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Click here to listen to an interview with Rep. Chris Gibson after the meeting.
Late season snow leads to accidents
Mid Hudson News Network reports how snow accumulated fast in the region Monday morning with slippery conditions resulting in vehicles sliding on road surfaces. Route 23 from Route 32 to Route 23B in the Town of Cairo was closed at mid-morning due to an auto crash. It has since been re-opened. The precipitation is supposed to ease up and stop later in the day.
A Big Week for Public Hearings
Carole Osterink of Gossips of Rivertown has a story up on two Columbia County public hearings this coming week. On Wednesday morning, March 23, at 9:30 a.m., the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency will be hearing views on Greenport Crossings, a project including an 80-room Comfort Suites hotel and a family entertainment center proposed for the site of the old V&O plant on Route 66 in Greenport. The developers are seeking a 100 percent property tax abatement for twenty years. Public comments can relate to the financial assistance sought by the project or the nature and location of the project. The public hearing takes place at Greenport Town Hall, at the end of Town Hall Drive, off Healy Boulevard. Then, on Thursday, March 24, at 6 p.m., the Hudson Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing on the new residential building project proposed for the corner of Union and First streets by Eric Galloway’s Galvan Partners. This public hearing takes place at City Hall.
Area home sales tumble, but prices stable
The Times Union’s Business Editor Eric Anderson reports that sales of new and existing single-family houses fell 20 percent in February in and around the Capital Region, according to a new Greater Capital Association of Realtors report released March 21. But the average and median sale prices both edged higher. The median price, the point at which half the houses sold for more and half for less, rose 1 percent to $185,500, its highest point since 2008. The average price rose 2 percent to $211,437. The data come from an 11-county area including the Capital Region.
New Lebanon Town Board Action – The Robert Mittnight Jr. Court Case
Thaddeus Flint of the Eastwick Press reports that a New Lebanon man ordered to remove materials from his Route 20 yard or face fines and possible jail time came before the town board to plead his case but was told they can’t reverse court actions. In other local business, it seems recent floods have harmed an historic Shaker-built stone bridge that the town wants the nearby Shaker Museum to take the lead on fixing.
Gibson: ‘Not the time’ for U.S. action in Libya
The TImes Union reports that Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, released a strongly worded statement on Monday, March 21, opposing U.S. involvement in the international coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. “Now is not the time to take on new missions,” said Gibson, who will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting at the Chatham High School this Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Greenport Crossings, Libya, Route 23, snow
Village elections in Columbia and Greene counties
Four Columbia County and five Greene County villages hold elections today, from 11:00 am or noon to 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. Most races have no challengers, but look for action as candidates face off in Chatham, Philmont and Tannersville.
Replacement for Frey could be named
The Daily Mail’s Colin DeVries reports that Greene County Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh is saying that a new Greene County legislator for Durham could be appointed at the legislature’s meeting on Wednesday, March 16. The county legislature’s District 9 seat has been vacant since former legislator Sean Frey resigned effective Jan 31. Any appointment is contingent on approval by the full legislature, which currently holds an 8-5 Republican majority after Frey’s resignation, and will be up for a special election in November.
In wake of Japanese nuclear crisis, Riverkeeper calls for shut down of Indian Point
Mid Hudson News Network writes that Hudson Riverkeeper Paul Gallay told a special session of the Westchester County Legislature’s Environment and Energy Committee on March 14 that the Indian Point nuclear power plant should be shut down until it can be scientifically proven that it could withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The session was called in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant explosions in Japan that began last Friday. Gallay said more study must be done immediately into the “what if’s” at Indian Point.
Gibson maintains support of nuclear power
The Register-Star is running a story about a conference call on March 14 where Congressman Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, told reporters that he remains a big promoter of nuclear energy, even as Japan struggles with radiation releases from plants crippled by last week’s earthquake and tsunami. “I want this done and I want it done safely,” Gibson said of his push to build more nuclear facilities in the United States. “We’re not looking at building your father’s nuclear power plant.” Gibson is proposing two new nuclear plants for the Hudson Valley, one north of Albany and the other in Greene County south of Catskill.
Schools bank, spend more of reserves
Jimmy Vielkind of the Times Union reports that Capital Region schools districts, including those in Columbia and Greene Counties, have more money in their reserve accounts than the state average, but more of them are raiding their reserve funds than other districts in the state. The comptroller’s survey found Capital Region schools — in Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Columbia, Greene, Warren and Washington counties — have an average of 11.7 percent of their overall budget in reserve. The statewide average was 10.8 percent, the report found. But Capital Region schools tapped their reserves last year at a higher-than-average rate. The reserve figure went down in 23.2 percent of local districts, compared with 20.5 percent statewide. DiNapoli’s report concluded that, examining 22 indicators of fiscal health, Capital Region schools fared better than others around the state. Because of a more precipitous decline in property tax values, districts on Long Island and in the mid-Hudson Valley were hit hardest.
Greene lawmakers consider delinquent tax installment plan
Ariel Zangla Girard of the Daily FReeman reports that Greene County lawmakers are considering a proposal allowing eligible property owners to pay their delinquent taxes in installments over a two-year period, but only after signing an installment agreement to avoid foreclosure. Under the agreement, taxpyers would be required to pay 25 percent of the total bill up front and make quarterly payments on the balance of the delinquent amount. Additionally, property owners would be required to remain current on all new taxes assessed on the property or the county would begin the foreclosure process again. Interest charges would also be included…
Tags: Chris Gibson, delinquent taxes, foreclosure, nuclear power, reserves, Riverkeeper, school budgets
Observers see Molinaro as possible successor to Steinhaus
The Daily Freeman has a new angle on the announcement by longstanding Dutchess County County Executive William Steinhaus, who announced that he would not be seeking a sixth term this week. According to reporter Patricia Doxsey, State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro, who also represents much of Columbia County, is seen by some Dutchess County politicos as the heir apparent even though the Red Hook Republican hasn’t announced his candidacy and has only said he’ll make a decision next week about whether to run. Molinaro, 36, has been involved in politics since 1994, when he was elected to the Tivoli Village Board at age 18. A year later, he was elected village mayor. He then served on the Dutchess County Legislature before being elected to the state Assembly in the 103rd District.
Correctional experts: prison programs need revamping
It’s no secret that there is lots of substance abuse in prisons, notes a piece by the Times Union’s Rick Karlin, who then presents a new study by the state Correctional Association which finds that the efforts to control and treat addictions in prisons is in need of an overhaul. Along with other protocols.
Privatizing public health nursing a hard sell in Sullivan County
Mid Hudson News Network reports that at a meeting in Monticello on March 3, “There was virtually no support for fixing something several Sullivan County seniors say is not broken.” They were talking about public health nursing, or more specifically, the Certified Home Health Agency operated by Sullivan County Public Health Services, which several Republicans have talked about privatizing.
Prison ruling is made binding
The Watertown Daily Times reports that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s 30-day budget amendments, released March 3, include a stipulation taht any ruling of the prison-closure task force would be binding on the commissioner of the state’s prison system. Which means that the prison system HAS TO make $72 million in cuts for the 2011-12 budget year and $112 million after that. With no directives as to how… possibly affecting state facilities in Hudson and Coxsackie. Plus, the law’s been amended so the task force doesn’tconvene until 10 days after the budget is approved, making it impossible for legislators to prevent specific facilities from closure.
Bill to require bicycle registration dies in Albany
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has a story about how proposed legislation that would require registration fees, and license plates, for bicycles died in Albany on March 3 after being criticized by politicians around the state. Other legislation that would exempt bikes and bike helmets from sales tax and provide a $50 tax credit for adult bike purchases and a $25 credit for kids’ bikes, however, is still under consideration. Assemblyman Michael DenDekker, a Queens Democrat, withdrew the bill after one of his fellow assemblyman called the move “utterly insane.”
New Baltimore gears up for bicentennial opening celebration
Melanie Lekocevic of the Greene County News reports on plans to kick off the Town of New Baltimore’s year-long bicentennial birthday celebration on March 13 with opening ceremonies including a parade and remarks by Congressman Chris Gibson, State Senator James Seward and Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin.
Tags: bicentennial, bicycle registration bill, Chris Gibson, James Seward, Mark Molinaro, prison closures, privatization, Steve McLaughlin, William Steinhaus
It turns that while protesters amassed outside the offices of freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson in Kinderhook and Saratoga on February 24, the congressman himself was traveling overseas with a congressional delegation visiting troops and meeting with military leaders. The Glens Falls Post-Star has a story based on a Gibson press release about how the delegation left Iraq on Thursday, Feb. 24, and was traveling to an unspecified other foreign country, with the locations and itinerary for the remainder of the trip not being released “to protect security,” according to Stephanie Valle, the congressman’s spokeswoman. Gibson serves on the House Armed Services Committee and was traveling with Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., Madeleine Bordallo, D-Guam, and Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Rep. Joe Wilson
At least 50 concerned citizens came together outside Congressman Chris Gibson’s office in Kinderhook on February 24 to protest his recent vote in support of federal budget cuts, which he has said he made despite having qualms about many of the cuts he was voting for. Francisca Olsen of the Register-Star reported that the protest was sponsored by MoveOn.org and Columbia County Voice, and gave residents the opportunity to sound off on what they see as partisan cuts to programs that benefit the community. A similar protest, more focused on specific cuts designed to decimate Planned Parenthood, was held simultaneously in Saratoga and reported on in The Saratogian. Much was made of the recent Congress’ decision to cut the Corporation for Public Broadcasting but keep funding deals for agency advertisement funding for Nascar races. Small groups of Gibson supporters, most from outside Columbia County, in Kinderhook, and Saratoga in that city, held up signs of their own. They were organized with the help of local Tea Parties, as reported here in recent days.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Columbia County Voice, Kingston Tea Party, MOveOn, Patrtiots of the Hudson Valley
Congressman Chris Gibson’s getting his first taste of home turf protests against his Republican majority lockstep votes to date in two separate incidents planned for Thursday, February 24 at his offices in Kinderhook and Saratoga, starting at 12 noon. Meanwhile, a local Tea Party group out of Kingston is drumming up folks from their ranks to come out to both events, claiming they’ve been organized by MoveOn and need “patriotic support” for Gibson and the current GOP agenda, which has come increasingly under fire around the nation in the past week. In an e-mail blast from the new organization, Columbia County Voice, the Kinderhook gathering, at 2 Hudson Street, is “to protest the cuts that the Republican House has voted for to programs that affect our community” and was originally conceived as a MoveOn event, but has since coalesced into “a broad based coalition of those groups and individuals affected or concerned about the GOP defunding a broad spectrum of programs.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: budget cuts, Chris Gibson, MOveOn, protests, Tea Party
U.S. Representative Chris Gibson defended his call for more nuclear power in the state in a Times Union editorial this past Sunday.
Tags: Chris Gibson, nuclear power
Congressman Chris Gibson is not claiming any credit, but is crowing that the Environmental Protection Agency indicated Wednesday that they won’t treat spilled milk under the same rules that govern oil spills. Gibson met with EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck Wednesday Feb. 16 to discuss a host of issues affecting the 20th Congressional District, including EPA dairy regulations. The EPA proposed to regulate milk because it contains a certain percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil, and thus would be covered under the Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure program. Dairy farmers would have been responsible for developing a spill prevention plan for milk equivalent to an oil spill prevention plan. But that is not going to happen. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: agriculture, Chris Gibson, dairy, dairy farms, farming, milk
Congressman Chris Gibson, who represents Greene and Columbia counties in the U.S. House of Representatives, released a statement Wednesday evening saying he is trying to secure disaster aid for local farmers hit hard by heavy snow this winter. “Several farms have experienced barn collapses, loss of livestock, and other damages,” Gibson’s statement said. “My office is working with the USDA to seek the disaster designation for the counties impacted to ensure that relief is available for those that need it. My staff is also available to assist farmers in 20th District wherever possible, and I encourage anyone who has questions regarding federal assistance to contact my office.”
Tags: agriculture, Chris Gibson, farmers, snow
The New York Times had a piece in its regional section this week that’s started going viral upstate, and elsewhere in small town America. Entitled “District Liked Its Earmarks, Then Elected Someone Who Didn’t,” the piece by reporter Raymond Hernandez is all about what’s happening now that a Republican Congress is actually cutting projects that were deemed helpful, and even necessary, in rural areas like ours. They chart what’s happening in the 19th Congressional District, won by Tea Party-backed Nan Hayworth from former musician John Hall, where “projects have drawn strong support from community activists, business leaders and local politicians of both major parties. But the stream of federal money that has long financed such projects, in this Hudson Valley district and elsewhere in the nation, is about to dry up.” It gets a number of Republican local officials to go on the record against the past week’s Congressional action, “prodded by outspoken newcomers like Ms. Hayworth,” to essentially ban all money for projects that individual lawmakers slip into major Congressional budget bills to cater to local demands. “Now, civic activists, local officials and residents are scratching their heads, unpersuaded about the soundness of scrapping a system that has provided the district with money for libraries, parks, roads, bridges and the like.” Interesting when abstract concepts hit real world examples. More on local projects started by Rep. Scott Murphy before losing to our newest Congressman Chris Gibson, who also ran against earmarks…
Tags: Chris Gibson, earmarks, John Hall, Nan Hayworth, Scott Murphy
Indian Point Nuclear Plant, on the Tappan Zee, is one of a handful of nuclear plants in New York State.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Hudson River, Indian Point, nuclear power
Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook
Tags: appointments, Chris Gibson
New Representative Chris Gibson, from Kinderhook, made national TV Sunday morning, appearing in the accompanying clip “Behind the Scenes with the New Right” on “This Week” with Christiane Amanpour on ABC. Gibson is shown with President Obama Friday in Schenectady, and speaks about how he would like the President to work with all Americans. He also shows off the air mattress in his office closet, that he pulls out at night to sleep.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Christiane Amanpour
Chris Gibson campaign announcement in Albany. Photo by Tom Roe.
Tags: Chris Gibson
Rep. Chris Gibson's swearing-in, from his Facebook page.
NY State Senator James Seward, from his website.
Tags: Chris Gibson, health care, James Seward, Job Creation and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2011, local audio, local video, Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act
Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook
Tags: Chris Gibson, doughnut hole, Medicare Plus, Obamacare
Congressman Chris Gibson, who represents Greene and Columbia counties, released this statement after the shooting this morning of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords: “My wife Mary Jo and I were deeply saddened to learn of the details of this horrific attack. We send along our thoughts and prayers to Congresswoman Giffords and her family, friends, and staff. We pray for all those affected by this tragedy.” Gibson was to be featured Sunday morning at 9 a.m. on “This Week” with Christiane Amanpour on WTEN, but the show bumped the segment because of the shooting.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Gabrielle Giffords
Craig Remaley, owner of Mountain T-Shirts in Catskill, speaks with then-Congressional candidate Chris Gibson Aug. 24, 2010. Photo by Tom Roe.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Christiane Amanpour, WTEN
A classic Washington Post file photo from the days of the Three Mile Island nuclear power disaster, which ended the construction of new nuclear plants, including one pegged for Greene County, back in the late 1970s.
Tags: Chris Gibson, nuclear plant, nuclear power
Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, says he'll sleep in his office once in Washington, as if his new job were a military deployment.
“He’s going to look at it as a deployment,” Dan Odescalchi, a spokesman for the Kinderhook Republican, joked about Gibson’s accommodations.Beneath the joking, however, is some truth. Gibson invoked his military experience often on the path to winning his first elected office in November and portrayed himself, like many other successful Republicans across the nation, as a man on a mission to bring fiscal conservatism to Capitol Hill.
“He’s a guy who is going to Washington with his eyes wide open and who believes in his stump speech, which is less government is better government, less taxes are better than higher taxes,” Rensselaer County GOP Chairman Neil Kelleher said. “He believes it, and I think he’s going to do everything he can to make it happen, too.”
For the full story click here.
Tags: Chris Gibson, House of Representatives, Republican wave, Scott Murphy, U.S. Congress
So what happens to a defeated politician, especially a Congressman or woman who rode to power against great odds, narrowly won election, and seemed to gain popularity from at least his or her constituency while in office? For U.S. Senator Kristin Gillibrand, our area’s former representative, the sky seems to be the limit now that she’s been seen nationwide as one of the lead voices prodding her GOP opposition top action on the so-called 9/11 Responders bill. A new story from the PostStar in Glens Falls, meanwhile, shows outgoing U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy saying he’s ready to get back to being just another hard-working dad with ideas about how to make Glens Falls a better place to live.
From PostStar :
But the approximately 20 months he spent representing the region in Congress has been a great experience, he said in a telephone interview from Washington on Tuesday.
“The frustration people feel with government and partisan gridlock is very real. … But the process of being involved in government is very rewarding,” said Murphy, who lost his re-election bid in November to U.S. Rep.-elect Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Kirsten Gillibrand, Scott Murphy, U.S. Congress
Chris Gibson opens his campaign headquarters in Kinderhook May 12, 2010.
Tags: Chris Gibson, DADT
The House Republican Steering Committee assigned Congressman-Elect Chris Gibson (NY-20) to serve on the House Agriculture and Armed Services Committees in the 112th Congress, according to Gibson’s press representative. “It is an honor to be selected by the Republican Leadership to serve on two committees that are of critical importance to our district, the Agriculture and Armed Services Committees,” Gibson, who hails from Kinderhook, said in a prepared statement. “New York farms have been struggling, particularly in recent years, to remain profitable in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The rural nature of our district relies heavily of the profitability of our family farms. On the Agriculture Committee, I will be an ardent and strong champion for our farmers to ensure that they are treated fairly, particularly in regards to how their products are priced.” Democrat Rep. Scott Murphy, who Gibson is replacing, also served in the same committees.
Tags: Chris Gibson
The Mid Hudson News Network, along with the Register Star, have pieces in this morning’s editions about meetings U.S. Rep.-elect Chris Gibson had with state Assemblymen Marc Molinaro and Pete Lopez, fellow Republican, in several locations yesterday, including the Elks Club in Hudson, where Gibson said growing the economy by repealing “paternalistic legislation” is his top priority and added that he would push for the building of a nuclear power plant in the area. Concerns voiced by the public during the discussions included reducing spending, managing healthcare reform, protecting agriculture and small businesses, prohibiting the addition of new taxes, and hydrofracking. Gibson said that his first priority is to grow the economy by focusing on reform of “paternalistic legislation” that inhibits economic growth, as well as developing more intelligent ways of balancing the economy and the environment.
Gibson also said he was open to the building of two nuclear power plants in the overall region, one north and one south of Albany.
The sprawling 20th Congressional District comprises all of Columbia, Greene, Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties and parts of Dutchess, Otsego, Rensselaer, Delaware and Essex counties. In Northern Dutchess, the district includes Hyde Park, Clinton, Rhinebeck, Red Hook, Milan and Pine Plains.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Elks, energy policy, Marc Molinaro, nuclear power plants, paternalistic legislation, Pete Lopez, U.S. Congress
The Times Union this morning has one of those stories that outlines how things really work beneath the idealistic veneer of modern politics. It’s about how outgoing U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, the Democrat who lost re-election to retired Marine Chris Gibson, a Republican riding the recent wave that shifted control of Congress in November, has been evicted from his Washington D.C. office, where callers can no longer leave a message, making it hard for constituents in the 20th Congressional District to reach the representative. The story goes on to point out how Murphy, 40, “is only one among scores of politicians who still have duties to perform even after their constituents voted them out, and has had to move with another 80 or so lame duck members of the House to a cubicle city set up in a banquet room in the basement of the Rayburn Office Building. And to make matters worse, even though votes are continuing over the coming weeks, and constituents back home still want representation, the General Services Administration has told Murphy he would not be able to retrieve messages left on the voice mail in his D.C. office, and all but one of his district offices have closed by order of the GSA… leaving only the one in Saratoga Springs — where the voice mailbox was full Thursday afternoon.
In the meantime, Murphy’s office is suggesting constituents call their U.S. Senators… although that’s not an option in some other states now left without any Democrats in federal office.
Tags: Chris Gibson, lame duck, November election, representation, Scott Murphy, U.S. Congress
Stephanie Valle, image from her Facebook page.
Tags: Chris Gibson
WASHINGTON/ALBANY – On the same day that the Daily Mail and Register Star are running versions of a story (more conservatively for Catskill) about the current Bush Tax Bill extension fight in Washington, pitting incoming Congressman Chris Gibson, Republican, against the man he defeated, Democrat Scott Murphy, after Murphy voted along with the rest of the current House Democratic majority for limiting tax extensions to the middle class, the Times Union has a fascinating story about the amounts of outside money that came into the 20th Congressional District this past electoral cycle, and how they helped Gibson ride the underlying voter registration demographics of Upstate, briefly overturned by Kristin Gillibrand a few years back when she defeated John Sweeney, and barely maintained in Murphy’s special election 800-vote win last year.
“U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy raised and spent more money than his opponent, but it couldn’t save his job,” reporter Jordan Carleo-Evangelist writes, pulling from newly-released Federal Election Commission reports and records. “But the numbers fail to tell the whole story…. While Gibson, a retired Army colonel from Kinderhook, lagged Murphy in personal fundraising, he benefited greatly from spending by outside organizations, much of it from conservative-leaning groups opposing Murphy for his votes on controversial issues such as the health care reform bill. More than $1.7 million was spent to oppose Murphy in 2010, compared to just $696,000 to oppose Gibson.”
Carleo-Evangelist ties the Gibson outside money to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed the spending of unlimited amounts of cash on election advertising. Among actual amounts charted in our region were $447,366 from American Crossroads, a group backed by Republican strategist Karl Rove, and $498,950 from the conservative-leaning 60 Plus Association.
Read the full story here.
Tags: Chris Gibson, congressional races, elections, Karl Rove, outside money, Scott Murphy, Supreme Court, voter registrations
Roberta Davis, from Columbia County Democrats website.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Deborah Simonsmeier, education, Hudson schools, Hunter Mountain, Roberta Davis, Scott Murphy, skiing, snow, taxes, Windham Mountain, youth
The Times Union’s Capitol Connection reports, among much conjecture about the state legislature’s lame duck session starting behind closed doors this morning, that Congressman-elect Chris Gibson has named the man who ran his campaign in pivotal Saratoga County, Clifton Park’s Steve Bulger, as his district director.
Steve Bulger
Bulger is a father of three and has worked in medical manufacturing for the last 20 years, most recently for the Stryker Corporation. He currently chairs the Clifton Park Planning Board.
Tags: aides, Chris Gibson, congressional district
The Times Union’s Capital Confidential column reports this morning that Congressman-elect Chris Gibson has named Mark Westcott as his regional representative for the northern part of the 10-county 20th Congressional District. Gibson, a Republican from Kinderhook, defeated Scott Murphy in the November election.
Westcott, who was Gibson’s Warren County coordinator during the recent election, worked for Jerry Solomon during his long rein in the Congress, which ended in 1999.
Jerry Solomon
Solomon, who took office in 1978, was also an ex-Marine who rose to head the powerful House Rules Committee after stepping aside in a bid for the Speaker’s position during the rise of Newt Gingrich. He later gained lasting fame as the originator and sponsor of the Solomon Amendment, a controversial amendment to United States Code that precluded the receipt of federal government funds by colleges and universities unless they provided equal access to military recruiters as they did private employers.
For more on the Times Union story click here.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Gerald Solomon, House of Representatives, Jerry Solomon, U.S. Congressman
Hudson school board meeting confrontation between assistant principals attracts reporters
The Hudson school board meeting almost-altercation between assistant principals Tom Gavin and Steven Spicer was a giant regional story Tuesday. The Times-Union reported:
“Co-principal Steven Spicer said that on Wednesday he will also seek an order of protection against co-principal Thomas Gavin, who he says threatened him during the meeting. ‘On the advice of my lawyer, I’m going to report the incident to the Hudson City Police,’ Spicer said Tuesday night. Gavin has been suspended for an undetermined amount of time with pay, which is mandated by state law, according to district Superintendent Jack Howe.”
WAMC had audio from Hudson Superintendent John Howe, and others:
“What’s been described as “a week of mayhem” at a Columbia County High School boiled over during a Monday night meeting of the city Board of Education – Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports the police commissioner had to step in between two school officials engaged in a heated confrontation. The officials involved have been identified as Hudson High co-principals Tom Gavin and Steven Spicer. The chain of events that led to last night’s violence began after a parent stood up to voice concerns about the safety of students. The officials disagreed over student discipline and the code of conduct. The men had to be separated as they engaged in confrontation. Superintendent of Schools John Howe says both Gavin and Spicer remain with the district. He promises parents concerns will be addressed. Hudson Police Commissioner Ron Grant says his office is investigating and always ready to help.”
John Mason in Register-Star reports how Spicer is among “40 or 50″ applicants for the principal position at John L. Edwards Primary School. “The position was vacated when Carol Gans retired in August,” Mason writes. “Gans then agreed to remain on an interim basis until Dec. 31.”
Demagall guilty
Francesca Olsen in Register-Star reports William Demagall was, “found guilty of second-degree murder and deemed responsible for his actions by a Columbia County jury Tuesday evening.” Olsen reports afterwards Demagall’s father, Steven Demagall, stormed out of the courthouse after telling her that, “Judge (Paul) Czajka directly influenced the outcome of this trial with his antics in the courtroom,” he said. “This is a serious matter … you can’t get a fair trial in Columbia County — because of Judge Czajka … this is the result of the first trial and the f——- second one!” Olsen writes that he is, “referring to Columbia County Supreme Court Judge Paul Czajka, who presided over the first trial, and his presence in the courtroom during the retrial. Steven Demagall said that he observed Czajka speaking in a friendly manner with witnesses who were about to testify and his ‘front and center’ position in the courtroom gallery during the proceedings.”
[Copake] budget passes with 8.97 percent tax increase
Lindsay Suchow in the Register-Star reports Copake town supervisors approved a 8.97 percent tax increase for residents by a 4-1 vote last week. “The total budget for 2011 is $1,868,672, which includes both the general fund ($294,776) and the highway fund ($797,642),” Suchow wrote. “The town board voted 4 to 1 to approve the budget, with Supervisor Reggie Crowley and council members Linda Gabaccia, Walter Kiernan and Daniel Tompkins voting ‘yes’ and Councilman Bob Sacks voting ‘no.’”
Gibson, Molinaro co-host town hall meetings
New York State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R,C,I-Red Hook) and Congressman-elect Chris Gibson host town hall meetings in Hudson and Pleasant Valley Friday, December 10. The Hudson Elks will host the first town hall at 10 a.m. at 201 Harry Howard Avenue, and then the two will speak in Pleasant Valley at 2:30 in the New Horizons Resources Office at 123 West Road. Molinaro will host similar events with Congresswoman-elect Nan Hayworth on December 17 at locations to be announced.
Birthdays
Nov. 24 birthdays include Scott Joplin, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Arundahati Roy.
Tags: Bob Sacks, Chris Gibson, Daniel Tompkins, Hudson schools, John Howe, Linda Gabaccia, Marc Molinaro, Reggie Crowley, schools, Steven Spicer, Tom Gavin, town meetings, Walter Kiernan
Ever wondered what the dreaded term of the season “earmarks” means on a local basis? A story in today’s Catskill Daily Mail by Melanie Lekocevic charts the recent receipt of federal funding for important firefighting equipment for the Athens Volunteer Fire Company via a $94,000 grant secured through U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy’s office before his loss to rformer marine Chris Gibson, a conservative Republican, earlier this month.
Announced several months ago, the grant has finally come in, and so has the equipment.
The Athens fire department used the money to purchase 25 sets of full turnout gear for its firefighters, including the jackets, pants, helmets and boots they need to go into a burning building. Purchase of the gear took up about half of the federal grant money.
As part of the turnout gear, the department also purchased the integrated escape harnesses that attach to the jackets, and are now required – but not paid for – by the state.
“If you need to leave a building rapidly, the escape harness allows you to leave through a window and let yourself down to the ground in a safe manner,” Fire Chief John Greco said.
The equipment also includes a “drag device” on the jacket’s back, which enables a firefighter to physically drag a fallen comrade out of a burning building.
The 25 sets of turnout gear were critical because the department’s old gear was due to be replaced for safety’s sake.
For full story click HERE.
Tags: Chris Gibson, earmarks, equipment, firefighting, grants, Scott Murphy
Chris Gibson opens his campaign headquarters in Kinderhook May 12, 2010.
Tags: Chris Gibson
Chris Gibson opens his campaign headquarters in Kinderhook May 12, 2010.
Congressman-elect Chris Gibson [of Kinderhook] is a 24-year military [veteran], but his top choice for a committee assignment is Agriculture.
“In order, Agriculture, and the House Armed Services Committee,” Gibson said in an interview earlier this week. “There is no guarantees. Obviously I’d be a good fit for the House Armed Services Committee given my background. I would like to see that as a third committee; that’s unusual, to get three committees, but not unprecedented. I want to serve on Agriculture, on Energy & Commerce, because I want to be involved in removing the impediments to growth — taxes, regulation and health care costs — and I want to be involved to try to help our farmers. So I derive my priorities for committee assignment based on campaign goals that I enunciated and where I can best position myself to make a difference.”Gibson spoke at multiple farm events about the need to improve milk pricing mechanisms in the 2012 Farm Bill. Rep. Scott Murphy, the Glens Falls Democrat who Gibson defeated, serves on the Agriculture and Armed Services.
Birthdays
Nov. 13 birthdays include Frances Conroy, Humayun Ahmed, and Amory Lovins.
Tags: Chris Gibson
Gibson names Saratoga’s Stallmer as chief-of-staff
Kinderhook’s Congressman-elect Chris Gibson named Steve Stallmer as his chief-of-staff. Stallmer graduated from Saratoga Springs High School in 1994, worked as an intern and staffer for the late Congressman Gerald Solomon, and on the staff of Congressman Jack Quinn. Since 2004 he was the Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for the Associated General Contractors of New York State. Stallmer has a degree in political science from Marymount University in Arlington, VA.
Meetings tonight
The Register-Star’s John Mason reports the Taconic Hills School Board is secretly choosing a new member tonight, and they will not reveal the names of any of the candidates, and are holding all deliberations behind closed doors. Mason calls the executive director of New York’s Committee on Open Government Robert J. Freeman and asks if the board is violating the state’s open meetings law by doing everything in regard to hiring in executive session. Freeman quotes the Gordon vs. the Village of Monticello, Supreme Court, Sullivan County, Jan. 7, 1994 case: “The matter of replacing elected officials,” states the decision, “should be subject to public input and scrutiny.” Freeman said he has advised school boards that “they conduct executive sessions [for this purpose] at their peril.” Then Mason lists similar recent local situations:
On Jan. 11, members of the Hudson City School Board went into executive session to discuss four candidates for an open board seat. But Board Member Elizabeth Fout refused to join them, saying it was against Open Meetings Law. On Oct. 5, members of the Ichabod Crane School Board heard presentations in a public meeting by five of eight candidates for an open board seat — the other three had already made their presentations. Members then went into executive session and made their decision. In both cases, names of all candidates were public knowledge. Read the entire story here.
Carole Osterink reports Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera will present the budget to the Common Council at a special meeting tonight, Wednesday, November 10, at 6 p.m. at city hall. The budget will be online for public review at the City of Hudson website after that, with a public hearing on the subject Wednesday, November 17, at 6 p.m.
Birthdays
Nov. 10 is the birthday of Saxby Chambliss, Neil Gaiman, and Ann Reinking.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Rick Scalera, Steve Stallmer, Taconic Hills School Board
Greene County election results (must refresh page).
WGXC’s Tom Roe will be at the Columbia County Board of Elections office and posting results as they become official.
WGXC has campaign schedules for election day from Didi Barrett (running for State Senate seat in Columbia County), Chris Gibson (running for NY 20th Congressional seat), Scott Murphy (running for NY 20th Congressional seat), and James Seward (running unopposed for State Senate seat in Greene County).
Didi Barrett
9:00-9:30 a.m.: Vote at Millbrook firehouse with family.
11:30 a.m.-noon: Visit Hudson campaign office, 731 Warren St., Hudson, NY 12534.
noon-2 p.m.: Canvas in Hudson.
3-3:30 p.m.: Lunch stop at Hyde Park United Methodist Church, 103rd Election Day Dinner, Rte. 9 and Church St. Hyde Park, NY 12538. All proceeds will support local missions. No reservations are needed and takeout is available. Take out prices are $12 adults or seniors and $6 children.
3:30-5:30 p.m.: Phone banking at Didi for Senate Headquarters, 4068 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538.
6-7 p.m.: New Hamburg train station.
9-?: Election Night Party at Didi for Senate Headquarters, 4068 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538.
Chris Gibson
9 a.m.: Casting vote at McNary Center, Sylvester St., Kinderhook, NY 12106
10 p.m.: Election Night Event at Holiday Inn of Saratoga, 232 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Scott Murphy
9:30 a.m.: Vote at Glens Falls High School tennis court entrance, 10 Quade Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801
2 p.m.: Visit Greene County Democrat Headquarters, 377 Main Street, Catskill, NY 12414
4 p.m.: Visit Dutchess County Democrat Headquarters, 4068 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538
6 p.m.: Visit Columbia County Democrat Headquarters, 731 Warren St., Hudson, NY 12534
9 p.m.: Gideon Putnam Ballroom, Gideon Putnam, 24 Gideon Putnam Road, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
James Seward
8:30 a.m.: Election Day Pancake Breakfast at Veterans Club; 60 Main Street; Cooperstown, NY.
8 p.m.: Election Returns/Victory Celebration at Campaign Headquarters; 14 Dietz Street; Oneonta NY.
Voting in Cairo at 10 a.m. Nov. 2, 2010. Photo by Tom Roe.
Tags: Chris Gibson, Didi Barrett, elections, James Seward, Scott Murphy
Former President Bill Clinton came to Saratoga this morning to support the re-election campaign of Rep. Scott Murphy, who polls have losing tomorrow to Kinderhook Republican Chris Gibson. Capitol Confidential, via Kyle Hughes of NYSNYS, provides this video of Bill Clinton from this morning’s rally.
this video of Clinton’s appearance for Murphy.
Tags: Chris Gibson, elections, local video, Scott Murphy
National Weather Service, Albany
Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page
When the computer is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information in Harlemville. Check dates and times to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was turned off.
Greene County webcams:
Catskill webcam: Thomas Cole House Claude Mirror
Nearby webcams:
Gibson wants to wait on DADT
December 1, 2010 in Columbia County, Dutchess County, Greene County, Kinderhook, Upstate New York, Washington by Paul Smart | No comments
The Times-Union’s Capitol Connection leads with a piece about the long-awaited Defense Department report released Tuesday, in which the Pentagon says gay service members can openly serve in the armed forces without damaging the military’s strength or undermining its missions, and the party-line statement from Rep.-elect Chris Gibson, R-N.Y., a retired Army colonel and Iraq War veteran, who is saying that everyone needs to spend more time “digesting” the Pentagon’s conclusions and talking with top enlisted members before making any big changes to the Clinton-era policy.
“There has to be a period where we have a dialogue with the leadership of the United States military, the top enlisted members in the Army, the sergeant majors and also the top general officers,” he said. “This isn’t something that you can get a five-second synopsis of and then take a position on.”
No mention from Gibson, or others in the new Republican House majority or strengthened Senate minority, about the months and years DADT has been a key issue so far.
Of most interest in the TU story are the now-predictable but still-revealing way in which ensuing comments break down into an argument over whether homosexuality should be accepted or not by our society.
See full story HERE.
Tags: Chris Gibson, comments, congress, DADT, homosexuality, Pentagon