local municipality has direct control over development.  Not allowing development in harm's way, and not allowing development that creates runoff and harm to others, eliminates the need to fix "flaws in creek beds and streams."

The County should not ding all its taxpayers to reward poor decision making on the Town level.

Something Perverted About This . . .

Jeb Bush to award Hillary "Liberty Medal" on eve of Benghazi anniversary.

Regardless of party, the New World Order takes care of its own.

Chinese Chickens?

Almost 3 years ago it was Chinese Garlic  that got me thinking about trade policy and gave me a big case of agita.  Now it's the prospect of importing Chinese Chicken that is making my stomach turn!

What are our bureaucrats thinking of?

In the name of free trade we give a potential enemy the means of attacking us biologically ... Sorry ... We have the means internally to satisfy our need for chicken and do not need to take this risk.

This is a failure of our system of narrow-focus administrative agencies that cannot or refuse to comprehend the bigger picture. It's not in their job description.

And Congress, which has the power to do something about this, is either bound by their political ideologies and allegiances or entirely missing in action.  No one protects ordinary citizens any more.

Not Nearly Skeptical Enough!

WKTV quoted Congressman Hanna as saying:

"The actions of the Syrian regime against its own people are heinous and go against all tenets of human decency.  . . ."

Our congressman has apparently already accepted as fact that the Assad government has gassed its own people. . . . But based on what? . . . John Kerry's say so? (A lot of Vietnam Vets wouldn't trust this guy.)  Do we know for sure that rebel factions are not responsible?

Can this administration be trusted to give truthful and accurate information to Congress and the American People?  Did a "You-Tube Video" cause the Benghazi attack? . . .  I don't think so.

"The American people need to know that any potential action in Syria would help achieve clearly-defined, limited and attainable policy goals that further U.S. interests in the region."

You said a mouthful there, Mr. Congressman! What "clearly-defined . . . policy goals" will be achieved? What U. S. "interests"  will be furthered? Please identify the goals and interests to your constituents.

Can this administration be trusted to give a truthful portrayal of "policy goals"and "interests" to Congress and the American People?  What "policy goals" and "interests" have been advanced in Libya? What "policy goals" and "interests" have been advanced in Egypt?  Are they American "policy goals?" Are they American "interests?"  It seems that the only goals and interests getting advanced have been those of the Muslim Brotherhood . . . which has led to slaughter of Christians and burning of churches.  

No surprise here . . . when James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, essentially described the Muslim Brotherhood as a bunch of "good guys."

No surprise here . . . when the top aide to Fmr. Secretary of State Clinton, Huma Abedin, comes from a family steeped in Muslim Brotherhood. (How does someone with familial connections to the Muslim Brotherhood get the security clearance for a top government position?)

Mr. Congressman, you are not nearly skeptical enough!