New York
updated
8:42 p.m.
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I'm glad I got to tell the hacks on LATFOR how pathetic they are at the Brooklyn LATFOR hearing on Wednesday. Here's to free speech. ...
The Albany Project - 2:41 p.m. - 7 clicks 
Real estate values in New York City dropped like a stone last year , as wave upon wave of foreclosures struck the city like a tsunami. The prices of single family homes, generally in the outer boroughs, were deeply impacted. Commensurate with foreclosured properties and other economically distressed housing, building code violations jumped 14%, and not just in th...
Simply Left Behind - Thu 9:43 a.m. - 11 clicks
The state is currently at an impasse. The federal government is threatening to withhold some $1 billion dollars in education aid if the stakeholders in New York do not agree on a teacher evaluation system . The best option for students and teachers would be to agree on a fair evaluation system in the near future to avoid losing that money, and more importantly, ensure that every student has quali...
The Albany Project - Wed 12:05 p.m. - 13 clicks
And he doesn't even need to submit a bill to Congress. Obviously, President Obama has spoken at length with the Big Dog, Bill Clinton. ...
Simply Left Behind - Wed 9:49 a.m. - 14 clicks
Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America Presents #534: "Race and Privilege" Rabbi Brian Walt, originally from South Africa, talks about race and racism there and here. It is the job of people who inherit privilege to understand it and confront it. Recorded January 16, 2012. Tuesday, January 31 7:00-7:30 pm on Channel 13 Wednesday, February 1 1:00-1:30 pm on Channel 13 Thursday, Febr...
Ithaca Action Network - Mon 9:09 p.m. - 16 clicks
I've had my issues with Governor Cuomo on some things, but today he came out with something that I completely agree on: getting rid of New York's Combined Ballistic Identification System, or CoBIS. CoBIS is based on the premise of ballistic "fingerprinting" of bullets. If you've ever seen CSI, you probably know that a bullet fired from a gun receives a distinctive set of marks and scratches on it...
The Albany Project - Mon 2:07 p.m. - 18 clicks
You probably already know that federal judge Gary Sharpe has ordered new York to hold its primaries for congressional office on June 26, to accommodate the federal law that requires a 45-day window for servicemembers overseas to return absentee ballots. While Judge Sharpe did not order the state to change its primary for state office as well, having three different primary days (one each for Pres...
The Albany Project - Sat 11:24 p.m. - 16 clicks
U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe has ordered that New York State have a June 26th primary . Since we still don't even have congressional district maps, this will be complicated. (I think a June primary is a good idea generally, and hope the state accepts its wisdom. We'll see how it works this year, however.) ...
Living in Dryden - Jan 27 - 17 clicks
It wasn't that long ago that Army National Guard Company D, of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, was deployed from the Ithaca Armory on Hanshaw Road , and now they're heading out again : The soldiers going to Kuwait are expected to deploy in April. The soldiers expect to be on federal active duty for up to 12 months, but the Army continues to review and reduce forces needed overseas. So...
Living in Dryden - Jan 27 - 12 clicks
Via commenter Jason C , I see that meteorologist Drew Montreuil of GrotonWeather.com is giving a talk in Freeville tomorrow night: What do snow, tornadoes and groundhogs have in common? Come to the Freeville Potluck Dinner THIS SATURDAY starting at 5:30pm! Meteorologist Drew Montreuil will be talking after dinner [7pm?] about lake effect snow, tornadoes in New York, and who is a better for...
Living in Dryden - Jan 27 - 10 clicks
I can't begin to say anything nice about this. Proposed NYS Senate and Assembly maps . Dryden seems to be in the same gerrymandered Senate and Assembly districts as before. ( Abe Lincoln loses his hat, but that's about it. It looks like the Senate district now runs up to a split-up Auburn, too.) "Our" legislators have no shame whatsoever. I'll dream about Governor Cuomo vetoing this...
Living in Dryden - Jan 26 - 13 clicks
It's good to see that DRAC got up to Albany: A Dryden banner visiting the legislature. (Provided by Judith Pierpont.) The Ithaca Journal has more on the lobbying day . ...
Living in Dryden - Jan 24 - 4 clicks
The Personal blog of Marc Cenedella (via New York Times ) The GOP sure can pick 'em in NY state. Last go around they offered up "crazy Carl" Paladino, who after an epic campaign of facepalm-inducing blunders snared a whopping 33.3% of the vote to Andrew Cuomo's 62.6%. In the special 2010 election for the Senate, A-list hopefuls (if anyone GOPer in NY still qualifies for that title) step...
The Albany Project - Jan 23 - 2 clicks
Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America Presents #533: "Healthcare: Better in Canada" Anita Watkins tells the Occupy Ithaca Healthcare Teach-In about her years of good experiences with the Canadian single-payer healthcare system. Rebecca Elgie and Dr. Susan Soboroff add insights about work needed here. Recorded December 11, 2011. Tuesday, January 24 7:00-7:30 pm on Channel 13 Wednes...
Ithaca Action Network - Jan 23 - 2 clicks
I haven't spent that much time looking at the intricacies of school budgets over the past few years. Dryden Daily KAZ has, and tells a painful story of rising expenses New York State only shifts around instead of addressing . ...
Living in Dryden - Jan 21
Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America Presents #532: "Corporate Personhood: Citizens United" Victor Tiffany, local coordinator of Move to Amend, tells Nicholas Heavens about how the Supreme Court came to regard corporations as people and how this is a threat to electoral democracy. It will take a constitutional amendment to fix this. Recorded January 14, 2012. Tuesday, January 17 ...
Ithaca Action Network - Jan 17 - 9 clicks
Reprinted from Daily Freeman article Jan 11th: By ANN GIBBONS Equal parts eatery to equal parts spirits, at 100 proof kitsch, @346 Broadway brings a casual Left Coast sensibility to Midtown Kingston. The two business partners, one from the Pacific Northwest, the other from L.A., were first attracted online to the Hudson Valley, but specifically to Kingston...
Kingston Progressive - Jan 12
Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America Presents #531 : "Free Tax Help" Brian Zapf, Community Tax Program Director at the Alternatives Federal Credit Union, tells Deirdre Silverman how trained, supervised volunteers help low and moderate income people do their taxes and get all the credits they're due. People save, and money comes back into the community. Call 211 for information...
Ithaca Action Network - Jan 9
This would be the public toilet at Staples in Ulster, N.Y. I actually had to tighten the seat bolts to navigate this device without risking injury. Is this the level of health concern we should expect in the commercial stores across America? Is this where we've come? Here's your homework assignment... Go out and get pictures of the worst public bathrooms ...
Kingston Progressive - Jan 9
New York Republicans are looking for a rich white knight to take on Senator Kirsten Gillibrand this year. And time for that search is running short. State GOP chairman Ed Cox, Nixon son-in-law and legacy 1-percenter, told county chairmen this week that Gillibrand is toast because he had "at least two highly qualified candidates" interested in a Senate challenge (obviously not including the o...
The Albany Project - Jan 6
[ Update : this New York Times article tells a similar story with a lot less background.] New York State energy policy is a game that's largely about territory and players and not so much about principles. I obviously don't work in Albany, and would be happy to be wrong about much of this, but this is the story I tell based on what I've seen. The key pieces of this story are New Yor...
The Albany Project - Jan 6
Ulster County is making serious changes again. Where the Charter Reform of 2005 provided separate branches of government and last year's election gave us 23 districts, we now have our first female Chairperson. With a near unanimous vote, Terry Bernardo leads the 23rd Legislature with an agenda: to get the policy making branch of county government back to business. "We are ...
Kingston Progressive - Jan 4 - 2 clicks
Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America Presents #530 : "Healthcare: We Need Something Better" At the Occupy Ithaca Teach-In on Healthcare Andrea Levine, Outreach Coordinator for the Ithaca Health Alliance, tells about the services that the Ithaca Free Clinic provides to the un- and underinsured. Dr. Susan Soboroff volunteers at the clinic but like a majority of doctors wants a singl...
Ithaca Action Network - Jan 3
A momentous day for the City of Kingston. The ceremonial swearing in of our elected and appointed proved to be a crowd pleaser. All who attended shared the sense of optimism that comes with a new year coupled with a new administration. With a new Mayor comes a new Common Council and several new department appointments in City Hall. The theme in Shayne's address continued the u...
Kingston Progressive - Jan 2
