THE VIEW FROM WEST DAVENPORT $1B In Fracking Royalties? To Penna., Not New York By MIKE ZAGATA • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com As Americans, it’s our right to advocate for things we believe in and against things we don’t like or want. However, with that right comes a responsibility – a responsibility to take the time to thoroughly educate ourselves about the pros and cons of whatever it is we want to advocate for or oppose. That means thinking in advance…
Online home of The Freeman's Journal and Hometown Oneonta
Advertisement
Columns - Page 127
ONEONTA MUST BUILD 100 Units Will Buoy Business Downtown By AL CLEINMAN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Of late, social media and other community forums have been full of dialogue about the initiatives in downtown Oneonta. Why do we need this housing? Why the rebranding? Why artist lofts? Why not somewhere else? What about parking? While comments many are supportive of these initiatives, the majority of comments appear to be an emotional response, perhaps the result of a lack of understanding…
COOPERSTOWN MUST BUILD Bassett Staffers Would Fill Any New Housing By TIM HAYES • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Housing. Housing. Housing. Housing. Housing. Housing. Housing. Housing. Housing. Housing. For those who are counting, that’s one “housing” for every year since I served on the Cooperstown Village Board’s Subcommittee on Economic Sustainability, where housing became a primary recommendation. Since then, the physical manifestation of village policies has been parking, parks and pavement. Hardly housing. Why housing? Because, historically, housing nearly always accompanied…
VIEW FROM 197 MAIN #KeepTheCap! NYS Must Pay Fair Share By MEG KENNEDY • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com #KeepTheCap! This is a rallying cry for local government officials from around the state. What cap? The New York State 0% growth Medicaid Tax Cap that has been in place since 2012. It goes hand in hand with another cap – the 2% cap on property tax levies that has been in place for NYS municipalities since roughly the same time. They were…
WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER Are 2 Billionaires Best Choice For U.S.? By LARRY BENNETT • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com I am undecided. After a year of run up to the Democratic primaries it seems safe to say party voters still don’t know who they want. The only thing they agree on is they want the candidate most likely to defeat Trump. Yet the entire party is tied up in a Gordian knot of confusion about who that candidate should be.…
BE AFRAID, BUT DO IT ANYWAY Burly, Tattooed Men – And Young Reporter By ERNA MORGAN McREYNOLDS • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com When I walked into that newsroom at The Dominion in Wellington, New Zealand I still had some hope that I might become a superstar journalist. I had landed a job at THE morning paper in the capital of New Zealand. I had never been in a big city newsroom. Reporters pounding their stories on manual typewriters made it noisy.…
COLUMN From Congressman To Siena President ‘Servant Leaders’ Will Take Nation To Brighter Future Editor’s Note: Chris Gibson, former congressman for New York’s 19th District, which includes Otsego County, Friday, Feb. 14, was named president of Siena College. Here is an excerpt from his remarks to the college community. By CHRIS GIBSON • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com I want to close my remarks by focusing on the students. You are why we are here. And we believe in you. You know…
VIEW FROM ALBANY Reform Bail Reform – And Here’s How By SENATOR JIM SEWARD • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.COM Another week in Albany but still no legislative action has been taken to fix the disastrous bail/discovery laws that are continuing to wreak havoc across our state. Protecting the public is one of the most important responsibilities of government, and when a crime has been committed, the victim, not the criminal, should be our first concern. Unfortunately, the disastrous new bail laws…
VIEW FROM WEST DAVENPORT What Was Objectionable In State Of Union Speech? By MIKE ZAGATA • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com This past week we had an opportunity to observe our President highlight his accomplishments and lay out his agenda for next year. Every president does this annually in the State of the Union Address. As is almost always the case, depending on party affiliation, there will be things covered that draw applause and some that draw frowns – and once in…
COLUMN HERZIG STATE OF CITY 2020 Year Of Action Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig’s State of The City speech, delivered to Common Council Tuesday, Feb. 4, in City Hall. Hundreds of people gave of their time during the past three years, to help us map out a vision for the future – and we owe them our thanks. They worked to provide us with a new Comprehensive Plan, Artspace study (SUNY), Oneonta Theater study…
