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HOMES EVERY WEEK! February 16, 2019

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County seeks public input on legal pot By Pete DeMola EDITOR

ELIZABETHTOWN | As the state weighs the legalization of recreational marijuana, county lawmakers want to hear from you. “I would just poll your communities and think about and see what you want you think about it,” Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Shaun Gillilland told the Finance Committee last month. Gov. Andrew Cuomo included the legalization of recreational marijuana in his budget proposal. But despite an early flurry of activity that has seen the state legislature pass a raft of progressive legislation, lawmakers haven’t taken action.

Essex County weighing land bank Effort would tackle blight, abandoned properties By Pete DeMola EDITOR

ELIZABETHTOWN | Essex County is considering creating a land bank to address problem properties and reduce blight. Land banks are typically used by localities for neighborhood improvements. That could include tearing down unsafe structures or acquiring properties for redevelopment and repair. Lawmakers pondered the benefits last month and tasked county officials with formally researching their options before making a formal decision. The first step, said Essex County Department of Social Services Commissioner Mike Mascarenas, is working with the towns to determine the extent of abandoned properties or “zombie homes” — vacant properties seized by banks for owners’ failure to make mortgage payments — in the county. “Right now we’re in the data collection phase,” Mascarenas said.

ZOMBIE PROBLEM Essex County lawmakers want to hear from their constituents about legalizing recreational marijuana. Stock photo Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the legislation may not be approved as part of the state budget, which has a deadline of April 1. Six weeks may not be enough time to deal with unanswered questions, including criminal justice and economic impacts, said Heastie, according to the New York Post. » Legal pot Cont. on pg. 2

St. Mary’s class brings art to life with living portraits » Portraits Cont. on pg. 3 Kathryn Moran chose to portray “The Grape Picker” by WilliamAdolphe Bouguereau. Photo provided

Stefanik: Green New Deal will lead to ‘massive tax hike’

By Pete DeMola EDITOR

WASHINGTON, D.C. | Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) isn’t a fan of the Green New Deal, the resolution introduced by progressive lawmakers last week to combat climate change. The 14-page declaration drafted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx) and Sen. Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, aims to eliminate addition carbon emissions by 2030. Ocasio-Cortez has proposed increasing the marginal tax rate on income above $10 million to 70 percent to support the sweeping initiative. “This is a pie in the sky massive tax hike and a massive government expansion,” Stefanik told The Sun on Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she had no intention of bringing the measure to the floor for a vote in its current form, reported the New York Times. While Pelosi has created a select committee on climate change, she categorized the Green New Deal as a “suggestion,” Politico reported. “It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,” Pelosi said. “The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?” The progressive wing of the party led by Ocasio-Cortez defended the resolution as a necessary starting point for a broader discussion on climate change. A UN report released last October says “urgent and unprecedented” actions are needed within a dozen years to keep temperatures from rising. “It could be part of a larger solution, but no

» Stefanik Cont. on pg. 7

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» Land bank Cont. on pg. 3

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one has actually scoped out what that larger solution would entail,” Ocasio-Cortez told NPR. “And so that’s really what we’re trying to accomplish with the Green New Deal.” Republicans have criticized the effort as expensive and a creep towards socialism. “Freedom or socialism – that’s the choice in 2020,” said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer in a statement. Stefanik derided elements that called for retrofitting “every building in the country” for energy efficiency and reducing emissions from cows, citing the effect of flatulence on rising greenhouse gases. Reducing dairy and meat intake would have a negative impact on producers in New York’s 21st Congressional District, she said. “This would be detrimental to the economy in my region,” Stefanik said. Continuing to develop renewable energy policies and infrastructure is a better way to combat climate change, Stefanik said. The lawmaker, a member of the Climate Solutions Caucus, also blasted the section that calls for the build-out of “high-speed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary.” “The fact they want eliminate air travel is a non-starter,” Stefanik said. President Trump took a swipe on Saturday. “I think it is very important for the Democrats to press forward with their Green New Deal,” he tweeted. “It would be great for the so-called “Carbon Footprint” to permanently eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military - even if no other country would do the same. Brilliant!”

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Essex County has long struggled with problem parcels, including “zombie homes” where the bank has foreclosed on a property. It’s not uncommon for out-of-state developers buy multiple parcels at the county’s tax auction for a rock-bottom price without having seen the property and subsequently abandon them. County intervention would prevent further deterioration and put the parcels back on the tax rolls.

North Country teacher shortage makes it hard to fill positions By Tim Rowland STA FF W RITER

TICONDEROGA | For too many teaching prospects, Ticonderoga might be a nice place to visit, but they don’t want to work here. Ticonderoga Superintendent John McDonald Jr. said the system has had to replace an average of about six teachers a year, and as many as 10. But again and again, the interest of potential recruits wanes once they have a look at a map. “When they see where Ticondero-

ga is they say, we didn’t know — we thought it was closer to New York City,” McDonald said. Some candidates will even “ghost” the school system, setting up an interview and then failing to show up or answer calls. “That’s when it gets frustrating,” he said. The teacher shortage isn’t confined to Ticonderoga, but it is felt most acutely across the rural Adirondacks. “At every superintendents’ meeting I hear people saying, ‘I need this’ or ‘I need that,’” McDonald said. Despite its historic and scenic charm, it can be tough selling a young man or woman on a community that does not have a movieplex. So the system accentuates what the area has to offer, holding interviews in the spring when leaves are out and flowers are blooming. » Teachers Cont. on pg. 2

Administrators work hard to keep Ticonderoga schools staffed.

Photo by Tim Rowland

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