Help for the lakes
President Obama came through on a campaign pledge last month, signing legislation that will provide $475 million to launch his Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. That’s nearly double Washington’s previous annual commitment to the lakes, and a huge benefit for the millions of people who live within the Great Lakes watershed and for uncounted others who care about these vast and unique inland seas. (Updated: 11/15/09 8:08 AM )
Afghan policy still elusive
President Obama has promised, as President George W. Bush had promised before him, to
listen to his generals. (Updated: 11/13/09 10:05 PM )
It seems to us . . .
COLOR COMMENTARY: Thanks to the state’s red ink, your car’s going to get a little more colorful. (Updated: 11/14/09 8:07 AM )
Inappropriate pressure
It will take an expert examination to render a credible diagnosis, but all the signs seem
to be there. Paranoia. Denial. Enabling. Otherwise intelligent people acting irrationally,
putting themselves and others at serious risk. (Updated: 11/13/09 2:23 PM )
Help plant a tree
The brilliant golds and reds of Indian summer, lingering in parts of Western New York through these days of enjoyable weather, are very timely indeed. (Updated: 11/13/09 6:45 AM )
Lawmakers dodge a solution
They came, they saw, they ran for cover. (Updated: 11/11/09 4:56 PM )
Economic help extended
Congress has taken some wise steps to protect what is, by all accounts, the beginning of a fragile, and largely jobless, economic recovery. The Senate recently voted overwhelmingly to extend unemployment benefits by 20 weeks, expand the first-time homeowner tax credit and provide tax relief for struggling businesses. (Updated: 11/12/09 7:08 AM )
Uncertainty on Veterans Day
Veterans Day 2009 is about contending with unknowns, even more than usual. The nation
remains embroiled in two wars … the optional one in Iraq, which appears to be ending, and the
essential one in Afghanistan, where after eight years of conflict, the death toll is spiking
and American plans are in flux. (Updated: 11/10/09 11:31 PM )
The tragedy in Texas
There can be no enemy worse than the enemy within. (Updated: 11/11/09 6:59 AM )
Seeking lessons in China
There’s a good reason Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams should travel to China to foster educational links, even though Buffalo is the third-poorest city in America. It’s that Buffalo shouldn’t stay the third-poorest city forever. (Updated: 11/10/09 7:00 AM )
Flag high-risk drivers
If ever a calamity cried out for legislative response, the deaths last week of four teenagers
in a senseless car crash does. The accident in Clarence occurred because a teenage driver with
a history of recklessness sped past a stop sign and collided with a minivan. His four
passengers were killed while the two occupants of the van were seriously injured. (Updated: 11/10/09 12:30 AM )
A call to action: Contact your elected officials to do something about your high taxes
First, stop the bleeding. (Updated: 11/10/09 12:31 AM )
Roll back taxes. Roll back fees. Stop the spending binge. Cut state government payroll. And don't borrow.
--8,000 new state workers have been added since the governor called for a hiring freeze last
fall. (Updated: 11/10/09 12:31 AM )
What you can do to get in the debate . . .
Learn: Search newspapers, in print or online, for the continuing coverage of New York’s unfolding fiscal problems and increasing multibillion-dollar deficits. Visit the Web sites of New York leaders, and your senator and assemblyman, to see what they’re saying about the deficit and the need to act. The New York State home page is www.state.ny.us or www.ny.gov (Updated: 11/10/09 12:31 AM )
Revive the core
For far too long, there has been decay at the core of this city. Even as secondary
buildings in the downtown business district found welcome new life as residential centers,
some key landmark structures drifted. (Updated: 11/07/09 10:46 PM )