Text 30549, 124 rader
Skriven 2006-05-26 04:28:58 av Philip Lozier (1:267/169)
  Kommentar till text 30545 av Dan Ceppa (1:138/666.0)
Ärende: your orgin..
====================
 DC> On 25 May 06  10:28:22, Philip Lozier got back to Dan Ceppa
->> Re: your orgin..

 PL>> with the birth of radio and TV, such items -born- here, it will be
 PL>> with technology of the future.    WHat was the "Electric City" will
 PL>> become the "Technology Capital",  MAJOR players already contracted to
 PL>> utilize this city for mainstays of their operations.  It's on the map
 PL>> again.

 DC> It's been a long time for that town.

Yea... it has.  I got here 19 years ago and the town was still swinging.  about
5 years after that is when GE made it's first major cut... then a couple of
years later it's next.

I used to LOVE this town when I first arrived... it was FULL of life and
energy.  To watch it almost die has been nothing less than depressing.  To
watch it almost die due to political stupidity has been nothing less than
agrivating.

What;s amazing to me, is despite the fact that the city was a few years ago
rated one of the lowest (credit value wise) in the state only, and lacked a
good quality of public services, that they have the nerve to enforce the tax
rate they do.  Well... the people here don't have to worry about tax increases
anymore... they are already at the highest rate allowed by state law.  They
still managed to bypass that a bit though with the "service charges" on items
that used to be in our property taxes.

The GE complex is a shadow of it's former self.  The place used to be a city
within a city. They have ripped most of their buildings down now because of the
raping in taxes they were getting.  This city got quite greedy with GE and
treated them as a source of income rather than an asset to the city.

They never anticipated the schock it would be to the city if GE said "screw
you" and did what they did.

After that we had a string of mayors who had their heads so far up their asses
it was pathetic, and the city council was nothing but a bunch of clowns.  Now
we have finally got a mayor who seems to give a shit about our city and has
pulled it out of the poorhouse, refaced our downtown district, and has
"bargained" the city into actually having a once again bright future. For the
first time in 15 years we are looking at taxe DECREASES, and in only a short
couple of years he has taken the city from being in debt, to actually having a
surplus.

He has put the rating back in the black, and not just barely but actually put
it back up there a bit, and while IMPROVING services rather than cutting back
on them.

Our former mayor was nothing less than a crook... as indicated by the "missing
money" (a fortune that nobody seems real intent on investigating) discovered
shortly after his declining to run for office again so he could take a very
cushy state position.

Kinda wish Ducci was still mayor again though... even though they alleged
"ties" to certain factions, the city ran smooth, and was prosperous. I guess
those weren't bad ties he had.

 DC>>> Were you in the area when Erastus was mayor?
 DC>
 DC>> Do you know of mayor Richard Daly of Chicago?

 PL>> Not a clue... heard the name... seem to relate it to some recall of a
 PL>> Daly Plaza... but other than that, no idea.

 DC> That's the guy it was named after.

Well///I figured at least "that" much :)

 DC> He was quite famous for
 DC> providing the Chicago swing votes for the Democratic Machine.

I wouldn't know about those things.  I don't subscribe to -any- "party" lines.
Despite the copstant attempts of the electioneers to get me to register for
their particular party, I flat refuse.  Neither party has a full ticket I
approve of.  They keep telling me "well you won't
get to vote in the primaries"... I tell them that doesn't matter, as whoever is
on the ticket will follow party platforms anyway so it's a useless gesture I
don't wish to participate in.  That seems to irk them... I guess the truth
hurts.

I have voted both ass and trunker in the past, and I find my vote is swayed not
by party, but by which of the both equally screwed up parties seems to have the
candidate and platform that has the most "points" I can agree with.  A lesser
of two evils kind of thing.  I am never fully satisfied with my voting choice
though, as no matter which way it goes there is always much left to be desired.
 Such is the nature of politics to the thinking man who won't be blindly led.

 PL>> building in the "Empire Plaza" is the Corning Tower.  But I think you
 PL>> knew that and so the reference to Daly Plaza (???)

 DC> He used to call Corning, "sir".  Not only did Corning have
 DC> more years as mayor, he also had more national power than
 DC> Daly did.  But, he kept a lower profile.

Hmmmm... sounds like interesting stuff. A mayor of a MAJOR city (Chigago)
calling the mayor of a minor city "sir"?  yes... I say "minor" city base on
size... Albany is no bigger than "downtown Brooklyn".

Just on the hint you give wrt Corning, I would probably have a good time
finding out more about him.  I have done most of my historical research on
"Schenectady", being my "adopted" home town. I think I've about covered most of
that, so maybe it's time to have some fun looking into our next door neighbor
:)

WRT Corning again... my understanding (though not exactly 100% up on it) is
that he could have been mayor for life if not for legal limitations. Such is
the same now with the current mayor of Albany (Jennings) who has a very high
popularity rating.  His influence is so great that the city council has been
trying to make moves to "take away" the mayoral power in Albany and make it
more of a figurhead position and for the council to be the real power.  They
tried... it failed miserably.  Maybe the Mayors morning "talk show" on radio
helped that :)  Gotta love a mayor who puts his ass out there every morning to
"callers" and takes the heat with grace.  I understand he uses that to get a
"real feel" for what the people are thinking, and actually uses the oppinions
to make city decisions based on the actual will of the people.  HE DOES take
some -heat- too!  GOD bless him... one of the very few honest, open, and
accesable politicians I've seen
in my life.

Phil

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