Every now and then the truth slips out.
Last week Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to town to ballyhoo any number of pie-in-the-sky state-funded projects here in Central New York. In fact Cuomo poured $77.8 million into our area on Wednesday in the form of grants, tax credits and construction incentives to preserve jobs, boost local colleges and increase regional tourism.
The usual happy talk.
No promises of increased employment, no plans for infrastructure repairs desperately needed in the aging city of Syracuse, no significant effort to fight Upstate poverty.
Instead, Cuomo chaired a showy cabinet meeting at the Holiday Inn on Electronic Parkway.
The state’s largesse will benefit corporations and smaller businesses alike. Radisson’s Anheuser-Busch facility got more tax credits, and auto-racing honcho Glenn Donnelly received a $5 million grant to resurrect Super DIRT Week at a racetrack in Hastings, in Oswego County. Too bad Donnelly can’t run the sprints and the midgets at the new Lakeview Amphitheater!
Anyhow, last week we got the usual political rhetoric.
Truth outs
But the week before, on Sept. 18, while visiting Bolton on the shore of Lake George, Cuomo diverged from his prepared text. A rare utterance of truth demonstrated that our governor fully grasps the real reason that the Empire State has earned such a repellent reputation for its high taxes.
School districts across the state lack the political will to consolidate even though the state has offered incentives to do so, the guv complained.
“You have a lot of school districts that don’t have the number of students to justify the cost to the district,” Cuomo said during an informal press conference after he’d addressed the Business Council of New York at The Sagamore resort.
Cuomo said school districts, which routinely take the biggest tax bite from local property owners, are not the only entities that must consider consolidating. Thousands of local villages, towns, fire districts, water districts and other municipalities in the state could all cut taxes by doing more with less. Sharing services should be the wave of the future.
“I don’t think they understand the cost of what they’re paying for,” Cuomo said.
The governor claims he has pleaded with local government entities to consolidate, but the public often resists the effort despite the fact that consolidation would lower taxes.
Brothers slow Scott
My alma mater, Christian Brothers Academy, pulled off an amazing 28-17 upset over Liverpool High School’s No. 1-ranked football squad Oct. 2 in DeWitt. The Warriors’ top running back, Jaydaikis Scott, was held to just 78 yards gained and a single touchdown.
New sheriff’s deputies
Eight of 18 new county deputies sworn in by Sheriff Eugene Conway last month hail from Northern Onondaga County.
They include two recruits from Liverpool, 23-year-old Joshua Hill and 26-year-old Mia Romeo, and two from Clay, 22-year old Dominic Albanese and 32-year-old Benjamin Okun.
Justin Hickock, 23, lives in Central Square; Patricia Maggiolino, 23, comes from Brewerton; Brandon Messer, 34, hails from Cicero; and Lauren Morgan, 27, resides in North Syracuse.
The recruits will be assigned to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division after completing a 25-week course at the Regional Police Academy at the Onondaga County Justice Center.
Good eats at historic tavern
The food at the historic Cobblestone Tavern is not only fresh, it’s fun. Try the sweet ‘n sassy potato fries served with a unique maple chipotle aioli for $6.25, or order Salt City Soft Pretzel Stix, which go two for $4.25 or four for $6.25.
And if you’re on a budget, you can grab a handful of fresh salted peanuts in big bowls on the bar…for free!
The Cobblestone, at the corner of First and Tulip streets, is one of CNY’s oldest operating taverns first established here in 1839 when it was known as Jonathan Hicks’ National Hotel; retreatrestaurant.com/pages/cobble/cobble.html; 461-8806.
The columnist can be contacted at [email protected].
