Upstate New York News Thread.

[hrmjustin]

Last edited Wed Aug 20, 2014, 03:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Gas storage opponents asked to risk arrest


Ray Finger,



WATKINS GLEN Opponents of a gas storage facility near Seneca Lake have been asked to be willing to be arrested for their cause.

More than 300 opponents of a plan by Texas-based Crestwood Midstream, an energy company, to store liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas in underground salt caverns in the Town of Reading protested Monday at the site of the storage facility on state Route 14 along Seneca Lake.

Sandra Steingraber, co-founder of Concerned Health Professionals of New York and distinguished scholar in residence in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Ithaca College, told the gathering near Route 14 that the lake is the source of drinking water, as well as the micro-climate that allows wine grapes to thrive.

"We turn water into wine with this lake. That's what we do," she said. "This lake is not the Houston Shipping Channel, and you, Crestwood, are a dangerous trespasser into our home, and we are asking you to leave."

http://www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2014/08/18/seneca-gas-opposition/14223971/

[hrmjustin]

1. editorial: Time to rebuild: Just like before, Thousand Island Park will rise from the ashes

PUBLISHED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 AT 12:30 AM Watertown Daily editorial.

The spectacular, yet depressing, fire that destroyed the main business block of Thousand Island Park early Thursday dented the visage of one of the north country’s most unique communities.

Sitting at the head of Wellesley Island, TI Park was created in 1874 by the Methodist Church as an international Methodist camp meeting ground. From that point 130 years ago, the park has attracted thousands of summer visitors and an ever-growing number of year-round residents seeking the tranquility of the St. Lawrence River.

TI Park is distinguished because it is a community that appears to have stopped time.

Yes, the horse-drawn carriages and the ferry boat from Clayton no longer transport park residents to and fro. And the bridge to the mainland and the more recent addition of golf carts has changed the pattern of life.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140820/OPINION/140829996

[hrmjustin]

2. FAA gives Albany International $898,200 for de-icing system

Jennie Grey

ALBANY >> The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will give Albany International Airport $898,200 to fund the final installation phase of the new glycol de-icing system. This system is an important investment in the airport’s operational infrastructure, and a commitment to the long-term sustainability and safety of commercial jet operations at the Albany airport, according to a press release from Congressman Paul Tonko’s office.

Tonko, D-Amsterdam, along with U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, announced the grant Tuesday.

http://www.troyrecord.com/lifestyle/20140819/faa-gives-albany-international-898200-for-de-icing-system

[hrmjustin]

3. NY Minute: State DOT engineer's talk of keeping Peace Bridge details quiet draws ethics complaint

Teri Weaver | [e-mail]

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Good morning. Storms and the New York State Fair are coming. But will they arrive together? (Outlook does not look good.)

The state Department of Transportation project manager in charge of the Peace Bridge project near Buffalo faces an ethics complaint following her comments that plans for the bridge be kept quiet until after the legal objections could be filed.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/dot_engineers_talk_of_keeping_peace_bridge_decisions_quiet_draws_complaints.html#incart_river

[hrmjustin]

4. Utica, fire union agree on contract

Published Aug 19, 2014 at 4:00pm

UTICA — An agreement has been reached between with the City of Utica and the fire department union, Mayor Robert Palmieri announced.

http://romesentinel.com/county/utica-fire-union-agree-on-contract/QBqnhr!E5SvV6pC8TC0oijOsX@7iw/

[hrmjustin]

5. Xerox to lay off 123 in Webster

Matthew Daneman
Xerox Corp. is planning to eliminate more than 120 positions from its Webster workforce this fall, the company indicated in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed with the state Labor Department.

According to Xerox, the cuts — 123 in all — will come by mid-November as it closes its facilities maintenance operations in Webster and outsources the work to Chicago-based commercial real estate services company JLL. The affected jobs are related to providing maintenance and cleaning for Xerox's Webster R&D and manufacturing campus.


http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/business/2014/08/19/xerox-webster-layoffs/14292307/

[hrmjustin]

6. Ulster County lawmakers endorse plan for trail only on Kingston-to-Ashokan rail corridor

Patricia Doxsey

KINGSTON >> The Ulster County Legislature has made it county policy that the former Ulster and Delaware rail corridor that stretches from the city of Kingston to the Ashokan Reservoir be converted to trail use when the county’s lease with the Catskill Mountain Railroad ends in 2016.

Ulster County Legislators voted 18-4 on Tuesday to adopt a resolution that adopts the “segmented trail and rail” plan championed by Ulster County Executive Michael Hein. That plan calls for a walking trail only from Kingston to the western side of the Ashokan Reservoir and a tourist train between Mount Tremper and Phoenicia.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20140820/ulster-county-lawmakers-endorse-plan-for-trail-only-on-kingston-to-ashokan-rail-corridor

[hrmjustin]

7. Owego passes sex offender residency restriction law

Megan Brockett
The Village of Owego board has passed a law prohibiting Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders from living within 1000 feet of places it designates as "vulnerable entities," including schools, libraries and community centers. The law, once in effect, will create an exclusion zone that bans certain convicted offenders from residing in about half of the village.

The law passed the board Monday by a vote of 5 to 1, with one abstention from Mayor Kevin Millar. The last to cast his vote, Millar said he chose to abstain because of a pending state Court of Appeals decision on a similar law in Nassau County.

http://www.ithacajournal.com/story/news/local/2014/08/19/owego-sex-offender-residency-restriciton/14279741/

[hrmjustin]

8. Seneca: Town board to review landfill s soil borrow area

DAVID L. SHAW [e-mail] | Posted Yesterday

SENECA — The Town Board will receive internal draft documents tonight related to the soil borrow area for the Ontario County Landfill.

The documentation is tied to Casella Waste Systems’ proposed purchase of 40 acres of land south of the landfill. It’s owned by Donald Jensen. Casella would then turn the property over to the town, with the town’s assurance that any zoning restrictions against mining the soil will be waived.

http://www.fltimes.com/news/article_46b0193e-27b8-11e4-bf3a-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=jqm

[hrmjustin]

9. Adirondack peak renamed, but sign of Grace must go

Brian Nearing

Albany

While an Adirondack peak now bears the name of a venerable icon of the Forty-Sixer hiking club, a sign left there by supporters this summer has to come down, the state decided.

Left attached to a boulder at the summit of 4,012-foot Grace Peak — the former East Dix renamed to honor the late Grace Hudowalski, the club's longtime historian — the small wooden sign had not been authorized by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Adirondack-peak-renamed-but-sign-of-Grace-must-go-5699270.php

[Cooley Hurd]

10. Love this concept - Thanks Justin!!

[hrmjustin]

11. Your welcome. Add stories if you feel it would fit here.

Doesn't mean they should not be ops but I think I will put things here that I would not normally put in an op due because it is too local.

[Cooley Hurd]

12. Passing on to Rhiannon, as well...

[hrmjustin]

13. Thanks my friend!