Op-Ed Columns Archives - The Gloversville Leader Herald

31 May

Waite: After ‘daringly brilliant’ decision, Lynch and limo case inextricably linked

Andrew Waite0 CommentsEmail Newsletter, Johnstown, Local News, Op-Ed Columns, Opinion

WEIGHING IN - As a top attorney in the Albany County Public Defender’s Office, Peter Lynch was in charge of assigning cases. Indictments would come down and Lynch, who worked in the public defender’s office after graduating from Albany Law School in 1979 until 2009, would dole out charges to the roster of attorneys. Robberies. Sexual assaults. Murders. More often than not, Lynch placed the most heinous crimes on his own caseload. “The ones with the most violent allegations he ended up with,” said retired state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi, who worked alongside Lynch in the public defender’s office…

25 May

Down to Business: Let larger New York supermarkets sell wine

LH Staff0 CommentsBusiness, Editorials, Op-Ed Columns, Opinion

By Marlene Kennedy/For The Leader-Herald DOWN TO BUSINESS - I’ll admit to doing a happy dance upon seeing headlines mid-month that New York might once again contemplate wine sales in supermarkets. I got a taste of that convenience a few years back job-searching in the Washington, D.C., area, and liked it. The inventory might not have been deep, but there usually was a familiar label to pair with my microwavable dinner. New York remains in the minority of states that don’t let supermarkets sell wine (40 do), so woe is us. But two legislators introduced companion bills in the Assembly…

22 May

Waite: Settled lawsuits reveal Mavis’ deception not isolated to Saratoga Springs

Andrew Waite0 CommentsEmail Newsletter, Johnstown, Local News, News, Op-Ed Columns, Opinion

WEIGHING IN - During the Schoharie limo trial, Mavis Discount Tire workers gave surprisingly candid testimony about their seemingly fraudulent practices. Virgil Park, a former manager of the Saratoga Springs location of the national Mavis chain, admitted that the shop he oversaw billed the Prestige Limousine operator for brake work that was never done. In addition, mechanic Thomas Klingman testified that even though he never performed an inspection, he passed the stretched 2001 Ford Excursion SUV that later crashed as a result of catastrophic brake failure on Oct. 6, 2018, killing 20. While the candor of these admissions made during the…

17 May

Waite: Even after guilty verdict, fight for justice in Schoharie limo crash continues

Andrew Waite0 CommentsEmail Newsletter, Johnstown, Local News, Op-Ed Columns, Opinion

WEIGHING IN - After Patrick Cushing died in the 2018 Schoharie limo crash, his father, Kevin Cushing, received a note from a man who first met Patrick while playing dodgeball. Patrick loved dodgeball. And he was good at it. Just six weeks before the crash that killed 31-year-old Patrick, as well as 16 other young adults celebrating a birthday, the limo driver and two bystanders, Patrick had played in the Dodgeball World Championship at Madison Square Garden as a member of the USA Dodgeball team. He ended up in urgent care needing 16 stitches after his head bounced off the…

17 May

Down to Business: Shareholders react to proxy proposals on reproductive health

LH Staff0 CommentsBusiness, Op-Ed Columns, Opinion

By Marlene Kennedy/The Leader-Herald The culture wars over the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade hit public company boardrooms this spring meeting season. A record 30 proxy proposals on reproductive health were submitted for 2023 shareholder votes at annual meetings, double the number last year, says Shelley Alpern, director of corporate engagement at Rhia Ventures, a San Francisco nonprofit that supports reproductive and maternal health by direct investment in early-stage firms and through shareholder advocacy at public companies. Concerns over restrictions put in place at the state level after Roe was overturned last summer spurred the proposals, Alpern writes…

08 May

Waite: Schoharie limo tragedy could’ve been avoided at so many points

Andrew Waite0 CommentsEditorials, Johnstown, Local News, Op-Ed Columns, Opinion

WEIGHING IN - We know what happened on Oct. 6, 2018. We know 17 friends and family members out celebrating a 30th birthday died when the stretch limo they were inside lost control in Schoharie County and crashed, killing them, the driver and two people outside the Apple Barrel Country Store. But throughout opening statements, given by both sides Monday morning, in the trial of Prestige Limousine’s 33-year-old operator Nauman Hussain, chances at a different outcome arose again … and again … and again. This story could have ended differently if things had changed 32 days before the crash. That’s…