Editorial: Smart tool to fight blight
THE ISSUE:Albany County sets aside $1 million with its application to the state for a land bank.THE STAKES:Such entities are proving to be valuable tools in the fight against blight. As in many...
View ArticlePaul Bray: Mobility without the car
I wonder sometimes why what I read and hear about doesn't match what I experience. Much is being written and said about a decline in auto use and a significant leap forward in public transit. Yet, the...
View ArticleCharles Krauthammer: Kerry must stop futile negotiations
WashingtonWhen has a secretary of state been involved in so many disastrous, self-initiated negotiations? First, John Kerry convenes — against all advice and holding no cards — Geneva negotiations to...
View ArticleChildren the core of our schools
David Coleman, chief architect of the Common Core learning standards, notably quipped in a 2011 speech at the state Department of Education, "As you grow up in this world, you realize people really...
View ArticleThe state doesn't always know what's best for localities
I'd like to share some concerns and observations about the new state budget.The new budget incentivizes localities to reduce expenses and hold down taxes, offering property tax rebates for...
View ArticleEditorial: Cooling of rhetoric needed
THE ISSUE:A change at the top of the state's largest teachers union may step up tensionsTHE STAKES:We urge compromise on the thorny issue of holding teachers accountable. Over time we will better know...
View ArticleDavid Brooks: Suffering can shape our being
During the past few weeks, I've found myself in a bunch of conversations in which the unspoken assumption was that the main goal of life is to maximize happiness. That's normal. When people plan for...
View ArticleCollege is the new finish line
While college as we know it is becoming increasingly unrecognizable, the value of a college degree has more value today than ever before.Leaders from industrialized nations increasingly acknowledge...
View ArticleState GMO labeling would be costly to N.Y. consumers
Legislation is pending before the state Legislature to require GMO labeling on all food products. Sound reasonable? Maybe, but not as proposed. First, what is GMO? Genetically Modified Organisms are...
View ArticleEditorial: With heat comes hunger
THE ISSUE:The latest climate change report amps up concerns over threats to our food supply.THE STAKES:Growing hunger, especially among children, is simply unacceptable. That one in six adults are...
View ArticleJohnson was the political genius of the Civil Rights Act
The following appeared in a Dallas Morning News editorial:The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on a sunny day in Dallas, the murder of Medgar Evers as he stood in his Jackson, Miss.,...
View ArticleFinancing trial run is a sham
What's good for the goose is good for the gande; or is it? The non-brilliance of Albany's governing cabal was on full display recently, with the compromise concoction of an experimental one-year...
View ArticleMaureen Dowd: Jeb Bush stumbling into vortex
Washington The epic sibling drama of the Republican Party is finally coming to a climax.For many years, George and Barbara Bush assumed that their second son, Jeb, would be a winner in politics, while...
View ArticleEditorial: A new way to N.Y.'s heart
THE ISSUE:The state looks to improve one of the country's worst-performing organ donation programs. THE STAKES:Transparency, not secrecy or trickery, will foster trust. Here's a statistic that's not...
View ArticleTo curb school lunch waste, ease the fruit-vegetable rules
The following appeared in a Los Angeles Times editorial:No one should have expected that putting more vegetables in front of elementary school students would instantly turn them into an army of...
View ArticleSmaller is better for Catskills
The state's recent land-use decisions for newly acquired Catskills forestland strike a good compromise between environmental and economic concerns, balancing stakeholder interests in a sensitive way....
View ArticleThomas Friedman: Will U.S. face off with Putin?
Shortly before the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putin played in an exhibition hockey game there. In retrospect, he was clearly warming up for his takeover of Crimea. Putin doesn't strike...
View ArticleEditorial: Albany's new shepherd
THE ISSUE:The Most Rev. Edward B. Scharfenberger is the new Roman Catholic bishop of Albany.THE STAKES:The bishop has the opportunity to be a moral leader for the community at large. Instructing his...
View ArticleKeeping track: drug sentences, SEC plan
The following appeared in a New York Times editorial:Drug sentences around the country are about to get significantly shorter. On Thursday, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency, voted...
View ArticleA $20M investment for golden returns
New York state has a golden opportunity. We can make a $20 million investment, knowing that it almost certainly would yield returns many times over. An investment that would allow thousands of young...
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