Activism on the rise; hold local officials accountable

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It's been a half-century since our college campuses spawned a generation of activists demanding civil rights, opposing the war in Vietnam and standing up for women everywhere.

We are seeing another generation of activists today, but this time they are coming mostly from the ranks of the retired.

The Indivisible ADK/Saratoga group has mobilized quickly and passionately to address fears we are losing our democracy.

They are getting out information and taking to the street in the dead of winter.

It's inspirational stuff.

I'd like to see them put pressure on local officials - Republicans and Democrats alike - to make sure they will put the people before their party.

Will the sheriffs and district attorneys in local counties adhere to their oaths of office if directed otherwise?

Will town board members and supervisors do what is in the best interest of their communities - fighting climate change for instance, promoting vaccines - or will be they buckle to political forces behind their local boundaries?

Those questions need to be asked and answered.

Here in Queensbury, the Ethics Board recently ruled that one of the Town Board members, Tim McNulty, has a conflict of interest because he also serves as chairman of the Warren County Republican Committee and the opportunity exists for you his influence over other board members.

Hoping Queensbury citizens will devote 15 seconds of their time to address ethics issue to Town Board.

I addressed the board in November and pointed out the conflict.

Nothing was done to address it so I filed an official complaint with the Queensbury Ethics Board.

I was one of two members of the community to make a complaint.

My complaint was based on seeing a past Republican Committee chair try to force a Queensbury Town Board member, Tony Metivier, to vote a certain way. I've written about the details previously.

After the Ethics Board ruled, McNulty addressed the ethics question and said he had done nothing wrong without addressing the conflict.

Since then, the town has done nothing to address the Ethics Board decision.

This issue is certainly not as big as many facing us in Washington, but regular citizens still have power if they speak up, especially locally.

The Town Board in Queensbury will meet on Monday, March 17 at 7 p.m. At the end of the meeting there is an opportunity for the public to speak. You can speak for up to four minutes.

I urge Queensbury residents to ask the board to make a simple statement:

"I applaud the Queensbury's Ethics Board's decision regarding Tim McNulty having a conflict of interest on the Town Board. Could members of the town board address what they are going to do to address the problem."

It takes 15 seconds.

I'm hoping we could get 10, 20 members of the public to address the issue one after another even if they read the same statement.

It might make a difference and show the board this issue is not going away.

This is small-town activism at its core and it's the only way to get change.

No doubt there will be large more important issues to come, so this might be good practice for those that want to make a difference.

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After some strong local advocacy, the South Street Community Pavilion appears to be on its way to being preserved in Crandall Park.

Update on pavilion

Last month, I wrote about the fate of the farmer's market pavilion on South Street.

It was suggested that the pavilion might be taken apart and moved to Crandall Park for use as a picnic area.

There were concerns it would be too costly or delay the much delayed South Street renovations further.

Pema Reed updated me this week that Eric Unkauf was assured of $5,000 funding toward disassembling the pavilion and has asked the Glens Falls Common Council for $10,000 to cover rental of equipment and crew to remove the structure and transport it to the park.

It will be on the agenda at the next Common Council meeting and a contract has been drawn up with the developer for the removal to continue.

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Civil disobedience

There will be training in nonviolent civil disobedience on Saturday, March 22 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In the past, I've only heard of this type of training in a historical context during the Civil Rights movement.

But here we are again.

Elliot Adams, Meta Peace Teams Volunteer and International Peace Keeper will be the facilitator. Those intending to demonstrate will learn how to risk arrest peacefully and how to be jail support for those risking arrest. A $25 donation is required to offset costs, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Please RSVP to Linda LeTendre at: letendre.linda@gmail.com

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Tonko town hall

While it is no surprise our current lame duck congresswoman, Rep. Elise Stefanik, has not scheduled a town hall meeting in years, Albany congressman Paul Tonko has scheduled one at the Queensbury Town Hall on Friday, March 21.

Details are still to be announced.

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Washington Post

The turmoil at The Washington Post continued this week when long-time columnist Ruth Marcus resigned after the newspaper killed a column critical of owner Jeff Bezos.

Considering Marcus's 40-year run at the newspaper, it is quite unprecedented.

CNN's Brian Stelter reported Tuesday morning that Marcus said the rejection of her piece "underscores that the traditional freedom of columnists to select the topics they wish to address and say what they think has been dangerously eroded..."

Marcus spoke out in more detail in the New Yorker - including the column that was spiked - and admitted she was pulling her punches when writing the column because she didn't want it to get spiked.

She said she was surprised that the publisher would not even meet with her after spiking the column. She had worked at the newspaper for 40 years.

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Open container

New Orleans is not only a walking city, but there is no open container law.

if you are not done with your drink, put it in a cup and take it with you for the walk home.

Thirsty on the way home from the game, there are walkup windows to buy a drink all along the route from the Superdome.

During Mardi Gras, I saw this sign:

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Job description

One small fact makes me wonder what the presidential job description is these days.

The New York Times reported that in the middle of Monday's enormous stock market drop, President Trump posted or reposted more than 100 messages on social media.

It gives new meaning to be the term "Tweeter in chief."

Who has time to post 100 messages a day?

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Selling cars

The president is also helping Elon Musk to sell cars.

Teslas were lined up at the White House and Trump seemed to be reading from a Tesla script in an effort to stop the drop in sales and stock price for Tesla.

Trump then addressed recent protests at Tesla dealerships and called protesters "domestic terrorists" while threatening that the government would make them "go through hell."

This from the same man who pardoned over 1,000 actual "domestic terrorists" for their role on January 6.

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Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.