http://www.buffalonews.com Latest stories from The Buffalo News en-us Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:30:24 -0400 Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:30:24 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130629994/1074
Of course, things have changed since 2012. The district has a new superintendent, Dr. Pamela C. Brown. Say Yes to Education and the Promise Neighborhood organizations have come to lend a hand. A distinguished educator, Judy Elliott, has been assigned to work with the school district. Those changes may have made a difference over the past year, and so might the election of new School Board members over the next 12 months.

But these are the figures we have now, and they are intensely disturbing. Not only did 53 percent of Buffalo’s students fail to graduate, but the trend moved in the wrong direction, and rapidly.

Meanwhile, the graduation rate in New York City was 60 percent; in Yonkers it was 66 percent. Even those rates are substandard, but they also show that it is possible for Buffalo to do far better than it is. The numbers cry out for a change.

So does the persistence of old and intractable problems, including the dysfunction of the Buffalo Teachers Federation: In collusion with district leaders, it tried to con the State Education Department – and with it, the public – into believing it had agreed to a meaningful teacher evaluation system. It hadn’t.

Instead, it signed a secret side agreement that undermined the agreement on teacher evaluations and that it must have known was in violation of the rules. (And wasn’t that a fine example to set for students?) It was a scam, and the gambit could cost the district millions of dollars and who knows how many students the likelihood of graduating.

It could help for Mayor Byron W. Brown to take a larger role in education, but it’s also easy to understand why he doesn’t. Buffalo’s mayor has no formal role in the city’s schools and, thus, no real ability to influence events. For him, there are only downsides, particularly given the power and obstructiveness of the BTF.

Still, a mayor has stature and Brown should be using his to help where he can: organizing help for schools in need; encouraging parents to get their children to school; putting to greater use the bully pulpit that is his. There may be some political risk to him, but some risks are worth taking.

It is also important not to wait another year before learning about this year’s graduation rates. While there may be complications in making those calculations quickly, some version of them needs to be available by the start of the next school year, and for two reasons.

First, it is urgent to know now, not a year from now, if the city’s graduation rate is continuing to slide. If it declined further, the district will need to respond quickly.

And, related to the first, it will be valuable to get a snapshot on the results of the changes that have already been instituted, including the arrival of Brown and Say Yes to Education.

For now, there is no alternative to presuming that the district is in even worse trouble than it was a year ago. Everyone – the School Board, administrators, teachers, parents and city leaders – needs to focus on this problem if Buffalo is to produce students who can see and believe in the promise of a better life. ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:48:05 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629992/1074
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is constitutional to acquire and analyze DNA from anyone arrested for a serious crime. The five-justice majority argued that this evidence is used for identification of the suspect, and therefore it is no different from taking fingerprints or photographs. Regardless of one’s view on the use of DNA as evidence, it is incorrect to equate it with traditional means of identification.

The DNA genome is a fingerprint of our entire physical being that far exceeds the superficial description of the skin found at the tip of each digit. Because DNA is inherited, it is a historical document that contributes to unraveling the story of the geographical origins of our ancestors, the social interactions between different ethnic groups and even whether our ancestors arrived in this country by choice or by force.

DNA is also predictive because it can provide clues into the physical traits of children not yet born or the likelihood of developing a disease. It is almost silly to equate this vast narrative over time to a mug shot, which is merely a camera’s perspective of a human head at a particular moment on a given day.

As advances in technology are made, it is becoming easier and cheaper to decode the encrypted DNA. It will soon become routine to determine the entire sequence of a person’s genome and the interpretation of that sequence continues to improve. In principle, new information can be obtained from DNA databases years after an arrest, regardless of guilt. This cannot happen with photographs and fingerprints.

These improved methodologies will likely make it possible to determine the genetic contribution of behavioral propensities such as nurturing, aggression and, yes, criminality. Although discovery of a “criminal gene” is unlikely, the complex combination of multiple genes and the environment that contribute to increased susceptibility will be at least partially uncovered. To use a genetic tendency as trial evidence would be akin to prosecuting a thought crime.

In context of the Supreme Court ruling, an important question is whether DNA taken directly from a person without consent will at some time be used, legally or otherwise, for things other than identification. The optimistic answer is no, but a more realistic answer is that we do not know. The application of knowledge and technology once obtained is difficult to resist. Regardless, the rationale for the majority decision is wrong because it fails to acknowledge the vast information in the genome that can identify us in ways that are not currently intended or known.

As an educator, I find great satisfaction in teaching the beauty of science to bright, curious minds. Right now I can think of five students I would love to have in my class.

Mark O’Brian is a professor of biochemistry at the University at Buffalo, and has considerable experience with DNA analysis. ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:50:03 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629991/1074
The vast changes in personal enjoyment of music intrigue me. From the Victrola to MP3 players, we really have come a long way.

My first memory of buying my own music was spending $1 on a 45 record at Cavages. I had to save up a month’s allowance and therefore had to really think about what I would purchase. I loved playing my records on my family’s hi-fi that was housed in a large cabinet in the living room.

Every Christmas, my sisters and I would each ask for an album. Once again, a great deal of consideration had to go into choosing that one special artist. There was something magical about tearing off the plastic, pulling out the liner notes and reading them by the light of the glowing tree.

In those days, we listened to the entire album. First the A side, then the B. Sure, there were favorite cuts, but listening to the entire recording allowed us to have other not-so-popular songs grow on us. Passing over certain songs required picking up the needle and placing it just perfectly on the beginning of another song. Songs that skipped were no problem. A carefully placed penny or two on the needle took care of that.

Although 45s and albums were wonderful, people had no way to enjoy music on the go. Enter the eight-track tape player. I remember seeing my neighbor playing a John Denver eight-track tape and being absolutely mesmerized. Was it really possible for 10 songs to be held in that black box? Having a player in your house was one thing, but having one in your car took it to a whole new level of cool.

The ability to record favorite music came with the cassette tape player. I recollect sitting by my radio, waiting for Danny Nevereath to play my favorite song so I could push the play and record buttons simultaneously on my GE tape recorder. This was the foundation of my love of making mix tapes.

My music appreciation and tastes quickly developed and, before I knew it, I was off to college with my brand-new stereo and milk crates full of albums. Music has a way of connecting people. I met many new friends while blaring my Genesis albums at SUNY Cortland.

We could enjoy music in the home and in the car. Was it possible to enjoy music as we walked around? Enter the Sony Walkman. For the younger generation this certainly doesn’t seem groundbreaking, but it was for those of us who lived it. I spent countless hours on a Greyhound bus with my Walkman strapped to my belt and a few carefully chosen cassette tapes in my backpack.

As is true with most technological advances, quality improved and the music devices became smaller and smaller. Sony again took us on a new adventure with the MP3 player. Music was now digital and the player could hold dozens, if not hundreds, of songs.

Just as fashion trends re- emerge and are labeled couture, so has personal music enjoyment. A younger generation is finding appreciation in albums, although the hip name has become vinyl.

I guess the old saying is true; everything old really is new again! ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:23:12 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629993/1074
The result is criminals are being evicted from one apartment and then another and another, forcing them to hopscotch across town until they tire of the game and leave the area. With the nuisance gone, certain crimes go with it. Funny how that works.

An article by News reporter Jane Kwiatkowski laid out this crime-fighting technique, credited to Buffalo Police Chief Patrick M. Pascall. New as South District chief in 2010, he first looked at problem addresses before reaching back into history and dusting off a century-old state statute called the Bawdy House Law, originally enacted to shut down brothels.

Bawdy is an understated description for the outrageous and illegal behavior that plagues many urban neighborhoods today, this one bounded on the west by Lake Erie, on the east by Lackawanna and West Seneca, on the north by William Street and extending as far south as the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.

Pascall decided to smoke the criminals out of their resting places, and he got the landlords to help or face a $5,000 fine. The big fines were enough to catch the attention of the landlords, whether local or absentee, and the evictions started.

Since 2011, more than 150 problem tenants have been evicted based on drug sales, illegal weapons, loud music, frequent parties and excessive fights.

The accompanying drop in certain crimes – vehicle thefts, robberies, burglaries, assaults – over the past year or so tells the story. Crime, of course, isn’t solved. Far from it: The incidence of rapes in the district has increased from 16 to 18, although there were no homicides in the district from April 2012 to March 2013, while in 2009-10 there were four.

Evictions are not the total answer, but they offer a path to cleaning up neighborhoods.

Christopher “Brooklyn” Marks lived on Duerstein Street before being evicted for the first time in December 2011. He had a series of pit stops at different residences and subsequent evictions, along the way being arrested 17 times on narcotics-related and harassment charges.

Certainly Lackawanna, his new home, isn’t happy to have him. But South District residents have to be smiling. Their neighborhoods are being cleaned up one eviction at a time. Good riddance. ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:54 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629995/1074
Many of us feel the animosity toward Glynn and the Maid of the Mist is shameful and regrettable. The Schoellkopf Power Station collapsed in 1956. Was the Niagara Preservation Coalition in existence 57 years ago?

In my view, the New York State Historic Preservation Commission has already been fastidious, forthright and exacting in its preservation outlook.

As the former mayor of the Village of Lewiston who worked in concert with the New York Power Authority and the Historic Preservation Committee, both organizations skillfully and zealously protected our history and traditions.

Reject delays and extremism and accept reason and solid judgment.

Richard F. Soluri

Lewiston ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:45 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629996/1074
Students who attend classes at any of our three ECC campuses benefit from our institution’s regionwide supply of cultivated business partnerships. They inform our curriculum, advise our instructors and lead many of our graduates into successful careers. This type of collaboration has not only built our college into Western New York’s workforce development leader, but it builds our surrounding communities into competitive, vibrant entities.

The deal approved by the state not only encourages these collaborations to continue, but influences them to multiply. If businesses choose to operate near our SUNY centers of education, they’ll have the chance to become familiar with our career-focused programs and students, both of which could work hand-in-hand in growing their industries. Find representatives of any one of our more than 300 business partners – such as Moog, Keller Technologies or Delaware North – and they’ll tell you that such teamwork has been mutually beneficial.

This tax-free incentive should help enhance the surroundings of our City, North and South Campuses. ECC has invested more than $25 million into our City Campus buildings over the past five years, and we’re planning to add a $30 million academic center to our footprint at North. Despite these on-campus efforts to accommodate 15,000 students and staff members, we’ve seen minimal private development surrounding these locales. Cuomo’s plan could give the development community the nudge it needs to cater to this growing population and, in turn, economically infuse three beautiful Empire State communities.

Jack Quinn

President, Erie Community College ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:43 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629997/1074
In the musical, the Mormon religion is ridiculed over and over, laughing at what Mormons do to spread their religion. I read in a review that the Christian religion is made fun of, with God’s name blasphemed and mocking the cross.

My question is: What would happen if a Broadway show was produced in a similar fashion and ridiculed the Quran and the religious practices of Islam?

Linda Fetter

East Amherst ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:40 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629998/1074
This weekend, thousands of bicycle riders will be pedaling in the Ride for Roswell. Quiet. Good for your health. A win-win. Which makes more sense to you?

Marcia Brown

Hamburg ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:37 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130620/OPINION/130629999/1074
Part of the problem is that schools do not do a good enough job telling their story. In addition, there are other reasons this publication’s report is irrelevant. The first is that the tests given by New York State are not valid judgments of kids, teachers or schools. They do not give the type of information they purport. The results may tell some of what a child knows, but little of what he was taught. These tests do not give individual learning profiles of students. They shallowly test a wide variety of learning indicators, but few deep enough to give a school enough information to improve.

Schools do not receive the test questions back to use to find some trends. The tests are created to give a range of scores, rather than information about student learning. Both New York State and the publishers of the tests indicate that they should not be singularly used to make any decisions or conclusions about students or teachers. However, interest groups continue to do so.

It is interesting that, in a day when schools are under the microscope, no one even questions the validity or use of such tests. In closing, I cannot understand why, when technology can give schools the tools to both teach and assess individual students’ strengths and gaps, we still cling to the grade level concept. This is an outdated model.

Schools are not afraid of assessments. They just want them to be user-friendly to students, teachers and parents.

Robert E. Gallagher

North Tonawanda ]]> Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:34 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130619117/1074
Despite a disastrous economic downturn, GEICO has far exceeded its original employment goals and established higher marks that it continues to shatter. At this point, the company employs more than 2,500 in Western New York and the Buffalo office is among its largest facilities in terms of the number of associates.

GEICO is a model of what can happen if the right company is lured to town, and an example of how a company can flourish when it taps into the local workforce.

The insurer is housed in Uniland Development Co.’s CrossPoint Business Park off North French Road in Amherst. Last year, an official said the $40 million, 251,000-square-foot facility can handle as many as 3,800 workers. Western New Yorkers will be only too happy to fill the rest of those spots.

In the interest of full disclosure, both GEICO and The News are owned by Warren Buffett’s Berskshire Hathaway. Buffett is the newspaper’s chairman, and GEICO’s decision to locate here was the result of years of intense lobbying by Stanford Lipsey, then publisher of The News.

A couple of years ago GEICO CEO Olza M. “Tony” Nicely attributed the company’s success to its people here and around the country. In a recent statement, Buffett and Nicely said, “By all measures, GEICO’s associates in Buffalo rank among the best in the country.”

The pat on the back for GEICO may sound self-serving on our part, but GEICO’s work deserves to be recognized. Thanks to the judicious use of economic incentives and a committed company, thousands of our neighbors have good-paying jobs.

The success of GEICO deserves to be celebrated and emulated by other companies looking for dedicated workers. Indeed, this region has plenty of qualified job candidates.

GEICO’s faith in Western New York has paid off for the company, its customers and the people it employs. ]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:48:59 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130619127/1074
“Your sister bought a house in Florida,” he said.

Sue had talked about moving to Florida for years, so it should not have been such a shock. But it hit me hard. I walked into the living room in a cloud of emotion.

My sister instantly appeared by my side. “This isn’t about you; it’s about me,” she said as tears spilled down her cheeks, mirroring my own. “I just want you to be OK with it.”

But I was angry – angry at her for wanting to leave me.

She tried to soften the blow by filling my head with promises of visiting twice a year, and flying me down to see her, too. “We’ll text and talk every day. It’ll be like I never left.”

But she was wrong. It would never be the same. She wouldn’t be coming over to share a bottle of wine or meeting me for lunch anymore. I selfishly didn’t want her to go.

My sister and I have always shared a special bond. Just one year apart, we were always together as youngsters. When our Mom passed away when I was 6, Sue stepped in as my protector, the one who would do anything for me.

We separated somewhat through high school, even though we were in the same grade, because we each had our own group of friends. But once we threw our graduation caps into the air, it was back to the way it used to be. And then our relationship grew – sissy and me, we were no longer just sisters. We were best friends, too.

So, how was I going to say goodbye? When we needed each other, we would no longer be just a 15-minute drive apart.

Every time I thought I had accepted it, the facts would crash back down on me. She was leaving me; just like Mom did, just like my brother did when he moved to El Paso 15 years ago. Mom’s death had instilled in us the importance of family. So why was everyone leaving?

I had five months before the big move. Friends and family kept telling me the same thing: “You’ll have another place to visit.” Who needs another place to visit? I hardly made it to El Paso as it was.

By February, I had gotten past the anger. I truly did want my sister to be happy. Like any supportive sister would, I had to accept it and let her go.

When Sue asked me if I would drive down to Florida with her to help her move, how could I say no? I spent a week with her unpacking her things, wearing my happy face. During that time, I put my feelings aside so I could enjoy the time we had together.

Once the plane landed back in Buffalo, the fact that Sue was more than 1,000 miles away didn’t seem real. It still doesn’t. I guess it won’t until I pick up the phone to see what she is doing next weekend so we can get together. Then reality will set in.

I’ll have a pity party for myself, and then I’ll move on. After all, she is my sissy, and I would do anything for her. Even act happy when I’m not. ]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:49 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130619128/1074
Music programs can stimulate a student to attend school and consequently be taught the other necessary subjects for graduation. If the Board of Education has to cut expenses, have it look at the bloated bureaucracy that exists at the administrative levels. What the public needs to see in print is the number of administrators at various levels in the city’s educational system.

Joyce Bol

Buffalo

]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:46 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130619129/1074
We have a democratic republic, a government of representatives chosen by its citizens and based on the rule of law. That law is the Constitution. Besides paying taxes, the citizens show support for their government by obeying the laws it passes. All the laws, not just the ones they “agree” with, unless and until the laws are repealed or declared unconstitutional by the courts – not by individuals, especially those individuals who swear to enforce the law.

It has been said that President Dwight D. Eisenhower did not especially like some of the decisions of the Warren Court. But when Gov. Eugene Faubus of Arkansas openly defied a unanimous ruling by that court – that the segregation of Little Rock schools was illegal – Eisenhower did his duty as chief executive and enforced that ruling by nationalizing the Arkansas National Guard and sending the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock.

If Sheriff Timothy Howard feels so strongly that he cannot bring himself to enforce a state law, he should demonstrate his feelings with his resignation. He, like any citizen, is not above the law. Civil society begins to unravel when people decide they don’t need to obey the law. Especially well-meaning individuals who seem to think their interpretation of law supersedes that of elected representatives or the courts.

We already have too many citizens who feel they can ignore laws with the rationalization that they can decide what determines constitutionality of law. This civil disobedience used to be greeted with the understanding that they might go to jail. But when a sheriff, sworn to uphold the law, encourages such belief, civil society is in real trouble.

Mark Cassidy

Olcott ]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:29 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130619130/1074
What happens to the children who attend school during the January to June term from July to December? Who is going to care for them? In a highly impoverished city like Buffalo, it is very likely that the delinquency rate would climb if the letter writer’s plan was put in place.

Teaching kindergarten through grade 12 is a stressful job in most areas of the country. Teacher burnout could possibly increase under this scenario. In Phoenix, Ariz., there is a school where more than 50 languages are spoken among the students. The letter writer’s plan would not do much for this type of a stressful teaching problem. Most entitlement programs aimed at helping impoverished families are only a Band-Aid approach.

As for the hand-wringing concerning money for schools, the writer cannot really believe that his plan would drastically reduce or eliminate financial problems that schools face. Dream on!

I don’t believe that educators are opposed to any change that will provide them with the opportunity that would lead toward providing a more positive and wholesome education for their students. Indeed, they cry to be heard.

The educational process and politics are strange bedfellows. Perhaps it is the short-sightedness of those who control the purse strings that must change. But unfortunately, I don’t see this happening any time soon.

Rudy G. Gonzales

Sanborn ]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:26 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130619131/1074
Along Route 5 there are 13 traffic signals in Hamburg and three in Lackawanna. Commuters can drive 55 miles per hour on Interstate 190 and Route 5 from Tonawanda to Lackawanna along nine miles of Buffalo’s waterfront without stopping at a red light. All this highway is damaging to Buffalo’s entire Niagara River and Lake Erie waterfront.

Many from Buffalo may like to get to speed up their drive to county and state beaches in the Town of Evans. How about a highway along the Hamburg waterfront so we don’t have to stop at traffic signals? I realize that people will lose homes and businesses along the water, but I don’t care. I don’t want to be driving 40 mph and slowed by 13 traffic signals.

Daniel Sack

Buffalo

]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:22 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130619/OPINION/130619132/1074
Congress is investigating the Internal Revenue Service. Certain conservative and religious groups were denied tax exemptions or were required to provide information that did not pertain to their application. These IRS actions delayed efforts to raise funds to enable supporters to elect candidates of their choice.

America has been damaged by the actions of the IRS. The American people deserve an apology.

Mary A. Kless

Lancaster

]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:18 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130618/OPINION/130619118/1074
So is today another landmark – Juneteenth, a date that acknowledges one of the most important events in the nation’s history. That it passes so faintly observed is a disservice to the nation’s character and its history.

This is the date in 1865 – after the end of the Civil War – that slaves in Texas learned they were free. As such, it serves as a commemoration of the abolishing of America’s original sin.

Slavery was enshrined in the Constitution, which held that for purposes of congressional representation, slaves would count as three-fifths of a person. It was a human abomination, one whose practitioners included Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and for which the nation paid mightily – and continues to pay.

Lincoln spoke of the terrible cost at his second inauguration. Although the war was nearly over, its duration then remained uncertain, and Lincoln feared that it could continue “until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword.”

Slavery was finally outlawed by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which was passed by the House and Senate before Lincoln’s assassination and was ratified by the states eight months after his death. That story is the focus of Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film, “Lincoln.”

But on June 18 and 19, 1865, the event that the slaves of Galveston, Texas, were told about was the Emancipation Proclamation, the 1863 executive order by which Lincoln freed all slaves in the Confederacy. The date became known as Juneteeth, and it is recognized in one way or another by 42 states, including New York.

But barely. Observances were held in Buffalo and other areas this past weekend, but they don’t truly acknowledge the significance of the event, which is nothing less than the “new birth of freedom” Lincoln heralded in his Gettysburg Address.

The end of slavery was a signal moment in the life of the country; the one that allowed the nation to pursue the ideal, ironically noted by the slaveholder Jefferson, that “all men are created equal.” It gave us the chance to live up to the standards of our own better angels. It was, in no small way, our national salvation.

A date of such significance deserves more than a barbecue and a prayer. That it doesn’t get that attention, perhaps, is because it also forces us to acknowledge what came before, and the devastation it wrought on millions of Americans, black and white.

But, as a story just last week in The Buffalo News documented, slavery still flourishes, right here in Western New York. Human trafficking is illegal, but it continues unabated. We celebrate the Fourth of July, in part, because we know freedom can be lost. The same could well be said for Juneteenth. ]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:55:15 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130618/OPINION/130619083/1074
Recently, Texas Gov. Rick Perry came to poach New York State jobs. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo responded that his own Tax-Free New York is far superior.

In 2012, New York State ranked third for gross domestic product and ranked fourth-highest in per capita income, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The two economic indicators are lost on critics complaining of high taxes in New York.

Comparatively, New York’s tax system has a close-to-flat tax structure overall, accounting for income, property, sales and excise taxes. New York manages to achieve one of the least regressive tax systems in the nation. Yet, still, poor and middle-income families pay a higher share of their income toward taxes than wealthy families do.

States that are revered for their “low” taxes are enormously high tax states for poor and middle-income families. The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy verifies the 10 states that have the highest taxes on the poor: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington.

In 1936, Mississippi pioneered public subsidization to industrialize the nation’s poorest state. Gov. Hugh White’s proposal involved tax-exempt bond financing backed by tax revenue for building construction and land purchases to attract industries. The pitch included buildings and land leased at sub-market rates along with cheap abundant labor (e.g., ex-sharecroppers).

While the practice was unconstitutional in virtually every state, each created amendments to circumvent the law and the practice spread widely despite low economic growth. When subsidies expired, companies demanded more in order to retain jobs. If demands were not met, then they closed up shop in search of the next big giveaway.

More than five decades of evidence establishes the illegitimacy of this practice. Public subsidies do not generate economic growth or jobs as claimed. What we have learned is simple. Subsidization of business buys a “payroll” through a lien on property. Tax increases are certain for average taxpayers in order to finance Tax-Free NY.

Tax-Free NY is the “decisive” race to the bottom. It does not create new jobs. It moves another state’s jobs to the tax-free zone until the subsidy expires. The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is prescriptive. The lack of quaking economic growth in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area does not justify replicating this model throughout the state.

It is incongruous to hype an unfriendly business climate in New York because of high taxes and then increase taxes for the average taxpayer so that a privileged few can pay nothing in a tax-free zone.

Maureen A. Harding, of North Tonawanda, is an urban planner with several years experience with federal, state and local governments. ]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:55:01 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130618/OPINION/130619150/1074
The big news in the past week is that the State of New York and the Seneca Nation of Indians have resolved their three-year standoff over casino gaming in Western New York. With it, the Niagara Falls will get an infusion of $89 million it was owed and, equally as important, will see those revenues begin to flow again going forward.

It’s a huge development for Niagara Falls, but it’s hardly the only thing happening in the struggling city with the famous name. Last week, some $5 million in improvements to Niagara Falls State Park was officially unveiled. Luna Island, which provides a close-up look at both the American Falls and Bridal Veil falls, was renovated. So were Three Sisters Islands and the passage to Cave of the Winds.

It was important work, since the park’s down-at-the-heels condition had been publicized by a New York Times travel writer. The improvements are already gaining notice.

The city is also on the verge of reclaiming its riverfront, obstructed for decades by the misbegotten Robert Moses Parkway. A section of the road is to be ripped up, while adjacent Whirlpool Street will be transformed into a low-speed, two-lane parkway like the one across the river in Niagara Falls, Ont.

That long-needed improvement will not only help to tempt visitors into a longer stay – a hike down to Devil’s Hole would be a highlight of any trip – but it will improve the quality of life for city residents.

And more: The recent opening of the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute in the former, long-dead, Rainbow Centre shopping mall, is giving visitors and residents a new reason to go downtown. The institute provides students from Niagara County Community College an opportunity to run a restaurant – three eateries, actually – and is a welcome and important addition to downtown.

What all this means is that things in Niagara Falls look significantly different today than they did just two years ago, when the casino fight was raging, the park was deteriorating, the removal of the Moses Parkway was a dream and the Rainbow Centre was a corpse. All that change creates opportunities that city leaders must first recognize and then act upon.

It’s a significant enough time in the city’s history that it would do well to seek expert outside help in figuring out how best to make use of the opportunities these changes are creating. Those opportunities include not just economic expansion, focusing especially on tourism, but also on the city’s management structure, its decision-making processes and its budgeting procedures.

Niagara Falls isn’t famous for its abilities in any of those areas and, conversely, it is well-known for insularity and a refusal to accept – let alone seek – outside help. Only a few months ago, when the casino standoff was threatening the city’s fiscal health, the City Council rejected an offer of financial help from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, which volunteered to pay $4,000 to continue the city’s membership in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. Before that, it rejected a $13 million lifeline from the New York Power Authority.

That kind of tunnel vision doesn’t augur well for a city that has an opportunity to move ahead if only it will take off the blinders. But that’s the opportunity. Things are happening and the city needs to make the most of them. To do that, it will need help. ]]> Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:57:43 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130618/OPINION/130619192/1074
I would have thought his refusal in 2009 to prosecute a group charged with intimidating voters in Philadelphia would have been sufficient cause. Or any of the string of subsequent improprieties that culminated in his designation last year as the first sitting cabinet member to be held in contempt of Congress.

Some in power in Washington and Albany seem to think the Constitution is just a list of suggestions. The News is welcomed to the ranks of those that believe our Constitution stands for something.

Gerard F. Edwards

North Collins ]]> Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:59:56 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130618/OPINION/130619193/1074 The News editorial expressing support for the farm labor bill that could decimate New York agriculture as we know it.

The bill would mandate many things, including overtime beyond eight hours and collective bargaining. We are farms, not factories, and are entirely weather dependent.

With the rain we have been having, my workers have been idle. Some will be lucky to get in 30 hours this week. However, when it dries out, we will back in the fields making up for lost time.

Everyone who chooses to work on a farm understands this. If you throw in the right to strike, that could kill my business. Our vegetables are living things. When they are ready to be picked, they are in their prime. One day late, they’re over the hill. A year’s worth of work would be wasted with no workers to pick them.

Prices we pay for seed, fertilizer, taxes, insurance, fuel and labor have been rising. The prices I get for my produce have not, having actually declined over the last two years. Should this bill pass, I would seriously consider growing soybeans and potatoes that can be harvested mechanically, and not local vegetables.

We take care of our employees, providing clean housing, bonuses and medical help. Three seasonal employees have spent 30 years with us. If they were treated as the activists would lead you to believe, they would not stick around year after year.

I’m especially upset with Sen. Tim Kennedy, who just last year told me and my fellow farmers he was in our corner. With his flip flop, I feel betrayed. I guess supporting outsider Kerry Kennedy is more important than the people who provide fresh food in his community.

Mark Henry

Eden ]]> Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:59:51 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130618/OPINION/130619194/1074 ratings of candidates for Erie County Family Court. Of four candidates, the two female candidates received highly qualified recommendations while the two male candidates received only qualified recommendations.

I can’t speak for Paul Crapsi, however candidate Joseph Jarzembek has spent nearly 25 years working exclusively in Erie County Family Court as counsel for the Department of Social Services, which deals extensively with child abuse and neglect matters. He has worked not as an advocate for one parental interest versus another, but as a social services counsel protecting the interests of children in the county.

The two female attorneys – Mary Giallanza Carney and Deanne Tripi – have 25 years’ experience combined between them. Granted that they are competent and respected attorneys and although they have practiced extensively in Family Court, they’ve done so as private attorneys who are paid by their respective clients to advocate on one side or the other, not always with the best interests of the children at heart.

I don’t know what criteria the Women’s Bar uses to distinguish a candidate as highly qualified as opposed to qualified. In the case of Jarzembek, however, it’s obvious that he would deserve a ranking if not higher than the two female candidates then at least on par with them.

It appears the Women’s Bar was perhaps influenced by outside political pressures, or worse, engaged in gender bias in determining its ranking of candidates. This is the very type of conduct that the Women’s Bar would voice criticism over if the situation were reversed.

Carmen J. Gentile

Buffalo ]]> Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:59:42 -0400