MsKreed

9 hours ago, Adam said:

2. but those that do become their constituents will be in the minority, so will be essentially irrelevant

I wonder how many of them live on or near district borders.....and could possibly face the karma of them being displaced to a whole new district. 😄

I will say that the 2 legislators who have  public web pages and "public figure" FB profiles that I follow are open and receptive to everyone who engages on their page.

The rest do seem to rely on the strategy of having an uninformed and/or apathetic public. And sadly, they are probably correct. Even people who are eager to rant, protest, like/react, complain, sermonize, question and otherwise "engage" in local politics on social media don't seem compelled to take action that could effect change. It was proven that even hundreds supporting a (non-binding) online petition for live streaming was ignored....until the Governor mandated it by executive order.

I tried a year ago to get people on board with finding (or forming) a group to look into and identify "actions" that could be taken by citizens...like drafting true petitions that could require a legislative response, etc.

If such a citizens "action" organization exists in Chemung County, they are a secretive bunch...and I found maybe 3-4 people that display any interest in that sort of thing before the pandemic hit. 

OK…I finished the audio from the advisory committee meeting (2/22). The participation from CGR representatives and the members’ questions to them were worth listening to.

As Exec Moss pointed out, these consultations historically result in “nicely packaged study of what the legislature, who commissioned the study wants outlined in the report”.  With that in mind, the discussion in yesterday’s meeting certainly did not contradict Moss’s hypothesis….

It’s perhaps worth noting that the backgrounds of half the members of the CGR team are in journalism and sociology. That fact does seem to insinuate that “messaging to the public” is a significant priority for the $48k service.

It is also a bit concerning that the CGR lead noted [at around the 50 minute mark] that the committee will receive a Draft Report that is not subject to FOIL until…. “we make sure that it’s an accurate reflection of the work you’re expecting from us”.

In other words,  “the committee can withhold any data that doesn’t support their agenda” from the final report and public hearing presented by CGR...and the public will never be given access to that, even if they try to request it via FOIL.

If a redacted version of the report can be offered, then all the oozing about “ensuring transparency” by an independent study is nothing more than posturing….no matter how professionally prepared and expertly messaged the report CGR presents is.  

The last 10-15 minutes sounded like a lot of lip-service for the tape recording. While I’m sure some of it was sincere….the assertions that ‘it’s all for the good of everyone in the county’ and ‘no politics are involved’ fall flat in contrast to the earlier declarations that some have zero interest in any concerns that aren’t from “their” voters.   

And speaking of committee members only feeling compelled to consider “their own” constituents.... They may claim not to have been contacted directly by “their constituents”, but at least one of the letters read aloud at the full Legislature meeting on 2/8 and listed in the minutes looked like it might be from a citizen in one of the districts represented on the committee. Even if the public comment has been from outside their respective districts.....it still raises a few points for me:

1)  The excuse that “I have not been contacted by constituents expressing XYZ position” is hollow unless they can argue that they have been contacted by constituents supporting the opposite position. Otherwise, they’re really just speaking on their own behalf – not for any of their constituents.

2) Since part of the conversation included them all acknowledging that their districts will likely change, “no one from my district has contacted me” is pretty short-sighted anyway. Someone who may not be “their constituent” today…could very well become part of "their" district once this project is complete. During a campaign can be an awkward time to suddenly "care" about someone whose concerns you contemptuously dismissed in the past.

I haven't finished listening yet, but I think the audio recording link I posted above for the meeting is interesting.

I think anyone interested in this matter would find it very informative and recommend checking it out. I have another 30 minutes to go and will share some of my own thoughts when I'm done. 

31 minutes ago, Chris said:

And yet didn't one of legislators just have something posted in the Star Gazette? ( I know one of them shared it on social media yesterday and now I can't find it anywhere, the share or the actual web page

 

That may have been what they were referring to....but I couldn't find it in SG without knowing a date and/or keyword to search.

http://www.chemungcountyny.gov/departments/a_-_f_departments/county_legislature/audio_recordings.php?fbclid=IwAR3CMwNlB4i-t_0NtnO6vN0NnsZPVd4WS1Ajakvh5LUDUBYbK-AT62lFcZI

The repeated insistence from committee members that they're only interested in concerns of "their" constituents is appalling. There seems to be open contempt for anyone who isn't able to vote them back into office.

11 hours ago, KarenK said:

They are not hearing complaints because their constituents are not even aware.  Not everyone has social media and believe it or not alot of people still get the actual paper.  This info needs to get out to everyone.

They don't identify themselves in the audio clearly....but at least one committee member was pissy about the fact that people can write letters to the editor and get their views published without  legislators offering a rebuttal.

Gasp.... Eeek... how dare they?

Just to be clear….is “Efficiency” of County Government Operations supposed to be a dog whistle for concentrated power and doing away with those tedious and “inefficient” checks and balances?

He won't go gracefully. His arrogance is....well it's beyond mere arrogance. I think its narcissism that is on the same pathological level as Trump's. Maybe higher, because the "critics" keep fueling his delusion of grandeur with praise and awards and book reviews.

Technically....he didn't stay "gone". He returned at a later date.

😉

12 hours ago, Jack said:

No more Mark Twain. I can’t deal. 

I can't disagree with you, Twain probably has reached the saturation level for our area!

But Carousel horses could be fun!

I can understand the perspective of hospitals that feared facing surges they may not be equipped to handle.  

However, it has been long understood (and recognized by the CDC and infectious disease experts worldwide) that contagious diseases spread fastest in enclosed congregate living environments…military/cruise ships, prisons, and residential care facilities. Anyplace where people eat, sleep and interact within the same communal quarters and sharing dining and/or bathroom facilities – all day every day. That's why I think every effort should have been made (as it was later after his May 10th reversal) to avoid [re]introducing potentially contagious residents into a congregate community.

That was also the very concern Governor Cuomo cited when he ordered jails across the state to release parole violators, (who are, as a population, less vulnerable to covid complications/death) rather than risk introducing them into the (closed) congregate residential environment of the state prisons (just a few days after his directive requiring nursing homes to accept contagious patients).

Whether someone died in a hospital or nursing home (or a prison) may not seem pertinent to the big picture of the losses suffered.  But where and how they were exposed seems like extremely valuable information that can and should be used to help build an understanding and contribute to plans going forward.

19 hours ago, Ars76 said:

I have not heard of any nursing homes who asked for help and didn't receive it.  I have heard of nursing homes who had the national guard helping for a period of time. 

I hadn’t heard of any support the NY National Guard provided during the period when the order was issued a until it was reversed. I’d be interested in links to them, as the media has done a poor job covering that in contrast to other (endless) coverage of covid measures.

I was aware that they assisted in assembling and distributing test kits to nursing homes. But the articles I saw were in May I thought – after the order was reversed (to prohibit rather than require HN’s admitting positive patients).

Quote

The County Legislature has asked CGR to use this opportunity to consider the composition and structure of its government compared to similar counties

This was published on the Agenda, prior to the meeting. The use of past tense is a bit unsettling, as it seems to imply that an agreement had already been reached with CGR before the resolution was even presented. 

Aside from the agreement with CGR seeming arrogantly premature.....I don't actually see any reference to what changes to the "composition and structure" of Chemung County's government Manchester or the Budget Committee may be seeking or anticipating.

Was there more in the in the recording that indicates a motive or favored outcome?
 

1 hour ago, MsKreed said:

I saw some mention of the Chairman's "intention" or some such wording, but did not see what that was.....can someone share a link to that part please

OK....I think I found this in the Agenda and Minutes. I'll weigh in again after I finish reading them a little closer.

1 hour ago, Buster said:

The part of the proposed redistricting process that I question is the additional review to change the County Executive and County Treasurer positions to non elected positions. 

I saw some mention of the Chairman's "intention" or some such wording, but did not see what that was.....can someone share a link to that part please

1 hour ago, KarenK said:

Can they even do that without a public vote?

No. Anything that amends the Charter requires a referendum - even just drawing new district lines. 

That was one of my objections to not including public input AND the expenditure for consultants. It's a huge waste to put forth proposals that could very well fail to pass and go back and try again the following year. 

And they do fail to pass regularly. I'd already researched and knew the original charter took three public votes before it passed, and a quick search found the same when the Legislature presented two unacceptable redistrict plans after the 1990 census before finding one we would agree to in November 1994.

Quote

 

If you have a pre-existing condition, you're eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment starting Sunday morning.

Health officials in the Finger Lakes region say you won't need a doctor's note to prove you have a pre-existing condition to sign up for an appointment.

 

Story HERE 

As a life-long Peanuts fan, I loved  THIS TRIBUTE that Minneapolis/St Paul made to their native son...

Building on the same concept for downtown revitalization, I've seen a few other communities introduce (some temporary and some permanent) local art projects themed to their own communities. Dolan Alabama has its own Peanuts-on-Parade and several Florida cities featured Gators around town.  

I've often wondered if something similar could work here, but not sure if we'd have a character, image or 'brand' that could translate as clearly into artwork.

Maybe Carousel horses? 

All of Twain's work is public domain, but I don't know if his characters are (which are mostly various portrayals typical 19th century children) are distinctive enough to today's average passerby. Perhaps with plaques identifying them as Tom, Huck or Becky? 

Neat idea!

This also looks interesting (and a free way to reduce waste):

On 2/10/2021 at 7:51 PM, KarenK said:

How many democrats are actually on our county board?

I thought it was 3 before Sonsire became unaffilliated....so just Briggs and McCarthy now?

Regardless of the make-up of the committee, my understanding is they all have to be roughly equal in population to adhere to a SCOTUS ruling back in the 1960s of "one man one vote" representation (the decade of squabbling over that ruing is what eventually caused the dissolution of the Board of Supervisors). Redistricting also requires a Charter Amendment that would be up for public vote. In the 1990's, I believe they had to re-format the redistricting plan at least twice before one finally passed the public vote in the 1990's.  I sure hope they don't expect to keep hiring consultants if initial proposals fail to pass the vote.

I can’t find any historical maps of legislative districts. I would love to see how the districts were originally, and what changes have been made after the 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 census results.

In 1970 (the census upon which the first Chemung County Charter based its legislative districts), this is what we had:

County population: 101,537

Legislature: 15 members

Population per district: 6,769 average

Elmira population: 39,945 or 40%, 2/5 (6 districts was proportional)

Outside city: 61,592 or 3/5 (9 districts)

Our current numbers using 2019 Census Bureau estimates:

County population: 83,456

Legislature: 15 members

Population per district: 5,564 average

Elmira population: 27,054  32.5 or 1/3

Outside city: 56,402 , 67.5% or 2/3

If we use these 2019 projections as a rough guide for 2020, and the district population size (6,769 average per district) that the Charter established it would look like this:

County population: 83,456

Legislature: 12 members

Population per district: 6,769 average

Elmira population: 27,054  32.5%, 1/3 (would be 4 districts)

Outside city: 56,402 , 67.5% or 2/3 (8 districts)

If I have access to historical data, I could maybe break that down better to show comparisons..... It seems like maybe 10th grade math and geometry that they are spending $48k to have done. 

11 minutes ago, Chris said:

Yeah this has been going on for months with her. A DJ said it best this afternoon... this is more an example of “consequences culture” than “cancel culture”.

Not knowing who she is or following her or her social media commentary, I'll have to take your word that her general tone, etc has been "bad" or controversial, as a pattern or whatever.

But honestly, as far as that particular quote......facing "consequences" for relaying historically accurate facts that others don't like is kind of the definition of "cancel culture". 

3 hours ago, Kevin said:

Is it worth opening a 10,000 seat arena or stadium to only allow 10% capacity?  I would think with such low attendance you would not recoup the cost of the event.  

That's exactly what I was thinking.  Unless the admission fees were multiplied by 10, this doesn't seem worth it. 

45 minutes ago, Chris said:

Disney, and any other company, has every right to fire someone for behavior that they think reflects negatively on them as a company.

Which is one reason why I won't be subscribing to their streaming service no matter how good some of their new programs look.  

This isn't a single instance of them canning this woman (who I've never heard of). Disney has a growing policy of censoring ideas they don't like. Even to the point of removing their own past content.

I know "my" decision won't have much effect on what is possibly the most influential brands on the planet, but it really disturbs me that their oligarchy spends way too much effort "cleansing" speech and historical facts....while capitulating to and praising the CCP. 

12 hours ago, Adam said:

Had Legislator Sonsire's amendment been able to be voted on to allow the public to be on the committee, I would have supported it

This seems like a clear argument against "(3) further codify a policy that gives the legislative chairperson unilateral authority to decide what items go onto the agenda."

1 hour ago, Chris said:

There is no way in Hell that Prince comes in at #3 to those others!

I guess he was too busy performing like the Star he was to make any virtue signaling political statements.

🤷‍♀️

2016, Beyonce's BLM video

2020, J-Lo protesting the border policies with a PR flag and children in cages

Sort of makes a sane person wonder if it weren't for the "no bail, no jail" laws,...if there might be

A) fewer warrants for failure to appear...because if they're detained they can't scoff-law their court appearances

B) fewer purchases of firearms (or, drugs, or alcohol....or anything not sold in the commissary) because they can't shop at the gun show if they're detained