News
Local
Business
Catamount ski resort hotel planned - WGXC Newsroom
The Ginsberg's deal was much in the news in September:
- Ghent board OKs Ginsberg’s variances By Marlise Cammer For Columbia-Greene Media
- Ghent approves Ginsberg’s three variances - WGXC Newsroom
- OUR VIEW: The CEDC’s $1 deal - Register Star Editorial
Sam Pratt was all over this story last month:
SEPTEMBER 17, 2014
- Inside the Ginsberg’s goodiebag: Apparent conflicts of interest raise eyebrows even among supporters
- County paid $110,000 for land it’s selling to Ginsberg’s for $1
- At public hearing, 5 out of 6 County IDA board members were MIA
OCTOBER 2, 2014
OCTOBER 3, 2014
So was Arthur Cusano of he Register-Star
- CEDC land cost $109K, not gifted by Arthur Cusano/Columbia-Greene Media
- County paid $110K for land it is selling for $1 - WGXC Newsroom
- BOE learns of planned Ginsberg’s tax bite by Katie Kocijanski Columbia-Greene Mediathis article, although entirely confusing on the issue of how this actually affects Taconic Hills, is very clear about the tax savings for Ginsberg's: $664,875 of $1.06 million for the first 12 years.
- County to CEDC: We want our money back (w/video) by Arthur Cusano Columbia-Greene Media
- Report: County demands $114,000 from CEDC - WGXC NewsroomCounty to review relationship with CEDC (w/video) by Arthur Cusano Columbia-Greene Media
- County to CEDC: We want our $114K back (w/video) by Arthur Cusano Columbia-Greene Media
Musical interlude: Grease - Frankie Valli
Municipal Finance
- Olana ruling sends tower foes a message. Judge says Planning Board acted correctly in approving proposal By Tim Blydenburgh - Times Union.
- Court upholds cell tower decision By Adam Clayton Columbia-Greene Media
- Greenport Town Board rejects MHA project - WGXC Newsroom
- State comptroller: Germantown Fire District needs more oversight by Arthur Cusano - Columbia-Greene Media: News "The Germantown Fire District’s board needs to improve oversight over spending and policy implementation, according to an audit report released by the New York State Comptroller’s Office this week."
Energy
- Lopez shares power line plan concerns - Columbia-Greene Media: News
- Power line meeting planned for Oct. 18 By Katie Kocijanski Columbia-Greene Media
- Action Alert from the Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition: Meetings on October 18th in Claverack and November 1st at Bard College to discuss the latest on the power line project. Can you remain at home while these are happening? I think not!
- Hudson municipal utilities up one-third in one year - WGXC Newsroom
New York State
Pensions
Pensions for Local Governments to Drop - Politics on the Hudson. New York State pension funding rates are due to decrease for towns in the coming years due to improved performance of the stock market, after many years of increases due to the financial crisis.Health Insurance
- State to health insurers: No big rate hikes for you - Politics on the Hudson
- State approves insurance rates for individual, small group plans, By Rick Karlin - Times Union
Casinos
State: Casino licenses expected next month by Joseph Spector - Politics on the HudsonEt Cetera
AARP: NY boomers ready to pack their bags by Joseph Spector - Politics on the HudsonElectoral platforms
Here's a nice website to look up candidate info on. Here are the links to candidate websites, by office.Governor
Andrew Cuomo:http://andrewcuomo.com/record-of-success/the-economy/
Rob Astorino:
http://www.robastorino.com/astorinomoss-tax-budget-reform-plan/
http://www.robastorino.com/astorinomoss-jobs-plan
Howie Hawkins:
http://www.howiehawkins.org/platform
Michael McDermott:
http://votemcdermott.org/other-issues/the-economy/
Steven Cohn:
http://sapientparty.com/our-founding-principles/
State Comptroller
Thomas DiNapoli:office website
campaign website
Bob Antonacci:
office website
campaign website
Theresa Portelli:
personal statement on Howie Hawkins' campaign website.
US Representative for the 19th District
Chris Gibson:Congressional website
campaign website
Sean Eldridge:
campaign website
News coverage:
http://www.registerstar.com/news/article_f6190bee-33eb-11e4-ae38-001a4bcf887a.html
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20141001/gibson-eldridge-square-off-over-environment-at-suny-new-paltz-forum
In my discussion of some parts of the platforms, I was frequently heard to utter "and we'll all get a pony!" If you're wondering what I meant there, I am referring to this, one of the best blog posts ever. Trust me and go read it. I'll wait.
Wages
Here's some further reading on the recent developments on minimum wages, living wages and the fast food worker organizing campaign.- Fast Food Protests Spread Overseas by Steven Greenhouse, May 14, 2014 - NYTimes.com:One response to a global economy is for workers to organize globally.
- Fast Food Protests Spread Overseas - NYTimes.com: A good sign for workers everywhere: fast-food workers organizing on an international basis. The companies are everywhere, the organizing has to be too.
- But the burgers are cheaper here, I bet, so there’s that » Balloon Juice
- Demographic Incidence of a Wisconsin Minimum Wage Increase - EconBrowser
- The Key to Ending the Perennial Minimum Wage Debate: One Basic Fact - Back to Full Employment: I interviewed Jeannette Wicks-Lim for this show.
- Wage Theft: What We Don’t Know Can’t Hurt Them » Balloon Juice, Posted by Anne Laurie at 10:22 pm, May 19, 2014: That’s right, employers rip off workers for more money than gets stolen in all robberies. Guess who we prosecute?
- L.A. Times Reports Low-Paid Workers Don't Have Much Money Even After Increase in the Minimum Wage | Beat the Press: Also: “the majority of workers earning near the minimum wage are over age 25 and the vast majority are over the age of 20. Almost 10 percent have a college degree and another 33.3 percent have some college.”
- Michigan Joins Move to Increase Hourly Wage by Monica Davey and Kirk Johnson, May 28, 2014, New York Times
- Rising Hegemon : Trickling down works best when you stand below the privy, Thursday, May 29, 2014
- Seattle Approves $15 Minimum Wage, Setting a New Standard for Big Cities by Kirk Johnson, June 2, 2014, New York Times
- Can the Minimum Wage Be Too High? Room for Debate - New York Times
- Minimum Wage: Who Makes It? June 9, 2014, Jared Bernstein, The Upshot, New York Times
- Seattle's $15 minimum wage plan challenged in federal lawsuit. Complaint alleges slew of legal shortcomings with measure, from incompatibility with federal trademark law to constitutional violations
- What’s Next, After Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Win? | The Center for Popular Economics
- Mayors Put Focus on How to Raise Wages for Lowest-Paid Workers in Cities, By Shaila Dewan, June 22, 2014 - NYTimes.com
- A Minimum Wage That Makes More Sense, by Jared Bernstein, June 27, 2014 - The Upshot, NYTimes.com
- Massachusetts Sets Nation’s Highest Minimum Wage - by Eric Morath, Real Time Economics - WSJ
- Rhode Island: Minimum Wage Will Rise to $9 an Hour By Reuters, July 3, 2014, New York Times
- Don't ask for a living wage or you'll be replaced by an iPad by David Atkins - Hullabaloo, Sunday, July 20, 2014
- The Trucking Industry Needs More Drivers. Maybe It Needs to Pay More. Aug. 9, 2014, by Neil Irwin - TheUpshot, NYTimes.comThis article was good overall, but this last paragraph tells me Neil Irwin does not understand how capitalism works:
Executives may bemoan higher pay for workers because it could cut profit margins. But after a generation in which the median American household has seen flat to declining inflation-adjusted income, wage increases are a welcome corrective. When workers begin to have more leverage in salary negotiations, it is a sign of an improving economy, not a liability that businesses should be complaining about.
While greater worker bargaining power is a sign of an improving economy, it is also a problem for companies precisely because unless they can raise their prices, their profits will take a hit. This is the central contradiction of a capitalist economy. There is always a tension between corporations’ need for profits and for customers. Lower wages mean higher profits but not if the workers (as consumers) can’t buy the end product. - More Workers Are Claiming ‘Wage Theft’, by Steven Greenhouse, Aug. 31, 2014, New York Times
Some federal and state officials agree. They assert that more companies are violating wage laws than ever before, pointing to the record number of enforcement actions they have pursued. They complain that more employers — perhaps motivated by fierce competition or a desire for higher profits — are flouting wage laws.
Hmmm…. Perhaps they are motivated by the decades-long trend of the government looking the other way when businesses trampled workers’ rights. Just sayin’. - Fast-Food Workers Seeking $15 Wage Are Planning Civil Disobedience, By Steven Greenhouse, Sept. 1, 2014, New York Times
- Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Carry It On >> Balloon Juice, Posted by Anne Laurie at 5:16 am, Sept. 2, 2014
- Some Retail Workers Find Better Deals With Unions, By Rachel L. Swarns, Sept. 7, 2014, 2014, New York Times. Stop the presses! Really? My eyes, they cannot roll any further. Also: more people see sunrise when facing East.
- Choices limited on wage menu - By Rick Karlin, Published 11:02 pm, Monday, September 15, 2014 Times Union
- The Great Wage Slowdown of the 21st Century, Oct. 7, 2014, by David Leonhardt, TheUpshot - New York Times
- Wages should be growing faster, but they’re not. Here’s why. By Jared Bernstein October 6, 2014, PostEverything, Washington Post
Theme Music:
Drops of H2O ( The Filtered Water Treatment ) by J.Lang
Provided under a Creative Commons Public License.
Link to the archived show. See you next month!
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