Oswego County TodayPoliticsFREE Independent News for Oswego County

School Aid Data Provides Snapshot of Region

May 12, 2014 Contributor

I receive a lot of questions about how schools are funded and how that money is spent. There is good reason for these questions because a lot of money is involved. State aid to schools comprises $21.8 billion, roughly 24 percent, of our $92.3 billion state operating budget. In addition, it is estimated local school taxes raised approximately $20.3 billion in 2013. The New York state lottery also funds education and provided $3.04 billion in 2012, according to the latest data available.

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Taking Up The Fight Against Heroin Abuse

May 5, 2014 Contributor

Four point two million. According to the National Institutes of Health, that’s the number of Americans aged 12 or older who said they had used heroin once in their lives. What’s even scarier? It’s estimated that of those users, 23 percent will become dependent on this highly addictive and deadly drug.

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New Law Seeks to Assist Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses

May 5, 2014 Contributor

The Legislature recently passed the “Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act” and it was signed by the Governor. The goal is to increase participation of service-disabled veteran-owned business and award up to 6% of all state contracts to such businesses. I was pleased to vote in support, and in fact, I co-sponsor a similar measure called NY Jobs for Heroes

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Safety First Makes For A Perfect Prom

April 29, 2014 Contributor

As the school year winds down, students are gearing up for what is often thought to be one of the highlights of high school, prom. While prom can be a great deal of fun, it’s so important that students know that in order to have a great time, they need to make safety a priority.

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Auto Insurance Rates Continue to be Among Highest in Nation; Increased Penalties for Fraud Will Save Consumers

April 28, 2014 Contributor

New York state has the unfortunate distinction of being a high cost of living state and when it comes to auto insurance, New York lives up to its reputation. Our auto insurance rates are among the highest in the nation. Although there are several reasons for our high rates, fraud plays a large part.

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Do You ‘Love Your Park’?

April 22, 2014 Contributor

Because our parks are such important natural resources, it’s so important that we protect them and keep them pristine. That’s the goal of the third annual “I Love My Park Day,” a statewide event taking place on May 3 that aims to improve and enhance New York’s state parks and historic sites.

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Libraries See Increased Use; NOVELny Provides Access to Safe Internet Research

April 21, 2014 Contributor

Library use has increased across the state. According to some of New York State Library’s latest statistics, visits to public libraries increased by seven million from 113 million to 120 million from 2007 to 2009. The number of items borrowed – books, ebooks, movies, magazines and more – has increased by more than 11%.

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New Ethics Laws a Start but More Needs to Be Done to Improve How New York Handles Politicians Gone Bad

April 15, 2014 Contributor

“Ethics reform” has been a buzz phrase heard in Albany and around the state a lot over the last few years and for good reason. Lately, there have been several high profile cases of wrongdoing by state officials. However, as is often the case in state politics, what is meant by “ethics reform” depends who is providing the rhetoric.

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Help Give An Amazing Teacher The ‘Golden Apple’

April 14, 2014 Contributor

In an effort to recognize teachers who go above and beyond to help their students succeed, I will once again be honoring educators with my “Golden Apple” Award for Teaching Excellence. Last year, I was able to honor more than 40 educators from Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties with this special program.

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New Opportunities For New Yorkers

April 7, 2014 Contributor

With the passage of the new State Budget comes a wide variety of changes aimed at creating new opportunities that will enable all New Yorkers to continue moving forward. Last week, I brought you news that my Young Farmers NY plan, aimed at encouraging more young people to enter careers in the agriculture industry, was included in the state’s new spending plan.

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