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OPINION: More Regulations on New York’s Farmers Could Stifle Agriculture Industry Forever
New York farms were among the economic sectors hit hardest by the economic fallout from COVID-19. Demand for supplies dropped dramatically and supply-chain issues completely derailed the marketplace. Considering the already substantial obstacles facing the state’s agriculture industry, it is shocking that New York’s Wage Labor Board is considering, again, lowering the overtime threshold amid […]
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New York farms were among the economic sectors hit hardest by the economic fallout from COVID-19. Demand for supplies dropped dramatically and supply-chain issues completely derailed the marketplace. Considering the already substantial obstacles facing the state’s agriculture industry, it is shocking that New York’s Wage Labor Board is considering, again, lowering the overtime threshold amid one of the most devastating economic collapses that we have ever seen.
Per the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, farm workers are eligible for overtime after working more than 60 hours a week. The Wage Board will make recommendations on lowering this threshold to 40 hours a week by the end of the year. During hearings held recently, farmers testified that if the Wage Board recommends another reduction, New York farms will likely face a level of financial distress they may never be able to overcome.
In order to stay solvent, some of these farms will be forced to lay off employees. This will further inhibit their recovery and put laborers out of work altogether. About 96 percent of farms in New York are family-owned and these farms are already reeling from the pandemic. A State Farm Bureau survey indicated that 43 percent of the state’s farms lost sales during the COVID-19 health crisis — and putting any more pressure on them is ill-advised.
New York’s notorious regulatory environment has already put our state’s farms at a competitive disadvantage. Across the country, the average farm commits 36 percent of its revenue to labor costs. In New York State, farms spend 63 percent of revenue on labor. For these and other reasons, I joined my Assembly Minority Conference colleagues to convey our concerns to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and agency commissioners about the potential damage a rushed Wage Board decision might inflict on family farms.
We are at a point where every facet of our economy stands on unstable ground and faces a prolonged recovery process. We are still unsure of whether or not federal stimulus and emergency funding will be made available, and we are years away from fully understanding the complete picture of COVID’s impact on the agricultural industry.
State agencies and officials should be bending over backwards to protect New York’s farms, not saddling them with more costs. I am calling for a pause on any potential changes to the already burdensome overtime rules in place. Financially harming New York’s farms at this stage might forever cripple our incredible agricultural industry’s contributions to the state and the nation. That is simply unacceptable.
William (Will) A. Barclay, Republican, is the New York Assembly Minority Leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact Barclay at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us
OPINION: Nuclear Weapons Remain an Existential Threat
OPINION Seventy-five years ago, the United States dropped atomic bombs on iroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, bringing an end to World War II and sounding a warning about the devastating power of nuclear weapons. Remarkably, we have managed to avoid using these weapons in warfare again. But nuclear arms still present an existential threat, and it
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OPINION
Seventy-five years ago, the United States dropped atomic bombs on iroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, bringing an end to World War II and sounding a warning about the devastating power of nuclear weapons.
Remarkably, we have managed to avoid using these weapons in warfare again. But nuclear arms still present an existential threat, and it is worrisome that they get so little attention. I am impressed that nuclear weapons only occasionally get extensive coverage on a list of threats facing the United States. This is a change; in decades past, the topic was very much on the minds of policymakers.
I have long believed, and I still do, that the greatest threat we confront, although not the most likely, is the possibility of a nuclear disaster. In terms of causing death and destruction, nothing compares to the awesome power of the nuclear bomb.
Several recent books, including one co-authored by former Defense Secretary William Perry, have brought attention to nuclear weapons. Pundits have commented on our luck in avoiding disaster.
At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union each had about 30,000 nuclear weapons, enough to destroy all life on Earth many times over. We relied on a strategy of deterrence, called mutually assured destruction. Thanks to arms-control agreements and efforts like the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction initiative, American and Russian nuclear arsenals have been reduced by 80 percent or more.
But now there are signs the threat is increasing. China is building up its small nuclear arsenal, upsetting the balance of power. Russia and the U.S. are modernizing their nuclear weapons. North Korea is said to be developing ballistic missiles that can carry small nuclear bombs. U.S. military commanders have talked about using low-yield nuclear devices in conflict — blurring the line between conventional and nuclear weapons.
They reportedly argue that more powerful warheads are needed.
Recently, we have seen arms-control efforts discredited. The Trump administration pulled out of an agreement that slowed Iran’s path to acquiring nuclear weapons and announced it would leave the Open Skies agreement, which allows monitoring of weapons. The New START treaty, which limits U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, is scheduled to expire in 2021.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration considered testing nuclear explosives for the first time in 28 years; even though a resumption of testing would be more beneficial to China, which has conducted only a handful of tests, while the U.S. has conducted a thousand or more tests. Trump’s arms-control negotiator, Marshall Billingslea, confidently asserted “We know how to win these races and we know how to spend the adversary into oblivion.”
At the same time, tensions are rising in the world. China is engaging in aggressive actions in the South China Sea and clamping down on Hong Kong. Russia tries to destabilize the U.S. with attacks on our democratic processes.
For many Americans, nuclear weapons may seem like an abstract threat. They must compete for attention with more immediate concerns: the COVID-19 pandemic, health-care reform, racial justice, the economy, and more.
But the awesome destructive power of nuclear weapons puts them in a class by themselves. We need to revive serious concern about the issue and bring it back into active public dialogue. We need to restore our commitment to arms-control agreements.
Near the end of the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared that a nuclear war “cannot be won and must never be fought.” That principle is as true today as it was in the 1980s.
Lee Hamilton, 89, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south central Indiana.
TIM GRUMLEY, based in Syracuse, was recently named the new regional director – wealth for market expansion at JPMorgan Chase. He will report to Eric Tepper, head of Chase Wealth Management. Grumley has nearly 17 years of industry experience, and in his most recent role, was a market director of wealth in the New York
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TIM GRUMLEY, based in Syracuse, was recently named the new regional director – wealth for market expansion at JPMorgan Chase. He will report to Eric Tepper, head of Chase Wealth Management. Grumley has nearly 17 years of industry experience, and in his most recent role, was a market director of wealth in the New York North/Connecticut region. Before that, he was a financial advisor and an investment manager. Grumley earned his bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University.
Herkimer County Community College has hired STEVEN R. BOUCHER as an assistant professor of business. He has been an adjunct professor at the college since 2018, teaching business management, marketing management, and retail management. Before that, Boucher worked at Transwestern Publishing from 1989 to 2007, beginning his career as an account executive and moving up
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Herkimer County Community College has hired STEVEN R. BOUCHER as an assistant professor of business. He has been an adjunct professor at the college since 2018, teaching business management, marketing management, and retail management. Before that, Boucher worked at Transwestern Publishing from 1989 to 2007, beginning his career as an account executive and moving up the ranks to executive VP. In this role, he oversaw a 14-state territory producing more than
$80 million in revenue, with more than 400 employees and 10 district managers as direct reports. Boucher also ran his own business as the original owner and manager of The Soda Fountain restaurant in Remsen. He opened the eatery in 2008 and eventually sold the business in October 2019. Boucher graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a minor in business communication, and recently completed his master’s degree in business administration, technology management at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. As assistant professor, Boucher will continue to teach a variety of courses across the business discipline within the business, health, science & technology division at Herkimer College.
SARA SPENCER, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Binghamton University, has been named the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences’ director of the Office of Experiential Education. She has been serving as interim director since May 2020, working closely with the experiential team to meet the school’s Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE) and Advanced
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SARA SPENCER, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Binghamton University, has been named the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences’ director of the Office of Experiential Education. She has been serving as interim director since May 2020, working closely with the experiential team to meet the school’s Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE) requirements. Spencer started at the School of Pharmacy in March 2017 as the IPPE coordinator and has helped develop the school’s experiential program to date. She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, her master’s degree in medication therapy management at the University of Florida, and her post-graduate year 1 managed-care pharmacy residency at Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan in Albany. Prior to joining Binghamton’s faculty, Spencer worked as an inpatient pharmacist for Arnot-Ogden Medical Center and as a pharmacy clinical services manager for Walmart Stores Inc., across the Southern Tier.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has appointed NICOLAS DIAZ AMIGO as the chief innovation and data officer (CIDO) in the Office of Accountability, Performance, and Innovation (API). Diaz Amigo, a Bloomberg Harvard Fellow with international experience in government innovation and data, will lead the API team in using data and innovation to find new and efficient
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Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has appointed NICOLAS DIAZ AMIGO as the chief innovation and data officer (CIDO) in the Office of Accountability, Performance, and Innovation (API). Diaz Amigo, a Bloomberg Harvard Fellow with international experience in government innovation and data, will lead the API team in using data and innovation to find new and efficient ways to improve how the City of Syracuse delivers services. He has an extensive background in developing data-driven solutions and has worked with local governments in South America and the United States over the past six years. Diaz Amigo earned a master’s in public policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also holds a professional degree in political science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. As a Bloomberg Harvard Summer Fellow with the City of Sioux Falls, Diaz Amigo worked in the Department of Innovation and Technology, establishing the HousingStat application to track the City of Sioux Falls’ affordable housing targets. He has held a research position while pursuing his graduate studies, examining information related to blighted properties in the cities of Birmingham, Alabama; Topeka, Kansas; and Jackson, Mississippi. A native of Chile, Diaz Amigo served in various roles in the Municipality of Santiago for more than three years under two administrations. He was a part of Santiago’s team that was awarded
$1 million as one of five cities out of the 290 applicants throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to win the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2016 Mayor’s Challenge. Diaz Amigo begins his work with the City of Syracuse in mid-September.
Finger Lakes Health has appointed CHAD HOFFMAN-FRAGALE as VP of human resources. Most recently, he served as chief people officer at Juvo Autism Behavioral Health in Hackensack, New Jersey. During his time there, Hoffman-Fragale reported to the CEO and served as a member of the executive leadership team. His local ties to the Finger Lakes
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Finger Lakes Health has appointed CHAD HOFFMAN-FRAGALE as VP of human resources. Most recently, he served as chief people officer at Juvo Autism Behavioral Health in Hackensack, New Jersey. During his time there, Hoffman-Fragale reported to the CEO and served as a member of the executive leadership team. His local ties to the Finger Lakes include his position as senior director of human resources at Auburn Memorial Hospital, where he reported to the CEO and served as a strategic business partner on the executive team of the hospital leading the organization’s human resources department. Hoffman-Fragale also has human resources senior-leadership experience from a variety of health-care organizations, including National Health Care Associates in Valley Stream, New York; NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola; and St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers in New York City. Hoffman-Fragale earned his MBA from Excelsior College in Albany and his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and Spanish from SUNY Oswego.
MIRANDA WALKER has joined Help Me Grow (HMG) Onondaga as a family resource specialist. She previously served as a specialist with Onondaga County Promise Zone. In her new role with HMG Onondaga, she serves as the central point of intake for the HMG Onondaga system and as an early childhood and child-development resource for families
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MIRANDA WALKER has joined Help Me Grow (HMG) Onondaga as a family resource specialist. She previously served as a specialist with Onondaga County Promise Zone. In her new role with HMG Onondaga, she serves as the central point of intake for the HMG Onondaga system and as an early childhood and child-development resource for families and providers in Onondaga County. PHYLLIS KOESTER was hired as HMG Onondaga’s pediatric-resource specialist, supporting child health-care providers. Her expansive career in the early childhood field spans two decades and four states. Koester has served in various capacities for several Head Start programs, most recently in Madison County, and is a Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC) certified trainer. In September, HMG Onondaga is launching a Learning Community with three large pediatric practices in Syracuse to achieve better outcomes for children and families. Lessons learned from the Learning Community will be applied to Koester’s work to support child health-care providers throughout Onondaga County. KAYLA DELANEY has joined the HMG Onondaga team as an early-learning- resource specialist, supporting childcare & early learning providers. She most recently served as a home visitor for PEACE, Inc. and has worked in the early-childhood field for 10 years. In her new role with HMG Onondaga, she serves as a child-development resource for parents, child-care providers, and universal pre-K (UPK) providers in Onondaga County. Help Me Grow Onondaga says it is a key strategy of the Early Childhood Alliance that focuses on supporting parents and children so that all children can grow, thrive, and develop to their full potential.
AMY WOOD GONZALEZ, a state-licensed real-estate associate broker with Warren Real Estate, has been appointed as manager of the Horseheads and Watkins Glen office locations. She will be leading office staff and representing Warren Real Estate in those housing markets. She received her NYS real-estate license in 2003 and has been an associate broker for
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AMY WOOD GONZALEZ, a state-licensed real-estate associate broker with Warren Real Estate, has been appointed as manager of the Horseheads and Watkins Glen office locations. She will be leading office staff and representing Warren Real Estate in those housing markets. She received her NYS real-estate license in 2003 and has been an associate broker for 14 years with Warren Real Estate. She is a seasoned mediator and certified international property specialist, with several designations.
VIEWPOINT: Are Your Favorite Companies Eco-Friendly? Even They May Not Know
VIEWPOINT Corporations around the world love To promote their environmental bona fides, touting their, at-times, Herculean efforts to minimize their carbon footprint. But desiring to be environmentally friendly and truly accomplishing that goal are two different things, as illustrated recently by Amazon’s acknowledgement that its carbon footprint grew 15 percent last year despite efforts to
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VIEWPOINT
Corporations around the world love To promote their environmental bona fides, touting their, at-times, Herculean efforts to minimize their carbon footprint.
But desiring to be environmentally friendly and truly accomplishing that goal are two different things, as illustrated recently by Amazon’s acknowledgement that its carbon footprint grew 15 percent last year despite efforts to curb its impact on climate change.
As it turns out, the details about many companies’ eco-friendly accomplishments are often enveloped in mystery, in some cases even for the businesses themselves.
The Amazon situation is just an example of the bigger problem surrounding corporate claims of environmental responsibility.
Most global corporations now make such claims, but the reality is that half of the carbon emissions since the industrial revolution have happened within the last 30 to 35 years. It seems that corporate environmental disclosures hide more than they reveal.
Why is it so difficult for many companies to achieve their goals of reducing their carbon emissions or otherwise limit the damage they do to the environment? One problem is corporations often outsource much of their work, which not only reduces their control over the environmental impact they have, but also their very knowledge of that impact.
One study analyzed reports that 1,300 firms submitted to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. That study revealed 80 percent of those firms could not even determine the country of origin of their products, much less any information about their carbon footprint.
My research has found that firms that are more socially and environmentally responsible tend to perform their functions themselves rather than outsource those functions to third-party vendors.
For companies that truly desire to have a positive impact, three issues are critical.
• How companies measure emissions makes a difference. Companies’ carbon commitments and pledges should be about absolute emissions, not emissions per unit of revenue or sales. But too often companies link their emission-reduction goals to how much money they are bringing in, at least partially negating what should be the ultimate goals.
• Eco-friendliness can’t stop at the corporate door. Carbon commitments should encompass all operations across supply chains. In the case of companies such as Amazon, the majority of emissions actually happen offsite and can be reduced only through concrete steps taken at the supply chain level. This is a serious issue because many companies don’t even know who their downstream suppliers are. Businesses like Amazon can gather applause for their pledges, but the actual impacts are hidden in the supply chains. Consumers who want a true reckoning of how well a company is reducing emissions need to ask companies to provide those numbers.
• Supply networks should not be far-flung. In late June, Amazon announced creation of a $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund to invest in companies that make products and technology that help protect the Earth. But the details of how such a plan will play out are important. A good approach is to promote local supply networks so that emissions are minimal, visible, and monitorable.
I am glad that we are beginning to see through the discrepancy between corporate pledges and corporate environmental impact. When it comes to emissions and especially the effects of a global supply chain, I believe we are entering a new era in which transparency has to be made more transparent.
Rajat Panwar, Ph.D. (www.rajatpanwar.com), is an associate professor of sustainable business management at Appalachian State University.
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