To summarize where we stand in our months-long effort to better understand the tragedy that is New York’s COVID-19 nursing home crisis -- and the Cuomo administration’s response to it – we now have a report from the state attorney general.
It arrived last week after months and months of repeated requests -- from legislators (including myself), Democrat and Republican, reporters, watchdog groups, and from family members who have lost loved ones in nursing homes – for the most basic of inform
As you begin your research, document everything, every step of the way. Keep some paper files readily accessible, but enter data in a genealogy computer program; I have an older Family Tree Maker version. I also have “tons” of file folders filled with family research data gleaned from online resources and reputable books, emails with fellow researchers, data from visits to or purchased from historical societies, cemetery data from personal trips, etc. And then there’s the shoebox filled with
In the summer of 2010, my lady friend (who would go on to become my wife) and I took a trip up to Maine, back to my hometown of Portland. She had been to Maine before but I don’t think she had ever been to Portland and I was excited to show her around. We checked out the waterfront, the boats I used to work on, my high school, a couple of my favorite bars, the pizza place my buddies and I went to all the time in high school, and Bull Moose Music, a local record store in town.
Putting into w
by Erin Doane
The death of Miss Mabel Evans in Wellsburg was a great mystery. How did the beautiful young lady die, and why was she quietly buried at midnight? Thomas McGraw was sitting peacefully at home, thinking about Miss Evans when a strange impulse prompted him to rise and go to the door. Outside, he was astonished to see the graceful figure of a shrouded woman, floating through the darkness several feet above the ground. As he watched, she slowly drifted away and vanished into the ni
The 2021-2022 state budget adoption process marks my first as the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee. It’s shaping up as one of the most consequential state budgets New York has ever faced.
After a year when the COVID-19 pandemic has turned everything upside down, the choices made and the direction charted in this new budget could be transformational for the future of local communities, economies and taxpayers.
In my view, here’s the fundamental question: Will it be transfo
Unless you’ve experienced what someone else has dealt with, you cannot make a valid judgment against them. We take so much in life for granted… especially in what we can see and do. But reflect with me for just a few minutes on what it would be like without one, or more, of your senses. What if you could not smell, taste, hear, speak, or see? What if you couldn’t walk, or move your arms? What if the simplest tasks became so much more difficult due to a new disability?
As I’ve mentioned
Okay, let’s start researching! As you ponder a few names in your ancestral tree, the burning question may be, “How do I start looking for ancestors I don’t even know about?” Actually, the best way is to begin working backward from what you do know. Start with your birth certificate to prove your parents. Obtain copies of birth, baptism and marriage records, newspaper death notices or obituaries, and cemetery records of your near relatives.
Research can be an expensive endeavor and I w
This review is definitely way out of my norm see I am not a big spaghetti guy.
My pasta generally comes stuffed with cheese or meat. I am the type of guy who likes the dried out wedding reception rigatoni. So when a coworker offered up Wendys or $5.00 spaghetti lunch from The Sauce Boss. Yep you can guess by the pics where I went.
So what you get is two pretty good size meatballs A very generous portion of spaghetti. Heres a first - I weighed it for sh!ts and giggles and it comes in at
It has been over a year since we became aware of the Covid virus in this country. So far hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from it and thousands more continue to die each day. Every American death diminishes each one of us. We are all connected in this web of life. Thankfully we now have vaccines that can protect most of us from the potential ravages of this terrible virus. These vaccines were tested on a total of about 70,000 people and their efficacy has been proven.
In yet another reminder of these COVID-19 times, the 2021 legislative session kicks into high gear on Monday when Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers New York’s first-ever virtual State of the State address to New Yorkers.
Nevertheless, what won’t change about this annual speech is that we’ll get a better sense of the direction Governor Cuomo intends to try to take this state in the months and possibly years ahead. We’re expecting to hear a direction not just to continue steering this state thro
Hasn’t our January weather been interesting?? Do crunchy snows underfoot, brisk breezes and wood fires make your heart sing? Snow-lovers can’t complain here; we’ve had snow since Christmas. TV weather people are much more animated when the weather is “bad”; life probably is a bit boring if no blizzards are in view and their radar shows that little is happening. I just personally wish that those fronts were less befuddled about their paths. Do we draw pails of water in case of power outage
Even those of us who grew up in a church may go through a time of searching, especially in our younger days. We search for fun, happiness, joy, peace and love in many places and in many ways… and sometimes we search in vain… for what we don’t know. Been there… done that! But did you know that our hearts are born to seek? All the while we grow up and mature, we’re seeking and learning, trying to find our place in this great big world.
We wonder if our life makes a difference. Does anyon
I grew up near Sacandaga Lake. It’s not a lake, it’s a reservoir. But, it’s been there so long they call it a lake. This picture hung in a diner near Northville, New York. I’d see it there when I was a kid. Steam engine sitting, almost hovering there. The story was they didn’t get the engine out of the reservoir in time, and it was still there, at the bottom of the lake.
At about the age of 12, I was sitting with a family friend who was a diver. He told me an in-depth story of working his
Your Family Tree #2
Growing up knowing that my dad was a first-generation American born to 1920s Dutch immigrants, I’ve always been partial to all things Dutch. Then, researching my mom’s ancestors, and discovering the several nationalities in her lineage along with many New Netherlands’ Dutch and their part in building America, has been even more of a treasure.
So, why is genealogy so important to us? Put another way, why is history important? To quote David McCullough in the Re
Since the riots and attack on the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, I've been trying to think of what I would say to the world about this week's events if offered the chance. Truth is, there's a lot I'd like to say. However in many respects, words have failed me. Well, multiple four lettered words, woven in strings as colorful as the lights on our Christmas tree, didn't let me down at all. I should probably apologize for what the neighbors may have recently heard, but overall, I am still trying to proce
Quarantine started around St. Patrick’s Day. The sequel to quarantine, Quarantine 2: The Pseudo Quarantine began a few months later; I don’t remember exactly when but we’re still there now. A third installment of the series is still in development as the writers can’t decide what direction to send the plot in.
Over the course of both versions of quarantine, I’ve learned some things about myself. I learned that I can get past the itchy phase of growing a beard but ultimately, I’m not into ha
It was a relief last week when New York’s newly created Farm Labor Wage Board chose not to immediately lower the state’s current 60-hour overtime threshold for farm workers.
The relief is only temporary, however. The three-member Board made it clear that it will revisit the potential change next November with an eye toward moving ahead on a lower, likely 40-hour threshold.
A lot can happen between now and next November, but make no mistake this is where we stand: farmers and their advo
Here is my review of Cocino Del Gordo located in Jubilee plaza Horseheads.
First let me tell you the place smelled amazing when I walked in. Turns out it was the Puerto Rican hot bar and the days meal.
It Comes with beans and rice and your choice of 2 meats. I went with the pepper steak and the porkchop. The steak and peppers were very tender no need for a knife. Very flavorful and my favorite of the meal. The porkchop was in a delicious "bbq" sauce with peppers and onio
As each year draws to a close, we tend to be a bit nostalgic, looking back to remember where the prior year has taken us. This past year of 2020 marked the emergence of new problems we’d never dealt with before… a contagious world-wide pandemic called Covid-19, perhaps akin to the Spanish flu problems of a century ago.
Along the way, businesses were burned and destroyed by demonstrations and riots. Cancel culture decided who and what we can remember. Small businesses were shuttered for
How about this? This year’s last essay on the last day of the year! It is a transition time! Betwixt and Between! Transitioning reminds me of the Star Trek method of travel. Teleporting, however, provides rapid transit from one place to another while this year has required mental and emotional transitions at a slightly slower pace. As a comment for 2020 ---- I’ll just quote Charlie Brown: “ARRRRGGGGGHHH”! And 2021 -----will hopefully be a TA-DA as we land on our feet!
Actually
What is it about a small town that can help us curb the spread of a virus? Is living in a small town safer? And, is all this change going to affect how we interact as a community?
Two words. Population density. Population density is a major consideration when it comes to the spread of viruses. As we saw in the early stages, viruses spread rapidly in dense populations like major cities. Small town life allows us to interact with our community and get what we need without having to expose our
For the past few years I looked at the year 2016 as one of, if not the worst we have had to endure. I’ve long since forgotten most of my issues with that particular trip around the sun, with the exception of our family having to endure not one but two burglaries barely six months apart. So from that alone you can understand why I was happy to see 2016 ride off into the sunset. Or to Hell, it didn’t matter to me.
Then 2020 came along and said, “Hold my beer.”
Now, I knew 2020 was going
2020 has been a pretty massive bummer. Yes, it’s true. However, saying it over and over again isn’t going to make it any worse or any better, nor is continuing to focus on all of the reasons (all 5,479 of them) why 2020 has been so bad. We need to focus on the positives, kid and yes, even in this God-awful flaming pile of dog feces that has been 2020 there are positives.
Here are 20 good things that happened this year.
1. We Took So Many Walks Around Our Neighborhood
So many walks
