Opinion

Suppose you discovered your doctor runs a charity on the side. The charity gives away some money. But it spends most of its cash on things that help the doctor — often financially. How is the charity funded? Contributions from drug companies. They want the doc to prescribe their drugs. Contributions from specialists who want […]

I’ve been involved in politics for the better part of a lifetime, and have spoken at a lot of public meetings over the years. There’s one question, I think, that I’ve heard more than any other: “If I want to be an informed citizen, which sources of information should I consult?” For many years, I

[On Aug. 24], I was fortunate to take part in an event at the Syracuse Center of Excellence celebrating the completion of new labs to support research and development related to emerging energy technologies. Thanks to an investment from New York State, in partnership with Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry,

Politicians spend a good bit of their time complaining about the media. But why should they have all the fun? I’m going to join in, though I tend to get upset about different things than most sitting politicians do. You see, I don’t actually mind when journalists — whether in print, on television, or online

Maybe we can make some money from the spin phenomenon. First, let’s define spin. It is the BS that spokespeople offer when they defend the indefensible. It is the crown jewel of PR, the lifeblood of politics. We see and hear a good deal of it these days. Today, we have spinmeisters, hired guns. They

During the last week of session, the New York State Legislature passed a resolution to amend the state constitution to permit the forfeiture of state pensions for those public officials convicted of a felony (bribery, for example) related to their public duties. This is a commonsense measure that should have passed last year. Unlike most other

New York State’s “Move Over Law” has recently expanded to better protect volunteer emergency responders attending to distressed or disabled vehicles along roads and highways. I was pleased to vote in support of the expansion which was signed into law last month and will become effective in 2017. The expanded law requires drivers to exercise

By now, millions are lusting for the debates. My guess is that the first one will break records for viewership. Another guess is that Hillary Clinton is already practicing how to handle insults. She probably has aides flinging every insult they can think of at her. She is rehearsing her replies. Given Donald Trump’s history,

Questions have been raised about the effectiveness and cost of several of New York’s recently adopted economic-development programs, including Start-Up New York and the Excelsior Jobs program. [The Business Council] believes that economic-development incentives are a useful tool, when well-designed and thoughtfully applied. We would like to share several comments and recommendations on these programs.