Column by Don Glynn —
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has unveiled plans for his newly-formed Western New York Regional Development Council.
The governor explained that it’s a statewide group of 10 councils to help boost the sagging economy, especially upstate.
If all that sounds familiar, it’s probably because the governor’s father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo made that same announcement 27 years ago.
Not only did it have that precise name but it was the same structure with the same goals spelled out.
And the younger Cuomo obviously liked the idea because he appointed his Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy to coordinate the “new” regional development council.
Perhaps he also got that idea from his dad who, by the way, named his second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Alfred DelBello to head up the same council in his administration.
Amidst this page-out-of-the-past irony, you have to ask, if the regional council plan was so successful back then, why didn’t they just keep it?
In his announcement last week, Gov. Cuomo described the move to regional councils as “a fundamental shift” in the state’s approach to economic development, saying there will no longer be a top-down model, but instead a “community-based approach.”
Nearly three decades ago, Lt. Gov. DelBello said: “Economic development really doesn’t start with Albany. It’s the bricks and mortar, jobs and equipment. It’s the people in the local community that can make things happen.”
Is it possible that Andrew hired his dad’s speech writer and the guy was rummaging through old files when he stumbled across an idea that he thought could move the Empire State into the 21st Century?
By the way, the five counties that were targeted in the mid-’80s plan to revitalize the upstate economy — Niagara, Erie, Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua — are back on the list that Cuomo Jr. has released.
Some of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s political opponents should be thrilled to learn that he’s recycling strategy from the Reagan era.
After dusting off some of my own files and finding a printout of an article I wrote May 16, 1984, I was reminded of that lofty saying.
What goes around comes around.
•••
HEALTHY FOOD: Those Happy Meals at McDonald’s will soon be better for a child’s diet.
A company spokesman says the present portion of french fries in the meal will be cut by more than a half, which probably won’t thrill many youngsters. The new menu is scheduled to come out in early 2012.
The Happy Meal also will include apple slices which is obviously good news to the New York Apple Association that represents some 700 family-owned apple orchards across the Empire State.
In case the kids are wondering, yes, the toys now included in the meals will still be packed with the McNuggets or burgers.
Maybe adding apples wedges will take some of the heat off of McDonald’s. Critics contend that the current obesity problem plaguing countless children is due to the high amount of calories in french fries and other foods.
•••
OFF THE PRESS: “The President and the Assassin,” by Scott Miller (Random House, 422 pages, hardcover, $28) is the story of the circumstances that brought President William McKinley and his murderer, Leon Czolgosz, together at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. Earlier that fateful day, Czolgosz was stalking the president during his sidetrip to Niagara Falls and Lewiston.
The author’s exhaustive sources include “The Man Who Shot McKinley” (1970) by Wes Johns, a longtime police reporter for the now-defunct Buffalo Courier-Express.
•••
A CLOSE CALL: Overheard in Brennan’s Restaurant, Main Street, Youngstown: “Did you hear about President Obama? Yesterday he fell in a think tank and almost drowned” — a disgruntled Tea Party member, looking for a candidate to support in 2012.
Opinion
Related Photos
-
Glynn
GLYNN: Cuomo plan has strong family ties
- Opinion
-
-
GLYNN: VFW post keeps spirit alive
At one time, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars-Post 313 would march down Main Street in Youngstown on Memorial Day to the 1812 Cemetery near Old Fort Niagara. That same scenario out of the past occurred for decades in cities, towns and villages across the U.S.
-
HAMILTON: Dandelions, parades, broken poles and people
There are still those remnants of the fading bouquets of floral tributes that still hang at that base of a tree on city hall’s lawn. It is near where, last year, from his shiny silvery cart, Melvin Johnson sold hot dogs and sausages to both city employees and passerbys while his tiny white dog excitingly yelped at anyone that came near.
-
GLYNN: Gillibrand seeks help for prime bread-winners
A recent report shows that working mothers across the Empire State earn nearly 15 percent lower pay for the same work as men.
-
BRADBERRY: There really are spirits in the water
Over the centuries since it was “discovered” hundreds of millions of people have traveled from every corner of the world to visit Niagara Falls making it the most visited of the great waterfalls on the planet.
-
CONFER: The reality of rationed health care
The ongoing debate over Obamacare has brought to light the concept of rationed healthcare. Opponents of health care reform keenly point out that while the bill never explicitly calls out rationing, it features certain provisions that will lead the markets to adjust to strict federal demands and, therefore, dispense certain procedures in smaller amounts or not at all. Because of it being the first time that the subject has really come up in public circles, most people, especially on the right, believe that rationing is something new. It’s not. The free markets have been practicing that for quite some time. I should know; with a 4-inch long, 1-inch wide scar running south of my belly button – and a couple of related scars around my groin – I could be the poster child for rationed health care.
-
CITY DESK: A regrettable error
We owe Carol Sensabough an apology.
Several weeks ago, the long-time reader and Niagara Falls resident sent a letter to the editor explaining that she took offense to some of the things written by a syndicated columnist, Stephen Dick. -
HIGGS: Niagara Falls' own West Side story
Trusello’s Bakery was on Elmwood behind the family home at 840 19th St. The family, Richard, William (Billy) and Sam along with two sisters, lived in the house.
-
GLYNN: Falls, Ont., rolls out red carpet for Wallenda
Before Nik Wallenda even started practicing his high-wire routine in downtown Niagara Falls, state Sen.George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane, had noted the warm welcome the tightrope walker received across the river.
-
HAMILTON: Civic ‘ParticipAction’ can work too
Back in the 1970s, our Neighbors to the North ran a national campaign called ParticipAction to encourage Canadians to get off their butts and do things for the sakes of their bodies.
-
GLYNN: Graduates find they’re in staggering debt
Countless senior citizens often gripe about something, sometimes even with good reason. Perhaps they should consider themselves fortunate, compared with the younger generation.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
