OPINION: State Attorneys General Should Sue N.Y. over Election Interference

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State attorneys general have a duty to sue the city and state of New York, which rewrote federal election and state business-records law to interfere with the 2024 election, throw former President Donald Trump in jail, and disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans’ right to vote for their choice for President — all in violation […]

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Under the doctrine of preemption, states have no power, zero, to rewrite federal election laws, let alone to enforce them. States have original jurisdiction under Article III, Sec. 2 to all “controversies between two or more states,” and attorneys general have an obligation under the federal and state constitutions to ensure that one state cannot determine the outcome of any presidential election in this manner.

This is a constitutional crisis, and one that can only be cured by the states and the Supreme Court in a timely manner.

In addition, the city and state of New York have trampled upon the constitutional rights of former President Trump, including not only unconstitutional gag orders on his First Amendment rights, but also denial of due process under both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and violations of his Sixth Amendment right to have clear charges brought before him. Since these also impact voters’ rights to hear and see both candidates in the general election, state attorneys general have a duty to preserve their franchise in the Electoral College.

Failure to act by states and the Supreme Court would incentivize and perpetuate political prosecutions of presidential and other candidates for public office, with endless reprisals and show trials — effectively destroying faith in the justice system’s impartiality, the rule of law, the Constitution, and the civil society that the vast majority of Americans depend on. If both political parties cannot agree not to prosecute political opponents, we don’t have a country.

Rick Manning is president of Americans for Limited Government. This article is drawn from a letter Manning wrote to state attorneys general, dated May 31.

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Onondaga County seeks proposals for new downtown hotel; to create hotel initiative

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County plans to issue a request-for-proposals (RFP) to the private sector to build a convention-center hotel on a county-owned parking lot just east of the Everson Museum of Art in downtown Syracuse. In addition, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon plans to send a proposal to the Onondaga County Legislature to create

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In addition, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon plans to send a proposal to the Onondaga County Legislature to create a hotel initiative that will offer grants ranging from $50,000 to $750,000 to developers to help in closing funding gaps in new hotel construction and/or incentivize existing hotels to add rooms their current hotel stock.

McMahon on Tuesday morning spoke on the county-owned parking lot where a developer would build the future convention-center hotel.

Hotel RFP

McMahon went on to say that the county hopes to issue the RFP within 60 days to developers both in New York and across the country. The county will form an RFP committee to review the responses when they come forward.

“For years, we’ve heard from Visit Syracuse and our team at [ASM Global] about the need for connectivity with our convention center and a hotel. The Hotel Syracuse, now the [Marriott Syracuse Downtown] is a jewel in our community and helped fill that void,” McMahon said in his remarks.

But he also noted that due to the lack of hotel-room inventory, it’s “very difficult” for the convention center to book out any business and compete for conventions when you have a lack of inventory.

Hotel initiative

The proposal for the Onondaga County Hotel Initiative would use $4 million from the room-occupancy tax fund balance, McMahon said.

Besides helping the close funding construction funding gaps and helping existing hotels add rooms, the grant program could also help developers focused on adaptive reuse projects of old buildings with “different potential,” he added.

“Criteria will be established to grade each proposal, including but not limited to, the type of hotel and most importantly, how quickly it will come online and obviously looking at locations of regional significance as well,” the county executive said.

Onondaga County Community Development will operate the Onondaga County Hotel Initiative and will make funding awards “on a rolling basis.” Developers will submit documentation showing they have a viable project, financing in place, and identifying the project’s funding gap.

“We don’t know successful this will be. I know that many of us, including myself, think that this will be a start to potentially a second phase of this type of funding, but we know we need rooms. We need them now. We need to incentivize to get projects going not 24 months from now but, quite frankly, right now,” McMahon contended.

New initiative works to bolster microelectronics and semiconductor industries in New York

Small Business, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, New York News, Nonprofits, Subscriber Only, Technology

Empire State Development (ESD) has announced the launch of the Upstate Defense Initiative. It brings together ESD’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), CenterState CEO, the Griffiss Institute, FuzeHub, and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families to support workforce development, bolster supply chains, and cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship in the state’s microelectronics

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Empire State Development (ESD) has announced the launch of the Upstate Defense Initiative.

It brings together ESD’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), CenterState CEO, the Griffiss Institute, FuzeHub, and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families to support workforce development, bolster supply chains, and cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship in the state’s microelectronics and semiconductor industries. The initiative is funded through a $5 million award secured by NYSTAR.

“This innovative new program will increase the competitiveness of New York state manufacturers and grow industries that are critical to our nation’s defense,” ESD President/CEO/Commissioner Hope Knight said in a press release announcing the initiative. “From expanding talent pipelines and early-stage accelerator programs to building resilient local supply chains, each organization involved in the Upstate Defense Initiative will contribute their unique expertise to develop a dynamic ecosystem where microelectronics and semiconductor companies will thrive and create new opportunities for New Yorkers.”

CenterState CEO will work to strengthen and diversify the microelectronics industry talent pipeline by building capacity with regional training partners and expanding industry partnerships with employers and community organizations to ensure training and career outreach efforts align with industry needs.

The money will also support expanded regional training and pre-training programs to connect underrepresented individuals to high-tech careers. CenterState CEO’s new High-Tech Careers Bridge program will take a communitywide approach to help unemployed and underemployed individuals gain the necessary skills to enter industry-specific training and a career pathway.

CenterState CEO will also add expertise and capabilities to GENIUS NY, an accelerator program supported by ESD that awards $3 million annually to startups focused on uncrewed aerial systems, automation, and advanced air mobility, and to the Syracuse Surge Accelerator, which provides resources and support for BIPOC (black, indigenous, and other people of color) entrepreneurs wishing to start or grow tech and tech-adjacent startups.

The Griffiss Institute will establish a STEM camp and experiential STEM workshops for high school students to encourage more young people to pursue tech careers. The programs will break down real and perceived barriers to careers in the defense and microelectronics industries and provide students with opportunities to meet regional companies and explore career paths.

The Griffis Institute also leads the only early-stage defense-industry accelerator, HUSTLE, which combines curriculum with seed-stage investments. Beginning this fall, the program will open its eligibility to microelectronics technologists and entrepreneurs who want to start or grow their ventures in the defense industry. Through this program, which works with pre-seed and seed-stage businesses, microelectronics company founders will have the opportunity to pursue investments of $200,000 or more.

The D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University is building a semiconductor hub focused on the veteran and military-connected community to provide education, resources, off-ramps to training, and employment placement for transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses.

FuzeHub, the statewide center for the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership, is working to connect major defense contractors in New York with small to medium-sized businesses that can help address supply-chain issues and serve as permanent suppliers.

It is conducting an industry supply-chain needs and gaps assessment through direct engagement with manufacturers and will also identify companies with the technology, resources, and expertise to meet the identified needs and opportunities. FuzeHub will serve as a clearinghouse of relevant resources to facilitate new collaborations among companies statewide and reinforce the connectivity of the state’s defense and microelectronics ecosystem to reduce barriers to future growth.

ESD received the $5 million in funding through the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program, led by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.

ESD serves as the state’s chief economic-development agency and uses loans, grants, tax credits, and other forms of financial assistance to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation.

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