Publications

Keeping You Informed

How Our Area Fared Under Stimulus

As the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act winds down, the latest statistics that outline how that money has been spent have become available. The federal government maintains a web site which details where the money has gone and how it has been...

Freedom First, In Albany, our state capital

Thank You to Voters

To the Editor: I am writing to thank the voters of the 124th Assembly District for their support on Election Day. It has been a privilege to represent this area in the State Assembly and I am honored to have the opportunity to serve another term....

New York Ag Held Up As International Example

Recently, I had the pleasure of touring Abbott Farms in Baldwinsville, as part of a tour group that hailed from Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe near the Ukraine. The group was here due to the International Center of Syracuse, the Department of State...

New York Ranks One of Five Safest States

The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) recently reported some good news: New York remains the safest large state in the nation and the fifth safest state overall. According to a study recently published by the DCJS, over the past 10 years,...

State Needs Mandate Reform

Our state has the bad habit of mandating that programs and services and their associated costs be covered by local municipalities. While this has enabled the state to keep the costs of these programs from impacting the state budget, they put substantial...

Reported Lyme Disease Rates Increase in Pets

Area veterinarians have begun to test for Lyme disease in dogs and cats. At one Central New York veterinarian’s practice, 210 dogs and cats tested positive for Lyme Disease this year alone. While dogs and cats are frequently infected and treated with...

Last Bills Finally Conclude Long Overdue Budget

Last week, the Legislature was called back into session to conclude this year’s long and torturous budget process. When the majority of the State Senate passed the revenue portion of the budget on Wednesday night it was decreed that final action has...

Fighting For Budget Reform In Albany - A Special Report on the 2010-2011 State Budget Process

Recent Supreme Court Ruling Protects 2nd Amendment Rights

Supporters of the U.S. Constitution’s 2nd Amendment right to bear arms provision got some welcome news from the U.S. Supreme Court last month when the court ruled that this constitutional right extends to every jurisdiction in the nation. As some...

Protect Privacy by Practicing Common Sense, Online Safety

E-mail, the Internet, automated teller machines (ATMs), online banking, cell phones, long-distance carriers, and credit cards make our lives more efficient. However, as our lives become more integrated with technology, keeping our private information...

Tough Choices Avoided in 2010; State Passes More Taxes, Fees

The severity of this budget crisis and taxpayers’ pleas of no more taxes has fallen on deaf ears. A tenuous budget has been largely negotiated between three, and sometimes two, men in a room and here we are three months past the deadline with still...

Economic Report from Assemblyman Will Barclay

Agribusiness Report 2010 from Assemblyman Will Barclay

We Deserve Better; Let’s Pass a Budget Already

We deserve better. We should be in Albany, as I write this column today, trying to hammer out a budget, but the reality is this past week at the State Capitol was an abomination. Because of the lack of respect our leaders have for the law—passing...

Protecting the Second Amendment Right of Hunters and Sportsmen!

Knowing Signs of a Stroke Could Save Loved Ones

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 700,000 to 750,000 new or recurrent strokes occur each year in the United States. According to the New York State Department of Health,...

Reforming School Aid Formula Would Even Playing Field for Districts

As many of you are aware, the Governor has proposed cutting $1.3 billion to education in the 2010-11 budget as the state struggles to close what’s approaching a $10 billion budget gap. After the news of the proposal hit in January, Upstate districts...

New Job-Killing Tax Proposals Continue with 2010-11 Budget

The budget gap is large. Somehow, the state has to close what’s approaching a $10 billion budget gap. Unfortunately, the budget proposals out there contain new job-killing taxes and fees to try and close that gap. Indeed, $1.2 billion in new taxes....

Obamacare Comes With a Hefty Price Tag

The recent passage of Obamacare will provide 32 million uninsured individuals with health insurance coverage but it is also expected to cost $938 billion over the next 10 years. Despite the widespread opposition, controversy surrounding this bill, and...