Stopping NYRI

Anyone who is a resident of a municipality that will be touched by the proposed NYRI Power Line has a RIGHT to Party Status in proceedings before the Public Service Commission, provided that they request same within 30 days of the filing of the application. (see DPS Regulations 85-2.11 (a)(10)). THE DUE DATE IS JUNE 30TH! Party Status allows you not only to file a statement, but also to directly participate in the proceedings, including presentation of evidence and cross examination of witnesses.

STOPNYRI.COM has a lot of information on the topic, including a nifty form that will generate a letter for requesting party status that you can print out and send in.

More information on NYRI is available from the Dept. of Public Service.

Capraro Technologies and Google have provided an Interactive Map where you can zoom in and see exactly where the line will be going.

This proposal is stoppable.

More Global Warming Hot Air . . .

You probably read this past week this or a similar article about Global Warming, proclaiming that the Earth is the Hottest It's Been in 2,000 Years.

This is nothing more than an attempt to repackage/rehab the "hockey stick" graph that has been discredited. The article reports nothing new. They say that if you repeat a lie often enough people begin to believe it . . . which is what seems to be going on here.

We've hardly had "stable temperatures for 2000 years" as claimed by the article. Fault Lines doesn't think they have resumed growing wine grapes in England as in Roman time, but if they have, clearly for a long time they were unable to. Fault Lines is also pretty sure farming has yet to be resumed on Greenland, as was the case around 1000, but then again, the human colony there was driven out by cold after a warm period. The hockey stick graph did not show these warm periods followed by cold ones.

Check out http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/cause.htm for some commentary. Also go to the Junk Science main page and scroll down to the commentary about the recent news release.

Fault Lines still has its doubts.

In the Chips . . .

At least the Rome Sentinel is giving decent coverage to the emerging Chip Fab incentives story. An update is available on this from the Times-Union.

Compare this with the stories in the Utica Observer-Dispatch on June 9 and June 10 which mentioned nothing about (1) the potential number of jobs (about 1000) or (2) the potential $1 Billion in state incentives for a Saratoga County site or (3) the fact that the Saratoga County site is no where near being ready for a plant.

Marcy is ready NOW.

It should seems obvious from the Rome story that if NY wants to maximize its chances to land the AMD chip fab (over a spot in Dresden Germany) the incentives should be offered for the Marcy site, too.

Why does the O-D leave out the "meat" of this story????

Update 7AM: O-D finally has a story here. Better late than never, though all the pieces were there over a week ago. Interestingly, Sen. Meier is already coming up with excuses for a Saratoga County choice, but Fault Lines heard this one years ago when we questioned why no one seemed to be looking here. Apparently he has his marching orders. This seems to be the (Republican) "party" line that the O-D is only too ready shill for -- to purposely discourage people of the region from speaking up and demanding what we have actually earned: Our site is ready NOW. It's a guess when Saratoga County will be ready, if ever, because its proposed new water facilities will not be economical without participation of a reluctant Clifton Park Water Authority.

While Fault Lines disagrees with spending a million dollars a job (essentially turning these jobs into government jobs without the government service), if the state is going to lavish this money somewhere, it might as well do it where it will go the farthest: HERE IN MARCY.

Update 5PM: Now we learn (from the T-U) (from the O-D) (from the Ro-Sen) that AMD will be choosing Luther Forest, that Marcy would be a "back up," and that either site would work for AMD. Frankly, Fault Lines is disgusted with our local Republican leadership simply rolling over and playing dead on this because it is clearly the $billion in incentives that have made the difference -- incentives that WE are paying for on top of almost a Billion more that has been lavished on the Albany area for nanotech.

This area is always the bridesmaid, never the bride, because there is always some other region with more "clout." Our local Republican officials have shown themselves to be impotent in bringing home the bacon from Republican administrations . . . Something we will remind voters of when election day rolls around!

More Distractions . . . and Control . . .

Fault Lines previously commented about yoga, a special career/community service conference, a "grim reaper," and science research as examples of distractions from core education pursuits at local schools.

The latest "distraction" will be two new health clinics that will be run by the St. Elizabeth Medical Center at Kernan and Donovan schools. Where was the public debate before the School Board about this? How many more so-called services will schools be expected to perform?

"Kids won't have to leave school to see a doctor or get a prescription."

Nice . . . Will the kids' parents be part of the picture when "health care" is administered?

Add this to the "Safe Schools Healthy Students Partnership" and we've taken another step toward what commentator Lynn Stuter would call an "emerging socialist police state." Too strong a view? Perhaps -- But consider that with health clinics in schools, the schools and their "partner" social service organizations would have unprecedented access to and be able to exchange highly personal information about students and their families ... ostensibly to offer "services," but also presenting opportunities for control.

Schools have been less than successfull educating our children, so we should expect even less success trusting them with our health. Fault Lines wishes that the schools would confine themselves to education, and leave healthcare to individual choice.

Chips Ahoy! ... But will our Republican leaders lay down at Albany's direction?

It was nice to receive a bit of good news this week, that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is showing interest in the Marcy Chip Fab site. It's about time!

Four years ago we pointed out in frustration that a site in Saratoga County, Luther Forest, which hadn't even received local approvals and had a limited water supply, was receiving attention from several chip manufacturers, while our ready-to-go Marcy site was being ignored. We noted 2 years ago that people in Saratoga were opposed to their site. In spite of Marcy's shovel-readiness, and the lack of opposition here, EDGE seemed to be asleep at the switch, being less than aggressive in pursuing these potential customers. Personal communication with a county official about that time suggested that Albany wanted it that way.

Now, years later, we are competing with this same Saratoga County site. According to the Times-Union, State officials are putting together a $1 billion package of incentives
to lure AMD to the Saratoga County site -- which still is not ready (water and road improvements are still in the planning stages). As we previously pointed out, Luther Forest is dependent on groundwater sources and would have to complete an extensive project to get water from the Hudson before it would be ready (which may never happen). Marcy, however, is ready NOW!

Again, politics rears its ugly head. Roe-Ann Destito, fortunately, is on top of this one, asking that any incentive package offered for Saratoga County also be offered here, BUT WHERE ARE RAY MEIER AND JOE GRIFFO ON THIS??? They should be asking for the same consideration. Are they "playing nice" with the Albany Republican leadership to further their own careers? It would only be fair for Marcy to receive the same incentive package, especially since the Albany area has already received hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to develop nanotech.

The choice between Luther Forest or Marcy should be a no-brainer: Marcy -- because it's ready to go -- Luther Forest might never be ready.

Lets see if our Republican "leaders" speak up for their area and aggressively push Marcy .... or will they place their personal political ambitions first and remain mum?

Grants, grants, grants: Sucking on the public tit . . .

Per today's O-D, Oneida County will get $50K of help for brownfields from the federal government "to assess areas" local officials "believe to be contaminated."

Hello? The federal Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has already done this locally with its National Priorities List. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is already doing this for more sites with its Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Site Program, including Preliminary Site Assessments, and classification of various inactive hazardous waste disposal sites. Why should the county (or this consultant to the county) get money to do something the state and federal governments are already doing with fully trained experts in the field?

This "Let's reinvent the wheel" project sounds similar to what we heard back in 2002 when Niagara Mohawk said it was submitting a grant proposal to the USEPA to inventory and prioritize brownfield sites as part of the so-called "Center for Brownfield Studies" project. We all know now that the Center for Brownfield Studies never lived up to its promise. Like today's plan, it was nothing more than an excuse to spend taxpayer money, with the people implementing the program being its primary beneficiaries. Today's plan will accomplish no different.

There's more . . .

Oneida County's program was described by EPA last year as raising "agricultural issues," and that it would "identify and rank local environmental health issues," and "educate the public on environmental health issues by involving community members in decision-making and priority setting processes" -- which is somewhat different from the focus on brownfields in today's article. Why the original proposal to have this group involve people in "decision-making" when we already have duly elected officials to deal with these issues who should be seeking public imput? Don't we have more than enough "educational" programs? And now, why the change in focus to brownfields, especially when the ground has already been covered ? It's just an excuse to spend money.

What is interesting is who are among the program's prospective partners as listed by USEPA : Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson, Inc., Learning Disability Association of the Mohawk Valley, Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, Oneida County Historical Society, and Utica Safe Schools Healthy Students Partnership, Inc. (the latter of which rings a bell). What do these groups have to do with brownfields? What do they have to do with environmental health?

Why announce the program and solicit applications from municipalities today, 5/30, when the deadline for applications is 6/6, only a week away? Is this group serious, or does it already know who will be getting the money?

We already know what sites need to be cleaned up, and the road blocks involved. We don't need some new entity doing another study. To Fault Lines, this looks like just another example of the "clique" of "do gooders" (well-connected non-governmental organizations) creating/perpetuating their own jobs and promoting their private agendas by helping themselves to OUR MONEY. What's worse, as the Utica Safe Schools Partnership illustrates, it becomes an opportunity for government to circumvent "open-government" laws by acting through private organizations, and for private organizations to have access to confidential governmental information on businesses and individuals they otherwise would be unable to obtain. We pay for this. Nice deal, eh?

Utica's Hidden Treasures

Root Glen, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY









. . . and the Utica Marsh






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Oneida County Justice?

CNY Underground points out that things don't look too good with Judge Romano having been the foreperson on the Grand Jury which indicted John Healy. Healy's lawyers are moving to dismiss the murder indictment, arguing that other jurors may have been intimidated by a Supreme Court Justice. The WKTV story on this also notes that Judge Romano was formerly a prosecutor in the District Attorney's office now prosecuting the charge.

At one time Judiciary Law §511 disqualified judges from the State's Unified Court System from serving on juries. (It also disqualified a host of other officials). Judiciary Law §511, however, no longer exists. Thus, judges are no longer exempt from this civic duty.

A defendant's ability to challenge a juror assists in ensuring that he/she will be judged by an unbiased jury. However, individuals serving on a Grand Jury are not subject to such challenge (CPL 190.20) as are jurors on a petit jury (CPL 270.15).

Unless there is reason to believe that the judge was not placed on the jury at random as required by Judiciary Law §507 (and no evidence of this has been presented), having this judge on the Grand Jury passes muster.

The court's appointment of the judge as jury foreperson (CPL 190.20(3)) would have elevated the judge's stature above her peer jurors, and could be criticized.

Everything may be according to the letter of the law . . . but what about appearances? Having a former prosecutor on a Grand Jury certainly gives an appearance of bias. Where is common sense? Is this what we citizens want Oneida County Justice to look like?

When the legislature did away with §511, they expanded the potential jury pool. Could they also have forgotten a reason why they put §511 on the books to begin with?

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Government Law

Miscellaneous Musings ... Schools, Powerlines, & Blogging

School Board elections are tomorrow. The Utica OD gave pretty cursory coverage to the candidates in Utica. What happened to the third candidate who was supposedly eliminated on a residency issue? Was the person really a resident, and, if not, why would a non-resident want to run? What were her qualifications? The situation was only mentioned a couple weeks ago with little follow up. The current election looks like a coronation of system insider, Margaret Buckley, by the system. No debates, no detailed coverage of the people running for the biggest system in the county. The System insiders will turn out to vote. All the Seniors have been bought off by STAR and won't bother voting. No one knows the challenger and the local media happily cooperate to keep things that way. No wonder why people don't vote. . . Regardless, don't expect change with the same people in charge.

The proposed power line from Marcy thru/around Utica to downstate has justifiably raised a lot of concern. Is our beautiful landscape (about all we have left to prize around here) about to be sacrificed to satisfy the downstate metropolis' thirst for power? . . . And visit on us higher electrical rates on top of our already 2nd highest rates in the nation? Fortunately our local politicians seem united on this one, with Dave Valesky presenting a thoughtful editorial on the subject in the OD. If Downstate needs power, they should live with the environmental consequences of producing/transporting it. How about windfarms off the Long Island Coast? Or, better yet, why not take the Shoreham, Long Island Nuke plant out of mothballs and get it going? As I remember, it was almost completed when New York State and Suffolk County decided it did not want the risk of a Nuke plant on its shores (. . . a little late for a lot of investors). Talk about a typical New York waste!

Finally, blogger Dan Weaver down Amsterdam way has an excellent post on why he blogs. What he says rings true at this end of the Valley, too. Well worth a read.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Economic+Development Education Environment Government Utica

Drinking Too Much Albany Water

Assemblymen Townsend and Butler have offered a water "compromise" between the Mohawk Valley Water Authority and the State Canal Corp.: Place all the payments sought by Canal Corp. in escrow, with the money ultimately to be paid out to the winner of the pending lawsuit. This would allow expansion of the water system into outlying areas.

Uh .. Guys ... Hey! Did you forget about US? (Who?) US .. THE RATE PAYERS. .. The ones who will be expected to come up with the $600,000 + to pay for this "deal" ... The ones who will receive NO benefit from this deal. No matter who "wins" the lawsuit, the ratepayers lose because they will have already paid the money. (And no, in the unlikely event MVWA wins, we don't expect it to give the money back to the ratepayers -- it will probably just expand its staff).

If people need water to grow homes and businesses, let them come to Utica and environs where water service is already in place. Don't expect US to pay to expand the system into outlying areas just so the politically well connected can go forward with their developments.

Interesting how these guys solve a problem with NARY A THOUGHT about the people paying the bills ... All too typical thinking from our State Capital. Perhaps Messrs. Townsend and Butler have been drinking the Albany water too long ...

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Spring Comes to Utica ...

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Utica helping Rome . . . sort of . . .

Per Today's OD, Utica Safe Schools Partnership is helping Rome City Schools on a grant in a so-called "model of regional cooperation." To be sure, it may make sense for Rome to hire some of the people from the Utica group because the latter has had 4 years experience with its own program. But Romans need to understand what they are getting.

The circumstances surrounding the creation of the program in Utica were a bit suspicious when a 501(c)(3) corporation was founded by SOME school officials and board members, the corporation was set up to do business with the school district and hold grant funds to be used in the district, but the corporation kept their meetings closed to the public - - - inspite of the fact that federal funds (ie public tax dollars) were being spent. See a prior post in 2002 "The Safe Schools Project -- What's the real intent?" for the "low down."

Now here we are four years later . . . The Utica federal grant has been exhausted, but, somehow, the program's existence continues. Rather than a "model of regional cooperation," this sounds more like an example of people (the Utica Safe Schools people) perpetuating their jobs (by latching onto Rome's grant).

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Education Rome Utica

Immigration in the 24th . . .

CNY Underground has a thought provoking piece on immigration that literally brings it home to our region . . . and in a way that will make you feel the issue. No sides are taken . . . but he makes it clear that silence is unacceptable. Take a look at it.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Government

Global Warming, Ignorance, Economic Destruction and the New Dark Age

According to yesterday’s Utica OD our area is seeing signs of global warming. Yet the fact that only 3 months ago people in Russia were dying from record breaking cold that spread into Europe and caused the Prague Zoo to move its penguins indoors might suggest otherwise.

Per the OD: “Global warming is largely caused by the emission of so-called greenhouse gasses from cars and factories, said U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, who chairs the House Science Committee. Those gases eat away at the atmosphere's protection against the sun”.

“Greenhouse gasses… eat away at the atmosphere’s protection …” Huh? Did we hear that right? Or was the reporter just paraphrasing? Hopefully the Chair of the House Science Committee did not really say that. Greenhouse gasses don’t “eat away” at anything; much less eat away at “protection.” This statement evidences ignorance of how the greenhouse effect works, explained here in an animation (ignore the last two frames, which are propaganda).

While the greenhouse theory may be sound, the conclusion that gasses from cars and factories are the major cause of warming (called manmade or “anthropogenic” warming) is far from proven, although a consensus is claimed. CO2, the product of burning fossil fuels, is the culprit most cited along with the fact that a sharp rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration has been documented since the mid-1800s, along with a rise in average world temperature since that time. See Summary for Policymakers, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Although melting glaciers and rising sea levels are cited with alarm by the media as evidence of Global Warming, they are nothing new and, therefore, are not evidence that mankind has anything to do with Global Warming. Any geologist will tell you that Upstate New York was once under a mile-thick ice sheet as recently as 18000 years ago, the ice sheet came and melted four times, sea level was once 300 feet lower than now, and there was once a land-bridge connecting Siberia with Alaska. Obviously something caused the ice sheet to melt 4 times and the seas to rise -- but it could not have been man. These geologic facts seem to be ignored in most discussions of global warming. Against this paleo-climactic background, the current warming of about 0.6 degrees C over the last century and predicted consequences of more seem … ordinary!

Curiously ignored by IPCC seems to be the role of the most prevalent greenhouse gas, H2O in the form of Water Vapor, the effect of which probably overwhelms any effect of CO2.

Mr. St. John from Rome in a letter to the Editor of the Sentinel raises the sun’s role in warming, pointing to evidence of a warmer-than-now climate in ages past, specifically the Middle Ages Viking colony in Greenland that was wiped out by the “Little Ice Age” which followed. To this Fault Lines would add that Ancient Romans were able to grow wine grapes in present day England. These ancient warm periods, long documented in history, seem to have been conveniently ignored. Shouldn’t the sun’s role and the Medieval and Roman era warm periods and the retreats of the great ice-sheets be accounted for before mankind gets blamed? Indeed, the whole idea of overwhelming climate change appears to have been oversold.

Of course, Mr. St. John’s and Fault Lines’ opinions can be dismissed as being non-expert. But we apparently have learned enough along the way to know that we have questions that have yet to receive adequate, understandable answers. Given that Governor Pataki has signed New York on to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative based on a dubious theory, we along with all New Yorkers, face the potential of double-digit increases in our already too high utility rates. Are we not entitled to have our concerns accounted for before the last vestige of the Upstate economy is destroyed?

Unfortunately, people like Mr. St. John are too few in numbers to attract any serious attention. In a “dumb-downed” age where education leaders push students’ doing things rather than knowing things and grade on subjective “performance” standards, We the People have been increasingly conditioned to simply accept without question, and to do, whatever we are told by so-called “experts” based on “black box” modeling that we do not understand.

The whole Global Warming debacle seems emblematic of a much larger, world-wide, societal problem. Indeed, we seem to be entering a new Dark Age where knowledge is reserved for an elite and anyone who knows enough to question is marginalized.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Education Environment Government

H2O: Deal . . . or No Deal?

On Tuesday the OD reported that the State Canal Corp. offered a "temporary resolution" of its dispute with the Mohawk Valley Water Authority, stemming from a violation of a 1917 Agreement. In return for certain payments, Canals would withdraw its objection to a permit that would allow the MVWA to expand its water system in Frankfort, Schuyler, Kirkland, and Westmoreland. "[I]t's a win-win situation" gushed Westmoreland Supervisor Sydoriw, and State Sen. Meier opined that the proposal was reasonable.

According to the OD, the deal was cooked up the previous Friday in a meeting between Canals, supervisors of the four towns, and state legislators. Apparently not invited were the MVWA; the Towns of New Hartford, Whitestown, Marcy, and Deerfield; the villages included in those towns; and the City of Utica.

Again, we witness another backroom deal that will benefit those who are politically connected (in this case, those who were invited to the conference) at the Expense of those excluded.

For every 1,000 gallons of water drawn, MVWA would pay 3 cents to Canals and 5.5 cents to Erie Boulevard Hydropower. Additionally, MVWA would have to pay Canals and the power company $1,000/day if it draws more than 20 million gallons a day (20MGD). Not mentioned is the fact that the MVWA already draws about 20 MGD, meaning the $1,000/day (which sounds like a penalty) will be charged almost every day.

Because of MVWA's "regional" structure, EVERY CUSTOMER OF THE MVWA no matter where they live will wind up paying for these charges. Most definitely a "win-win" situation if you are the Westmoreland Supervisor, or are a Senator trying to score points in bringing city water to those who don't have it. THIS IS TYPICAL ALBANY THINKING: SPEND SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY. What about ALL the current MVWA customers in Utica, New Hartford, Whitestown, etc etc. - the people who will pay virtually the entire cost? They have no obligations to those who chose to live in the fringe areas. They get the shaft.

We found out on Wednesday that this "deal," after accounting for expected new revenue from the expansion areas, could cost the Water Authority up to $500,000.00 per year. According to Canals in a Sentinel article, this would cost the typical residential user 75 cents a month (or another $2.25 on your quarterly bill). Sorry, we pay enough already!

If the 4-town expansion is a Net-Loser, MVWA would be crazy to go through with it.

NO DEAL!

Now Ms. Mantello of Canals wants to "explain" the deal to MVWA at its meeting. Why the theatrics? Why not put the explanation in writing, including the justification for the charges, and make it public in advance of the meeting, so people can come prepared with questions?

MVWA goofed when it destroyed Gray Dam and got itself into this mess with Canals. MVWA has also been a tad arrogant with Canals and unwilling to negotiate. Regardless, MVWA's insolence is no excuse for the politicians and Canals to collude to pick the pockets MVWA's customers to benefit others.

MVWA can't expect to get away without paying something, and, unfortunately that is a price that we as customers will have to pay for its incompetence. It has seriously infringed on the rights of not only Canals, and the power companies, but all others who use Hinckley Lake because, as a third party beneficiary contract (ie for the People of NYS), all people should have a reasonable expectation that the 1917 Agreement would be complied with in perpetuity, as was its framers' intent. MVWA has increased Canals' exposure to lawsuits and Canals should somehow be compensated for this exposure.

Canals, however, needs to get real. What they demand needs to bear some relationship to the degree of harm they have suffered or will suffer by MVWA's non-compliance with the old agreement -- which seems to be minimal as MVWA's obligation to release water to Hinckley only involves at best a few days per year. Any harm caused or that will be caused in the future through increased withdrawals can probably be estimated mathematically. If Canals is serious about settling rather than playing politics, it needs to do the math to show how it is harmed.

Both sides should stop posturing and just settle the issue, once and for all. And, Please, do this in public and let us participate -- after all, WE are paying the bill.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Economic+Development Environment Government Regionalization Utica Water+Supply

High School Science Research: "Dumbing Down" the Curriculum?

Today's OD had an article about Poland Central School's Science Research Class, where 12 science students in grades 9-12 have an opportunity to earn college credit conducting scientific research on the topic of their choice, perhaps even leading to publication of their work in a scientific journal. In March the students attended a science symposium in Albany where presentations of similar projects were made. One student is doing a study of the inheritability of fingerprint characteristics. Another is researching the negative effects of algae and thermo-pollution on Lake Ontario.

These things sound good . . . In fact, they sound downright impressive! But, always ready to find fault with the conventional wisdom, Fault Lines wonders if there is a negative to all the hoopla. While high-schoolers are capable of doing scientific research, is it appropriate for high-schoolers to be doing scientific research?

Learning logically progresses from the general to the specific, with early-learned generalized knowledge providing the foundation for later studies in specialized areas. It is from a "pinnacle" of specialized knowledge that scientific research embarks to discover the undiscovered. This is why scientific research is normally performed at the college graduate/post graduate level: It is at these levels where a solid foundation for understanding an issue exists.

Does a 9th or 10th grader have the requisite foundation? Probably not. It is unlikely that such a student would have already had Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics -- yet all four disciplines are needed to understand, e.g., the negative effects of algae or thermo-pollution on Lake Ontario. Students are being led to believe they are experts while their foundational knowledge has serious gaps. What does this do for their attitudes?

Scientific research takes a lot of time but only increases knowledge in an extremely narrow subject area. It takes time away from more generalized fare. If the science research supplants a year of Earth Science, Biology, Physics or Chemistry, then the research project actually will create a knowledge gap. A student can major in science in college without knowing whether fingerprint characteristics can be inherited. However, if the student lacks the year of basic chemistry, it will spell trouble because the student will be presumed to already know it. The student having such a knowledge gap might not understand key points of his or her college lectures, making advanced learning more difficult and, perhaps, leading to abandonnment of what would have otherwise been a budding scientific career. In this respect science research "dumbs down" the curriculum by developing "expertise" in an esoteric unimportant specialty at the expense of something fundamental.

For some reason, people love the idea of high-schoolers receiving college credit, but why rush? College and the time to do specialized work will come later . . . . but youth, and the opportunity to sample a wide range of more generalized subjects will not be. Science research may impress parents and boost the self-esteem of the students, but it will produce lop-sided know-it-alls with limited knowledge outside their so-called expertise.

Let's save the scientific research for the higher levels of college and industry, and encourage our high-schools to produce well-rounded individuals.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Education

Tax, Spend . . . Don't Spend . . .

Three news items caught our eyes this morning.

In Pataki vetoes $20 million for SUNYIT ice rink, it looks like all the "regional" plans for a sports facility are on ice, rendering moot the discussion of where it should be best located. The legislators are already planning to get around this one.

Rome mayor names chief of staff . . . Wow. Mayor Brown has taken a page out of Mayor Julian's playbook and appointed a $50K "Chief of Staff" to join the likes of the President and other Heads of State.

Sales tax rollback? Not so fast . . . Of course ... The county legislators have money to give a break this year, but it apparently is not steady revenue to enable permanent removal of the tax.

While the first story is "bad news" for the region, it could be "good news" if such cuts are applied evenhandedly across the state (Binghamton U and its almost $90 million in new facilities and Albany Nanotach come to mind). The state cannot continue to spend on lavish new facilities that have a questionable Return on Investment and be able lower taxes and fees at the same time. Lowering taxes and fees, however, is essential to making New York competitive.

Even if you don't live in Rome, Mayor Brown's padding the payroll with another political appointee is bad for the region because it sends a signal: local government doesn't care how it spends your money as long as the political system is served. Rome, like Utica, is shrinking. Neither city needs these positions. Rome got along fine all these years without one. But someone from Sen. Meier's office will soon be out of a job, so a place had to be found for her. That's all this is, and all this ever is. When do our political leaders start doing what's best for the people?

Naturally, our Board of Legislators will have a cash shortfall next year and won't be able to fully roll back the sales tax. Why? Because they still spend too much. They can start saving by (1) eliminating their own salaries and benefits and (2) scheduling all meetings at night so that OTHER PEOPLE willing to serve at no cost will be able to run to take their places.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Economic+Development Government Rome Utica

The Anti-Utica Bias is Evident . . .

No sooner than the suggestion is made of putting the SUNYIT sportsplex in downtown Utica, the O-D weighs in to shut down even the thought of this possibility.

While the O-D tells us how "excited" Rome, New Hartford and Whitestown are at the prospect of some ice availability at a SUNYIT campus sportsplex, it offers no explanation why a downtown Utica location would be any less exciting.

While the O-D claims that Mayor Julian's points in favor of a downtown location "are well taken," without missing a beat the editors go on to say "but this facility needs to go at SUNYIT. Such amenities are needed to attract students and grow the college's four-year program, keeping it competitive with other SUNY schools. That's in the best interest of this entire community. Besides, it's highly unlikely state officials would agree to an off-campus site, since the $20 million comes from the state university."

Why would locating the SUNYIT facility downtown be any less of an attraction for students to that institution? Why would locating the facility downtown make SUNYIT less competitive? These are points that should be rationally discussed, pro and con, with further study taken if needed -- not summarily dismissed because the O-D editorial board says so.

The big lie is to say that state officials would be unlikely to agree to an off campus site, since SUNY has already agreed to an off-campus university facility in downtown Binghamton to aid in that city's revitalization. It is hard to believe that our local editors are unaware of what is going on in another Gannett city.

Compare how the editorial board for Binghamton's Press & Sun-Bulletin treats the concept of an off campus downtown SUNY facility. The idea is embraced there . . . and not only by the press, but by the local community college as well. Why is there no fretting about "regionalization," when Binghamton is surrounded by some sizeable communities? Why don't Endicott or Johnson City or Vestal complain? Could it be that they all recognize that Binghamton is the hub of that region and that what is good for Binghamton is good for all? The Binghamton Press editors say "The busier the center the better. The more people downtown the better — not just for the city but also for the county and for the region." That is right -- not only in Binghamton, but right here in Greater Utica!

It is an historical fact that Utica is the regional hub, and the O-D publisher knows full well through last fall's commissioned Zogby poll that not only do a majority of area residents still think of Utica as the hub, they WANT it to be the hub.

There is clearly a difference in attitude in how our southern-tier neighbors treats their hub and how we treat ours which can only be explained by Anti-Utica Bias. The bias is obvious on the O-D Editorial Board and, perhaps, on the Boards of some of our other local institutions or organizations such as the mis-renamed "Mohawk Valley" Chamber of Commerce.

We could speculate on the cause of this Bias, but will not because that would focus on our past at a time that we should focus on our future. Suffice it to say the people on these boards need to examine their consciences for the source of their Anti-Utica Bias and do something about it.

Without a change in attitude, this region will continue to work against itself, and will have no-one but itself to blame for its fate.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Economic+Development Education Government Regionalization Utica

Bringing Home the Bacon Part 2

Some good news from the "Pork Department" today: SUNYIT sportsplex gets $20M from state. While this may not be quite in the same league as Binghamton, it is a welcome change, nonetheless.

Now the question becomes how to make the most of it. According to the Mayor of Rome "Here we have an opportunity for Whitestown, Rome, New Hartford, for the whole community, to utilize this multifaceted complex at SUNYIT right down the road." It is a worthy suggestion constructing a facility that all these communities could use, and certainly with our system of roads and the access to SUNYIT, use by those three communities is feasible.

But Mayor Julian of Utica also has a suggestion: Put it in Downtown Utica next to the Aud.

WHY NOT?

First of all, next to the Aud is a more convenient location than SUNYIT because the Aud is just off I-790 and is near the convergence of several major bus routes. While it might be 1-2 miles farther from Rome, it is closer to New Hartford and parts of Whitestown. Space for parking will be available now that Washington Courts is being cleared away.

The added benefit is the chance for Synergy with the Aud and nearby downtown. Noting that hotels and restaurants would be within walking distance, Julian said, "a $20 million facility on its own is certainly going to be a nice facility. A $20 million facility attached to and part of the Aud would take it to another level."

I think it would be even more . . .
A location adjacent to the Aud would also be within walking distance of the Brewery District (with its developing shops, galleries and pubs), Pratt at MWPAI (with student housing nearby), and the Players Theater (under construction). Add the nearby bus routes that would make the facility accessible to students from All the region's colleges, and you will have created a "critical mass" of activities within a small enough area to turn Utica into a bona fide College Town. Physically locating the SUNYIT facility in the midst of a thriving community would make SUNYIT that much more marketable. Being adjacent to the Aud might also offer an opportunity for both facilities to economize with some shared services.

The idea of locating a college facility off-campus in the heart of downtown to revitalize the downtown is exactly what SUNY is doing in Binghamton. Why not here?

A sportsplex at SUNYIT will only be a sportsplex at SUNYIT. A sportsplex Downtown would satisfy the same needs but also spawn all sorts of ancillary activities that would not be possible on a college campus. Utica's stature as the region's entertainment, college and cultural center would be taken up a notch, making the whole region more competitive with other regions in the state.

Think about it. . . . Mayor Julian is on to something.

Technorati Tags: Mohawk+Valley Economic+Development Education Government Regionalization Utica

Downtown in the Evening

A brisk walk through downtown Utica this evening . . . The late day sun brought out interesting details in everyday sights.

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