Recent Comments
Re: “Duffy's smackdown of Warren defies history”
Lets look at what’s at stake in a primary race against incumbent Mayor Tom Richards. As of today, neither Richards nor Warren have formally announced, so all we have is a trial balloon floated by Council President Warren. I have no doubt that Mayor Richards will announce in the near future. If Warren does choose to challenge Richards, it’s very likely that other less qualified office seekers will also throw in their hats, once again creating a very messy and contentious race, which no doubt will have long term implications for the entire community. Perhaps opening the door to someone who is not at all qualified to fill the position. This is not a gender or ethnicity contest, it’s what is the value of continuity during these fiscally challenging times. If by some unpredictable event, someone other than Richards is elected, how disruptive will a new Mayor and his/her cabinet selection need to get up to speed, and what are the consequences of those changes? The choice is, what’s best for the entire community, not just some sub-set of the community. On another point, LG Duffy did not “smack-down” Council President Warren, he simply stated his views that he thinks both are needed. That currently there is a positive synergy between Council and the Administration, which is high praise for both. As for Mayoral Control of schools, that battle needs to fought in the State Legislature, where Democratic and Republican local delegate’s need to agree that it would be a good thing for Rochester.
Frankspeak
Re: “Ginna's future in jeopardy”
Although isn't a large plant, it's made huge contributions to clean, safe and most important reliable base load electricity. Electric systems must be balanced in terms of supply and demand. NY refuses to install higher voltage transmission lines which would help the situation. As more and more coal and oil plants are taken off-line system balance shifts. The nations transmission infrastructure is old and weak. We can't address these issues piecemeal, we need a national energy policy that takes advantage of all sorts of generation. We have very significant hydro resources up-state but most of that goes to NYC and Long Island. Gas turbines are cheap and easy to operate, but sourcing natural gas by hydrofracking if fraught with significant risks. Cuomo and his dad hate nuclear and fail to recognize how vital the plants in NY are. Every elected official wants to kick the can down the road. Sooner or later we will have a power crisis. High lever nuclear waste (spent fuel) is NOT a technical problem, it's been solved at Yucca mountain. It's a political problem. Elected officials and the public don't want to take the time to learn about the issue. In my opinion based on more than 20 years in the nuclear industry, we need more nukes, not less. Natural gas should be used to heat homes not generate electricity. Oil should be used for transportation and the petrochemical industry. Nukes can make electricity from uranium and we could power cars and railroads with the power they produce. We need educated, long term strategic thinking to move forward.