Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay

The Great New York State Fair will once again kick off on Aug. 27 and run until Sept. 7. The State Fair’s history in Syracuse is long and proud. The annual 12-day event has steadily expanded since its early days. In 1841, the nation’s first state fair was held in Syracuse and there was said to have been some 10,000 people who heard speeches, viewed animal exhibits, attended a plowing contest, and sampled goods for the farm and the home. Despite modern times, the mission of the fair hasn’t changed much.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Governor’s decision to convene a Wage Board for the purposes of considering increasing the minimum wage for fast food workers to $15 an hour. It has been reported that the Governor convened the Wage Board in effort to placate advocates (mainly from NYC) who are pushing for various liberal causes to be enacted in the State such as increasing the overall state minimum wage. When the legislature failed to increase the state’s minimum wage, these advocates accused the Governor of not doing enough.

Joyce Mitchell, the woman who confessed to assisting two convicted murderers escape from Clinton Correctional Facility, will still collect a public pension thanks to Albany’s failure to pass a widely supported reform measure. In her retirement years, whether spent in prison or elsewhere, we can rest assured that she’ll be able to cash her pension checks. If you were wondering about the 30 or so lawmakers in the last 10 years that have been convicted of crimes, or sanctioned or resigned from office, essentially admitting their guilt or wrongdoing, they too are eligible to receive their pensions.

Two bills in particular which passed the State Legislature could help both seniors and visually-impaired residents if signed into law by the Governor. I supported each in the Assembly and both passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, honey, wine, and cheese are all out in abundance this time of year throughout the region and will be for the next few months at local farmers’ markets. Farmers’ markets provide an opportunity to buy local and give farmers a chance to provide home-grown produce straight to the consumer. The markets are located throughout the region and we’re fortunate to have as much fresh and homegrown produce as we do in our area.

Very often legislative bodies pass ill-advised laws in response to tragedies in hopes that the new laws will work to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future. I used to work for a judge who would say bad facts make bad law. This is true in the legislative process and no truer is the case with the New York Safe Act which passed in January of 2014 shortly following the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy. Since its passage, the law has been panned by law enforcement officials, second amendment advocates, outdoor enthusiast and others.

There are a number of local residents who display the signs on their property that read “Look Twice, Save a Life.” It’s a campaign that started many years ago designed to help protect motorcyclists. It was created by the parents of a 25-year-old man who lost his life while driving a motorcycle in a head-on collision with another vehicle. The driver in the other vehicle failed to see him.

The 2015 Legislative Session has ended. There were many accomplishments but the list of what did not get done for Upstate is longer. Instead, the end of session was dominated by New York City issues like rent control, property tax exemptions for NYC (421a) and discussions on the control of New York City schools.

Now that the school year has ended, a great way for children to retain the vocabulary and knowledge they’ve acquired this school year is to encourage them to read each day over the summer. Studies show that reading just 15 minutes a day helps prevent learning loss. Summer reading is an opportunity for kids to learn more independently. According to recent studies, children’s early understanding of literacy is developed within their family and their community.