Check out this news report from WENY-TV.

Talking head, no voices of the people who actually endorsed Massa and finally an interview with Eric Massa.

Seems weird.

I should think that the station should have had some audio of the people actually endorsing Massa.

It is late and I’m actually away from my computer but I’ll have Audio of MG Batiste up tomorrow.

Nothing like boots on the ground is there? But that is what we get do when we enlist the help of our friends. So PDAGV was there with my trusty camera. The same one that that brought you exclusive Bill Press, Obama Girl and Jim Hightower now allows you to meet Sherman Moreland.

Mr Moreland is a former Horseheads Republican Committee Chairman and executive committee member of the Chemung County Republican party. You met him in a previous post now see him in person.

It is a one minute clip.

A slightly longer version is below the fold

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

From the press release:

Rochester attorney Paul Riordan has announced his candidacy for the New York State Supreme Court for the 7th Judicial District. The district covers the counties of Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates.

Mr. Riordan currently serves as the Principal Law Clerk to Monroe County Court Judge John J. Connell. He advises the Judge on cases involving the most serious felony crimes, including murder, robbery, sexual assault and burglary. He also advises on all civil matters before the Court, including matrimonial, landlord/tenant and civil court appeals.

At the same event where I interviewed Jim Hightower, I caught up with Jeffrey Feldman of Frameshop. I’ve heard him speak in various panels and such, but this was the first time I had a chance to speak with him individually. Ladkiddo and I spoke with him here is our post.

At the risk of sounding like we are somehow “sucking up” - Jeffrey Feldman is a really nice, engaging and approachable guy!

Jeffrey Feldman

I’ve had a theory that local politics are boring or, put another way - national politics are sexy. Yet, we are affected more by our local politicians than, say, the U.S. President. This is a general statement - a big brush stroke,but there is a basis of truth there.

Language is also important - the question is, since all politics are local - how does one use language to gather interest in an issue and garner support.

My notes are scattered, scratched on the back of a cocktail napkin, but here is what he said (parphrased):

Framing local issues is difficult. Not impossible, but don’t depend on local political committees to correctly frame the issues. If you are interested, you have to basically do it for them. [ladkiddo again-this is where RT, and progressive blogs in general come in]

Don’t be upset if you don’t get everything.

And, if I remember correctly, small victories over time. Maybe you get big wins, but small victories are just as good.

So how do you apply that locally?

Well - Let’s look at WROC and the upcoming format change. What exactly is wrong with a business changing its format? Is it the corporate evil doers taking away our “right”?” For some, maybe. But what this does for me is offend my sense of fairness (a good progressive value btw) . I listen to the radio as well as internet, and so on. The internet is not available in my car, but the radio is. Sure, I can buy some sort of mp3 player, plug it into my radio, but why does the burden fall on me? I don’t begrudge Rush, Sean or the other right wing talkers out there - I mean, they give me a reason to discuss politics with my conservative friends. Still, there is something wrong with the lack of alternatives in the same medium.

How about Brighton? Brighton wants to build a gated community and some other things along the greenspace on Westfall road. Brighton is 95% build out, has supposedly high taxes. This development, it is suggested, will lower the taxes. That is a good thing, isn’t it?

But there are folks who are upset over the proposed construction. How does the opposition frame the issue so their point resonates with others and gets across?

Well, how about this from the opposition web site?

… a gated community is antithetical to the character of Brighton as an open, neighborly town that values community.

That is a start.

Thoughts on framing local issues? As we are well aware, Republicans frame issues exceptionally well. It doesn’t matter if the actions or policy are wrong. They do it well.

How do we get it done?

Rochesterturning had boots on the ground down in Corning at an event where Eric Massa earned additional endorsements of Major General General John Batiste (ret) and Sherman Moreland. We hope to have video up soon of the remarks.

In the meanwhile check out this quote from former Horseheads Republican Committee Chairman Sherman Moreland. Ouch

From a Massa Press release

“I want a man, like Eric Massa, who has the qualities to improve this country - he’s a man of unique dignity,” said former Horseheads Republican Committee Chairman and Korean era veteran, Sherman Moreland. “These are matters very close to my Republican heart. Randy Kuhl has failed to maintain the dignity of his predecessor, Amo Houghton.”

More later

The next edition of our continuing series of monthly retrospectives: July 2007. The presidential primary season was heating up, and so were the local elections. Starting nationally and working down to Monroe County…

It is long but worth it.  As you read this  ask yourself how far we have come.

Federal Stories

Rule of Law?  not here.  President Bush stooped to a new low and commuted “Scooter” Libby’s jail sentence because he said it was “excessive.” The courts threw out the lawsuit brought against the Bush administration’s unconstitutional spying program. Michael Moore’s documentary “Sicko” was just released, and while several local theaters were showing the movie, theaters in eastern upstate New York decided not to. Cheney became the president for a few hours while Bush underwent a colonoscopy.

Mayor Bloomberg was basking in the press speculation about a possible independent bid for the White House. The IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) blasted presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani for his lack of leadership post-9/11. His leads in the polls in the early primary states started to crumble as Thompson and Romney were gaining. The Washington Post decided Hillary’s cleavage was fair game. CNN had their famous YouTube Democratic debate (remember the guy who asked about negotiating with our enemies? The negative campaigning started the next day and continued for nearly a year). Mayor Duffy joined the Clinton campaign’s Mayors Council.

Congress

Eric Massa did some live blogging on DailyKos, while Jon Powers was doing the same over at FireDogLake. David Nachbar was running for the 29th congressional district and might have been looking for endorsements even though he said he wasn’t. There was a growing chorus of progressives asking for him to drop out and make way for Massa to be the Democratic candidate. Meanwhile, Massa got the endorsement of the the Ontario County Dems and started to rack up the union endorsements. Then, Nachbar explained in his own words why he’s running for Congress.

Kuhl’s spokesman got it completely wrong about the 2006 turnout numbers. Jim Walsh was still talking up his chances for re-election while Randy Kuhl was thinking about retiring. Jon Powers filed his first quarterly fund raising report to the FEC after declaring himself a candidate in NY-26. Massa far outraised Kuhl in that quarter of 2007.

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona testified before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee about political interference (remember that guy?). Harry Reid pulled an all-nighter in the Senate on the Republican filibuster of the Levin-Reed Amendment. Rep. Tom Reynolds, the same congressman who passed the buck on the Mark Foley scandal, tried to redeem himself by co-sponsoring a bill to monitor social networking sites like MySpace. Kuhl and Reynolds voted against the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007. Jim Walsh increased funding for disabilities education at the expense of disadvantaged youths looking for jobs. Louise Slaughter wrote a guest essay for the D&C about the progress made since Democrats took over Congress, despite the dozens of vetoes and filibusters. She also introduced a bill with Sen. Obama to protect kids from lead poisoning.

State Stories

The Republican-controlled State Senate left early for summer break without working on important pending legislation. Then, they buckled under the pressure and went back to work for a day. 1199 SEIU gave too much money to Joe Robach. Spitzer was being pressured to support the Brodsky Bill on Net Neutrality. Bruno was using tax dollars to fly to fund raisers. Ticket reselling (scalping) became legal across New York. Spitzer, Bruno, Bloomberg, and Silver cut a deal. There was renewed uncertainty over the possible changes with the voting equipment in New York. There was an attempt at campaign finance reform in Albany.

Local (Monroe County) Stories

The Henrietta GOP was looking around for the next Town Supervisor candidate. Brighton sets up the Green Brighton Task Force as the environmental agency for the town. The city’s ambulance contract was up for renewal. Mayor Duffy attended the 75th annual United States Conference of Mayors. The libraries capitulated to Brooks’ demands on censorship, or else they would have been denied funding. Only Republicans showed up to the 4th of July celebrations in Henrietta. The county’s credit rating fell. 376 to 261: voters approved the North East Joint Fire District plan to build and renovate stations in Penfield and Webster.  Mayor Duffy marched in the Gay Pride Parade while Brooks was less than enthusiastic. The Greece Town Board and the ACLU were fighting over religious intolerance.

Parma Town Councilman Joseph Reinschmidt switched from the GOP to the Dems. County Legislator Richard Yolevich (R-Parma, Ogden, Sweden) did a favor and got free food in return. Democrats continued to scramble to find a candidate to run against Maggie Brooks. The Monroe County GOP clobbered the MCDC in fund raising.

Andrew Stainton launched his independent bid to unseat Maggie Brooks and RT got an in-depth interview with him. The MCDC put up Adam Bello as its candidate placeholder, then they chose not to run any candidate against Maggie Brooks. Democrats in the County Legislature started up their own website. Conflict of interest arose at the Water Authority. The Working Families Party put up their own candidate for County Exec: Patrick Christopher.

Miscellaneous

Workers at the Crowne Plaza Hotel rallied for the right to unionize. The Storefront Anti-War Crisis Center opened on Monroe Ave. The D&C editorial page launched Upstate Focus with seven other upstate papers to focus on common issues of concern. People started to catch on to the Wegmans reusable bags instead of plastic bags.

This just came in (no link yet):

Citing that Republican Joe Robach has routinely been missing in action when it comes to addressing the issues that are affecting the middle class and working families of Monroe County, and now again by failing to participate in a public discussion on those issues, Democrat Rick Dollinger followed up at a press conference today on his invitation, sent two weeks ago, that invited Republican Joe Robach to participate in a series of debates. Joining Dollinger was Assemblyman David Gantt and supporters of these debates at Baden Park in downtown Rochester. Robach has yet to reply.

Here’s Dollinger’s proposal for the first three debates:

1. August 14th - Guns & Crime

2. August 28th – Reforming Albany

3. September 2nd – School Funding

Let’s hope that Robach takes Dollinger up on these debates.  One of the biggest problems with Albany is lack of debate on the floor.  The least our representatives can do is give us some campaign debates.

One thing about living in Monroe County is that you see a lot of ridiculous political attacks. The famous terrorists with drivers’ licenses mailer that the Republicans mailed out last fall is one classic example, but I’ve heard tell of other sillier ones from back in those dark days before blogs and scanners were widespread. One reportedly featured a big picture of toilet with the heading “So-and-so will flush the town down the toilet.” I never got to see that one and, to be honest, I feel a bit cheated. So it was with great pleasure that I viewed this new ad from John McCain, the first truly absurd ad of this presidential campaign. It begins with footage of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

We always seem to get a lot of comments about YouTube ads, so I’m curious what readers think of this one and of Obama’s response below.

Couldn’t let this pass either

I would hate to see a cost shift to the counties in the state. It would be devastating to our budget and it would probably bankrupt several communities in the state,” said Brooks.

Maggie Brooks said this in response to Governor Paterson’s heart to heart discussion about pending State budget cuts. Yeah - um, what exactly was the supposedly FAIR plan?

(h/t Davesynd)

I’ll admit to not being on top of Governor Paterson’s remarks - but I got a sense yesterday, when my mother (Hi Mom) whom I saw yesterday afternoon, expressed troubling concern about the state of NY and it’s financial woes. I don’t recall mom ever talking about issues like that.

So, Channel 13 reports (including the quote above)

(Rochester, N.Y.) – The governor has not released specifics on how he plans to dig New York out of a fiscal crisis, leaving local leaders and lawmakers guessing about what could happen.

Governor Paterson has ordered a 7 percent cut in spending at all state agencies, a hiring freeze, and privatization of the lottery system. The state faces a $26 billion deficit over the next few years

In this post about the dust up over daycare subsidies between Maggie Brooks and the State over who had money or not. I questioned the priorities. I wrote:

Has anyone looked at State earmarks? Follow that link to see earmarks that came into Monroe County. Remember the Law School at St John Fisher. $2 million dollars for a study to see if we need a law school when legal experts say we don’t?

How about State funding for Renaissance Square? PAETEC Park? Here are two huge construction projects ultimately going to private companies. Maybe they can kick in a little bit more.

Is the County really tapped out? How about reversing some COMIDA grants like those for retail businesses? Remember Mid-town athletic club? Look at the Medley Center. Look at Greece Ridge Mall. Remember that the County and State are dependent upon tax revenues. We know that COMIDA is a vehicle to exempt certain entities. In short, COMIDA reduces the tax rolls. The private and exclusive Harley School is able to fund expansion by refinancing debt via Tax free bonds . Mid-town Athletic club, for example, is getting affluent residents “fit” two hundred per time.

I’ve got to agree with Evan Dawson’s (13WHAM) assessment - looks like David Paterson just became Governor.

Might be a good time to remind people what passes for good investment or return on tax dollars.

Airbare wrote about his view of Midtown a while back. Now Mary Anna Towler over at City News delivers her weekly commentary - this time a dark commentary on sprawl and Midtown plaza.

This is indeed another of my regional-planning rants, but facts are facts. We have traded a vibrant downtown retail center for half a dozen suburban malls with little advantage or interest beyond convenience for the shoppers who live nearby.

Read the whole thing but this stood out.

Our sprawl is due to mindset, more than anything. We complain about gas prices and about the high cost of government that sprawl feeds. But until we want a different kind of community, we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing.

Maybe we just don’t have a clear sense of what we want to be. We mourn the closing of Midtown, but too few people wanted to shop there. We want a vibrant community, with healthy retail and arts, but we think we can have one without a strong central core.

Our vision, I guess, is of a community of separate little communities.

Or whatever develops.

That’s what we have. And that’s what we’ll get in the future.

Itchy - I’ll turn it over to you….

The Albany Project has a good video interview with Jon Powers.

Disgraced Staten Island Republican Congressman Vito Fossella was named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill” by The Hill:

There’s something eye-catching about the sheen of Rep. Vito Fossella’s (R-N.Y.) dark brown hair. Looks-wise, he is the tough guy on the block - a sort of Joey-from-”Friends”-meets-”The Sopranos” - with a shy smile.

New York state politics is often portrayed as a battle between Upstate Republicans and Downstate Democrats.  And one of the arguments Republicans often trot out as to why it’s good for them to control the State Senate is that they supposedly guard the interests of upstate.  You know the old saying “money talks”?  Money is telling quite a different story about which party benefits which part of the state.

We’ve told you about Tom Golisano’s Reform Albany PAC, which will generally support Democrats in the State Senate.  Well, Mike Bloomberg may start a PAC to support Republican candidates in the State Senate (from Jane Flasch at Channel 13):

Several internet political sites say in spite of the fact that Mayor Bloomberg is an independent, he has “discussed” the possibility of funding his own PAC to help Senate Republicans maintain their majority.

It’s quite a twist, isn’t it?

Is this the way out? The questions we need to ask before we finally need to kill this project?

Jeremy Moule over at City News writes this article

Escalating materials costs, particularly the cost of steel, led Nazareth officials last week to temporarily halt $9 million worth of renovations to the college’s arts center.

The article continues with this Duffy quote

That Nazareth is scaling back the renovations “is an alarm for Ren Square to proceed cautiously,” Duffy says. What’s happening at Nazareth is happening to major projects all over, he says.

Finally there is a cost involved in maintaning RenSquare. What does the mayor have to say about that?

“I think the biggest question is going to be operating costs,” Duffy says. “It is inconceivable to ever think or say that there will be no deficit. There will be a substantial deficit for operating costs - in the theater alone. It will be seven figures. There’s no way it could be less.”

Operation cost projections for Renaissance Square are supposed to be complete by October.

Ouch.

Given our current state budget issues not to mention the federal budget issues. Time to put this project our of our misery.