PlanetAlbany

Weenie watch

An HVCC student was arrested on campus this afternoon, suspended from school and charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly having an unloaded .22 rifle in his (or her) vehicle (along with a loaded magazine clip elsewhere in the vehicle). According to the college's director of public safety, the gun had been left "in plain view," and "We are extremely appreciative of the diligence of the student who initially reported this to us." Seems more like a nosy parker to me.

The college said it has "a zero tolerance policy for possession of firearms on campus," citing the state penal law, which I was surprised to see (Section 265.01) bans guns "at any school, college or university."

If a bad guy chose to conceal a gun, however, for the purpose of committing the kinds of mass murder we have unfortunately seen at campuses around the country, there's no way HVCC or other schools would find out until too late. So the ban is unenforceable when it might matter, and just serves to disarm law-abiding students and faculty who might be able to intervene to stop a massacre.

I see the U.S. Supreme Court today decided to take up a case which could overturn state gun laws, like this one, that appear on their face to violate the Second Amendment. 

Blinded by snark

Why exactly is it OK for Saturday Night Live to keep using Gov. Paterson's disability, blindness, as the basis of an ongoing series of skits that depict him as a clueless bumbler?

It's only a joke? Right. It's also the main exposure many Americans have to David Paterson, the product of an iconic comedy franchise, in an era when entertainers like John Stewart are our most influential political pundits. I think Michelle Paterson is correct that it has done substantial political damage. It is possible to raise legitimate questions about the governor's disability, and Sen. Diane Savino was unfairly criticized recently for doing that. But as anyone who's ever seen Paterson knows, the SNL view of him has no basis in reality. It's true that he doesn't try to hide his near blindness, for example bending down to almost touch the paper as he tries to see where to sign a bill. Is that up for mockery too?

I say this as someone allergic to political correctness, an LCA show performer who didn't vote for Paterson and isn't likely to. Nor do I agree with the governor's implication (since withdrawn) that racism is part of the reason for his bad press. But what SNL is doing does have something in common with the old Hollywood view of blacks in the Stepin Fetchit era: creating the impression that there is something inherently ludicrous about a certain category of people, in this case the blind, presuming to aspire to high office or simple dignity. Paterson has issued mild complaints about the skits, which have been ignored by these arrogant celebrities and their corporate masters. It's a disgusting performance.

Leaders meeting (updated)

Going by the principle that you should never underestimate the importance of superficial factors, this morning's Red Room event at the Capitol showed off a clean-shaven Gov. Paterson (looking dapper and younger) and two brand new participants at the leadership table: Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch and Senate Democratic conference leader John Sampson. The Assembly minority leader, Brian Kolb, is pretty new, too, while Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is the permanent government.

Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos, who had sued Paterson over the Ravitch appointment, was gracious in the wake of his 4-3 loss (and Paterson's win) this week at the Court of Appeals, welcoming Ravitch and presumably signaling there will be no further GOP legal action in the case. Kolb suggested that Ravitch chair deficit-reduction meetings of legislative and executive staffs, which seemed to get general support. Kolb also came closest to suggesting an actual significant spending reduction, in suggesting implementation of more of the Tom Suozzi-chaired commission report on school property taxes (which included sensible proposed savings in areas such as special education). But I couldn't get Assemblyman Jim Hayes, the minority's budget guru, to let me see his list of proposed specific budget cuts.

Nor was there any general agreement on any specific cost-cutting measure, and Paterson just said he hoped next week to set a date for a special legislative session. Cuts must be made, he said, or the state would likely run out of money to meet its obligations before the end of the fiscal year, which would negatively impact its credit rating.

This year's deficit, officially estimated at $2.1 billion, is on track to be about $1 billion bigger than that, the governor said. More problems loom in future years, especially if and when federal stimulus dollars run out at the end of 2010. Ravitch warned that the recession and financial crisis have resulted in the large-scale transfer of debt from the private to public sector.

Paterson noted that Skelos had in the past opposed both tax increases and spending cuts. Silver said we would soon see if promised bipartisanship is real and "we're all in it together." Kolb complained Paterson hadn't returned his call(s), and the governor responded "there may have been some communication issues we need to clear up." Sampson said we need to protect "core values," which might indicate resistance to budget cuts, although it was tax increases he came out against, along with endorsing "transparency and accountability" (prompting stifled yawns and eye-rolling).

The geography of crime

This triple stabbing apparently happened on a beautiful part of State Street by Washington Park in Albany. But the alleged perpetrator was arrested, and it comes the day after the much maligned Albany Police Department charged three people with last year's murder of a student on the other side of the park. So maybe the middle class won't get too alarmed.

Obama's speech is in North Greenbush

I guess that ticket to see President Obama tomorrow at HVCC really is a tough get, when they don't have room for PlanetAlbany. "Due to space limitations at the event site tomorrow at Hudson Valley Community College," says the White House press office email, "we regret to inform you that we cannot accommodate your credentialing request. However, you have the option of viewing and covering the event from the overflow area at the Maureen Stapleton Theater located on campus. We apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your understanding."

Since the Maureen Stapleton is a neo-brutalist concrete monstrosity some distance from Williams Hall and Cogan Hall, where the president will be, I think I'll give it a miss. The theater is, however, in Troy, unlike Williams and Cogan. Although HVCC is routinely described as being in Troy, in fact the campus straddles the southern border of the city of Troy with the town of North Greenbush. Obama will be speaking in the town, not the city.

Presidential arrogance

Well that's awkward. With President Obama scheduled to visit Troy tomorrow where he will meet the governor and other New York dignitaries, comes word from The New York Times that the president is pressuring Gov. Paterson to give up his re-election campaign in favor of Andrew Cuomo. It seems to me pretty obnoxious for the White House to be applying this kind of public pressure, as opposed to quietly offering an ambassadorship or whatever.

Paterson's only offense (as opposed to a certain Democratic governor from Illinois who was an ally of Obama's and allegedly tried to sell his Senate seat) is to have low poll numbers. Well, that and failing to pick the unqualified Obama ally Caroline Kennedy for another open Senate seat. OK, and Paterson also foolishly raised the issue of racial prejudice to explain his political problems, which is apparently a sensitive area for Obama.

But all of that doesn't come close to excusing this clumsy and ill-thought-out move, given that there are no substantive criticisms of Paterson's performance or policies being made by the White House. It's one thing to try to squelch a primary challenge to a Democratic senator, as Obama has done to protect Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. It's quite another to try to bounce -- to publicly defenestrate -- a sitting governor (of his own party) for no good reason.

Another fine mess (updated)

Dissident parishioners of St. Mary's Church in downtown Glens Falls are hoping Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard will step in to stop a disastrous plan to demolish the former post office building on Warren Street next to the church property and build a new parish hall there. As a former parishioner of a couple of decades, I'm with them. The revolving-door priest who bought the building in 2001 never consulted with parishioners, and it never seemed like a good idea to many of us. The parish has let the building deteriorate, as the Postal Service did previously. It's an all too common practice of property owners that don't appreciate the well constructed buildings they inherited, like the Ballston Spa School District which wants to close the best built school in the village on Malta Avenue (but not the junkier more modern buildings it put up on Route 67 west of Ballston Spa); or RPI which bought Proctor's Theatre in Troy only to let it rot, while building a wildly expensive new arts center on campus.

But a developer, Peter Hoffman, wants to save the post office building and is prepared to buy it for $300,000 (30 times what the church paid for it), as well as offering parking concessions to the Catholic school across the street. That beautiful old school, now called St. Mary's-St. Alphonsus, has a Great Hall that can be used now for church events. Apparently some older parishioners don't want to have to cross Warren Street, but that's a poor reason to put up a new building which is certain to be architecturally inferior to both the school and the post office. Apart from anything else, the current priest's plan makes no fiscal sense, which is one thing that could cause the bishop to put the kibosh on it. But I couldn't get any substantive comment today out of Hubbard's spokesman, Ken Goldfarb, whose main point was that the parish hasn't submitted any proposal yet for the bishop to rule on.

Government health care for pets

With both sides in the health-care debate accusing each other of untruthfulness, one might be suspicious of a claim that the government is already subsidizing health insurance for pets. But such appears to be the case in Saratoga County, NY, where residents recently received a "free discount prescription drug card" from the Saratoga County Discount Prescription Drug Program," which is "designed to be used if you do not have insurance or if something is not covered by your current insurance program." The mailing, complete with the county seal, says this is "a special benefit for ALL Saratoga County Residents. Please do not Disregard the Potential Prescription Savings."

Sounds good, until you get to the bit about "one card for the entire family, including your pets," and the Q and A: "What is covered? All prescription medications are covered at a discounted rate. You can even use it for medication for your pets."

Did TU elect Jennings?

I normally leave local Albany politics to those who actually live in the city, but note that Mayor Jerry Jennings' Democratic primary victory yesterday was closer than many expected, without coattails. Surely The Times Union's negative coverage of the Police Department and other issues helped pull down the mayor's vote, but then the paper's editorial page wound up endorsing him while opposing his down-ticket allies such as Treasurer Betty Barnette (who lost decisively).

Afghanistan and Antietam

Another two soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, N.Y., have been killed in Afghanistan. That makes 22 men from the 3,500-strong combat team killed in action since May 15, and another four non-combat related deaths since March 22, most of the latter from vehicle roll-overs. I don't know how many have been wounded.

The governor has ordered flags on state buildings to fly at half mast Wednesday for the two soldiers, Staff Sgt. Nekl Allen and Specialist Daniel Cox, who were killed when their vehicle was hit by a bomb and small arms fire. Cox was on his second deployment in Afghanistan, and Allen was on his first after two earlier tours in Iraq. Allen, from suburban Rochester, N.Y., leaves a wife and three children.

Meanwhile, the remains of a Civil War soldier from a New York regiment killed at the Battle of Antietam in 1862 will lie in state today at the Military Museum in Saratoga Springs before being buried Thursday at Solomon National Cemetery. While I salute that effort, I think at least equal attention needs to be -- but is not being -- paid to the deaths and lives of soldiers like Allen and Cox.