I never got to last week's opinion pages, where there was a lot of Dryden opinion. One piece that's kept me thinking is Mike Lane's letter on the need for a county code of ethics. I've spent a lot of...
This morning's Ithaca Journal is quiet on Dryden but has lots of regional and county news. In county budget news, the County took a step away from administering the WIC program directly with a committee vote. (The headline is misleading,...
Wow am I behind here. I still need to catch up to last week's opinion pages... In this morning's Ithaca Journal, there's a report on Saturday's volunteer day building the playground at Caroline Elementary School, where most young Dryden students...
It's been a busy few days. If you have the chance, please go to the Recreation master plan discussion tonight. Recreation's been a key topic in Dryden for years, and an area that the Town has pushed hard to improve...
Update: Wow, the overall state data is a snarl. The Journal's Saturday article used old data, making the discussion below into an incredible tangle. Start with the latest article on it, then jump down to Varna. Saturday's Journal also noted...
The biggest Dryden story in this morning's Ithaca Journal doesn't mention Dryden. Route 79 in Ithaca is getting resurfaced between Mitchell Street and Bridge Street, closed to all through traffic. (This closes 79 above the intersection with 366.) Trucks are...
I wrote about Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton's garbage truck trainwreck earlier, and of her fellow Democrats who undermined her case completely in their quest to get things done. There's a strange thing about a trainwreck, though. In movies, where there's a...
The Journal has the latest on garbage truck routing this morning. I'm not sure if the Journal was unkind in its selection of Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton's quotes, or if she really was as unfocused as they make her seem. Yesterday's...
There's an article in today's Ithaca Journal on the Tompkins County Red Cross's new director, Jennifer Yarbrough. The first few paragraphs have some interesting bits about the organization's reaching out geographically: This vision and past vistas will be on display...
When the Syracuse Post-Standard last looked at the garbage truck question, the conclusion was: Lifton said after the meeting that she is not going to back down and needs to do this the right way. When asked if she would...
"Clearly, people don't understand how state law is made." Hmmm.... Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton seems to have put herself in a tight spot after last week's meeting on garbage truck traffic on two-lane highways. Maybe headlines as far away as Syracuse...
The County Legislature honored Will Hine of Varna as the county's Distinguished Youth for April. Hine, 19, responded to more than half, nearly 200, of the company's calls. (The Journal's Wednesday editorial also supported a federal tax break for volunteer...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column today is a directory of different things going on in the Town: She reports on the presentation Margaret Lorenzen will lead on the Nedyrd Food Cooperative, at 7:00pm on April 23rd at the Dryden...
Finally catching up with a week or so of the Ithaca Journal - Freeville resident Rachel Dickinson reflects on her visit to Tibet in July 2006 in the light of recent riots, concluding sadly: It makes me so sad to...
This week's news has been fairly quiet, though I need to do a more formal run down. This morning, while Sungiva's sleeping, I just want to make sure I get two quotes recorded here. The first, hopeful, quote is from...
Governor Spitzer announced his resignation; Lieutenant Governor David Paterson will be sworn in as Governor on Monday at noon. The Journal looks at the likely minimal local impact, and lets State Senator Jim Seward kick around the Upstate-Downstate theme that...
I had felt optimistic about New York State politics Sunday night. I'd been feeling down about the state's leadership for a while, including the Governor I'd heartily supported. Citizens, though, seemed to be awakening, as "Yes, we can" was coming...
It seems clear that Eliot Spitzer's career has come to a sudden crash. I've been concerned with Spitzer's performance on the reform issues he'd championed, as anyone following my posts at The Albany Project might have seen, but I still...
March seems to have come in as an indecisive lion, one who can't decide if it prefers rain or snow. We've had an interesting few days of precipitation, and the Journal has a photo of it from the Express Mart...
I'm a little annoyed tonight at what Downstate legislators are proposing for Downstate, but I'm completely baffled by our own State Senator, Jim Seward. The Oneonta Daily Star's editorial for today concludes: Joyce Boyd, Otsego County's acting Social Services Commissioner,...
Lake Ontario's shores aren't exactly downtown Dryden, but they saw an election today that I think has a lot to say to Dryden's current State Senator, Jim Seward. For years, he's seemed impregnable in a district where registration was overwhelmingly...
This morning's Journal goes for cute photos of reptiles with children at Saturday's Varna event rather than my scaremongering "lizard that ate Varna." Oh well - they're a bit more accurate. There's also a piece on water quality in the...
Dryden Highway Superintendent Jack Bush is quoted in an article this morning about a shortage of road salt from Cargill's Lansing mine: With 1-3 inches of snow being predicted for today by the Cornell Northeast Regional Climate Center, Dryden highway...
The Journal has an update on Robbie Busby, reporting that his cancer is in remission. He'll be heading back to Freeville Elementary School after fighting off Burkitt's lymphoma and getting support from the community through a benefit concert earlier this...
Maybe it's nothing, maybe it's something, but a man who tried to convince third-graders to let him in to Dryden Elementary is raising concerns. The third-graders did as they were supposed to, and didn't let him in through the locked...
I have to love this AP story on the New York Primary: First there's the title: "Analysis: Despite bosses' plans, voters won in NY primary". Then, in the details, we get to remember why the primary moved up, and what...
This morning's Journal continues their Touched by Poverty series, looking at the cost of housing. I'm happy to see that they recognize the cost of transportation as a critical related factor: "Students of housing policy would point out that housing...
This morning's Journal has a picture of the new TC3 Commons on the front of the Local section. (Update: Whoops - that was the athletic facility.) As Town Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner noted in comments here, the Town and Village...
The New York State Organic Advisory Task Force will have at least one participant from Dryden, Vaughn Sherman of Jerry Dell Farm. This morning's Journal also has an article comparing Governor Spitzer's plan for Upstate with the State Senate's plan....
As financial institutions keep reporting staggering losses, the strongest financial engine of the state is looking pretty wobbly: Now, economists and city and state officials are acknowledging that 2008 could turn out to be far worse than their already dampened...
This morning's Journal has an article on Caroline Supervisor Don Barber gearing up to challenge State Senator Jim Seward. On the opinion page, the Dryden Youth Opportunity Fund sends a Laurel to supporters of its Honor Tree in Times Square....
Looking back through the past few days of the Cortland Standard, they report on the Dryden Schools' Superintendent search, which hopes to have interviews in March. They also report on Caroline Supervisor Don Barber's raising $125,000 toward a State Senate...
Today's Dryden news in the Journal is mostly road-related. There's a one-car accident at Mott and North roads, a DWI arrest for a Freeville man, and a letter from Nari Mistry of Dryden urging TCAT buses to drive more carefully....
I probably shouldn't admit this on a Dryden blog, but there are lots of times I'm jealous of Groton. Their downtown seems to be doing better than Dryden's at this point, the state highways that connect the Village to the...
This morning's Journal reports unseasonable temperatures, a January spring. It peaked at 62 at the airport yesterday and 64 on Game Farm Road, and we'll see similar temperatures today. There was a closed hearing in the Manos murder case yesterday,...
I wrote earlier about the state legislature's hunt for a raise to their mere $79,500 part-time salary. Phillip Anderson has more (with video) on a way out there speech by a (Democratic) State Senator calling for a lot more money....
I wish this was a job posting - I know a lot of people would like to have $79,500 for a job that still lets them pursue other potentially lucrative possibilities, or simply relax more. Unfortunately, though, it's more about...
Today's Ithaca Journal editorial questions New York State's habit of letting elections fall all over the calendar, with elections in March, May, November, and whenever. It's definitely a strange problem to have to convince people that there's an election going...
Every now and then I get into a conversation about lake-effect snow, and I usually talk about how Lake Erie sends snow to the Buffalo area while Ontario sends snow to the south and east. Somehow, yesterday, Lake Huron got...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on a propane explosion in Genoa that severely burned a Freeville man and injured a Moravia man. The two were removing a valve from a thousand-gallon propane tank when it exploded. Inside, there's news that...
County Legislator Mike Hattery leaped on Governor Spitzer's pulling back on his drivers' license plan to send a press release complaining about "actions that undermine citizenship". On the opinion page, Louise Edelman of Dryden writes to support the International Association...
While everyone thinks we're going to the polls tomorrow to vote for local candidates, the citizens of Raquette Lake are hoping that the rest of the state will give them permission to fix their water supply. They're in the Adirondack...
The Ithaca Journal reports on yesterday's redistricting forum. I'll have a lot more to say on this when I find a moment, but mostly I have to say that I found Assemblyman William Parment interesting but utterly unconvincing in his...
This morning's Journal reports - catching up to an announcement last Thursday - that retired Binghamton superintendent James Lee will manage the Dryden schools until the school board finds a replacement for departing superintendent Mark Crawford. Briefly in Tompkins a...
This morning's Briefly in Tompkins makes two mentions of Dryden. Former Dryden County Legislator Mike Lane will participate in a panel on redistricting in New York, something that I fear is desperately needed. Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton is sponsoring the event,...
I missed Mike Lane's comments in yesterday's article about a Town Hall held by neighboring State Senator George Winner. Lane asked hard questions about redistricting in New York State, and Winner basically ducked with the lame excuse that "the district...
Most of the Dryden news in today's Journal is in Briefly in Tompkins. Dryden Middle School will be celebrating Citizenship Day this Monday morning: The entire middle school will gathers to say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing the national anthem...
Every now and then I get to enjoy the results of a conversation I started, and it's been a good week for hearing other people state really clearly what's on my mind. I posted a piece about Upstate's past and...
Upstate New York is trapped by its past and offers a glimpse of the rest of the country's future. Its past was one of wealth and innovation, providing a place where the ideas and commerce of New York City melded...
Gannett's Jay Gallagher must be spinning a bit. He wrote late last week about the failure of Upstate New York, presenting the Business Council's perspective, and today he writes about the Fiscal Policy Institute's rather different take on the economic...
I was a bit worried that my latest piece on New York State politics was too abstract, but NYCO nicely rescues it with an excellent piece on a strategy that might give New York State participatory politics again. Her idea,...
I know there's a New York Power Authority, but this isn't about electrical energy - it's about the concentrations of political power that New Yorkers take for granted. New York's "Three Men in a Room" style of governance concentrates power...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Tompkins County SPCA has 900 cats in their care right now, 300 more than last year. They're looking for people to adopt or foster cats. (I've also heard complaints from someone who tried...
Briefly in Tompkins lists a benefit for the family of Gracie Manos at the Dryden VFW this afternoon from 2:00pm to 8:00pm. Tickets are $10 at the door. Jen Dube, Dryden's departing Recreation Coordinator, gets a laurel from Dryden Kiwanis...
A car chase that started in Cortland ended in Dryden yesterday as a woman fled from a court order. Cortland City Police and Sheriff's cars were damaged by ramming, and Dryden Police, Dryden Ambulance, the New York State Police, and...
I don't know if anyone else was interested in Angela Sparks-Beddoe's nomination to chair the Public Service Commission. I didn't think it was a great idea to appoint a lobbyist for Energy East to that position, but she never got...
Coming back from California has left me even more exhausted than usual, so updates are slow. Sorry about that! The regular flow of stories should resume shortly. The biggest (though certainly not brightest) Dryden news of the day comes as...
This morning's Journal features the Dryden High School graduation, complete with James Bond, a student cutting a teacher's hair, squirreliness, and rocks. There are also college graduates, college news, and Dean's List reports. A couple separated for decades will be...
For some reason, New York State's legislature comes to an end just as schools are getting out. Students finish with finals and a wave of celebrations; the legislature ends with negotiations and last-minute votes. The Journal reports on the achievements...
The Ithaca Journal opinion page has a letter from Thomas Pirko of Dryden about the challenges of notifying students in case of emergency. Also, on the opinion page, Jay Gallagher provides a cynical glossary of Albany vocabulary....
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk reports on the Dryden Grange's giving Cam Viall their Grange Community Service Award. The mother of 10 children, Viall helped run a variety store, has been active in the American Legion Auxiliary, and worked as...
This morning's Ithaca Journal brings two letters to the editor from the conservative side of the political spectrum. Edgar Seymour of Freeville calls for the prosecution of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for her recent trip to Syria, while...
Dryden news is quiet for the weekend, but there's an update on New York energy issues, including tangled questions about the nomination of Angela Sparks-Beddoe to lead the Public Service Commission. And while none of these hospitals are in Dryden,...
I wrote earlier about how the shape of the 51st State Senate District, which includes Dryden, looks like "Abraham Lincoln riding on a vacuum cleaner." Someone took that quote and ran with it all the way to Albany, showing up...
There's a lot more in today's Journal about Jacob Carter's sentencing for assault, sexual assault, and abuse in attacks on two children in October and January. District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson asked for 43 years to life, and Judge John Rowley...
I may be the only person (apart from State Senator Thomas Libous) who's still interested in this, but the State Senate seems ready to hold confirmation hearings for Angela Sparks-Beddoe, Governor Spitzer's choice to lead the Public Service Commission. If...
This morning's Ithaca Journal has an odd report in The Monitor. An Ithaca woman complained that her car had been borrowed for too long and not returned. Next: The woman also said Cannady was armed with a handgun. Deputies located...
There should probably be a contest to describe the shape of the New York State Senate district that includes Dryden, presently represented by State Senator Jim Seward. Right now, my vote goes to "Abraham Lincoln riding on a vacuum cleaner",...
I'd asked Mike Lane a while back about E. R. Sweetland, apparently Dryden's only Democratic Town Supervisor in the first half of the 20th century. (If I remember right, according to the portrait in Town Hall, he served from 1938...
I'm a little surprised that the Journal doesn't mention yesterday's surprising Easter weather, except in an article from Atlanta. We went for a walk on the Jim Schug trail and found it covered in white snow, and there are still...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the Dryden Elementary School Chorus's trip to Albany last Friday, where they sang for "several important people" and then toured the city. How They Voted in the Tompkins County Legislature has more details on...
I'm happy to report that this weblog is succeeding in many of the ways I'd hoped it would when I first started. Those successes are generally modest - people hear of things they wouldn't have heard of otherwise, and sometimes...
This morning's Ithaca Journal is quiet about Dryden, but has some broader news that affects us. There's a rundown of the $810K of member items coming to Tompkins County, and the print edition's editorial runs down - maybe runs over...
It's been a quiet few days for Dryden in the Ithaca Journal. I hope that's because we're all enjoying the recent warmth, though we'll no doubt have a few more ups and downs before it stays warm. Most of the...
It's possible that I'm missing something, but I've looked and asked and not found any sign that roll calls for votes on bills are available online for either the New York State Assembly or the New York State Senate. It's...
I proposed this as a civics lesson for students studying New York State government: Legislators provide a public face for the leadership in their district, explaining to the district why what the leadership has decided to do must be right...
An old house I'd always really liked burned yesteday in Freeville. The Freeville, Dryden, Varna, Etna, Groton, McLean and Cayuga Heights fire departments all responded, as did Dryden Ambulance, NYSEG, and the New York State Department of Transportation. There were...
Yes, it's been kind of quiet around here. I have a cold (flu?) that just won't let go, and can only concentrate for a little while at a time. It's better in the evening than during the day, but still......
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on Saturday's march for peace. I joined about thirty people marching from Belle Sherman down to the Commons, many of whom had carpooled from the Village of Dryden or walked in from Snyder Hill and...
This morning's Ithaca Journal leads with a huge story on poverty in Tompkins County. County Legislator Martha Robertson is quoted on the challenges facing the county government's efforts to deal with poverty: "The money we spend doesn't begin to meet...
I've been frustrated with Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton's lack of a notion that there might be something wrong with how the state legislature functions before, both in her public presentations and in her writing. It's not just her, though. It seems...
A house on Hickory Circle burned early Sunday morning, sending seven people to the hospital. The Varna Volunteer Fire Company responded to a call about smoke, finding the house catching fire shortly after their arrival. Lack of water meant that...
I worry that I may be a werewolf. Or something similar. There's no fur, there aren't any extra fangs or even howling, but listening to state legislators argue that New York State government - or at least their house of...
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton won't be visiting Dryden this year with her community meetings, but she will be in Ithaca and Cortlandville. On Thursday, March 1, she'll be at Ithaca Town Hall (215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca) from 7:00pm to 9:00pm....
This morning's Ithaca Journal has a brief piece on Congressman Michael Arcuri's visit to Lansing to lead a panel discussion on energy issues. (Unfortunately, I didn't get to go, having scheduled time as a docent at the History House a...
This morning's Ithaca Journal notes that Congressman Michael Arcuri will be speaking on energy issues in Lansing this morning. (I can't make it, unfortunately - I'd agreed to be at the History House as a docent this morning.) There's more...
I hadn't heard much lately about Angela Sparks-Beddoe, Governor Spitzer's controversial appointee to chair the Public Service Commission, but this turned up in the Elmira Star-Gazette: Angela Sparks-Beddoe, his controversial pick to head the state Public Service Commission, will be...
My concerns about the state of New York State politics have me writing about things that don't really fit on this site. I'll keep posting some of it here, especially as it relates to those who represent Dryden, but it's...
It's not the eleven feet of snow further north, but a real storm looks likely to hit Tompkins County tonight and tomorrow. Heavy snow, freezing temperatures, and plenty of wind are on their way. Beyond the Lifton explanation of her...
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton has a guest column on the comptroller's appointment in this morning's Ithaca Journal. Unfortunately, the most interesting part of the letter is what it doesn't contain: any discussion of the process the legislature, and especially the Assembly...
This morning's Ithaca Journal is quiet on Dryden, though maybe we wouldn't want a story about eleven feet of snow. There are two pieces on the current situation in New York State politics. Yancey Roy tells the general story of...
I published this over at The Albany Project, but it's a pretty tight explanation of how I'd like to see change, so it seems worth putting here too. This week cast the machinations of the state legislature into sharp relief....
Wow. Spitzer's serious: During a swing through Syracuse that was originally scheduled for the governor to promote his budget priorities, Mr. Spitzer denounced a local assemblyman, William B. Magnarelli, for reneging on the agreement that the Legislature had made to...
Alas, this isn't a Dryden story. I wish we had representatives, in either house of the state legislature, in either party, who showed the strength Assemblyman Greg Ball demonstrated yesterday during the comptroller vote: The scene: The state Assembly chamber,...
I've been enjoying The Albany Project for the last few days. It's good to find a community of people who also think that the state government, especially the legislature, needs major reform. At the same time, though, asking what a...
I haven't had strong opinions about the New York State comptroller's race until now, but this is clearly the wrong way to choose the state's top financial inspector: Instead of a popular vote, or the open process that the Legislature...
This morning's Journal doesn't have much to say about Dryden, but has a few stories on things that affect us directly. There's a report on a meeting of state legislators with area school representatives. Dryden school board member Brian June...
I was starting to wonder if I was the only one surprised by Governor Spitzer's appointment of NYSEG/Energy East lobbyist Angela Sparks-Beddoe to lead the Public Service Commission, the regulatory agency NYSEG fought pitched battles against. (See here and here.)...
Dryden Schools Superintendent Mark Crawford has a letter in today's Journal questioning the state's placing Freeville Elementary School and Dryden High School on their "in need of improvement" list, citing problems in the data collection and interpretation process which had...
In light of the recent questioning of NYSEG's ethics toward customers, employees, and regulators, why exactly is Governor Spitzer appointing the president of Energy East Management Corporation, former director of government affairs at NYSEG, to be chairwoman of the state...
Update - Or not: see the comments. This evening's Cortland Standard reports that State Senator Jim Seward, who represents a strangely-shaped district stretching from Dryden to the Hudson River and up to Old Forge, "has been elevated to the No....
Today's Ithaca Journal includes a letter by former County Legislator Mike Lane that asks a hard question of our state representatives, all of whom enjoy districts gerrymandered severely in favor of their continued incumbency: [Spitzer] also said he will submit...
Every now and then I realize that I'm not nearly cynical enough about New York State politics. State Senator Dale Volker tells the New York Times that: I personally believe it is the biggest democratization of the Legislature in all...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column, in which she reports on Girl Scout Troop 869, which meets at the Freeville Methodist Church. The troop has performed a lot of service in the past few years:...
The Local section of today's Ithaca Journal has photos of the Cornell Law School's mock trials. The online version lacks captions and the accompanying story, but the top photo there is Tompkins County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bonavia, while the...
Thanks to NYCO, I've found The Albany Project, which appears to be busily asking the hard questions about New York State government I've been wondering for a long time. They also have TAPopedia, a developing encyclopedia of information on New...
There's actually so much Dryden news today that picking a headline was hard, but a new column on the front page gets it: Dryden resident Barbara Lang writes about her experiences with colon cancer, in what will be a monthly...
Saturday's Journal was quiet on Dryden, but did address the mysterious, complicated, and generally useless results of one of the dumber ideas the state has had in a long time: letting customers choose their own power supplier. This isn't a...
This morning's Ithaca Journal highlighted the Yellow Barn State Forest and Hammond Hill State Forest in an article on conservation efforts along the Finger Lakes Trail, as the County Legislature brings in a planner to help protect public land from...
This morning's Journal reports on the dedication of a monument to three Ithaca firefighters who lost their lives in 1906 fighting a fire at Chi Psi fraternity. Why am I noting this Ithaca event, however worthy? Because the building where...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on a chimney fire Sunday on Ringwood Road. Varna Fire Chief Natan Huffman advises readers to have their chimneys swept regularly to avoid the creosote buildup that caused this fire. The fire was put out...
It looks like the keepers of the slushpork - borrowed money sent to state legislators' districts with minimal oversight or coherence - have finally surrendered to demands that they reveal what they're up to: The disclosures will shed fuller light...
This morning's Journal notes that RPM Ecosystems' Dryden facility is on its way. Infrastructure is nearly complete, and the greenhouses - for rapidly growing trees - will be operational in March 2007: the company is expected to create as many...
The Dryden Courier has always done a great job of giving candidates for local office space to explain who they are and what they're hoping to accomplish, and I strongly recommend finding a copy if you haven't yet decided. The...
I never got to cover Friday's Ithaca Journal, which included a heartwarming story of a Cortland man's shopping spree for the Dryden Kitchen Cupboard. Dennis Wright won the spree - at Clark's Food Mart - from Dryden Rotary. Kitchen Cupboard...
This morning the Ithaca Journal has a two-page opinion section but still felt the need to list letters and publish them online. Unfortunately, all the letters for Town Board wound up in the online pile. Dawn Potter - a Bethel...
This morning's Journal has an overview article on the Assembly race, talking with incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton and Republican challenger Jim Rohan. There's also an article on New York's rainy summer. Ithaca has had 34.54 inches of precipitation this...
This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at automated polling techniques being used in the Congressional race and questions about the validity of data collected by touch-tone keypad. In the print edition, Frank Row of Dryden is pictured at the top of...
The "let's send property owners money right before the election" check for $170.55 just arrived at my house. I guess I'll cash the silly thing, but it's an annoying reminder of just how broken Albany has become. They drop program...
Yesterday's Ithaca Journal had lots of articles with Dryden connections. An article on declining math test scores in higher grades shows the Dryden and Ithaca schools with a similar pattern of better performance in lower grades, with Dryden being a...
This morning's Journal sort of suggests that the Town Board passed an alternative energy law last night, though it was only introduced: Residents of the Town of Dryden moved one step closer to generating their own sustainable energy Thursday night,...
This morning's Journal reports that TC3 professor Joe Cambridge is looking for TC3 alumni to survey about their experiences moving from TC3 to four-year colleges. The article talks with a 2006 TC3 grad on her way to a four-year school:...
Now here's a gigantic hole in the campaign finance dam: As a candidate for governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer is barred from taking more than $50,100 from any single donor. But that has not stopped wealthy donors from legally...
Anyone interested in the relations between upstate and downstate NY - and possibly upstate and the rest of the country, when it comes to water - should take a look at this piece from NYCO exploring energy and water. (And...
It's not all Eliot Spitzer for Governor, however much the press calls that a foregone conclusion. He has plenty of opposition in his race for Governor of New York. His Democratic primary opponent, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, opened an...
I think the New York Times offered the best summary I've seen yet of the state of New York's budget: this year the biggest surprise turns out [to be] the total cost of the big final hairball of interconnected supplemental...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports a quiet weekend for Dryden. (Actually, it doesn't report anything on Dryden at all, which I hope means a quiet weekend.) It does, however, include a piece by Jay Gallagher on New York State and...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports in depth on a project I'd heard bits and pieces about: the large-scale tree nursery planned by RPM on Route 13. They're negotiating tax abatements and sorting out permits, but if all goes well they...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a report on ways Tompkins County is helping out flooded areas to our east, as firefighters, the Red Cross, stores, and others helped out. Dryden sent a fire truck and ambulances. It looks like there...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits the Foundation of Light for yesterday's summer solstice celebration at the stone circle, talking about how their "own little Stonehenge" works, It also looks like Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton will have a challenger this year, Republican...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits Freeville's Brookside Berry Farm, which just opened for the season a few minutes ago,in an article on U-Pick Strawberries. There's another article about the disaster training at Holy Cross Church that was held this past...
NYCO's Blog highlighted a map showing which school districts face the ugly combination of above average tax rates and lower spending per student. The map comes from the Midstate School Finance Consortium, which is pushing the state for fairer and...
This morning's Ithaca Journal has a letter from Greg Kimbell of Dryden, extolling the virtues of motorcycles both for miles per gallon (78mpg available!) and fun per gallon. There's also an article on the state legislature's latest attempt to buy...
I noted a few articles last year on New York State's apparent lack of interest in policing Medicaid fraud, as well as some response by the governor to beef up enforcement. Apparently the problems are quite real, and the response...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes photos taken at Bethel Grove Community Center in an article on contra dancing, which also notes that contra dances are held at 8:00pm every Friday for $5 at the Community Center. The Monitor reports that...
I've always wished the New York Times would devote more of its reporting resources to Albany, and I seem to have gotten part of my wish. They now have Empire Zone, a weblog devoted to politics in the Empire State....
It's been a quiet Memorial Day weekend for Dryden in the Ithaca Journal. At the county level, the news is also quiet: no citations issued for trash burning since the new rules banning most burning went into effect. On the...
The print edition of today's Ithaca Journal has a summary of the Dryden Central Schools budget. It's a little strange - the subhead says "Faculty Cuts Keep Levy Under Target" - but the box doesn't actually list the tax levy...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk talks about events this coming Saturday. The Dryden Music Boosters will be having their biggest fundraiser of the year, Jazz Night, at 7:00pm Saturday in the Dryden High gym. It combines student music with food...
The print edition of this morning's Ithaca Journal has a full-page ad sponsored by Dryden Mutual Insurance, which recognizes "Heroes" whose donations are at work for the American Red Cross of Tompkins County. In Dryden, the William George Agency, Amazing...
This morning's Ithaca Journal doesn't have much on Dryden, but it does cover congressional candiate Les Roberts, who seeks to represent Dryden and the 24th district, with an article on his perspective on the state of America and what needs...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits Reef Encounters, exploring the colorful world of coral growing in a Freeville basement. Owner Steve Lowes talks about what's involved in growing coral, the difficulties facing coral reefs in their natural habitat, and the powerful...
This week's Dryden Town Talk seems to be the Easter Week edition, as Cathy Wakeman focuses on church activities. She reports on the Camp Farthest Out activities that will be at the Reach Out for Christ church on April 21st...
This morning's Ithaca Journal is quiet on Dryden news, but there's a letter from Marcy Tino of Freeville expresses her concern about the growing connections between government and business, and the dangers that creates: In fact, it was the fascists...
They're slimy, and crawling along the roads, moving at night. They're on the section of Thomas Road in Caroline, not the Dryden portion, but apparently they're also in Dryden along Ringwood Road. IC Professor John Confer is working to make...
I'm normally happy to receive unexpected checks. There's one large exception, however: those checks that come with a larger cost later. Sometimes those are the 'credit protection' plans, where credit card companies give you $2.50 now in exchange for a...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the legislature's state budget. It's not a final budget for the state - the governor and his line-item veto are yet to come. It looks like among the winners and losers, Dryden schools came...
Dryden High School senior Simon Horrocks will be speaking at an FFA state competition in May, having placed first in the regional Extemporaneous Public Speaking competition, second while delivering a prepared speech, and second in a Job Interview contest. Dryden...
The front page of this morning's Ithaca Journal is dominated by an article on the county's expansion of the plastics it will accept for recycling, shifting from plastics coded 1 and 2 to everything from 1 to 7 except 4....
This morning's Ithaca Journal is quiet on Dryden, but has two articles on state news relevant to our future. There's an article on the state legislature's effort to finish its version of the budget today, and a piece by Jay...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on a new effort to expand the TC3 honors program by giving 15 full scholarships to Tompkins and Cortland County students who enroll in at least 30% honors classes, and are either in the top...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on yesterday's village elections, in which incumbents won their races across Dryden and Freeville. In Freeville, 24 people voted, and Mayor Lotte Carpenter, Trustees Diana Radford and Penny Beebe, and Village Justice Arthur Marchese were...
I'd heard lots of rumors that State Senator Jim Seward would run for Congressman Boehlert's seat when he retired. However, after yesterday's retirement announcement, WHCU reports that Seward will run for re-election instead: SEWARD WAS RUMORED TO BE EYING BOEHLERT’S...
I've been depressed enough driving past the empty storefronts on West Main Street, but apparently I'm not the only one who sees them as a sign that we need change around here. The Spitzer campaign's first commercial includes Charlie's Diner...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes Briefly in Dryden, which announces the Dryden National Junior Honor Society's rummage and craft sale, which will be held this Saturday from 9:00am to 1:00pm in the Dryden Middle School cafeteria. Briefly in Dryden also...
There isn't much in this morning's Ithaca Journal about Dryden, but there is a piece about the federal government suing New York State for its delays in overhauling our voting system. We'll be voting on the classic lever-based machines in...
There isn't much on Dryden specifically in this morning's Ithaca Journal, but there's an article on setting the scope for a joint Town of Ithaca-Cornell transportation study, which I believe the Town of Dryden will also be participating in. Meanwhile,...
I haven't been paying enough attention to what happens in Albany lately, but an article in today's New York Times (registration required) raises issues about lobbyist gift-giving and how legislators spend their campaign funds. A few tidbits: One day last...
I just stumbled on this stunning bit of data in a New York Times article about new lobbying restrictions states are imposing: In most capitals, lobbyists outnumber lawmakers by an average of five to one, the Center for Public Integrity...
This morning's Ithaca Journal mentions the Fall Creek and Six Mile Creek watershed monitoring projects (a training session for which I visited last year) in an article about concerns over salt levels in freshwater streams. Road salt is the primary...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits Nancy Carver and Lorraine Buonviri's Christmas spectacular in their home in Freeville. Fifty Santas on a piano? Is that enough? Perhaps not. It takes three days to set up the decorations, starting the day after...
This morning Ithaca Journal reports that the Brooktondale Fire District is facing some hard questions about where money for a truck went, after purchasing a truck through a now-deceased broker in Albany who may have defrauded other departments. (The Town...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits the Freeville United Methodist Church Thanksgiving meal, talking both with guests and those serving the food. Yesterday's article on Thanksgiving traditions noted that the The Antlers restaurant was open for a Thanksgiving dinner as well....
Today's Journal notices the November 8th election. The "Wilkinson wins DA race" across the top is hard to miss, as is the picture of County Legislator Martha Robertson congratulating Gwen Wilkinson, who defeated incumbent District Attorney George Dentes by a...
I know I shouldn't start my endorsements with a round of negativity, but it's best to get that out of the way. Proposition 2, the generously named "REBUILD AND RENEW NEW YORK TRANSPORTATION BOND ACT OF 2005", looks like: PROPOSAL...
The Journal may not be making endorsements today, but I will. I'll start with an item that's going to be in small print at the top of the ballot, Proposition 1, a proposed amendment to the New York State Constitution:...
I was late getting there, unfortunately, but Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton and County Legislator Mike Lane held a press conference today announcing $50,000 in state funds for equipment for Freeville's W.B. Strong and Dryden's Neptune Hose Company fire departments. Assemblywoman Barbara...
It must be a light news day, but we get some extra pictures in the Ithaca Journal from McLean's Happenin' in the Hamlet last Saturday. There's a big question to be answered about who pays for new equipment to connect...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the 4-H Fair running through Saturday, to be held at 4-H Acres (map). The schedule looks packed, with animal shows, all kinds of contests, and plenty of food including a pancake breakfast and barbecue....
A four-apartment building at 12 Railroad Street in Freeville caught fire last night. Firefighters from the Dryden, Freeville, Etna, Groton, McLean and Cayuga Heights fire departments responded at 6:30pm, and had the blaze out by 7:15pm. No one was injured,...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that a barn fire on Lake Road took seven hours and 114,000 gallons of water to extinguish. Dryden firefighters were called at 7:35, and Freeville, Etna, McLean, Slaterville, Groton, Cortlandville, Harford, and Virgil departments provided...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk looks at schoolgirls of yesteryear, the Drydenettes, a group of female Dryden High School alumnae who will be having a reunion July 30th. (If female alums would like to make a reservation to join the...
I try hard to stay focused on Dryden, but sometimes things at other levels get so rotten that it's hard to avoid the stench. The New York Times seems to be doing some basic research on Medicaid that the New...
I was annoyed with the Journal last week for publishing a list of candidates without noticing that there are caucuses yet to come, and they seem to have realized that in time for an editorial overview of races that wishes...
This morning's Ithaca Journal doesn't say much specifically about Dryden, but there are bits and pieces. The McLean Fire Department, which covers the northeast corner of Dryden, is raising funds for EMS equipment, and there's an article on Diane Martineau...
This week's Dryden Courier leads with articles on improving life for Dryden children. There's an article on Opportunity, Understanding, Respect, and Success (OURS), a group providing activities in Conger's Mobile Home Park started by Jessica Houle, a Cornell student who...
This week's Dryden Courier leads with the Dryden High School graduation, as well as congratulations given to the Dryden school board and superintendent. Inside the paper, there are articles on the plans for a Freeville-to-Dryden trail and one on the...
Since it's all going to vanish in a week, it's probably a good idea to report what's been in the Ithaca Journal for the past few days. The most Dryden-specific story is one on the renovations in progress at the...
This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at a group of volunteers - and donors - who have worked together to reopen Lakeview Golf Course, repairing it, running it, and paying its taxes while its long-term future remains a question. The pictures...
Following up on last Friday's announcement of a $9.18 living wage in Tompkins County, today's Ithaca Journal looks at three people's efforts to get by on wages at or close to the living wage, including two Freeville residents. At the...
The Ithaca Journal reports this morning that Jason Kelly was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation for a DWI last June that cost the lives of two friends riding in the car. Dryden Town Talk reports...
This morning's Ithaca Journal doesn't mention Dryden, but there's some county news worth watching. While Tompkins County will have one eventually, final approval for an Empire Zone may not come for another four years. Why? Each of the zones will...
Freeville resident David Branagan writes that "I have tried and I have tried and I have tried, but I can't get over the commentary of Assemblywoman (Barbara) Lifton in The Journal of Feb. 28," and concludes that: It is inconceivable...
I've been fond of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for a while now. I first heard about them when I had work done on my house and received a rebate, but they also audited that work...
This morning's Ithaca Journal pays a visit to WHCU 870's Hanshaw Road offices for a story profiling retiring Director of Operations Tom Joseph. The Ithaca school district is reviewing its budget in preparation for a board vote April 12th and...
This morning's Journal reports that there are elections today in the Villages of Dryden and Freeville. Polls will be open from noon to 9:00pm at the the Dryden Village Hall (map) and the the Freeville Village Hall (map). Freeville's election...
I mentioned New York's debt and opaque process in a piece last week about the challenges New York is facing, spurred on by low attendance at Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton's Town Hall in Dryden. The New York Times reinforces some of...
Now that I've vented my general concerns about New York State politics, it would probably be wise to report on what Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton actually had to say. Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton talks at Dryden Town Hall. A lot of what...
I attended Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton's Town Hall meeting last night, and I'll have more about what she had to say soon, but what struck me most last night and what's still echoing through my head is attendance. Not counting Lifton...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's hearing on the revised Draft Comprehensive Plan. Residents expressed concern, and some hope, about changes that would eventually come to their neighborhood, and as the article notes, the Dryden Lake area was...
In this morning's Ithaca Journal, Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk takes a look at Welsh pony trainer Amy Schwartz and rider Junelle King, National Grand Champion of the United States Equestrian Foundation Welsh Pony Division. Schwartz is raising 30 ponies...
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton will be hosting a Town Meeting on Tuesday, February 22nd, at 7:00pm at the Dryden Town Hall (map). The poster invites attendees to "Voice Your Concerns." Lifton held a similar forum last year, and there was as...
The Dryden Courier's editorial this week reverses a policy it had set after the last round of local elections, when it decided "to no longer print letters supporting local candidates." They've changed their minds because: Local elections hit closer to...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's public meeting to discuss the possible annexation of an area north of Dryden to the Village. Dryden Mutual Insurance has applied to be annexed to the Village, and there are large questions...
I just noted that Brad Jones, a more conservative Republican, is preparing to challenge Congressman Sherwood Boehlert. Boehlert has long had conservative challengers in Republican primaries, and his recent stand on Social Security probably encourages them. NYCO mentions a piece...
Only two months after bluntly defending the practice of empty-seat voting, State Senator James Seward is trumpeting its purported elimination on his web site. No one other than the Senate's Republican Majority seems terribly impressed with the reforms passed yesterday....
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden High School a cappella ensemble Beyond Measure has a song, "Fever," on a collection CD, "Best of High School A Cappella 2005." The CD is not yet available, bit should be out...
Most of the Dryden-specific activity in today's Ithaca Journal is on the opinion page, so I'll start there for the first time in a while. Henry Kramer of Dryden writes to argue that New York (population 19.2 million) follow Connecticut's...
In this morning's Journal, Cathy Wakeman's Town Talk column visits a local business that grows coral, Reef Encounters. As Wakeman notes, their photo section is especially stunning, especially on a cold January day. Wakeman also mentions a a 4-H spaghetti...
Freeville residents Terri Niedzialek and Nancy Chapman attended a State Supreme Court hearing on the suit by 25 same-sex couples that seeks to remove New York State's limitation of marriage to a man and a woman. Hospital issues motivated them:...
I wasn't sure how seriously to take recent state Assembly reform, but this quote from NYCO gives me some hope: Publicly pretending to reform is a big first step toward actual reform. So even the most cynical person has to...
There isn't much specific to Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal, but there is plenty of new that affects Dryden or some part of it. The Ithaca City School District will be reviewing a report on its special education programs tonight....
Today's Ithaca Journal provides more information on the Etna fire coverage agreement that was discussed at Tuesday's Town Board meeting. The article looks at the agreement between the four Dryden fire departments as well as the new Mobile Response Vehicle...
I was hoping to be in Albany today for a rally on reform, but the weather kept me home, so the Ithaca Journal's focus on the weather and Governor Pataki's State of the State address will have to do. The...
Earlier this year, Governor Pataki vetoed funding for libraries and stymied an override attempt in the Assembly. Then, the Governor used discretionary funding to restore the cuts in Republican Assembly districts. Dryden is in a Democratic Assembly district, so the...
Assemblywoman Lifton wrote back to my earlier letter on empty-seat voting. I find her reply much more promising than Senator Seward's reply - she doesn't try to defend the practice, and suggests that she's actually taking steps to reduce it:...
This morning's Journal visits Michelle Griffin, widow of Air Force Staff Sgt. Patrick Griffin, who was killed in the invasion of Iraq last year. Michelle, a Dryden native, may return here from Florida eventually: Someday, she may move back to...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Hotel, rebuilt after a 1995 fire, suffered significant damage when a sprinkler pipe froze and leaked. The sprinkler system's apparent evacuation called Dryden firefighters, who turned off the sprinkler system and evacuated...
There's very little specific to Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal, but Briefly in Tompkins notes that NYSEG will be conducting helicopter-based inspections of their high-power lines (and we have many of those) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly Thursday. On the...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the decision last night not to send the Etna Fire Department its 2004 contract yet. Fire issues were a large part of last night's town meeting, and I'll be reporting more on that part...
Cathy Wakeman's describes last Friday's Victorian Winter Festival and provides a list of holiday events yet to come in today's Ithaca Journal. There's also a profile of Freeville physical therapist Richard Weiner, looking at a class he taught in Ithaca...
It didn't make the Ithaca Journal, but the New York State Senate voted 50-8 yesterday to override Governor Pataki's veto and raise the minimum wage in New York. According to the Elmira Star-Gazette: Under the measure, minimum wage increases from...
The announcement earlier this week that a court-appointed panel would require the state spend $23 billion more on New York City schools has created all kinds of questions, including where the money will come from and whether poor rural districts...
I've written a piece on why I think the Democratic Party should take reform as a core issue, including the need to reform places where we have control. The article isn't specific to Dryden, so I've posted it on my...
Senator Seward's office was certainly speedy in getting back to my letter about empty-seat voting, though I can't say his response gives me much sense that he's interested in changing the process at all. The senator writes: Most of the...
The Ithaca Journal reports this morning (as I reported Thursday) that FEMA has decided to restore the $170,000 in funding they had removed because they claimed the project had changed since it was authorized. The McLean Fire Department has purchased...
Today's Journal reports on Governor Pataki's apparently sustained veto of $325,000 in aid to TC3. The article left me wondering if the college aid was included in a list of vetoes the Senate couldn't override because the Assembly hadn't overridden...
Since I wrote Congressman Boehlert this morning, I figured it might be nice to continue my letter-writing to some of Dryden's other representatives on my lunch. I've written before about Assemblywoman Lifton's response to my letter and the preliminary report...
There's lots of news about Dryden in today's Journal. As they alluded on Saturday, the Journal reports that robbery suspect Mao Sheng Lin has been returned from Houston to Ithaca to face trial for a November 2003 robbery at the...
Today's Ithaca Journal has a picture of children packing gifts at the Bethel Grove Bible Church for the Operation Christmas Child program of Samaritan's Purse. An Etna resident, Susan Morse, and her dogs Kiss and Whisper, are noted in K-9...
I didn't expect very much when I wrote earlier about the Senate Majority Task Force on Reform's "Making Government Work: A Preliminary Report of the Senate Task Force on Government Reform" (65KB PDF), but I'm afraid that actually reading the...
I ran across this while looking to find out what the New York State Senate had accomplished at its press conference yesterday, and to see how much progress New York State Senator Jim Seward had made in the Senate Majority...
There's not much directly about Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal, but there's plenty about issues that affect Dryden. They've published a list of TC3 students receiving scholarships, including several from Freeville and Dryden. Negotiations between TCAT and its unions, required...
While I'm grateful that there haven't been many accidents inside Dryden lately, there seem to be more and more nearby. Yesterday, Dryden rescue workers were among those responding to tractor-trailer crash on Route 13 in Cortland that left one of...
The only mention I can find of Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal comes in an editorial congratulating the Dryden boys' soccer team for winning a sectional championship November 6th. There's also a piece from Ithaca City School District Superintendent Judith...
Democrats and sympathetic independents met last night at the Dryden Town Hall to discuss the 2004 election, looking over how well we'd done locally while contemplating the growing divide among Americans and talking about how to communicate with people on...
Today's Ithaca Journal Our Towns section visits the Crackerman of Etna, a baking business run by John and Beverly Bender of Etna. They've revived old-style crackers, and bake them in their house, a real cottage industry. If you want to...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that Dryden Central School District got good marks in an audit, and that the board is looking at academic intervention support and energy management. The Journal also takes a look at TC3's alcohol awareness programs...
The Dryden Democrats will be hosting a gathering this Wednesday night, November 10th, at 7:30pm at the Dryden Town Hall, 65 East Main Street, Dryden (map). Democrats and independents are welcome. We'll be taking a look at what worked for...
I found another Upstate-focused blog that I think is worth mentioning, though I find its obsession with taxes and business-friendliness painfully narrow. Upstateblog.net is a project of the Public Policy Institute of New York, which is itself affiliated with The...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the county will be distributing flu shots at the National Guard Armory on Hanshaw Road (map). The county will be screening people to make sure they live in Tompkins County, for medical reasons not...