State budget negotiations are taking place and the budget deadline of April 1 is nearly upon us. Each year, the Senate and the Assembly pass what they consider to be priorities in “one-house budget” resolutions. The Assembly passed its $138.4 billion one-house resolution earlier this month and the Senate passed its resolution the week before last.
To say Fort Drum is a significant part of Central and Northern New York is an understatement. Home to the 10th Mountain Division, the Army’s most deployed infantry group, Fort Drum is our state’s biggest single-site employer with 18,000 soldiers and 4,000 civilian workers. Last year, the post had a $1.4 billion impact on our state’s economy.
What started as a small-town school event in California held over the course of a week in 1978, Women’s History Month has grown tremendously. Today, throughout the entire month of March, the world’s focus turns to women and the significant contributions they have made to our history, culture and society.
Last week, the state Legislature met in joint session to elect four members to the state Board of Regents. The Board of Regents is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State including the implementation of educational standards such as the much-maligned Common Core standards.
From the food we eat to the products we use, not a day goes by that we don’t have a farmer to thank for helping to provide life’s necessities. But, what if there weren’t any farmers? As recent research suggests, that’s a question we should be considering.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, use of illicit drugs in the United States has been increasing. In their Nationwide Trends report (updated January, 2014), in 2012 an estimated 23.9 million Americans aged 12 or older, approximately 9% of the population, had used an illicit drug or abused a psychotherapeutic medication in the past month.
It’s frustrating to know that someone would abuse a program designed to help children and families in need and let people get back on their feet. That’s why reports that some people are using their taxpayer-paid welfare benefits to pay for tobacco, alcohol, even trips to nightclubs, really touch a nerve.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s report on Smoking and Health. That report was the first federal government report linking smoking to ill health, including lung cancer and heart disease. Fifty years ago, about 42% of adults smoked. Today’s rate is 18%. The lower smoking rate has saved numerous lives. Our state rate, 17%. Unfortunately, our regional smoking rate is estimated to be even higher.
Remington Arms announced last week that it will open a large manufacturing plant in Alabama. While I don’t begrudge another state from securing these high-paying manufacturing jobs, I do begrudge our own leaders for forcing the “SAFE Act” upon its people and hindering economic development right here in New York. Its passage has undoubtedly affected Remington Arms, located in Illion, NY, for more than a century, from expanding in its home state.
From sowing crops by hand and working the land with simple wooden plows to employing new and advanced technologies to grow better and more crops, agriculture has come a long way since it first took root in the United States. Illustrating these changes is the newly-released USDA 2012 “Census of Agriculture.”
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