Thanks, Will, for your fresh perspective and insights on the prison closings. I hope your analysis proves true and the outcomes you envision are realized. In the meantime, we need to be sensitive and vigilant in our caring for those caught up in the transition.
It seems like socialism to keep a prison open unnecessarily only to provide jobs. Stec, Simpson and Stefanik aren’t in favor of socialism are they? It doesn’t make economic sense, in any case.
The current setup is the worst of both worlds. The prisons are there and off the tax rolls but not providing jobs and not in a condition to be sold to any entity who might. See my comment above. The right-sizing of the prison industrial complex is needed. But the way the state is doing it is awful.
Furthermore, as you probably know, the prison-industrial complex was a deal between Mario Cuomo and Ron Stafford. The state would provide these jobs a substitute for a real rural economic development plan. If the state is going to withdraw the jobs, then they have an obligation to come up with a real economic development plan. Or at the very least, allow the prison lands to be repurposed for real economic development. The state not only is doing neither but has shown absolutely zero interest in doing so.
I'm not the typical upstater who blames Albany for everything and the bad weather but they certainly have more than a little culpability in how this is being implemented.
We attended Sasquatch Fest in Whitehall yesterday nearly 50 years since the famous sightings, and the construction of Washington County Correctional next door to Great Meadow. We had fun looking at Bigfoot trinkets, had a beer at Cigar Brothers Brewery (opened by a high school friend) where my friend Frank was playing in a band just a couple of blocks from where he grew up, saw Brian Gosselin regaling fans with details of his encounter.
Clearly the hundreds of government jobs with their better than average salaries, good benefits, and pensions bringing probably hundred$ of million$ into the local economy over the decades has not stabilized the local economy.
I didn’t see Elise Stefanik, Dan Stec, or Matt Simpson, tho I could easily have missed them because there were actual crowds of people from all over the country.
There was one local group promoting a year round regional asset, the Champlain Canalway Trail, a bike trail running from Waterford to Whitehall that could bring some new life to the town. But the groups that promotes the trail recommends people avoid the stretch from Comstock to Whitehall because of the danger of riding on Rt 4.
One thing Stefanik, Stec, Simpson, and Carrie Woerner could do to help the local economy of towns affected by the prison closure would be to deliver funding to move the bike trail off Rt 4 before someone gets killed.
Thank you Will, so glad to read a balanced article about the prison closure versus the slanted version reported in our local Chronicle. The North Country seems to find a way to redirect itself and fill those income gaps. For sure, there will be some pain, however, I have faith in us. Hmmm, I wonder how the property will be repurposed and perhaps employ the displaced prison employees left in the area? There is a lot more to be revealed.
I've got Chris's book and looking forward to reading it. Slowly, I fear, because at 87 nothing, eyes, ears, mind, work as they used to. I remember hiring him, though. Trained a lot of good reporters there. It's so nice that he's with the Times, one of the few papers that are surviving and healthy. Many Enterprise alums keep in touch and that makes me happy and proud. A few still in the area.
Thank you, Will, for your common sense take on the prison closing! Change can be hard, but change is also an unavoidable aspect of life — and people are more resilient than they even give themselves credit for. When careers are disrupted by layoffs, anger and fear are natural reactions. The state owes those workers some help transitioning to new jobs or other opportunities. If the community is strong, it will move on in hopefully a positive direction.
I have no research to back this up, but my personal opinion is reading on a screen is not the same as reading printed material. I just have to believe that the act of holding a book or paper, turning pages, even the smell and the sound must activate different parts of the brain. Who’s to say if one is “better” than the other, but I know for myself, reading a physical book is an immense pleasure. Reading on my iPad or a computer is just something I do, sometimes it’s for fun, often it’s kind of a chore. I subscribed to two comics websites because I used to love reading the comics in the paper. I now have access to literally hundreds of comics online, carefully curated to exactly the ones I like, and I don’t have to wonder if the editor of the paper is going to suddenly make a wholesale change, as the Post Star just did. But I would give it up gladly to have a good two page daily comic spread in a real paper!
Reading ink on paper is different from reading temporary electronic marks (is there a word for that?) on a screen. It's also far more lasting. Letters, books and ink and paper documents can last hundreds or thousands of years. What is the lifespan of an email? All this writing we are doing, but none of it will last.
Like paper photographs and records. 1000 years from now if they survived intact, they could still be understood. I have pictures and videos of my grandkids on older devices that are probably lost forever because after 10 years the technology and platforms are all obsolete and I don’t know how to retrieve them. I now know about backing it up in the “cloud” but that’s still only as good as the technology. A good EMP would wipe them out too. 😕
I love Pickles too! You can find them and many others on GoComics.com. I think it is free to sign up, and then you can go through the list and pick your favorites and get them sent every morning by email. There is another site called Comics Kingdom, which has a subscription fee to sign up. I also love Zits and GoComics didn’t carry it but they did so I bit the bullet and paid up. Worth it, though!
I emailed the Post Star with my disappointment after the sudden deletion of favorite comics, but it’s the MID-West company owners who make these decisions, not our local newspaper folks.
Oh for the good old days… when Ken and his Post Star staff actually gave us the opportunity to “vote” for our favorite cartoons!
Right-0sizing the prison-industrial complex is a good thing. BUT the way the state is carry it out is awful. The state is closing these prisons and letting them sit fallow and unused for years, even decades, with no hint of movement and without one iota of concern for that impact on the local communities. Mt. McGregor for a decade, Camp Gabriels for almost twice as long. They are sitting their fallow, not generating sales tax, not providing jobs or housing, presumably not providing property tax revenue. Because the useless structures on them remain thanks to any indifferent state bureaucracy, they are not able to be sold to a private party to develop into something useful. I would support legislation requiring that no prison be closed until there is a detailed plan of how to redevelop the property or make it so it's sellable to a private party, complete with measurable enforcable targets and compensation provisions to local governments if those targets are not met. The prison-industrial complex was a deal. Locals said you can have this land in exchange for state jobs. If the state is going to back out of the deal, however sensible the reasons, then they need to give the land back (in a usable condition).
Thanks, Will, for your fresh perspective and insights on the prison closings. I hope your analysis proves true and the outcomes you envision are realized. In the meantime, we need to be sensitive and vigilant in our caring for those caught up in the transition.
It seems like socialism to keep a prison open unnecessarily only to provide jobs. Stec, Simpson and Stefanik aren’t in favor of socialism are they? It doesn’t make economic sense, in any case.
The current setup is the worst of both worlds. The prisons are there and off the tax rolls but not providing jobs and not in a condition to be sold to any entity who might. See my comment above. The right-sizing of the prison industrial complex is needed. But the way the state is doing it is awful.
Furthermore, as you probably know, the prison-industrial complex was a deal between Mario Cuomo and Ron Stafford. The state would provide these jobs a substitute for a real rural economic development plan. If the state is going to withdraw the jobs, then they have an obligation to come up with a real economic development plan. Or at the very least, allow the prison lands to be repurposed for real economic development. The state not only is doing neither but has shown absolutely zero interest in doing so.
I'm not the typical upstater who blames Albany for everything and the bad weather but they certainly have more than a little culpability in how this is being implemented.
Thank you for the book review--it sounds like a vicarious journey with a good journalist, and that sounds fascinating (kinda like this newsletter!).
Thanks! I think you will find it a fun read. Cheers! -- Chris Mele
We attended Sasquatch Fest in Whitehall yesterday nearly 50 years since the famous sightings, and the construction of Washington County Correctional next door to Great Meadow. We had fun looking at Bigfoot trinkets, had a beer at Cigar Brothers Brewery (opened by a high school friend) where my friend Frank was playing in a band just a couple of blocks from where he grew up, saw Brian Gosselin regaling fans with details of his encounter.
Clearly the hundreds of government jobs with their better than average salaries, good benefits, and pensions bringing probably hundred$ of million$ into the local economy over the decades has not stabilized the local economy.
I didn’t see Elise Stefanik, Dan Stec, or Matt Simpson, tho I could easily have missed them because there were actual crowds of people from all over the country.
There was one local group promoting a year round regional asset, the Champlain Canalway Trail, a bike trail running from Waterford to Whitehall that could bring some new life to the town. But the groups that promotes the trail recommends people avoid the stretch from Comstock to Whitehall because of the danger of riding on Rt 4.
One thing Stefanik, Stec, Simpson, and Carrie Woerner could do to help the local economy of towns affected by the prison closure would be to deliver funding to move the bike trail off Rt 4 before someone gets killed.
Correction: it turns out Dan Stec was there and actually a judge for the Sasquatch Calling Contest.
So, I stand corrected.
And I want to note that it was one of the most useful things he’s done all year.
Thank you Will, so glad to read a balanced article about the prison closure versus the slanted version reported in our local Chronicle. The North Country seems to find a way to redirect itself and fill those income gaps. For sure, there will be some pain, however, I have faith in us. Hmmm, I wonder how the property will be repurposed and perhaps employ the displaced prison employees left in the area? There is a lot more to be revealed.
buying this.....
I've got Chris's book and looking forward to reading it. Slowly, I fear, because at 87 nothing, eyes, ears, mind, work as they used to. I remember hiring him, though. Trained a lot of good reporters there. It's so nice that he's with the Times, one of the few papers that are surviving and healthy. Many Enterprise alums keep in touch and that makes me happy and proud. A few still in the area.
Glad he’s at the Times, a good newspaper.
Thank you, Will, for your common sense take on the prison closing! Change can be hard, but change is also an unavoidable aspect of life — and people are more resilient than they even give themselves credit for. When careers are disrupted by layoffs, anger and fear are natural reactions. The state owes those workers some help transitioning to new jobs or other opportunities. If the community is strong, it will move on in hopefully a positive direction.
Looks like a good read, I've ordered it. Thanks for letting me know.
I hope you are right.
I have no research to back this up, but my personal opinion is reading on a screen is not the same as reading printed material. I just have to believe that the act of holding a book or paper, turning pages, even the smell and the sound must activate different parts of the brain. Who’s to say if one is “better” than the other, but I know for myself, reading a physical book is an immense pleasure. Reading on my iPad or a computer is just something I do, sometimes it’s for fun, often it’s kind of a chore. I subscribed to two comics websites because I used to love reading the comics in the paper. I now have access to literally hundreds of comics online, carefully curated to exactly the ones I like, and I don’t have to wonder if the editor of the paper is going to suddenly make a wholesale change, as the Post Star just did. But I would give it up gladly to have a good two page daily comic spread in a real paper!
Reading ink on paper is different from reading temporary electronic marks (is there a word for that?) on a screen. It's also far more lasting. Letters, books and ink and paper documents can last hundreds or thousands of years. What is the lifespan of an email? All this writing we are doing, but none of it will last.
Like paper photographs and records. 1000 years from now if they survived intact, they could still be understood. I have pictures and videos of my grandkids on older devices that are probably lost forever because after 10 years the technology and platforms are all obsolete and I don’t know how to retrieve them. I now know about backing it up in the “cloud” but that’s still only as good as the technology. A good EMP would wipe them out too. 😕
Thanks for the book review, Will. Just ordered it on Amazon.
And like Tanya, I miss the long-standing Post Star comics. “The Pickles” couple’s interactions always tickled my soul.
I love Pickles too! You can find them and many others on GoComics.com. I think it is free to sign up, and then you can go through the list and pick your favorites and get them sent every morning by email. There is another site called Comics Kingdom, which has a subscription fee to sign up. I also love Zits and GoComics didn’t carry it but they did so I bit the bullet and paid up. Worth it, though!
Thanks Tanya for your info!
I emailed the Post Star with my disappointment after the sudden deletion of favorite comics, but it’s the MID-West company owners who make these decisions, not our local newspaper folks.
Oh for the good old days… when Ken and his Post Star staff actually gave us the opportunity to “vote” for our favorite cartoons!
Right-0sizing the prison-industrial complex is a good thing. BUT the way the state is carry it out is awful. The state is closing these prisons and letting them sit fallow and unused for years, even decades, with no hint of movement and without one iota of concern for that impact on the local communities. Mt. McGregor for a decade, Camp Gabriels for almost twice as long. They are sitting their fallow, not generating sales tax, not providing jobs or housing, presumably not providing property tax revenue. Because the useless structures on them remain thanks to any indifferent state bureaucracy, they are not able to be sold to a private party to develop into something useful. I would support legislation requiring that no prison be closed until there is a detailed plan of how to redevelop the property or make it so it's sellable to a private party, complete with measurable enforcable targets and compensation provisions to local governments if those targets are not met. The prison-industrial complex was a deal. Locals said you can have this land in exchange for state jobs. If the state is going to back out of the deal, however sensible the reasons, then they need to give the land back (in a usable condition).
Well done, Will. Will we see the savings in our tax bills or will we be “snookered again “?