Editor:
Note: Monday, April 8, 2024 is a total solar eclipse crossing Orleans County and much of Lake Ontario.
Preparations should be better publicized (how about an Orleans Hub special section?). Will State and local campgrounds be open? Can our marinas handle the demand? Can spots in the Erie Canal be rented to boats for this?
I am sure there are plans but the community needs to be better informed.
Gerard M. Morrisey
Albion
Editor:
This letter is directed to Governor Hochul.
I write to express my ongoing concerns about the flawed and failed bail reform laws which were passed in this state and signed into law by your predecessor in January 2020. Violent crime committed by repeat offenders in New York State is at now epidemic proportions, especially with such crimes as domestic abuse, that put women and children in our communities at grave risk.
I implore you to immediately call the legislature into emergency session to make the necessary reforms to this failed law to ensure public safety for all New Yorkers.
Just last week in Buffalo, NY – our shared hometown – a mother of three children was murdered by her estranged husband who was released on his own recognizance without bail, despite being brought in on domestic violence-related charges. This murder is yet another case of preventable death in our state.
It is unacceptable that a man with a record of violence and domestic abuse, one who had been recorded just days before beating his wife in their home and who was arrested on multiple domestic violence-related charges, could be released on his own recognizance because his charges were deemed “bail ineligible.”
Numerous studies have shown domestic violence incidents are not isolated, and escalation is highly probable. According to a 2016 study, 10 to 18 percent of those arrested for domestic violence are arrested again within six months, 15 to 30 percent face a second arrest within 28 months, and up to 60 percent are rearrested within 10 years. Had the judge been afforded judicial discretion in this case, this man would have not been released, and a life may have been saved.
This is one of many instances of a police officer making an arrest for a serious crime only to have that offender back in the community committing more violence. In August 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams released a study detailing how a group of career criminals has accumulated hundreds of arrests yet are still roaming the streets, free to commit additional crimes, due to our failed “bail reform” laws.
Your office’s defense that this problem was fixed or that these incidents are not data, but rather anecdotal evidence, disregards the countless families whose lives have been upended by violent crime committed by offenders who would otherwise be behind bars.
Our Erie County Democratic District Attorney John J. Flynn said after this needless murder, “This could easily be solved with one sentence in the bail law.” That one sentence would provide judges with discretion to consider “dangerousness” when determining bail.
We have a serious problem in New York State, and there is an immediate need for reform to our failed bail laws. I implore you to call an immediate special session of our legislature to first address the need for increased judicial discretion to limit the release of individuals who are arrested with domestic violence charges; and second, to reform the entire law to give judges the authority they previously had, and now desperately need, to keep dangerous individuals in custody. No family should have to suffer the pain of losing a loved one to a violent criminal who was set free under your failed system.
Congressman Chris Jacobs
Orchard Park
Editor:
I drive down various roads and I see signs using profanity to express a resident’s thoughts about Joe Biden. Instead of using profanity to express your thoughts use an active verb like “impeach” in reference to Joe Biden.
I will give one example of why he should be impeached and then be tried for accessory to murder.
Drug overdose deaths have increased to over 100,000 in the 12-month period ending February of this year. A large portion of these deaths are due to fentanyl coming across our southern border.
Although Biden and his minions keep telling us the southern border is secure it is clear to anyone with eyes and a brain this is not true. The latest is fentanyl-laced rainbow pills to tempt and deceive our young people.
The Constitution says a President can be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. Dereliction of his duties to defend the United States by not securing the southern border and allowing fentanyl into the United States and accessory to murder for the resulting overdose deaths fit the definition of high crimes.
Considering this he must be impeached and removed from office. Once removed from office he must be tried for multiple counts of accessory to murder.
In this country we are seeing 300 unnecessary drug overdose deaths per day so every ten days we are killing as many people as died in 9/11. The New York Post published an interesting opinion article on this topic (click here). Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has taken up this issue by deeming the Mexican cartels terrorist organizations.
Forget “cruelty” of Martha’s Vineyard: Biden’s open border has let cartels kill more Americans from fentanyl than any terror org.
Voting for the status quo will only perpetuate the crimes and make you an enabler of the crimes.
Harold E. Mundy
Clarkson
Editor:
The goals and objectives of the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (The Act) passed in 2020, and subsequent supporting legislation needs to be reassessed, along with the parallel legislation at the Federal level.
The Act, contrary to its benevolent sounding title, offers anything but community protection. The Act is an assault on our communities and our freedoms. The Act is having a dramatic effect on our lives, our economy and our security. The public needs the assurance that the cure is not worse than the disease and that the Climate Change Movement has not disintegrated into an elite socialist one that ignores science, damages our economy and restricts our personal freedoms.
An example of the economic damage of The Act is the goal to make all new passenger cars and trucks sold in New York State zero emission by 2035, zero emission essentially meaning electrically driven vehicles that are no cleaner than the process by which the energy they consume is generated.
Ultimately The Act will outlaw or tax out of existence all fossil-fueled vehicles. Studies have shown that side by side in the showroom electric vehicles are more expensive to build, “dirtier” to construct and their clean benefits may show up only after many thousand miles of driving. Issues such as range problems, lack of fueling stations, fire safety, battery recycling and disposal, excessive consumption of critical materials such as copper, and huge losses of tax revenue are not being honestly addressed.
Without heavy government subsidies, both state and federal, there is no market for electric vehicles. In order for them to be competitive with fossil-fueled vehicles a breakthrough in battery technology is necessary. That breakthrough has yet to materialize!
Realizing the legislation to ban the purchase of fossil-fueled vehicles was a “non-starter” for the public, The Act calls for the development of a marketing strategy to promote them, i.e., A government super propaganda blitz, that has already begun. Further the automobile industry and the fossil fuel industry are being relentlessly attacked placing tens of thousands of good paying jobs at risk.
Other issues abound with The Act as the public will be forced to electrify homes and forced to give up clean burning natural gas and propane appliances. No clean energy projects should be undertaken without an in depth cost-benefit analysis. Sadly, this is not being done as the Climate Change Movement continues to drive up costs across the board.
The Act denies Home Rule to our communities as the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) created by The Act, was given the authority to overrule local law if found to be “unnecessarily burdensome.” Further the ORES is staffed by unelected officials that are not accountable to the public.
“Clean Energy” projects must be under local control, not dictated from Albany or Washington as it is the local community that bears the scars of those projects. ORES regulations are currently being challenged in court and hopefully will be significantly revised in the near future.
Solar and wind energy are being relied on to arrive at a carbon free future. They are being heavily subsided to achieve that end. Without subsidies both federal and state the solar/wind industry would disappear. Solar and wind energy are highly unreliable as they are dependent on the unpredictability of the weather. Reliable and diversified sources of energy are a must for economic and national security reasons. Nuclear energy and clean-burning natural gas must be in the mix. Research into clean-burning coal and carbon capture must be continued. Where is diversity when it is desperately needed?
In summary, a reassessment of our state energy policies as well as those on a national level must take place as neglecting to do is having a detrimental effect on our lives and our economy not to mention our national security.
New York can lead the way. Voters should insist.
James C. Hoffman
Town of Somerset
Editor:
I have been an amateur birdwatcher my entire adult life. I have birded extensively in western New York and have volunteered for various agencies and non-profits including the US Fish and Wildlife at Iroquois NWR, the DEC at Oak Orchard and Tonawanda WMA, Buffalo Ornithological Society and Buffalo Audubon Society.
The loss of bird life is widely noticeable in western New York. While I support renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gasses, I am opposed to the Borrego wind turbines that are proposed for our township directly 4 miles north of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.
While renewable energy development that reduces warming of the atmosphere is critically important to our move away from fossil fuels, unfortunately it is known that wind energy development has a substantial negative impact on birds. The American Bird Conservancy has averaged the results from a trio of studies done in 2012-2014, the latest data published, and arrived at the number 366,000 birds killed by wind turbines in the US in 2012.
American Bird Conservancy looked at data from the US Wind Turbine Database and wrote that in 2021 there were 65,548 wind turbines, a 47% increase in the industry, and by projection estimates that there are 538,000 wind-turbine caused bird deaths in the US each year.
ABC then projected mortality based on energy produced by turbines, since that accounts for the size of the turbines as well as their numbers. This increases the bird mortality to 681,000 birds currently killed by wind turbines in the US each year.
A recent study of bird death detections also shows that searching with dogs detected up to 2.7 times the number of small dead songbirds than were detected by humans. This would translate into 1.17 million birds killed by wind turbines in the US each year.
If new turbines are located far from existing power grids and require constructing new powerlines, the indirect effect of those powerlines are another source of bird mortality incurred when turbines are installed.
Wind energy companies conduct their own mortality studies but are under no obligation to share this data with the public, which would provide a clearer picture of the cost to our birds. We should be asking our representatives to require this information be made public so that conservation efforts could be enhanced to mitigate the loss of bird life.
Regardless of mortality numbers, birds are already facing many threats, and should not have to also be threatened by wind turbines. In the publication Science, September 2019, we learned of the alarming warning that the US and Canada have lost 3 billion breeding birds since 1970, a loss of 1 in 4 birds. Even worse, State of the Birds.org just published their 2022 appraisal of the steep population losses in virtually all habitats. They identify 70 tipping point species that “have lost half or more of their breeding population since 1970 and are on track to lose another half or more in the next 50 years.”
Of those 70 tipping point species, fourteen have been seen and utilize Iroquois NWR, directly south of Medina. They are American Golden Plover, Bobolink, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Chimney Swift, Evening Grosbeak, Golden-winged Warbler, King Rail, Lesser Yellowlegs, Whimbrel, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone and Pectoral Sandpiper, one-fifth of the species at a tipping point.
Mid-Atlantic Flyway species’ migratory pathways are shown on the MOTUS.org website, moving through the range of the proposed 633-foot-tall turbines proposed for Shelby. We know that birds have traveled incredible distances to rest and refuel at Iroquois NWR each spring and fall, before continuing to either their northerly breeding sites in the boreal forests of Canada or the Arctic wetlands or on their return trip to wintering grounds in central and South America.
There is no dispute that we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, but without adequate study of the costs to wildlife or consideration for using the least disruptive renewable method to the natural world, actions like rushed installation of wind turbines in sensitive areas becomes our own loss. Birds belong to all of us. Their loss has much larger ramifications to the ecosystem.
Therefore, I ask that residents of Orleans and Genesee counties voice their opinions and reject the proposed Borrego wind turbine installation between South Gravel Road and Salt Works Road.
Respectfully submitted,
Celeste Morien
Medina
Editor:
It was about a month ago now that an alleged event occurred at a LOYAL football game in Medina that has shaken many players as parents to their cores.
When unsubstantiated accusations of a 10-11 year old player hitting an Akron cheerleader were made public and the social media world went wild which perpetuated a poorly executed news story on Channel 7, none of us could’ve predicted the events that would follow.
Instead of yielding to the facts and maintaining an environment in which children could benefit from an opportunity to demonstrate compassion and understanding towards one another with an age-old solution: an apology and even adding a one-game suspension to the suggested means of remediation, the powers at be (NOFA – Niagara Orleans Football Association) would demonstrate a divided front.
The Executive Board agreed that the aforementioned plan would be an appropriate handling of the matter, as did both Akron and Medina coaches and commissioners. According to NOFA bylaws, the conflict was resolved and required no further action.
However, in direct breach of their own bylaws and in direct conflict of interest to the party involved, the Executive Board then accepted a motion made by a commissioner, and six other “yea” votes followed to suspend Medina Broncos for the remainder of the season.
Justifiably, Medina’s parents and community were outraged and desired answers. The Chairman of NOFA, Harold Suhr, extended an invitation to his other NOFA comrades to meet with Medina parents to discuss this matter. He was the only one that came to the meeting, which can be heard here on YouTube.
The Chairman expressed a limited understanding of NOFA’s bylaws and a hesitancy to follow them. He expressed that while the LOYAL Board was currently engaged in an appeals process regarding the decision, that NOFA had no appeals process in their bylaws. The Chairman likened the value of bylaws and ability to enforce them to the southern border crisis in the United States.
The Chairman also acknowledged that the leagues within NOFA oftentimes will deal with retaliation for decisions made against other leagues in the past and that the Broncos team being number 1 in the standings was indeed part of the decision to ultimately end their season. Finally, when the parents collectively demanded that this decision be reversed, the Chairman encouraged the parents to “lawyer up.” So we did.
The following events are even more troubling than the aforementioned. Once NOFA learned that the Broncos parents were seeking legal recourse, the LOYAL Board received a letter from NOFA reminding the LOYAL league of their probation (due to issues from the previous season which had been mitigated) and stated that they need not justify the decision to suspend the remaining LOYAL teams, that is the 6-7 year olds, 8-9 year olds, and 12-13 year olds. The LOYAL Board, recognizing this threat, could not provide support to the Broncos parents, in consideration for the other children.
The Broncos’ parents, however, in an attempt to save what was left of our children’s season, urged the lawyer to pursue based simply on the verbal instruction of the NOFA Chairman himself when he stated “lawyer up”. This entire chain of events could’ve taken days and was especially exhausting for the children who had high hopes of continuing their season. However, due to literally hundreds of unanswered emails and phone calls, this occurred over the period of about 3.5 weeks.
Parents have heard time and time again “they can’t do that”, but I assure you, reader, they can- and they did. After receiving a letter from the lawyer retained to advocate for our children urging the reversal of an obviously faulty decision, NOFA simply responded that they had confirmed with the LOYAL Board that they were not objecting to the suspension (as mentioned earlier the parents took this step independent of the LOYAL Board to ensure that the other teams could continue their season) and that “NOFA will not be re-examining the situation at this time nor through the remainder of the 2022 scheduled season.”
As a parent, I have learned throughout these 3 weeks, things that I cannot un-learn. Prior to this event, I could not fathom that a group of adults would consider a football team’s standings and potential for a playoff spot, over the well-being, and best interest of children.
Prior to these three weeks, I could not imagine that members of the NOFA Board who would make such a decision, serve in leadership roles in their respective communities, including on school boards. I could not understand that people that say that they’re “in it for the kids” could so blatantly make decisions against “the kids” and demonstrate a sort of metaphorical toddler placing hands on the hips and stomping feet refusing to admit wrongdoing, in the name of what? The kids? Three weeks ago I could not imagine a grown adult telling me that she was intimidated during such meetings because voting against the majority meant that you might get “dirty looks.”
Please, parents, as you consider your children’s extracurricular and athletic pursuits in the future heed this word of caution: find out who is in charge and get a seat at that table. Not for your own personal gain or status, or to list in your obituary someday that you served “x” amount of decades on a Board.
As you can see the service in this situation was not done with integrity or “for the children” but because these kids – your kids, and those without a strong advocate at home – need a voice at that table. There needs to be a conscience in the room who, when brought to tears over a moral conundrum, recognizes that perhaps the business going on is done behind closed doors and over a couple bottles of alcohol because the business is not “for the children.”
And a final word of caution to the NOFA Board of Executives and Commissioners themselves: While you have been so bold and unfeeling as to table this discussion for the remainder of the season, so as to ensure that your wildly clever plan of gaining the coveted playoff spots that you so desire, you should know that we now know what we cannot un-know. We are indeed in it “for the kids.”
Your refusal to make right, what could have easily been made right, will only be seen unfavorably by a judge and I would seriously consider resigning at the end of this season to allow people to serve that are actually “for the kids.”
Respectfully,
Brittany Dix, a Broncos mother
Albion, formerly of Medina
Editor:
Recently the Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) approved the suspension of the Medina JV Broncos for an incident that occurred on Sept. 17 after the Medina v. Akron game. Allegedly a child on the Medina Broncos slapped Akron cheerleaders during the “Good Game” line-up. A game that the Medina Broncos won, 38-0, in their 5-0 season.
What transpired immediately after the incident is nothing short of hysteria; a woman storming the field, threatening children with juvenile detention, children sobbing, adults yelling.
There are many issues to note with this incident. The Akron cheerleaders were first in the line when, usually, they follow the football team; many had their hands behind their backs rather than ready to receive a “high-five.” Akron coaches were not in the line. Medina coaches were in the middle of the line, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. There was no reaction until the conclusion of the line, which happened to be caught on video by an Akron parent.
One thing we do know is three girls had visible marks on their arms. It cannot be confirmed how those marks got there, the intent of the child who may have caused those marks, or what child it may have been.
Akron filed a complaint against Medina. An Akron parent gave a news channel just enough information to make the story grab attention. Social media frenzied on the narrative. NOFA had a decision to make.
NOFA has bylaws that advise how to proceed in situations like this. Specifically, they guide the Chairman to ensure proper investigation and to hear the defense to decide if further action is needed; neither of which happened.
The bylaws further state that as long as an informal agreement can be met, no further action is necessary. Akron and Medina coaches and commissioners discussed and agreed to a one-game forfeit and an apology from Medina. The Chairman, and the Executive Board, agreed with the recommendation, then in quite the plot twist, allowed the Board of Commissioners (representatives of all the leagues) to vote to have Medina JV suspended for the remainder of the season.
All of this happened in 72 hours. This tells us the investigation was sparse.
Over the next three weeks, the Chairman repeatedly gave hope to the Broncos that they would be able to play: advising to send an appeal, and when that was denied, advising to have every parent sign that they agree to behave, which was also denied. All along, the Chairman had power to reverse the decision that he stated he disagreed with.
As you enjoy watching your children compete in the playoffs this weekend please remember the Medina Broncos should be there; it was NOFA who took that away from 26 children who earned their spot in the top 4. All because opportunistic Commissioners were allowed to make a biased, unfounded decision.
Think of the kids who did not commit this act, but punished with the most severe punishment by men who supposedly have their best interests in mind.
Honestly,
Andrea Skowneski, a Bronco mother
Albion, formerly of Medina
Editor:
This is an open letter to the Orleans County legislators. I was informed the NYS Department of Conservation approved the State Pollutant Elimination Discharge (SPDES) permit for the Genesee County Economic Development Center on Sept. 20 as it pertains to 1 million gallons per day of treated sanitary effluent from the STAMP site in the Town of Alabama.
It is important to note that the SPDES permit was issued for impacts up to 1 million and the full scope of GCEDC’s plan for STAMP calls up to 6 million gallons a day of treated sewage to be discharged from STAMP into Oak Orchard Creek.
The force main is currently designed and permitted for a maximum flow of 6 MGD. As developed, the STAMP sewer works project could impede our ability to service residents, businesses and the Medina Business Park.
It appears that three engineering firms were engaged by GCEDC. Project documents and correspondence suggest there are irregularities and omissions in the project design. There are also areas of concern listed in the SPDES permit that should be evaluated by a third-party consultant.
An independent evaluation should include all of the project scope and design documents including but not limited to the initial project design from one engineering firm, modeling of Oak Orchard Creek performed by another firm, and a February 2022 engineering review of the project scope in relation to hydraulic modeling of the creek in its present form.
It is incumbent upon officials to determine how the scope of the proposed project will support or erode our local waterways and/or infrastructure and either enhance or hinder our ability to deliver services across Medina, Ridgeway and Shelby in the future.
The February 2022 report provides some insight as to where the engineering firms diverge in their assessment of how STAMP’s discharge will impact soil erosion, citing flaws in the plan’s design which “shows no documentation or calculations of how the outfall was designed to avoid soil erosion.”
The review details:
Medina recently invested $7.5 million to upgrade our wastewater facility. The investment was made to increase capacity to 9 million gallons a day in order to meet the current needs of residents, local businesses, and the Medina Business Park. Without these recent upgrades, there will be little or no potential for the village, Shelby, Ridgeway, county, or school district to realize future tax revenue from new businesses in Medina or the business park.
Our infrastructure does not have the capacity for an additional 6 MGD of wastewater from Genesee County. Before considering a project from outside Orleans County, that exceeds the Medina facility’s present capabilities, a thorough evaluation should take place relative to project details that exist that could compromise the existing infrastructure and require millions more in upgrades.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency has over 350 acres of certified shovel-ready land available in the Medina Business Park. Our business park has more available infrastructure than most business parks located between Niagara falls and Albany. Medina’s infrastructure capabilities play a significant role in the offerings OEDA and our regional economic development partners can promote to bring more commerce and industry to the state, region and county.
Four manufacturing plants and a hotel are now located in the MBP. Robust water, sewer, electric, gas and internet are available throughout MBP to attract more mid to large-scale operations.
The village, town, county and OEDA have spent the last 15-plus years expanding the infrastructure to better serve the community. A lot of time and money have gone into upgrades for the purpose of servicing local residents and businesses and to attract more business to Orleans County.
There is presently over $8 million in assessed value in the Medina Business Park. The OEDA and the village recently responded to multiple RFPs for new occupancy in the business park. MBP’s robust infrastructure specs have resulted in our business park being placed on a short list by site selector consultants. WNY Energy just completed a $38 million expansion. The Town of Shelby, Orleans County and Medina school district receive over $14 million in PILOT money from the ethanol plant alone, which is supplied with water and sewer from the village.
As elected officials, we are obligated to prioritize the available infrastructure for projects located within the county that support job retention and growth along with local sites that are capable of attracting new industries that will diversify the tax base, decrease the burden on our own taxpayers, and improve the quality of life for those who live and work in Orleans County.
I am requesting Orleans County officials, Orleans County Soil & Water, and an independent consultant not previously associated with the project perform a thorough evaluation of the project scope, design and discharge plan. A comprehensive assessment aimed at preserving both our waterways and infrastructure is in order given certain project details remain unclear and/or could impede our ability to provide services to residents and businesses in the future.
Sincerely,
Michael Sidari
Mayor of Medina
Editor:
On election day next month residents of the Town of Shelby will be asked to vote about extending the term of the town supervisor from two to four years.
I know some people were thinking I was looking to extend my term. This is not true because the local law, if passed, would not be in force until the 2023 election for supervisor. It was never my intention to run again in 2023.
This was all about the current reality of the town supervisor’s responsibilities. It takes more than two years to learn this job. The town would benefit greatly from having someone that knows what s/he is doing, especially since that person is responsible for the town finances.
If the proposal passes, the town would elect three board members in an election, and then elect two members two years later. The town clerk, highway superintendent, and town board members are elected for four years. At present, only the supervisor, who like the board members is part time, is elected every two years.
This whole process did start with me realizing the complexities of the job and wanting to set the next supervisor up to succeed. There were some informal discussions with board members, I believe it was raised at a work session, and then voted on at a regular meeting.
Since this issue has to go to a public vote it was necessary to schedule a public hearing. Every public hearing since I became supervisor has been advertised in the Pennysaver. Darlene Rich, the town clerk, is a stickler about getting notices posted timely, and properly.
Most public hearings are poorly attended, and if there is not much comment, we may vote on the issue during the regular board meeting that often follows the hearing. If there were many comments, we might hold off on voting to consider the comments.
At the board meeting on Tuesday, complaints were raised about us not informing the public as to what is going on. I find this to be untrue. We have always had minutes for meetings, and now minutes are on the web site.
Besides the required notifications in the paper, meeting dates are posted on the web site, and since Covid hit we have been trying to broadcast all meetings and hearings. There have been some growing pains with trying to produce a live feed for meetings. We have done equipment upgrades and it is still a struggle. The town clerk, deputy clerk, and bookkeeper have put forth a lot of effort to keep us live. Tuesday’s meeting had audio problems. The clerk has a plan to fix this.
The best solution to bad audio and video is a seat in the boardroom during meetings. The more often you attend, the more you know. It is not fair to accuse the board and employees of trying to hide what is going on if individuals put in little effort to stay informed.
Please get out and vote in November, either for or against the proposal to increase the supervisor term to four years. The town is also in need of good, fair-minded people to run for the board.
Even though our town actually has a road named Podunk, we are not some backward area. There are many important matters before the board which need to be acted upon before our town returns to its normal, quiet ways.
Jeff Smith
Former supervisor Town of Shelby
Editor:
Today’s Jan. 6th commission TV hearing will be the time to disclose if emails or testimony show that Donald Trump knew any of his supporters were armed as he sent them to the Capitol.
It is a federal crime to interfere with a public official carrying out their official duties. So if there was ever a time to make the case to the American public, today will be it.
But the larger issue isn’t Donald Trump. It’s the multi-headed hydra that election denialism has created
“Election denialism is a form of corruption,” per NYU historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat. “The party has now institutionalized this form of lying, this form of rejection of results. So it’s institutionalized illegal activity. These politicians are essentially conspiring to make party dogma the idea that it’s possible to reject certified results.”
This is a fancy way of saying that went a politician tells you that his opinion about who should win is what he’s going to make sure happens in his official position, that the politician is telling you he’s going to commit a crime.
It’s one thing to be an election denier, but it’s quite another for candidate to say they’re going to set aside the results no matter what.
And that’s the larger issue that we’re facing in this election. For believers in Donald Trump the hearing is extremely important. For the country, it’s the election itself and the candidates who don’t care if Donald Trump is a crook or not but really care about themselves rather than serving you.
In that regard today’s hearing and the election have one thing in common. Both are about honesty.
Conrad F. Cropsey
Albion
Editor:
If you think Republicans are working for your interest consider this: All of Florida’s Republican Congressional members voted against federal disaster relief. Senator Rick Scott voted no and Marco Rubio was not present.
The vote in Congress was two days after Ian, a strong category 4 hurricane which destroyed large parts of Florida and the vote in the Senate was one day after the disaster occurred. Homes and businesses were destroyed families lost everything, people are isolated without food or water yet Republicans voted against federal assistance. In public statements they call for federal monies but they voted against such aid in a mis-guided attempt to blame Democrats for poor leadership.
Congressperson Claudia Tenney, who wants to represent a large part of our district and Lee Zeldin, who wants to be Governor voted against the Chips and Science Act which provides for research, manufacturing and development of micro-chips in this country. Western New York is primed to benefit from this legislation. Republicans complain that Asia’s (and particularly China’s) manufacturing of micro-chips hurts our national security, a legitimate concern, but they voted against manufacturing in the U.S.A.
Claudia Tenney and Lee Zeldin voted against providing federal funds for infrastructure. While our roads and bridges crumble putting people’s life endanger, Republicans would rather play political gamesmanship. Republicans know the problems, remember all those “infrastructure weeks” during the last administration; lots of hoopla and hype but no substance. Republicans don’t have our interest in mind.
If you care about job creation in our region; if you care about national security; if you care about families, vote for Democrats.
William Fine
Brockport
Editor:
Shame on Orleans County governments, the villages, towns and county governments for not finding a solution to fund COVA ambulances – a critical lifeline as much as your local fire departments.
I hope you will never need their services, but for those of us who depended on keeping our elder parents alive, I am forever grateful for their service and life-saving response times.
COVA, a job well done. You have been heroes over and over again.
Steven Kast
Churchville, formerly of Albion
Editor:
Should employers pay their workers better? Can small business owners afford the cost? The debate continues on. And, frankly, both sides have good points.
I often look to what Ron Paul has to say. I paraphrased some of his points regarding federal minimum wage.
Raising minimum wage is certainly an admirable goal, however, to believe that Congress can raise the standard of living for working Americans by simply forcing employers to pay their employees a higher wage is equivalent to claiming that Congress can repeal gravity by passing a law saying humans shall have the ability to fly.
Economic principles dictate that when government imposes a minimum wage rate above the market wage rate, it creates a surplus “wedge” between the supply of labor and the demand for labor, leading to an increase in unemployment. Only the marketplace can determine what is the proper wage.
Wages are different, whether you live in New York City or Birmingham or Lake Jackson, Texas. They are dependent on the size of the city where you’re located, and the wages are what the market will bear.
Minimum wages should be resolved at the local level, and in a free market, the market should determine the right levels of compensation. It’s a negotiation between supply and demand. The market will create full employment at a certain wage. And that goes up and down depending on the participation of labor and expansion or contraction of the economy.
Those who are denied employment opportunities as a result of the minimum wage are often young people at the lower end of the income scale who are seeking entry-level employment. Raising minimum wage to $15 would cost 1.4 million jobs, CBO says.
Perhaps the most significant harm to low-wage earners is caused by the inflationist policies of the Federal Reserve. When the Federal Reserve creates money, those well-connected with the political and financial elites receive the newly created money first, before general price increases have spread through the economy.
Those who are genuinely concerned about increasing the well-being of all Americans should support repeal of all laws, regulations, and taxes that inhibit job creation and economic mobility. Congress should also end the most regressive of all taxes, the inflation tax, by ending the Federal Reserve.
Gregory McCarthy
Medina
Editor:
“Poverty, contrary to popular belief, is not a result of an individual’s moral failings. It is the result of systems and policies that inhibits a person’s ability to live life fully. 40% of adults in the US cannot afford a $400 emergency,” The National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis TN, Oct. 2022. (“Report of Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 2018.”)
The federal minimum wage, the absolute minimum to be paid no matter where you live in is $7.25 per hour, not raised since 2009. This is the longest period of time without an increase since implementation by the Roosevelt administration in 1938. After increases in cost-of-living, it’s a pay cut for low wage workers, currently living below the poverty line, unable to pay the bills in any state, no matter where one lives.
Sadly, the marginal federal minimum wage of $7.25 continues as status quo in more than 40% of states, mostly Republican dominated states, specifically Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire. North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
24 other states, 35 cities and counties have raised their own minimum wage, exceeding the basic federal minimum wage to $10 or more per hour to provide a better standard of living. (* indicates states to raise the current minimum wage again in 2023) They are: Alaska $10.34, Arizona $12.80, Arkansas $11.00, California $14.00*, Colorado $12.56, Connecticut $13.00*, Delaware $10.50*, Florida $10.00*, Hawaii $10.10, Illinois $12.00*, Maine $12.75, Maryland $12.50, Massachusetts $14.25*, Minnesota $10.33, Missouri $11.15*, Nevada $10.50*, New Jersey $13.00*, New Mexico $11.50*, New York $13.20, Oregon $13.50, Rhode Island $12.25*, Vermont $12.55, Virginia $11.00*, Washington $14.49, District of Columbia $15.20. The highest minimum wage in effect is in West Hollywood, Ca. for hotel workers only, $17.64.
Essential workers comprise about half of all workers in low-paid occupations. During the pandemic essential workers risked their health on the frontline and kept the country functioning as thousands lost their lives. No one working 40 hours per week should live below the poverty line, especially essential workers.
President Joe Biden continues to push for a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour. He signed an executive order to move the minimum wage for federal workers to $15 per hour. Legislation to lift the federal minimum rate to $15 an hour, thwarted by Republicans, failed. Representatives who fight to keep the federal minimum wage below a living-wage promote poverty.
Carol Nochajski
Wilson
Editor:
We went on the Buzzy Buddies Wine Trip to Keuka Lake. I saw a lot of wind turbines generating electrical power. This state has done away with the coal-fired electrical plant at Lake Ontario so other electrical sources are needed.
I like the wind turbines which I saw on our bus trip. I don’t think they’re an eyesore.
I think acres of solar panels are and will take away farmland in our county.
Ross Thompson
Medina
