Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay

It is not a secret that New York is a challenging state in which to do business because of our high taxes and oppressive regulatory scheme. Some, but not all, of these policies originate out of New York City which faces different demographics and economic conditions than we do in Upstate New York. A big push this year by many NYC legislators has been to raise the state’s minimum wage. Under current law, the minimum wage is $8.75 an hour and it is set to raise to $9.00 an hour on December 31, 2015.

Here are some bills introduced by lawmakers that make some of us scratch our heads. Even by Albany’s standards, these are a bit unbelievable. I want to share a few with you this week.

Access to quality healthcare is a necessary component for a thriving community and we are fortunate to have great healthcare facilities and providers in Central New York. That being said, our healthcare system is under stress because we continue to face shortages of healthcare professionals in New York state, particularly in rural areas. These shortages are particularly acute for primary care doctors and nurses but extend to specialty practices and other healthcare providers.

Civil War veteran and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes eloquently said of Memorial Day: “Every year in the full tide of spring, at the height of the symphony of flowers and love and life, there comes a pause and, through the silence, we hear the lonely pipe of death.” What a truth there is to that quote.

The Oswego County Tourism Department recently held a free luncheon seminar at the Tailwater Lodge in Altmar titled the Tourism Ambassador Program. The event highlighted some of the great assets that our area has to offer. At the end of the day, the 70 or so people who attended were considered Tourism Ambassadors.

The Oswego County Child Advocacy Center recently held its annual meeting. One of the best takeaways from the event was learning from the executive director Karrie Damm that the annual meeting has grown over the last three years from an intimate gathering to a packed dining hall. About 150 people from throughout the area attended the event appropriately titled “Be the End” on April 24. This was great news in it of itself that so many individuals, professionals, and organizations have committed to Be the End.

I am teaming up with the American Red Cross and the Rural Health Network of Oswego County to host a blood drive on May 1 in Oswego. The blood drive will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oswego Elks Lodge, 132 W. Fifth St. If you are able to donate, please call my office at 315-598-5185 to make an appointment. We are encouraging everyone who is able to donate. You never know whose life you can help save. In anticipation of our upcoming blood drive, I want to share some facts about blood donation.

There are a lot of things to be positive about in Central New York. Unfortunately, the economy is not one of them. Over the last decade, job growth in the Syracuse area has been anemic. The lack of jobs, among other things, has caused an outward migration of population which, in turn, places additional stress on our economy. We are not alone.

Because I am not an expert on the ethics laws of other states and because neither the governor nor the legislature has held public hearings regarding what needs to be done to strengthen the state’s ethics laws, it is hard to opine as to the veracity of the Governor’s statement. I am skeptical of the claim however in light of the fact that we have passed “landmark” ethics reform in the recent past and yet ethical lapses by elected officials continue to occur.