WHEN SHOULD SELF INTEREST yield to civic duty? Let’s rule out sudden acts of civilian heroism and put aside those who risk their lives on a daily basis in the military, where a commitment to public duty above all else is part of the job description. Consider instead ordinary working people asked to decide between selflessness and selfishness when their jobs are at stake. How clear is that line?

   That question has come up a lot recently in the public sector as well as private industry, as teachers have faced requests by school boards desperately seeking to keep a lid on property taxes, and the state has struggled to cope with a deficit unlike any in modern memory.

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FOR ALL THE GRIM DETAILS that emerged last week at the murder trial of Warren Powell, one of the most disturbing images to emerge from the proceedings occurred just outside the courtroom. It involved a disabled reporter from a Capital Region daily newspaper who had to crawl up the courthouse stairway to reach the courtroom.

     Years ago, Columbia County signed a consent order with the U.S. Justice Department that requires the county to make its courtrooms comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The act was adopted during the term of the first President Bush, and almost two decades later the county still fails to obey a law in the building used to uphold all laws. This is a disgrace.

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OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS the state Department of Agriculture and Markets has come to the aid of local farms that have run afoul of town laws. In Kinderhook dogs that protected alpacas got on neighbors’ nerves. A Gallatin doctor needed a wind turbine to power the mill that turns the wool of his sheep into socks. And then there was Stuyvesant’s short-lived fugitive chicken law.
     In each case, the department, known by its shorthand name, Ag and Markets, told the towns their rules didn’t apply to farms. The law allows Ag and Markets to overrule local laws as to way of preventing suburban sensibilities from smothering agricultural practices. And in the past the department has used its authority to good end. But an opinion it rendered last month raises the possibility that Ag and Markets may have abused its broad powers.
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