News Blog

We've all known super-brainy kids. We're awed by the purity of their intelligence and their ease at processing so much information despite their age.

But they can be a little annoying, too.

That's what I thought when I heard then-13-year-old Jonathan Krohn, the prodigious Right Winger who spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference several years ago.

Krohn wowed CPAC members, mocking President Obama's reliance on a teleprompter. Krohn, who didn't speak from a prepared talk, much less use a teleprompter, soon became the Republican Party's little darling.

But Krohn is not a little boy anymore. At 17, his maturity has somehow made him more humane. He reads a lot of philosophy, he says, and he's planning to attend New York University, where he'll study that subject in the fall. And he seems to have outgrown his childhood fascination with conservative ideology, which has drawn the wrath of the same conservatives who once hailed him as a future party leader.

Krohn approves of Obamacare and, he says, he would vote for Obama, except he won't be old enough to be a registered voter for the 2012 election. Though he says he isn't a liberal, Krohn stepped away from conservatives because of their angry views on social issues.

Krohn is now pro-choice and he supports same-sex marriage.

He recently described his CPAC speech as "naïve," saying it's impossible to have formed all of your ideas by such an early age.

There's only one thing to conclude from Krohn's transformation: read more philosophy.

I've loved watching Mitt Romney wrestle with the issue of taxes and the Affordable Care Act. First his campaign staff said Romney doesn't consider the ACA's penalty a tax; then yesterday, Romney himself said he does. That means, of course, that he was perfectly happy to raise taxes in Massachusetts for something he thinks his state needed.

We can laugh all we want about him slip-slopping on the issue (which he was), but the wrestling is important. And it's time everybody did some of that. Why is "tax" such a scary word?

I don't want to pay taxes for things we don't need. I don't want to pay taxes that end up in waste and corruption. But I do want to pay taxes for things that help the general welfare: to educate children, to feed and clothe the needy, to police the streets, to help the unemployed.

I think most Americans agree. And until the Iraq War, we seemed to think it was worth paying higher taxes for national defense (or for a war the president said was for national defense).

George Bush and Congress decided that we could spend zillions fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and ramping up defense efforts here at home - and cut taxes at the same time.

We can debate why such a fiction entered their mind, but we can't debate the result: it helped cause the economic problems we're still struggling with.

So now the issue of taxes is in front of us again, thanks to the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Fine. Can we all take a deep breath and think about this rationally? Do we really not want this country to provide better health care? Don't we think access to health care is a right, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy?

If so, don't we think somebody besides the tooth fairy ought to pay for it?

Does it matter whether we call that payment a tax or a penalty?

One of the most interesting outcomes of the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act is how unusually off message the GOP has been. Their talking points have been like marbles rolling in all directions.

While talking about Governor Mitt Romney's promise to repeal the ACA, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal referred to the law as "Obamneycare." Ouch!

And when Florida Senator Marco Rubio was grilled about the difference between Romneycare and Obamacare, he offered a glib response: Romney's health plan was just for the state of Massachusetts. If people there didn't like it, they could just move to another state.

Seriously Marco, that's the main difference? A choice between health care and moving out of state?

And most Republicans were jumping on the idea of calling the ACA's individual mandate a tax instead of a penalty as President Obama refers to it. But that would mean Romney's health care mandate amounted to a tax, too.

Romney's senior advisor Eric Fehrnstrom found himself in a corner this weekend, saying that Romney agrees with the president, calling it a penalty.

But my favorite response came from the always effervescent Senator Mitch McConnell. He told a Fox News reporter that Republicans didn't have a plan for replacing Obamacare after repealing it.

I've never run a political campaign. But "vote for me because I 'm going to block 30 million fellow Americans from receiving health care coverage, and there's no replacement plan" doesn't seem like a winning message for Romney.

Maybe that explains why John Boehner started talking on Sunday morning news shows about how Republicans envision a patient-driven approach to reforming health care.

Preventing 30 million people from receiving coverage doesn't sound patient-driven to me, but who knows?

Last year, the Monroe County Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA) approved more projects than any other IDA in New York, says a report from the state Authorities Budget Office. But those projects have not resulted in the most private investment.

COMIDA approved 40 projects, totaling $81.7 million in private investments and approximately $1.5 million in various tax exemptions, says the report. The NiagaraCountyIDA had 14 projects totaling $432.3 million worth of private investment and $4.4 million in exemptions. One of those projects is a massive $400 million paper mill, however, says an end-of-the-year slideshow from that county.

The job creation figures are trickier. COMIDA reports that it's gaining 494 full-time equivalent jobs through its projects, placing it among the top in terms of job creation. Niagara, on the other hand, expects a gain of 61 full-time-equivalent positions. But the NiagaraCountyIDA also anticipates that its projects will generate approximately 3,400 temporary construction jobs. COMIDA projects the creation of 330 temporary construction jobs. Statewide, some IDA projects are more construction heavy, while others create long-term jobs.

A frequent criticism of COMIDA and the state's other IDAs is that they don't get enough bang for the buck. That's where these numbers become important: can the numbers and types of jobs created justify the tax revenue losses? That's not an easy question to answer, and it will be a continuing debate in New York.

For comparison, here's how a few other IDA's stack up, according to the Authorities Budget Office report:

• The Amherst IDA, which reported investments of $119 million for five projects and approximately $672,000, reported a gain of 496 full-time-equivalent positions. The projects created 41 construction jobs.
• The ErieCountyIDA reported five projects totaling approximately $20 million in private investment and $636,500 in tax exemptions. It expects an increase of 18 full-time-equivalent positions and the creation of 145 construction jobs.
• The OnondagaCountyIDA reported four projects with $23.1 million worth of private investment and $325,800 in tax exemptions. It expects an increase of 40 full-time-equivalent positions and the creation of 236 construction jobs.

Few things in business are as deadly as overplaying it. Overplaying a sales pitch is for the clumsy amateur, the unconfident, and the unprepared.

Underplaying it, however, is entirely different. Underplaying takes skill. And there's some risk involved. You're essentially asking for less, and promising little. But you have to deliver more than what's expected.

Bolgen Vargas and the Rochester school board have agreed on a contract for the superintendent that leans toward the latter.

Vargas has agreed to an annual salary of $195,000. He didn't have prior experience as a superintendent. But he spent a year on the job, much of that time devoted to stabilizing the district and repairing some damaged relationships by a predecessor paid about $40,000 a year more.

Also, Vargas's contract is for four years, a longer term than his predecessor's. That might help to reassure people on the search committee who said they wanted a superintendent who is committed to staying in the job.

Vargas's resignation clause is another underplay. He has agreed to give the board a 12-month notice, reassuring the board that he won't leave them unprepared and without a successor.

But it was his comment at last week's board meeting that was the classic underplay. Following the vote on his contract, Vargas made a point of saying that he hasn't promised any specific increases in graduation rates.

There are at least a dozen reasons why it was a rational thing to say. But expectations about increasing the city's graduation rate haven't gone away.

The goal of the underplay is to deliver more than what's expected. And Vargas's risk is not doing that.

In May, local Democrats and Republicans held their annual nominating conventions, where they endorsed candidates for office. Since then, a few more races have solidified, while the county clerk's race hasn't.

It's likely that Democrats won't put up a challenger against Republican State Senator Joe Robach, whom the Republicans nominated for reelection to his 56th district seat. Democrats didn't endorse a candidate during their convention. And the party isn't circulating petitions for a candidate, says Monroe County Democratic Committee Executive Director Tad Mack.

(The 56th Senate District includes northwest Rochester, a tiny strip in southeast Rochester, and the towns of Hamlin, Clarkson, Parma, Greece, Gates, and Brighton.)

Democrat Randy Weaver of SteubenCounty recently announced his candidacy for the 133rd Assembly District. He'll face the winner of a Republican primary between Bill Nojay and Richard Burke.

Monroe County Republicans nominated Nojay, a former Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority board chair, during their convention. And Burke, a former mayor of Avon, was nominated by Livingston County Republicans. The Monroe County Conservative Party also endorsed Burke, says the minutes from the party's June meeting.

(The 133rd District includes parts of Monroe, Livingston, and SteubenCounties.)

CountyDemocrats are still in talks with a few potential county clerk candidates, Mack says. During their May convention Republicans nominated County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo for reelection.