Last week was another busy week in Albany. I wanted to make you aware of a couple highlights that took place during the week. Manufacturers urge reduction in government spending Manufacturers visited Albany during the fourth annual Manufacturing...

This month, the State Department of Health essentially laid the groundwork to create a health database of all New Yorkers. The State Department of Health, with funding from the Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law of New York State (HEAL NY)...

Since the recession first hit, credit card use has slowed substantially. The Federal Reserve reported that consumer borrowing fell again in August as consumers cut back on credit card use for the 24th consecutive month. That said, however, the majority...

As the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act winds down, the latest statistics that outline how that money has been spent have become available. The federal government maintains a web site which details where the money has gone and how it has been...

To the Editor: I am writing to thank the voters of the 124th Assembly District for their support on Election Day. It has been a privilege to represent this area in the State Assembly and I am honored to have the opportunity to serve another term....

Recently, I had the pleasure of touring Abbott Farms in Baldwinsville, as part of a tour group that hailed from Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe near the Ukraine. The group was here due to the International Center of Syracuse, the Department of State...

The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) recently reported some good news: New York remains the safest large state in the nation and the fifth safest state overall. According to a study recently published by the DCJS, over the past 10 years,...

Our state has the bad habit of mandating that programs and services and their associated costs be covered by local municipalities. While this has enabled the state to keep the costs of these programs from impacting the state budget, they put substantial...

Area veterinarians have begun to test for Lyme disease in dogs and cats. At one Central New York veterinarian’s practice, 210 dogs and cats tested positive for Lyme Disease this year alone. While dogs and cats are frequently infected and treated with...

Last week, the Legislature was called back into session to conclude this year’s long and torturous budget process. When the majority of the State Senate passed the revenue portion of the budget on Wednesday night it was decreed that final action has...

Supporters of the U.S. Constitution’s 2nd Amendment right to bear arms provision got some welcome news from the U.S. Supreme Court last month when the court ruled that this constitutional right extends to every jurisdiction in the nation. As some...

E-mail, the Internet, automated teller machines (ATMs), online banking, cell phones, long-distance carriers, and credit cards make our lives more efficient. However, as our lives become more integrated with technology, keeping our private information...

The severity of this budget crisis and taxpayers’ pleas of no more taxes has fallen on deaf ears. A tenuous budget has been largely negotiated between three, and sometimes two, men in a room and here we are three months past the deadline with still...

We deserve better. We should be in Albany, as I write this column today, trying to hammer out a budget, but the reality is this past week at the State Capitol was an abomination. Because of the lack of respect our leaders have for the law—passing...

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 700,000 to 750,000 new or recurrent strokes occur each year in the United States. According to the New York State Department of Health,...