While many of us are wondering what happened to the summer, fall has arrived here in the North Country. The leaves are changing, the days and nights are cooler, and Halloween is just around the corner. But what’s best about fall in Northern New York...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and since the program began in 1985, mammography rates have more than doubled for women age 50 and older and breast cancer deaths have declined. This is good progress, but still there are women who do not take...

Due to Primary Day, my town hall meeting with Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb has been rescheduled for Monday, October 17 from 6:30 - 8 pm. The location has also changed to the Lowville Municipal Building, 5535 Bostwick St., Lowville. For the first...

It’s hard to believe that summer is nearly over and children will be heading back to school in just a few weeks. With that in mind, I want to take this opportunity to remind motorists about school bus safety guidelines and laws. With school buses...

We often hear people talking about the “brain drain” in upstate New York: the mass exodus of our state’s youngest and brightest leaving for other destinations where there are better business opportunities. This “brain drain” hurts our state...

For the first time in a long time, the Albany bureaucrats listened – and New York has an on-time State Budget. The enacted spending plan was far from perfect – it involved tough, painful choices that began a long overdue process of reforming Albany’s...

With the recent enactment of the Real Property Tax Cap and the launch of the Regional Economic Development Councils, New York state is once again in a position to craft an economic development plan that creates jobs and puts unemployed New Yorkers back...

Much of the news the past few weeks has been dominated by the back-and-forth debate going on in Washington about raising the nation’s debt limit vs. passing real spending cuts and reform programs to balance the federal budget. As expected, much of these...

For more than 30 years, the 11 northern counties in New York State that comprise the North Country have, in some combination, been part of a single congressional district. This North Country district that runs from Oswego County to Clinton County and...

As I write to you, my first legislative session as your assemblyman will be coming to a close in a few days, and I am pleased to see the positive steps Albany is taking to reform the way the Legislature does business. From reducing the state’s bloated...

Dairy Month, an annual celebration of dairy foods, farmers, and the industry, began in 1937 as a way to help distribute extra milk when cows started pasturing in the summer months. Today, Dairy Month continues, with communities, companies and people from...

Despite all the talk of newfound fiscal responsibility in state government, the reality is that for certain liberal legislators and special interest groups, fiscal responsibility means tax hikes. Judging by their recent actions, these folks will not stop...

Here, in Northern New York, we are lucky to have an abundance of fresh and local products, especially during the spring, summer and fall months. From strawberries and sweet corn, to whole wheat flour and maple syrup, the opportunities to buy local products...

Recently, in the news, we’ve seen and heard the disturbing incidents of abuse inflicted on children. While these stories are heartbreaking, they also serve to remind us what we all can do to ensure these tragedies do not happen again. April is...

We owe volunteer emergency service providers a great debt of gratitude for all of the hard work that they do. Almost 85 percent of all firefighters in New York participate on a volunteer basis. There also are over 57,000 certified emergency medical...

This year’s state budget process was especially challenging. Legislators and the governor had difficult decisions to make. Cuts had to be made. But, at the same time, we needed to look at what programs were worth investing in to help strengthen our...

Now that the snow has finally begun to melt, many of our recreational trails throughout the North Country will no longer be humming with the sounds of snowmobiles, but ATVs instead. ATVs are used by 1.9 million New Yorkers each year and are economically...

With spring just around the corner, maple syrup production is in full swing and farmers are busy getting prepared for planting. So it’s fitting that in March we celebrate many agriculture awareness days. From New York State Maple Weekends to Ag Literacy...