Vote on property tax measures postponed

HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania legislature last week postponed a vote on proposals pushed by Republicans in both houses to cut property taxes. The House proposal would have paid for the property tax reduction in part by eliminating sales tax exemptions, but Democratic amendments replaced so many exemptions on items such as over-the-counter drugs, coal, food and water that the Republicans felt it was no longer worth a vote in its current form. The Senate bill would let voters decide whether to raise income and sales tax rates to offset a reduction of about one-third in property taxes. After acrimonious debate, Senate GOP leaders felt that they did not have sufficient votes to pass the property tax measure and adjourned without a vote.

Proponents of the bills still hope to have a consensus on legislation before Christmas.

Youth killed while hunting

SPARROWBUSH, NY — A 13-year-old boy was shot and killed while hunting on Thanksgiving morning.

David Kingston, a student at Port Jervis Middle School, was hunting with family members near Route 42. The youth, who died of his wounds at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, was buried on Monday, November 28.

According to state police reports that the accident was originally reported as a serious fall. They learned the true story when doctors found a bullet wound while examining him.

State police declined to release the results of the autopsy or comment on the nature of the accident.

The investigation is now in the hands of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Interest in energy pipeline revived

ALBANY, NY — The Millennium Pipeline, a planned natural gas pipeline that would stretch from Canada across the Southern Tier to the metropolitan suburbs, is attracting new interest in the face of recent energy shortages.

The pipeline, first proposed in 1997, was to cut through Tioga, Broome and Delaware counties. The proposal prompted strong resistance from residents in those areas, with 10 out of 12 affected municipalities in Broome and Tioga adopting formal resolutions opposing it. In 2002, New York’s Department of State ruled against the line on environmental grounds.

Despite this setback Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., the owner of the biggest stake in the pipeline, has appealed the decision in court and hopes to start building the pipeline in the second half of 2006.

The project is one of several that have been proposed recently to transmit energy from Canada through upstate New York to the increasingly demanding metropolitan market, including the power line proposed for the Upper Delaware River corridor in 2004 by Pegasus Power Systems.

‘Fighting Dem’ eyes Sherwood’s seat

PENNSYLVANIA — Chris Carney, a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve campaigning for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania’s 10th District, is one of eight Democratic veterans, dubbed the “Fighting Dems,” who will run for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. There is also one veteran, Van Taylor, a Marine Corps major campaigning for a seat in Texas’s 17th district, will run as a Republican.

If he weathers the primaries, Carney will challenge incumbent Representative Don Sherwood, who has served the district that includes both Pike and Wayne counties, for four terms. Carney, who was a senior Pentagon counter-terrorism adviser, is critical of the management of national defense.

“I have come to realize our country is no safer than it was before 9/11. We need to be spending far more resources in homeland security than we have been,” he said. Carney’s other stands include an emphasis on the importance of infrastructure restoration to rural economies, the promotion of the local bluestone shale industry and advocacy for universal medical care.

U.S. Supreme Court lets casino decision stand

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case challenging a New York State ruling upholding the legality of Indian casinos in the state. The 2001 law in question authorizes up to three Native American owned casinos in the Catskills.

The decision is a victory for Governor Pataki, who in recent years has been active in promoting the development of Indian gaming sites, which would provide a boon to the state’s increasingly stressed treasury. Neil Murray, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said, “The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear this case effectively concludes this aspect of the war against the spread of commercialized gambling in this state.” The issue in question was whether the state’s constitutional ban on Las Vegas-style gambling is superceded by federal law allowing gambling on Indian lands held in trust.

Despite the legal setback, opponents of casino gambling in the area plan to continue the battle on other fronts. A variety of needed approvals for casino resort development are still pending.

Local courts to receive grants

ALBANY, NY — State Senator John J. Bonacic (R/VC, Mount Hope) announced that several justice courts in Delaware, Sullivan and Ulster counties have been awarded funding grants under the state’s Justice Court Assistance Program. In Sullivan County, the Town of Delaware will receive $1,900 and the Town of Fallsburg will receive $5,400. Senator Bonacic said that the grants are designed to purchase critical computer and electronic equipment and to update the training and legal materials crucial for judges and clerks.