That would be AWESOME if you wrote a Letter To The Editor! I just wrote one last night for pretty much the same reason you just mentioned. A letter writer was thanking Stefanik for reversing the decision to close Washington County Correctional. HUH???? I had to burst her bubble by stating the fact that E'lies did NOT reverse anything. The only thing she DID do was use the rally as a political stunt to bash Democrats. You know..............the usual.
On another note, we , The North Country Light Brigade will be at Exit 19 tonight. 😊
I never pass up a chance to poke at Stefanik. Trump's annoying little troll doll running off at the mouth again. Us demon crats..
we're so sneaky..casting spells/ legislation sacrificing dollars to help other people .. eat survive.. live freely as they choose.
Over here in Washington County it's pretty hard to be a Democrat, but I have to be true to myself.
I may be a liberal minded born again Christian .(confusing weird and true)..but it seems the more I read the Bible it seems pretty clear were supposed to help one another.
Not judge so harshly and stir up racial hatred ...
As a child I learned to look at things critically. The company you keep does matter. So if Right wing extremists support you might be a racist too.
That’s one thing about stereotyping counties and states as "blue" or "red," something that some people and news reports do as a shorthand. It inaccurately and unfairly discounts the actual diversity of political opinions and party membership.
For example, in Washington county for 2024, for the total voter enrollment there are about 24 percent Democrats and 41 percent Republicans, not to mention enrollment in other parties as well as the unaffiliated.
So sure, there are many more registered Republicans than Democrats in Washington county, and the county could be called "red" for a shorthand convenience. But doing that ignores the almost 1 out of 4 Democrats, as well as the unaffiliated. It "disappears" the diversity of opinion, and is tantamount to gaslighting.
It’s more important than ever to stand up and be counted.
I suspect Magowan won’t run for office again in a year, but I wouldn’t count on voters punishing him if he did. We keep voting for Trump. Stefanik is busy excoriating our Governor over a Chinese spy Hochul fired and turned in even as Stefanik herself protected Trump, who has many ties to Russian operatives, from impeachment.
Remember Lake Luzerne Supervisor Vic Grant? He was an insurance agent who sold the town insurance without a competitive bid. He said he was giving the town the best deal but when a competitive bid was forced his was not the best deal. He had another neat trick. He would gas up at the town pump then collect mileage from both the county and the town. That is called “double -dipping,” collecting pay for the same thing twice.
Each time the county supervisors meet the 11 town supervisor are collecting a paycheck from both their town and from the county. I call that double dipping, but it is often a conflict of interest in making decisions for the county that also profoundly affect the interests of their town.
I’m not sure how the supervisor system of government is effectively any different from what Brad Magowan did.
Some years ago supervisors investigated switching to a county legislature. Not surprisingly they did not vote to switch to a system of government that would take away one of their paychecks and other benefits. I would call those votes conflicts of interest.
Ethically town supervisors should be recusing themselves from nearly all votes at the county and that would mean they are collecting a paycheck for a job they cannot ethically perform.
This county needs to switch to a County Legislature model ASAP. The incompetence, outright BS and corruption is out of hand. The little townships wag the dog here. Queensbury Supervisor Strough is against the 1% sales tax increase. Gee I wonder why? Mr. Garvey represents probably the largest single block of car dealerships and sales tax generators for the county and knows that they have a great tax advantage in that 1% difference. Sure hope that 1% increase doesn't get passed but my gut is they will wait until after this year's election to do it.
You make an interesting comment about "The little townships wag the dog here." How is that so? I am not sure that the little towns would concur with this.
I find fault with both the County Board of Supervisor AND County Legislature systems. Supervisors must be able to vote in the county interests while serving there, then in the town interests while serving there. Conflict of interests can be rampant. A County Legislature is one more level of government. I disliked Cuomo, but I did agree with his desire to reduce our myriad levels of government. It's crazy. I pay school taxes, village taxes, town taxes, county taxes, state taxes, Federal taxes, sales tax,,,,what am I missing here? I don't begrudge paying taxes. I know the services provided are important. However, our system is a bit much.
The number of levels of government would be the same but there might be only about half as many legislators. We could offer them greater pay to more properly fit their workload and still save money on salaries and benefits.
In fact, switching to a legislature might speed the reduction in unnecessary town governments. For instance Stony Creek with a population of 750 might be better folded into another town government and still have all services provided without the extra supervisor, clerk, Highway superintendent, etc.
it may be that we would be better served by maybe 6 or 8 towns rather than 10.
"I'M SHOCKED! SHOCKED I TELL YOU!" One of the best lines in movie history. Anytime you start looking carefully at what Warren County Supervisors say then do, it starts to get clear as mud. I'm still waiting to find out what the final story was on Gene Merlino's mystery boat sale? And I'm currently working on getting all the details on how Winter's (Crackpot Pipe) Dream managed to siphon $3.4 MILLION in Occupancy Tax for the biggest loser attraction I've ever seen. Then there is a certain board member aka "Jim" in "Lips" book, "Pressure" who always lands squarely on both sides of the fence on almost every issue (reminds me of Mark Frost). Another great Humpfrey Bogart movie quote sums up what so many of these folks do when their lips are moving: “Oh, I'm so tired, so tired of it all, of myself, of lying and thinking up lies, and not knowing what is a lie and what is the truth.” I have ZERO confidence in the integrity and honesty in about 80% of the current board of Supervisors. Just saying, TIME FOR CHANGE! I would love to see the REP at County all get voted out!
The problem is that voters - myself included - have short memories. I did not remember several of the ones you pointed out. Mild correctin, the "I'm shocked" came from Casablanca after Louie had to close down Rick's.
Ken, in regards to the guy who wondered why Kamala went to school in Canada...YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID! IF YOU COULD, DO YOU THINK STEFANIK WOULD HAVE ENDORSED GEORGE SANTOS? LOL.
Swimming holes in ADKs are numerous but there are also some that are terribly dangerous when water is running high. The Split Rock Falls drownings in August of 2003 showed that even camp counselors who should have known the dangers make mistakes.
The article did address as well, but I think they could have gone farther in characterizing the dangers and deaths that have occurred. It was obviously a feature, so I'm guessing they did not want to get too heavy.
Vanier is a CEGEP, so is roughly equivalent in the rest of North America to a combination of grade twelve and the first year of an Associate's degree. It would be similar to a high school student doing their senior year at SUNY Adirondack.
...a grateful nation sincerely thanks you, Mr.Tingley, for, through your tireless patriotic investigative research- with the help of a conscientious community-minded SGF whistleblower, finally uncovering and exposing the sordid and disturbing details of "Canadagate"...
No doubt, he should be GONE. Warren County residents - yes, show up at the next BOS monthly meeting in droves. Elected officials are PUBLIC SERVANTS and must be held accountable. I'm so tired of this crap. Many are, indeed ,working for their constituents with adherence to the ethics document they signed. The few who would betray the public trust must be called to account. VOTE in every single election and show up at meetings and speak out. The Greenwich Town Board and I were at the receiving end of public comments. Part of each monthly agenda and at public hearings, we had at least one opportunity for public comments. Speakers were held to a reasonable time limit, could not bully, speak without being recognized, nor could they be disrespectful toward an individual. It goes with the territory.
While we're on the subject of local government ethics, I want to keep the proposed demolitions of those two lovely Glen Street homes in the forefront. I read in yesterday's Chronicle that the properties are still owned by Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart and Rhodes, and not yet by Mr. Patten. If this is true, perhaps stopping the process might be easier. As a long-standing Glens falls business dependent on public good will, the law firm could possibly respond to public pressure. Can you journalists spearhead a letter-writing effort, or anything else you believe effective? Should we find out what they want for the properties and see if some sort of municipal grant exists to purchase them for Glens Falls? Ideas, anyone?
I don’t know — maybe it’s just me. But I see a gradual erosion in taking personal responsibility for one’s actions, for both many politicians and many individuals in general.
Locally, look at the actions of some developers, government officials, and politicians regarding following-through on commitments and on adhering to ethical behavior. Getting people to adhere to the most-basic ethical standards is like pulling teeth.
At the state level, look at the actions of our local Congresswoman, voting against legislation then taking credit for the results, and condoning the efforts at overturning the 2020 presidential election.
At the national level, look at the Republican Party nominating a convicted felon, civilly-liable sexual abuser — someone who has been indicted on multiple criminal counts. And look at the voters who either avert their eyes to this corruption or worse, revel in it.
Look at the parents who provide their teenage child with a deadly assault weapon, with the teenager then committing mass murder of his classmates and teachers.
Look at the gun rights advocates who prevent common-sense gun safety legislation, and are willing to accept the routine murder of innocent women, men, and children in exchange for deadly weapons freely available to almost anyone.
As long as we, as a society, fail to value personal responsibility as a requirement for personal freedom, we’ll continue to experience the corrupt and tragic results.
McGowan’s behavior sounds a lot like Ethan Hall, private architect, and (former)chairperson for the Glens Falls planning board. Ethan Hall never intended to resign his position as chairperson until the spotlight was focused on him by the citizens of Glens Falls, who were not even aware of what he was up to, until the Chronicle showcased Patten’s current venture, and people spoke out which led to the discovery of his position within our city government. Ethan Hall is Chris Patten’s architect and he has already designed apartment buildings for Patten, and had them approved and built while serving as chairperson for the Glens Falls planning board and as a private architect. He, too, should be admonished by the city government for his actions. When are we going to hold these people accountable so that they are punished once and for all for what they did? These people in positions like that know full well the position they take when they are voted in. A slap on the hand is not enough. And moving forward, they should be prohibited from any public office within Glens Falls city limits for a determined amount of time so that this doesn’t happen again.
Not sure I would agree with your statement here but have you looked at the current zoning for the properties in question in this project? And remember the folks that own Bartlett Pontiff building are selling all this property to Patten. Only reason I ask is that Glens Falls zoning last overhaul was about 70 years ago. The city was a very different place back then (I was here). We are a city that has finally attracted a lot of attention to developers and real estate folks especially after COVID. The real problem we have downtown is zoning needs a complete overhaul including identifying historic districts to make the kinds of changes needed that would help protect older buildings and neighborhoods. But after you personally do the research so that you understand why Patten is doing this (and I'm not paid or associated with either him or Hall), be sure to understand property rights and development options. Trust me, all the lawyers at Bartlett/Pontiff who are in on the ownership of the property in question do!
Yes, Will, as well as yourself, really do need a special thanks to your great reporting! You probably don’t hear that enough, and it’s about time you did! Thank you!💕
I was on the ethics committee eight years ago. Does that committee still exist?
Apparently it does.
That would be AWESOME if you wrote a Letter To The Editor! I just wrote one last night for pretty much the same reason you just mentioned. A letter writer was thanking Stefanik for reversing the decision to close Washington County Correctional. HUH???? I had to burst her bubble by stating the fact that E'lies did NOT reverse anything. The only thing she DID do was use the rally as a political stunt to bash Democrats. You know..............the usual.
On another note, we , The North Country Light Brigade will be at Exit 19 tonight. 😊
June,
I never pass up a chance to poke at Stefanik. Trump's annoying little troll doll running off at the mouth again. Us demon crats..
we're so sneaky..casting spells/ legislation sacrificing dollars to help other people .. eat survive.. live freely as they choose.
Over here in Washington County it's pretty hard to be a Democrat, but I have to be true to myself.
I may be a liberal minded born again Christian .(confusing weird and true)..but it seems the more I read the Bible it seems pretty clear were supposed to help one another.
Not judge so harshly and stir up racial hatred ...
As a child I learned to look at things critically. The company you keep does matter. So if Right wing extremists support you might be a racist too.
There are many of us Dems here in Washington county! You’re in good company💙
That’s one thing about stereotyping counties and states as "blue" or "red," something that some people and news reports do as a shorthand. It inaccurately and unfairly discounts the actual diversity of political opinions and party membership.
For example, in Washington county for 2024, for the total voter enrollment there are about 24 percent Democrats and 41 percent Republicans, not to mention enrollment in other parties as well as the unaffiliated.
So sure, there are many more registered Republicans than Democrats in Washington county, and the county could be called "red" for a shorthand convenience. But doing that ignores the almost 1 out of 4 Democrats, as well as the unaffiliated. It "disappears" the diversity of opinion, and is tantamount to gaslighting.
It’s more important than ever to stand up and be counted.
I suspect Magowan won’t run for office again in a year, but I wouldn’t count on voters punishing him if he did. We keep voting for Trump. Stefanik is busy excoriating our Governor over a Chinese spy Hochul fired and turned in even as Stefanik herself protected Trump, who has many ties to Russian operatives, from impeachment.
Remember Lake Luzerne Supervisor Vic Grant? He was an insurance agent who sold the town insurance without a competitive bid. He said he was giving the town the best deal but when a competitive bid was forced his was not the best deal. He had another neat trick. He would gas up at the town pump then collect mileage from both the county and the town. That is called “double -dipping,” collecting pay for the same thing twice.
Each time the county supervisors meet the 11 town supervisor are collecting a paycheck from both their town and from the county. I call that double dipping, but it is often a conflict of interest in making decisions for the county that also profoundly affect the interests of their town.
I’m not sure how the supervisor system of government is effectively any different from what Brad Magowan did.
Some years ago supervisors investigated switching to a county legislature. Not surprisingly they did not vote to switch to a system of government that would take away one of their paychecks and other benefits. I would call those votes conflicts of interest.
Ethically town supervisors should be recusing themselves from nearly all votes at the county and that would mean they are collecting a paycheck for a job they cannot ethically perform.
It’s a conundrum.
This county needs to switch to a County Legislature model ASAP. The incompetence, outright BS and corruption is out of hand. The little townships wag the dog here. Queensbury Supervisor Strough is against the 1% sales tax increase. Gee I wonder why? Mr. Garvey represents probably the largest single block of car dealerships and sales tax generators for the county and knows that they have a great tax advantage in that 1% difference. Sure hope that 1% increase doesn't get passed but my gut is they will wait until after this year's election to do it.
You make an interesting comment about "The little townships wag the dog here." How is that so? I am not sure that the little towns would concur with this.
I find fault with both the County Board of Supervisor AND County Legislature systems. Supervisors must be able to vote in the county interests while serving there, then in the town interests while serving there. Conflict of interests can be rampant. A County Legislature is one more level of government. I disliked Cuomo, but I did agree with his desire to reduce our myriad levels of government. It's crazy. I pay school taxes, village taxes, town taxes, county taxes, state taxes, Federal taxes, sales tax,,,,what am I missing here? I don't begrudge paying taxes. I know the services provided are important. However, our system is a bit much.
The number of levels of government would be the same but there might be only about half as many legislators. We could offer them greater pay to more properly fit their workload and still save money on salaries and benefits.
In fact, switching to a legislature might speed the reduction in unnecessary town governments. For instance Stony Creek with a population of 750 might be better folded into another town government and still have all services provided without the extra supervisor, clerk, Highway superintendent, etc.
it may be that we would be better served by maybe 6 or 8 towns rather than 10.
Only Gov. Kathy Hochul can remove an elected official. Should Supervisor Magowan run for re-election then the voters can decide.
Yes, maybe you should.. I’m sure it would be a good one.
"I'M SHOCKED! SHOCKED I TELL YOU!" One of the best lines in movie history. Anytime you start looking carefully at what Warren County Supervisors say then do, it starts to get clear as mud. I'm still waiting to find out what the final story was on Gene Merlino's mystery boat sale? And I'm currently working on getting all the details on how Winter's (Crackpot Pipe) Dream managed to siphon $3.4 MILLION in Occupancy Tax for the biggest loser attraction I've ever seen. Then there is a certain board member aka "Jim" in "Lips" book, "Pressure" who always lands squarely on both sides of the fence on almost every issue (reminds me of Mark Frost). Another great Humpfrey Bogart movie quote sums up what so many of these folks do when their lips are moving: “Oh, I'm so tired, so tired of it all, of myself, of lying and thinking up lies, and not knowing what is a lie and what is the truth.” I have ZERO confidence in the integrity and honesty in about 80% of the current board of Supervisors. Just saying, TIME FOR CHANGE! I would love to see the REP at County all get voted out!
The problem is that voters - myself included - have short memories. I did not remember several of the ones you pointed out. Mild correctin, the "I'm shocked" came from Casablanca after Louie had to close down Rick's.
You are correct. Sorry, I'll fix that. Hadn't had all my coffee yet and I was seeing Humprey Bogart in my mind but not the right movie title. LOL.
Just watched it a couple weeks ago so I had it fresh in my mind.
Ken, in regards to the guy who wondered why Kamala went to school in Canada...YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID! IF YOU COULD, DO YOU THINK STEFANIK WOULD HAVE ENDORSED GEORGE SANTOS? LOL.
Another good point.
Swimming holes in ADKs are numerous but there are also some that are terribly dangerous when water is running high. The Split Rock Falls drownings in August of 2003 showed that even camp counselors who should have known the dangers make mistakes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/14/nyregion/at-split-rock-falls-deceptive-and-dangerous-waters.html#:~:text=Investigators%20said%20that%20the%20four,plunged%20into%20the%20frothy%20waters.
The article did address as well, but I think they could have gone farther in characterizing the dangers and deaths that have occurred. It was obviously a feature, so I'm guessing they did not want to get too heavy.
Vanier is a CEGEP, so is roughly equivalent in the rest of North America to a combination of grade twelve and the first year of an Associate's degree. It would be similar to a high school student doing their senior year at SUNY Adirondack.
I did not know that.
...a grateful nation sincerely thanks you, Mr.Tingley, for, through your tireless patriotic investigative research- with the help of a conscientious community-minded SGF whistleblower, finally uncovering and exposing the sordid and disturbing details of "Canadagate"...
Thank you, sir! Gordon Woodworth
No doubt, he should be GONE. Warren County residents - yes, show up at the next BOS monthly meeting in droves. Elected officials are PUBLIC SERVANTS and must be held accountable. I'm so tired of this crap. Many are, indeed ,working for their constituents with adherence to the ethics document they signed. The few who would betray the public trust must be called to account. VOTE in every single election and show up at meetings and speak out. The Greenwich Town Board and I were at the receiving end of public comments. Part of each monthly agenda and at public hearings, we had at least one opportunity for public comments. Speakers were held to a reasonable time limit, could not bully, speak without being recognized, nor could they be disrespectful toward an individual. It goes with the territory.
While we're on the subject of local government ethics, I want to keep the proposed demolitions of those two lovely Glen Street homes in the forefront. I read in yesterday's Chronicle that the properties are still owned by Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart and Rhodes, and not yet by Mr. Patten. If this is true, perhaps stopping the process might be easier. As a long-standing Glens falls business dependent on public good will, the law firm could possibly respond to public pressure. Can you journalists spearhead a letter-writing effort, or anything else you believe effective? Should we find out what they want for the properties and see if some sort of municipal grant exists to purchase them for Glens Falls? Ideas, anyone?
Not sure where a friend got the information but she said that Patten still has a contract on the building, whatever that really means???
Oh, dear! That's depressing. I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds bad.
I don’t know — maybe it’s just me. But I see a gradual erosion in taking personal responsibility for one’s actions, for both many politicians and many individuals in general.
Locally, look at the actions of some developers, government officials, and politicians regarding following-through on commitments and on adhering to ethical behavior. Getting people to adhere to the most-basic ethical standards is like pulling teeth.
At the state level, look at the actions of our local Congresswoman, voting against legislation then taking credit for the results, and condoning the efforts at overturning the 2020 presidential election.
At the national level, look at the Republican Party nominating a convicted felon, civilly-liable sexual abuser — someone who has been indicted on multiple criminal counts. And look at the voters who either avert their eyes to this corruption or worse, revel in it.
Look at the parents who provide their teenage child with a deadly assault weapon, with the teenager then committing mass murder of his classmates and teachers.
Look at the gun rights advocates who prevent common-sense gun safety legislation, and are willing to accept the routine murder of innocent women, men, and children in exchange for deadly weapons freely available to almost anyone.
As long as we, as a society, fail to value personal responsibility as a requirement for personal freedom, we’ll continue to experience the corrupt and tragic results.
General observation: The engagement here is awesome. Keep kicking things off, Ken.
Ken, you are a jewel in the crown of our tarnishing democracy! I thank you 🙏🏻 in every article you write! 💪🏻🇺🇸💔🤍💙
McGowan’s behavior sounds a lot like Ethan Hall, private architect, and (former)chairperson for the Glens Falls planning board. Ethan Hall never intended to resign his position as chairperson until the spotlight was focused on him by the citizens of Glens Falls, who were not even aware of what he was up to, until the Chronicle showcased Patten’s current venture, and people spoke out which led to the discovery of his position within our city government. Ethan Hall is Chris Patten’s architect and he has already designed apartment buildings for Patten, and had them approved and built while serving as chairperson for the Glens Falls planning board and as a private architect. He, too, should be admonished by the city government for his actions. When are we going to hold these people accountable so that they are punished once and for all for what they did? These people in positions like that know full well the position they take when they are voted in. A slap on the hand is not enough. And moving forward, they should be prohibited from any public office within Glens Falls city limits for a determined amount of time so that this doesn’t happen again.
Not sure I would agree with your statement here but have you looked at the current zoning for the properties in question in this project? And remember the folks that own Bartlett Pontiff building are selling all this property to Patten. Only reason I ask is that Glens Falls zoning last overhaul was about 70 years ago. The city was a very different place back then (I was here). We are a city that has finally attracted a lot of attention to developers and real estate folks especially after COVID. The real problem we have downtown is zoning needs a complete overhaul including identifying historic districts to make the kinds of changes needed that would help protect older buildings and neighborhoods. But after you personally do the research so that you understand why Patten is doing this (and I'm not paid or associated with either him or Hall), be sure to understand property rights and development options. Trust me, all the lawyers at Bartlett/Pontiff who are in on the ownership of the property in question do!
Sorry to disagree, but Will Doolittle's reporting on the two women being evicted on Glen Street really crystalized the outrage. Just saying.
Yes, Will, as well as yourself, really do need a special thanks to your great reporting! You probably don’t hear that enough, and it’s about time you did! Thank you!💕