Tonight approximately 70-85 area residents gathered in the Auditorium of Southside High School to hear the final draft of the Chemung River Master Plan.

Given by the primary architects of the plan, a Mr. Haas and another individual whose name I unfortunately didn’t catch, the presentation included lectures, many computer enhanced and composed pictures, actual photographs, posters and slides as well as hand out materials. Although audience participation was sparse, overall the meeting was informative and optimistic.
It appears that the final draft of the Chemung River improvement master plan is for the seasonal use of the Chemung River as it flows from the western most Horseheads line all the way downriver past Elmira to the City of Chemung. There was also some mention that upriver Steuben County and Corning have expressed an interest in improving that part of the Chemung River as well.

Overall, the plans include areas for ‘rough’ camping;…

DiNapoli: Things could get worse

The potential state deficit may be worse that the $4.3 billion currently being projected by the Spitzer administration, the state’s chief fiscal officer said yesterday (1/15/08).

”$4.3 billion is a conservative estimate,’’ Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in an interview on AM-1300 in Albany today. “The roller coaster of Wall Street is moving in the wrong direction.’’

GOv. Eliot Spitzer is due to present his budget plan for the fiscal year that starts April 1 to the Legislature a week from Today. His Budget Division placed the gap at $4.3 billion last fall, as tax revenues began to slip as Wall Street cooled. About 20 percent of state tax revenues are tied to the financial-services industry, by far the most volatile part of the state’s financial picture.

DiNapoli wouldn’t provide his own estimate, but said the state’s fiscal position could deteriorate.

Spitzer has pledged not to raise state taxes, but…

Tina Griego, journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News wrote a column titled, “Mexican Visitor’s Lament” — 10/25/07.

She interviewed Mexican journalist Evangelina Hernandez while visiting Denver in mid last year.. Hernandez said, “They (illegal aliens) pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes…What Happens to your country’s economy if 20 million people go away?”

That’s a good question - it deserves an answer. Over 80 percent of Americans demand secured borders and illegal migration stopped. But what would happen if all 20 million or more illegals vacated America? The answers may surprise you!

In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested.. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.

In Colorado, 500,000 illegal migrants, plus their 300,000 kids and grand-kids…

Yeah, just what we need, another master plan. I have to insist though, any politican involved in this is required to wear red tights and a blue cape, that way their do-goodery will be out there for all to know. These politicians will talk and talk and talk, and then when they are done talking, they will dig deep and find the courage to, wait foor it people, yeah, talk some more. Finally, years from now, a master plan will be hammered out, like the one true ring of Frodo, formed from the very sweat of our elected leaders. Of course it will not be useful for anything, Elmira will still be a ghost town (By that time the arena will have passed on), Chemung County will have hemorrhaged it’s last person, and the politicians will then take up the debate of who should…

More than likely than not, included in tonight’s meeting on the Elmira City budget is the salary for new but yet to be announced City Attorney, John J.Ryan, Jr.

John J.Ryan, a good friend of City Manager John Burin, was Elmira’s City Attorney during at least some of the ill advised Iraci/Hughes era that landed Elmira in its current financial mess. Some of the legal problems Elmira is now paying for were John Ryan decisions on labor as well as costly handshake deals that were never put to paper.

Appointed to be City Attorney on Friday, January 4, former Elmira School District Attorney Ryan had just resigned without fanfare from his position with the school system on Wednesday, Jan 2 following a very stormy relationship which has created a number of problems for the local school district.

The school district is currently being sued over property that they just took title to…

CSEA members ratify contract

CSEA members overwhelmingly ratified a new contract for more than 70,000 state executive branch employees, the union announced yesterday. The vote was 29,755 to 1,839. The contract has to be approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The agreement includes salary increases of 3 percent retroactive to April 2001 (when the previous contract ended,) 3 percent in April 2008, 3 percent in April 2009 and 4 percent in April 2010. Other parts of the contract include increases in longevity payments, improvement in downstate and mid-Hudson salary adjustments to reflect the higher cost of living there, and some increases in health insurance co-payments, balanced by a number of benefit enhancements.

The agreement is fair to employees and good for the people of New York, CSEA President Danny Donohue said in a statement. “The strength of the ratification demonstrates that our rank and file fully support the agreement,”…

State clarifies stance on use of aircraft
The Commission on Public Integrity just issued an updated opinion on appropriate use of state aircraft, four months after its initial recommendations in response to the Troopergate/Spitzergate scandal. Aides to Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer were found to have compiled and released information, with help from the state police, about Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno’s use of aircraft in an attempt to damage the Rensselaer County Republican’s reputation.

The documents released by Spitzer’s staffers highlighted a few occasions last spring during which Bruno attended GOP fundraisers on the days he used a state helicopter. The practice was not in violation of ethics laws at the time, but the Commission on Public Integrity’s predecessor agency, the Ethics Commission, said officials should reimburse the state for parts of their trips that are not government business assuming that there is a bona fide state purpose for the travel.

The commission…

School Budget

The Elmira School Board did not come up with an answer Wednesday night about whether there would be an increase in next year’s school budget.

These people are pro’s at this, they will be unsure up till the very last minute, then it will truly pain them, but for the good of the chillllldruuuunnnnn, they will unhappily recognize that a tax increase is necessary.  Sure, The holy family school system runs about $5,000 a kid, and the public school is running at about, what, $14,000 a kid, but I am sure the public school is doing oh so much more for the students than Holy Family.  Sigh.  And the really sad part is, people will fall for it.  And guess what, next year, when they do the exact same thing, people will fall for it again.

Some job growth in Upstate New York

The latest statistics show job growth is on the rise in Upstate New York. But that’s not the case in Syracuse, Binghamton and other Central New York and Southern Tier locations.

Truckers say they’ll bypass Thruway if tolls are raised

A majority of truck drivers say they’ll use secondary roads if a proposal from the Thruway Authority to raise tolls goes through.

Works for me, in fact, if they raise tolls, I too will use only small back roads.  I have been thinking for a while now, it is time to slow down and watch the scenery, and that really isn’t possible on a highway.  Bring back the roadside diner!