Category Archives: Editorial

The Columbia Paper Editorial

EDITORIAL: New way or dead end?

by PARRY TEASDALE

HOW DO YOU TELL a Republican road from a Democratic one? It’s not a knock-knock joke. It’s a question.

When the subject is narrowed to local roads, the answer becomes clear: There is no way to know the political party of the highway superintendent just by taking a drive.

For sure the job of highway superintendent involves politics. By one estimate at least 80% of the towns and villages in New York State elect their superintendent of highways. There are over 900 towns statewide, so that’s a lot of officeholders. Most town highway superintendents are elected to a two-year or a four-year term. They have to work within the budget their town board approves, but otherwise the superintendents run their highway department the way they see fit. Read more…

EDITORIAL: Rebirthday wishes?

by PARRY TEASDALE

DON’T CALL IT A REBIRTHDAY. Technically speaking, the paper wasn’t dead. We were taking a Covid-19 break until we could be reasonably sure the people who deliver the print edition were not putting themselves and others at an excess risk of contracting the illness.

At the end of March 2020 we suspended publication of the print edition of The Columbia Paper. That’s a fancy way of saying we went into lockdown as far as the newspaper was concerned. We didn’t have to, because Governor Cuomo had declared that the press was an “essential service.” It seemed prudent at the time.

This week’s issue marks a year since The Columbia Paper emerged from our self imposed lockdown. It took 10 weeks of no papers to return to publishing on our old weekly schedule. Read more…

EDITORIAL: Roads and bridges, oh my!

by PARRY TEASDALE

WHAT ARE THE FIRST words that come to mind when an elected official says “infrastructure”? If it’s not “roads and bridges,” you might want to check your pulse.

Earlier this year President Biden proposed $3 trillion for infrastructure. That broadened the definition to “roads and bridges… and the other stuff we need.” It sounds almost too good to be true. It was also too much spending to win support in Congress. But that was part of the plan.

More recently the president has said he could sign a bill for a mere $1.3 trillion. And now he has given Republicans in the Senate one week to cut a deal or he will push through a law that funds the Democrats’ priorities. Read more…

EDITORIAL: Time to remember

by PARRY TEASDALE

MONDAY, MAY 31, IS MEMORIAL DAY. It’s a holiday, which means people lucky enough to get the day off from work can gather with others who have been “fully vaccinated” and assemble outdoors, because that’s where it’s safest.

It’s not about celebrating in the sense of a big party like July 4th, Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve. But parties will happen, and in the absence of an official “Victory Over Covid-19 Day,” it’s understandable why most of us would welcome the opportunity to relax and have fun, even as the threat of the virus lingers.

These temptations don’t excuse us from remembering for some part of this one day that we have an obligation to honor the members of the armed forces of the United States who died during the many wars this nation has fought. Read more…

EDITORIAL: Masks 2.5

by PARRY TEASDALE

DID YOU THROW it away yet? The question really should be plural: Did you throw Them away? Let’s hope nobody has just one mask. It only seems that way when you’re trying find the cleanest one.

This is written on the eve of Maskless Wednesday, May 19, the day Governor Andrew Cuomo, based on the latest recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has set for fully vaccinated people in New York State to remove their masks outdoors and some other places.

You can go inside or into a crowd if you maintain social distancing and wear a mask but aren’t vaccinated. You can also go to those places if you’re fully vaccinated. And the places you can go are supposed to determine whether you are telling the truth about your vaccination status. Read more…