Accused of using one-time funds to support libraries in a partisan and unequal manner, Republicans in the state Assembly are striking back, saying it’s Democrats who are politicizing the issue. Both the Senate and Assembly originally restored cuts made by Governor George Pataki to libraries and library systems in the 2004 state budget. But when […]
Krestia DeGeorge
Posted inNews & Opinion
Ailing in Upstate
It’s no secret that Upstate New York has seen better days. Our population is aging, and its growth is all but stagnant. Manufacturing jobs that once drove the nation’s economy have been leaving for a generation now. The Information Age opportunities that were supposed to follow them haven’t materialized, or at least not in the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Picking apart the county
When Maggie Brooks released her first-ever county budget proposal, its contents were a pleasant surprise to many. At first glance, it appeared balanced, and essentially kept her promise to maintain services, albeit with an increase in the tax levy. Now the honeymoon period is over, and groups on all sides are beginning to make rumblings […]
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The choice is yours, locally and nationally
“I’m not just running against David Koon. He’s a nice fellow, you know, I got nothing bad to say about him,” says Mark Johns. “But he has become weak in the face of the big money and the big power, and he has done a 180-degree turn. He used to criticize it, now he says […]
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131st Assembly District
In an election year where Albany veterans are under unprecedented fire, popular rage may be channeled locally into a single race. Unlike most state legislature seats, which are gerrymandered into virtually unassailable partisan strongholds, the 131st Assembly District offers a tighter race. Incumbent Democrat Susan John holds an advantage of less than 10,000 among registered […]
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29th Congressional District
With Republicans enjoying a slim 22-member majority in the 435-member US House of Representatives, both parties are paying close attention to seats around the nation that seem in play. One of those lies on Rochester’s doorstep, with 18-year Republican Congressman Amo Houghton of Corning is retiring, clearing the field for two fresh challengers. Houghton’s former […]
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A Green sings the school-board blues
With no Republican running for the single open seat on the city school board this year, most viewed the Democratic primary between appointee Domingo Garcia and David Gantt-backed challenger Cynthia Elliott as the real race to watch. When Garcia won that race, focus switched to other races to be decided in this fall’s election. (For […]
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Reports from a refusenik
At one of the many checkpoints maintained by the Israeli military, a pregnant Palestinian woman can only hope to be lucky enough to go into labor. That’s one of the few effective ways of proving a bulging belly isn’t just a pillow packed with explosives, says Major Stav Adivi. A five-year veteran of the Israeli […]
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Latino Rx
The prescribing doctor’s name should have been at the bottom of the prescription. Instead were the cryptic words Vestibulo de Arena. Hallway of sand. Eventually, someone was able to trace the source of the mystery physician — to a Dr. Sandy Hall. That story got a few laughs when Luisa E. Baars of MAS Translation […]
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Blind date
It’s about accountability. That’s what some 30 residents told county legislators at their meeting on September 14. The speakers were opposing a Republican plan to move the county executive’s deadline for submitting a budget from mid-October to mid-November. That would leave only a month for the legislature to deliberate on a budget and adopt it. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Prescription for partisanship
And there’s no sign that it’ll get prettier anytime soon. The deep rift between Democrats and Republicans in the Monroe County Legislature spilled into the light of open session Wednesday during debate at a Ways and Means committee meeting. Democrats, who are in the minority in the legislature, want the county to consider […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The race for Amo Houghton’s seat
A glance at New York’s 29th congressional district reveals a stark lack of symmetry. At the bottom — etched in bold, nearly straight lines — lies a block of rural counties, stacked four wide along the Pennsylvania border. Extending from this, like a hand grasping northward, a crooked, zigzagging piece of the district reaches toward […]
