“Sunset and evening star, but one clear call for me. Let there be no moaning at the bar when I put out to sea.” So began a new admiralty judge when he first took the bench. The courtroom bar keeps the public outside side the “well” of the courtroom where court business is done. ...

Recently proposed to the Lake Placid-North Elba Joint Review Board by the Hurley Brothers, a local fuels dealer, is to convert an acre atop Vitvitsky Hill, the highest hill between the AuSable and Chubb rivers on Old Military Road, into a tank farm for LPG, liquefied propane gas, for unloading ...

Surfing radio stations I happened upon Elton John’s “Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word,” and two lines jumped out at me: “It’s sad, so sad. And it’s getting more and more absurd.”  These 11 words perfectly capture the Trump presidency and likely caught my attention, as I had ...

Four hundred thousand dollars for a “whitewater kayak feature” in the village! Rebuild a river so people can play in their kayaks? First of all, rebuilding a river so it suits the needs of a single recreational group is a pretty disgusting and arrogant idea. We long ago learned what ...

In response to the title of Elizabeth Izzo’s article, “Did Kate Smith make up for racist songs,” I would suggest an answer in the negative, although perhaps her historical embarrassment may be put to good use in well-meaning dialogue. Kate Smith’s admirable words in her 1945 plea for ...

There was a time, 15 or so years ago, when I was making several trips a year to Washington, D.C. While killing time before a meeting, I’d often stroll over to the White House grounds and just stare at it. I was in awe, even as an adult, of my country and of the presidency. I can’t ...

Kate Smith, the singer famous for her rendition of “God Bless America,” is in the headlines, and that calls to mind the headlines she made after her death nearly 32 years ago when I was a cub reporter at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. My coverage of Smith, who was a longtime summer ...

Anzac Day is Australia’s and New Zealand’s Memorial Day and Veterans Day all rolled up into one. Usually such occasions mark the end of a war or a great victory. Down Under, April 25 commemorates the first day of a battle which, eight months later, would become a terrible defeat. On ...

It is ironic that all-terrain vehicles are not welcome on many terrains. Although some towns in the area have passed local laws that allow ATVs on certain local roads, they are usually banned from public roads, for good reason. ATVs don’t mix well with regular vehicular traffic, and they ...

Consider what professions have a well-above average suicide rate and you are unlikely to include veterinarians. However, individuals who care for our pets and farm animals are significantly more likely to take their lives than members of other professions and occupations. A 2014 study by the ...

I read with interest in Monday’s paper the article about Hurley Brothers application to install a 36,000-gallon propane storage tank at 132 Old Military Road. The article ends with Mr. Hurley quoted as saying, “This is small potatoes.” I assure you it is not. I was one of the small ...

John Droz Jr. wrote a Guest Commentary in the March 26 Adirondack Daily Enterprise entitled “Science or political science?” in which Mr. Droz responded to Dr. Curt Stager’s “What climate deniers get wrong,” recently published in the Adirondack Explorer/Almanack. Mr. Droz’ ...

“All politics are local” is a phrase attributed to Tip O’Neill in 1982, a former speaker of the House. The same can be said about education. What happens in education happens at the local level. Its not that politics or education exist in a vacuum; they don’t. But after all is said and ...

With each criminal conviction, the state of New York matter-of-factly tells the defendants how long they will spend behind bars. Hidden from view, in the “fine print,” is a long list of additional penalties attached to these convictions.  Only upon leaving prison and while attempting ...

In paleoclimatologist Dr. Curt Stager’s recent Adirondack Almanack piece about me, it’s startling that he so openly disavows traditional science. Consider his 2011 quote: “… my preference is for refraining from aggressive activist stances. I do so because I value science itself ...

A few weeks ago, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the Christian Broadcasting Network: “I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times. ... And I think he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and that’s why he’s here.” Sanders is hardly alone in ...

I am writing this letter to appeal to all the parents whose children have learned to swim at the North Country Community College pool, to the folks who have used this pool to aid in rehabilitating injuries, to all the people who use the pool for general fitness, and to any organization or ...

President Trump has declared a national emergency in an attempt to override Congress’s refusal to even partially fund what could easily become a $30 billion project. If the national emergency declaration is not overridden, the funds will come from approved military projects. Do we fully ...

On Feb. 21 the Chicago Police Department held a press conference to announce the arrest of Jussie Smollett for filing a false police report. The superintendent of the Chicago police department said, “This morning I come to you as a black man who spent his entire life living in the city of ...

The 1960s are often considered a productive era of fresh educational ideas. This enthusiasm was begun after the post-Sputnik panic about failures in education, especially in mathematics and science education, combined with the Vietnam situation. At the forefront for finding ways to correct ...