Letter from Justin Wilcox NYers Should Know Cost of Climate Action Upstate ratepayers should not be forced to subsidize downstate as a result of downstate’s over-reliance on fossil fuels. The rushed decisions being made to meet the state’s unrealistic climate goals will make New York State even more unaffordable, send New Yorkers packing, and put family-owned businesses under. The PSC’s latest vote to approve an estimated $6.6 billion in local transmission upgrades is yet another example of how the state’s…
Online home of The Freeman's Journal and Hometown Oneonta
Advertisement
New York State
THE PARTIAL OBSERVER Farmland Protection is Everyone’s Concern New York is an agricultural powerhouse, you may be surprised to learn. The state ranks in the top 10 nationally in no fewer than 14 crop and value-added agricultural products: number one in yogurt, number two in apples and cabbage, top 10 in tomatoes and potatoes, to name a few. Forty-three percent of New York’s wine grapes go to California for their wine industry. This productivity is all the more amazing when…
Armory’s Future TBD By Oneontans By TED MEBUSTONEONTAFollowing a recent evaluation of the Asa C. Allison, Jr. Municipal Building, located on the corner of Academy Street and Fairview Street in Oneonta and colloquially known as “The Armory” in reference to its initial purpose, the city found it to be underutilized and in need of improvement. Therefore, city officials opted to hear opinions from its residents about the building’s future in a survey released in December. To participate in the survey,…
West Kortright Centre Awarded $40,000 by NYS Council on the Arts EAST MEREDITH – The West Kortright Centre has received a $40,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. Following New York State’s historic investment for the arts, NYSCA has awarded $90 million since spring 2022 to a record number of artists and organizations across the state. Governor Kathy Hochul said, “As a cultural capital of…
Letter from Patricia Kennedy Springbrook Thanks County for its Help On November 15, New York State announced more than $33 million in Community Development Block Grant funding, awarded to dozens of municipalities for local infrastructure improvement and housing rehabilitation projects. Otsego County and Springbrook applied for and received a $300,000.00 grant for CDBG funds which will go toward the development and implementation of safety fencing around the perimeter of the main campus, the location of The School at Springbrook and…
Panel to Discuss NY Energy Plans On Sunday, October 16 from 3-4:30 p.m., Cooperstown’s Friends of the Village Library and Otsego 2000 will co-host a 90-minute panel discussion on how New York State’s energy plan will affect the community. Topics will include the process for siting of renewable energy projects, the possible use of farmland and forest and how multiple use might be encouraged, and the present and future energy demands in our region and state and how those demands…
Harry Wilson talks crime, Matt Castelli talks security as candidates ramp up campaigns Two candidates, two different offices – neither complete newcomers to public service but each, in his own way, relative newcomers to political battlefields. The Freeman’s Journal / Hometown Oneonta spoke last week with Matt Castelli, a Democrat looking to unseat Republican Elise Stefanik in the 21st Congressional District, newly drawn to include the Village of Cooperstown and the northern half of Otsego County. The newspapers also spoke…
Wabbit season [Editor’s note: Here’s this week’s opinion column from the Editor of The Freeman’s Journal / Hometown Oneonta, Ted Potrikus.] Elmer Fudd is out hunting, as he does, when Bugs Bunny informs him that it’s duck season. Daffy Duck isn’t having it; he lets Elmer know in no uncertain terms that it’s ‘wabbit season.’ Elmer, confused, can’t figure out which is correct. “Say, what’s the matter with you anyway?” Daffy demands of Elmer. “Don’t you know a wabbit when…
HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO for WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Planetarium Shows Return PLANETARIUM – 7 – 8 p.m. Hop online for virtual deep dive into space and its wonders. Free, registration REQUIRED. Presented by The A.J. Read Science Discovery Center, SUNY Oneonta. Visit www.eventbrite.com/o/science-discovery-center-and-planetarium-14332374215 GET ON BOARD – Noon. Zoom meeting for local non-profits to pitch their organizations to the public and discuss what they need, from board members to volunteers to furniture. Presented by the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce. 607-432-4500 or…
Governor extends indoor mask mandate Governor Kathy Hochul announced Friday afternoon that she’s extending the “mask or vaccine” policy for indoor public spaces through February 10, 2022. The mask mandate remains in place for schools, as well. It had been set to expire February 1 and this week was the subject of back-and-forth court rulings on its constitutionality. The most recent court decision upholds the mandate. The governor said Friday that she would evaluate the mandate every two weeks.…