Senate and Assembly Republicans have been warning against the direction of the new state budget for months on end. Now that Governor Kathy Hochul and the Legislature’s Democrat majorities are taking their victory laps, don’t just take my word for it when I say, “Hold on.”
One result of the challenges our nation and the world have faced during the last two years, is that now, more than ever, we are aware of and concerned about our mental health – and the state of our children’s mental health.
I attended the recent “Public Meeting for New Gas Main to Benton Center” on May 3. It was billed as an opportunity to “discuss two options for a new natural gas service main to the new Yates County Highway/ OES/ Public Health Facility at Benton Center.” As a new resident of Yates County, I was eager to engage with my community on this important topic.
I attended the public meeting Tuesday night regarding a natural gas pipeline that will be installed, either on Pre-Emption Road or Route 14A, to serve the new Yates County Emergency Services Building in Benton. As I listened to the rather tense discussions regarding pipeline route, the costs and relative advantages of LP vs. natural gas, the impacts this might have on residents and businesses, I was struck by this fact; we have no idea what the relative price and availability of natural gas, LP, or electric will be in 5 years, much less 25 or 50 years. But we do know is this, if we purchase less energy, it will cost county taxpayers less.
Early last week, when it became increasingly clear that Governor Hochul and the Legislature’s Democrat leaders were not going to stick around at the State Capitol to enact a budget now a month overdue, we renewed our call for desperately needed accountability in this process.
The last time New York’s farmers and agricultural leaders warned Governor Hochul that a misguided, politically motivated state action risked undermining farming as a way of life and a foundation of so many local economies, she effectively covered her ears and turned her back.
It’s good to be a skeptic, and it’s more important than ever right now, when a popular national media outlet does not make on-air apologies or corrections for blatantly misleading viewers. “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” ~ Voltaire It’s too bad Voltaire isn’t around today to expand on that thought in the aftermath of a lie perpetrated by Fox News Network and others which likely contributed to the events at the U.S.
Back in April 2021, when former Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature’s Democrat-led supermajorities were putting the finishing touches on their new, massive $212-billion state fiscal plan, it was a state budget, we now know, that accelerated the irresponsible fiscal actions that have brought this state to the brink of disaster.
Gwen Chamberlain’s recent column, titled “Nothing More to Say,” led me to think she was no longer going to write for The Chronicle-Express. She’s very creative, knowledgeable, and well-versed in our community and the world. If she pulled the plug, another major contributor to our local paper would be greatly missed. However, she redeemed herself with the April 5 article - “Let the Music Play.”
It looks like 2023 could be a pretty boring political year for Yates County, but there’s still a glimmer of hope for some political sparring on a local level. A little over a month ago, I wrote about local political enrollment numbers and the upcoming 2023 local elections, pointing out that prospective candidates for party nominations were seeking signatures on Designating Petitions.