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Via Buffalo Pundit:


Wow . . . Someone else who is worked up over our politics!

NYPA: Doing Something Right . . .

Here's a bit of Utica news . . . from the Buffalo WIVB Channel 4 website: New York Power Authority Trustees will hold public meeting

The story reported that NYPA was going to hold a trustee meeting in Buffalo on Nov. 19 . . .

This forum, however, marks the first time that members of the public are invited to participate by speaking at the meeting to the members of the NYPA Board of Trustees. Any individuals wishing to address the trustees at the meeting are asked to contact the Power Authority at (914) 287-3035. Remarks will be limited to five minutes.

The Western New York venue and the new open format mark the first of many efforts the Power Authority will undertake under the leadership of its new president and chief executive officer, Richard M. Kessel, to be more transparent and accessible to the public.

In fulfillment of the pledge to continue holding trustee meetings around the state, Mr. Kessel also indicated that the December trustee meeting will be held in Utica, New York, on December 16.

This is a pretty big deal . . . The high cost of power is one of those things that holds the Utica-Rome area back . . . and NYPA controls an awful lot of the Upstate inexpensive hydropower that converges on Utica from two directions.

It's nice to see that NYPA is willing to listen to the public . . . RIGHT HERE . . .

It's not so nice to have to go to Buffalo media to find out what's happening in Utica. It may be only a press release, but it's important to us. Where are you O-D, WKTV, Sentinel, and WIBX?

Take Fault Lines Along . . .

Wanting to read Fault Lines on the bus, but no Wi-Fi? . . . . No problem.

Read Fault Lines in: The Utica Phoenix

This months article: "Wrong Regionalization: The Oneida County Sewer District"

Find The Utica Phoenix in a news rack near you.

What Utica Needs . . .

We were treated (again) yesterday to the Observer-Dispatch's preaching to Utica about what it needs. This time OD wants the mayor to waive a magic wand and create drug stores and places where people can buy "staples" such as a loaf of bread or a quart of milk.

A drugstore, for instance. While pharmacies are proliferating in the suburbs and even in other parts of the city, there’s nothing to be found downtown since Rite-Aid moved out this past January. Pity the poor traveler nursing a migraine who needs some relief. . . . .

No, pity the poor pharmacist who tries to make a living selling aspirin to travelers. Reputable hotels have some sundries for sale in-house, anyway, so the "traveler" should not suffer. Also, there is a drug store on Bleecker (Garro's -- with its multilingual sign) -- but the OD is obviously unaware of what is within walking distance of its Oriskany Plaza address. OD preaches about what it wants done, but offers no suggestion how it could be done.

Basic economics are at work here. No doubt, the removal of the Washington Courts complex and its residents took away the market for the drug store on Genesee . . . . so it closed. And until those acres are replaced with more potential customers, there probably won't be another one.

But without the basics necessary for a solid foundation, the vibrancy we all want to restore to downtown Utica will remain out of reach.

Why don't I believe the OD when it talks about "we" wanting to restore vibrancy to downtown Utica?

Maybe Today's FRONT PAGE headline says it all:

Utica’s organized crime revisited

What possible relevance do 25 + year old crime stories have to today's issues? . . . Unless it is to perpetuate the stigma of the past . . . or distract from corruption in Utica's largest suburb -- corruption which never seems to get reported upon .

When the OD editors talks about Utica, there is an unmistakable tone of condescension. And they seem to take every opportunity to preach -- without in depth study that might do some good -- or dredge up old news to make Utica look bad.

Utica does not need a new drug store, it needs a new newspaper.

OD: Down For the Count?

Gear has the details in the Snakepit.

ODd Journalism (3)

I don't normally link to forum articles, but this one on Utica Topix about our local newspaper: GATEHOUSE PUBLISHER HELPS DESTROY CITY was a good read.

"If the only newspaper in our area has become a deceptive, sly snake, with an agenda that corrupts us and spews venom and poison on us, perhaps we should kill it, whether it's our only "newspaper" or not." -- "Bouncer"

Indeed!

ODd Journalism (2) . . .

Tonight the OD tells us that "Area SUNY leaders' pay below par."

So what's the point?

Pay in all of Oneida County is "below par" -- in 2002 for individuals, being only 81% of the national average and 85.5% of same for the median family.
Pay in all of Herkimer County is "below par" -- in 2002 for individuals, being only 74% of the national average and 78% of same for the median family.

Ya gotta wonder: What is the motivation for this article?

How about some real investigative journalism for a change? . . . Like telling us . . .

Who owns all the properties along the MVWA's proposed pipeline to Verona (and who will get to write off the cost against their water bills)? Or . . .

What was recently buried beneath the clover field next to the Canalway Trail only a stone's throw from AquaVino and North Genesee St. (and what it means for the future development of Utica) ? Or . . .

What is the value of all the properties improperly hooked up to the Sauquoit Creek Pump Station (and which jurisdictions are collecting how much in taxes, but who is paying to fix the problem)?

There are plenty of things people want to know about that will sell newspapers . . .
but what we seem to mostly get are pieces that drag 'certain' people through the mud, puff up 'certain' others, prop up some communities over others while incompetence or wrong doing there gets a pass, and (like this article) generally distract the public from the real issues affecting them.

ODd Civics . . .

In yesterday's newspaper the OD Editors have called for an end to Utica's residency law that requires city employees to live within city limits . . .

"In recently promoting four Utica police officers who live outside the city, the Roefaro administration chose not to enforce the city charter’s residency requirement.

"Here’s a better idea: Don’t break the law — scrap it."

So far, so good...

While I do not necessarily feel that the residency law should be scrapped (there are pros and cons on this), scrapping a law is always better than breaking it.

"This issue has been going on for decades, and Mayor David Roefaro must put an end to it once and for all. . . .

"“The last administration left this in my lap, but I plan to put it to bed once and for all,” he said.

"Good. So do it already."

How impatient of the OD! . . But the last time I checked, the Mayor does not have the authority to "scrap" any law . . . The Common Council does. . . .

It's simple civics: the Legislative branch (Council) makes the laws and the Executive Branch (Mayor) carries them out.

The editorial is directed to the wrong person. Is this just ignorance . . . or is the OD looking for an excuse to dump on the Mayor?

ODd Journalism . . .

Was anyone else bothered by this story in our Observer-Dispatch yesterday: "Former EDGE winner a sex offender"?

The kiddie porn conviction was three years old . . . so that is not news.

The disqualification of this person's company from the EDGE Business Plan Contest prize happened weeks ago . . . so that is not news either . . . although the public never got an adequate explanation why this company was disqualified.

The OD now implies that somehow the conviction and the disqualification are connected, yet offers not a shred of evidence, such as a contest rule that disqualifies entrants with a conviction.

This is not news, it is speculation.

A more plausible explanation is that the judging may have not been impartial and EDGE got caught by a disgruntled contestant. (Frankly, I was shocked when the innovative "rubber sidewalk" entry did not win.) Why else has the runner up not been awarded the prize? But this would be speculation, too . . . and while EDGE's silence invites speculation, it does not convert it into news.

Why is this person's sin hung out like laundry for the public to see? Did he do something politically that the OD does not like? Or is the OD running interference for EDGE? Or does the OD just look for excuses to run provocative headlines to sell papers, no matter who it hurts?

This odd story allows us to speculate on what the OD's motivations may be.

Reverso Wheel of Fortune . . .

The Observer-Dispatch is hosting a new game on its on-line forum: "Reverso Wheel of Fortune."

You know Wheel of Fortune, that 7PM staple on WKTV where contestants take turns guessing the words behind the lines of blank squares . . .

The O-D game is the opposite. You guess which words will produce a line of blanks when you put them into a posting! So far the contestants have come up with one word: "sales."

Of course, the other name of this game is "Censorship." The O-D apparently has software that sniffs out certain words and prevents them from being used. Many readers won't put up with scatological words and will just stay away from forums where they are used. And if the O-D is trying to promote an intelligent level of discussion -- which it seems to be doing -- such censorship is appropriate. After all, their reputation is on the line.

But "sales?" One has to wonder what/who is intended to be protected by screening out that word.

It's all rather amusing . . . until one thinks about the implications!

The internet has been a liberating force for self expression - - but our ever increasing dependency on it for our information also opens an unprecedented opportunity for malevolent forces to control what we see, say, and even think. In Utica, we seem to have a renegade programmer -- or a glitch -- that doesn't like the word "sales. " Funny. In China, Google has cooperated with the Chinese government to screen and filter the results of internet searches -- to return only "government approved" results. Not So Funny.

Now consider what is going on in our schools. "Knowledge" is deemphasized in favor of subjectively judged "performance." It's been years since kids had to memorize anything -- but they are encouraged to look up the "facts" on the 'Net. In an era of "find and replace" programming, history can be rewritten in a few key-strokes -- or entire ideas -- such as "sales" -- can simply disappear. Programmers -- or their handlers -- rule.

Today's reality is fast becoming Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and Orwell's "1984."

Utika's step backward ...

Utica (Utika?) took a giant step backward this week with its major newspaper, the Observer-Dispatch, eliminating anonymous postings on its internet forum. While the O-D is certainly within its rights to do this, it has a chilling effect on free-speech.

There are various reasons why posters choose not to reveal their identity. While some may have evil intentions, the majority do not. Some may be public employees who would like to "blow the whistle" on wrong doing without jeopardizing their job. Others may want to debate issues with their friends without destroying good friendships. Still others may want their ideas judged by their content rather than by the reputation of the poster. It has been said that anonymity may be the greatest form of altruism.

Although there are anonymous posters who abuse the priviledge, most do not. And of the few who have made inappropriate postings .. many get retracted when others point out the error of their ways.

Given that the Syracuse newspapers and the New York Times -- with much larger readerships than the O-D -- allow anonymous postings on their websites, there clearly is no good journalistic reason for the O-D to forbid them.

The O-D has long been perceived as the organ of the Utica area "elite" -- the "movers and shakers" who act behind the scenes to ensure that their "vision" is implemented (assuring themselves of power and their cronies of high standards of living). Of course, we have seen where the "vision" has gotten us.

The entity who should be screaming the loudest for open government -- who should be going to court when government boards go into illegal executive sessions or fail to disclose information under FOIL -- is strangely silent ... except, of course, when it is necessary to serve its "vision." The entity knows that knowledge is power, and that the easiest way to control people is to control what they know. The entity now moves to ensure further control over the populace by eliminating anonymous postings.

It is only through (1) comprehensive knowledge by the people, (2) the free flow of ideas, and (3) political leadership with consensus building skills that this area will progress. The newspaper should provide #1 -- anonymous forums will encourage #2 -- and maybe, if more people become involved through ##s 1 & 2, the leaders for #3 will emerge.

The O-D's action demonstrates what's been suspected all along ... they are more interested in playing politics than reporting it.

Fortunately ThePulse is an available alternative ... I hope Vito advertises this forum and people come together here to discuss the issues.


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