NCPR News Staff: Brian Mann
News Reporter and Adirondack Bureau
Chief
Republican Treadwell wants 10 debates with Dem Gillibrand
08/29/08
The candidates in the 20th congressional district say they'll hold at least one debate this fall. But Republican Sandy Treadwell says he hopes to face Democratic congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand at least 10 times before the November election. Treadwell says a debate should be held in each of district's 10 counties, which stretch from the Hudson River valley north to the outskirts of Saranac Lake. He issued his challenge on the day Gillibrand was speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Brian Mann has more.
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GOP’s rural stronghold remains intact
08/27/08
This is widely seen as a year when Republicans are struggling. The GOP’s “brand” has been damaged by scandals, by President Bush’s low approval ratings, and by the unpopular war in Iraq. But surveys suggest that the GOP’s rural stronghold remains largely intact. According to a recent Zogby poll, small town voters nationwide favor Republican John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama by a sixteen-point margin. Those conservative rural voters could make the difference in key battleground states, from Colorado and New Mexico in the West to Ohio in the Midwest and New Hampshire in the East. Martha Foley talks with Brian Mann who covers rural politics for NCPR.
In Adirondacks, property tax activists debate role of NY state parkland
08/25/08
Property tax activists held a conference on Friday in Saranac Lake. Organizers held the day-long session to promote the idea that New York state isn’t paying enough property taxes for publicly-owned forests and shorefront parcels in the Adirondacks. If true, that would mean that local taxpayers are carrying an unfair share of the burden for public schools and local governments in the Park. But as Brian Mann reports, some of the experts who spoke during the meeting say the state of New York is already paying its fair share.
Food pantries, soup kitchens across North Country brace for season of hunger
08/22/08
Across the North Country, food pantries and soup kitchens are bracing for what could be a season of hunger for many families. High gas and heating oil prices combined with a faltering job market and rising grocery bills have pushed more working people to the edge. As Brian Mann reports, many social service agencies and non-profits say they’re already seeing a spike in the number of families seeking help.
At Fort Ticonderoga, high school students recreate a musical tradition
08/21/08
North Country high schoolers re-create a musical era
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If you go to Fort Ticonderoga this summer, you’ll find centuries-old stone walls and a new education center. But you’ll also find music and pageantry. For more than three decades the Fort’s Fife and Drum Corps has been researching and recreating the traditional military and folk music of the 1700s. The musicians are all paid professionals, who spend years in apprenticeship learning their art. But as Brian Mann reports, they’re also high school students recruited from bands in nearby towns and villages.
Experts: Solving childhood obesity goes beyond dinner table
08/19/08
Health experts say American children face a growing epidemic of obesity. By some measures, one out of every four kids in New York state is seriously overweight, triggering secondary diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Yesterday, healthcare experts and activists gathered for a summit in Lake Placid to talk about solutions. But as Brian Mann reports, raising healthier kids may mean making changes beyond the dinner table.
Latest battle at Ft. Ticonderoga is with $2.5 million debt
08/15/08
Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center groundbreaking. Source: Ft. Ticonderoga
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Re-enactors bring Ticonderoga alive. Photo: Brian Mann
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Fort Ticonderoga is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the North Country. The sprawling 5,000-acre outdoor museum on the shore of Lake Champlain is also one of the most important landmarks in American history. But a feud with a major donor has left the privately owned museum deep in debt and scrambling to raise funds to pay for a new education center. Fort Ticonderoga’s chairman has raised the possibility of closing the facility, or auctioning part of its collection. As Brian Mann reports, historians and tourism officials say Ticonderoga is too important to lose.
Dem Gillibrand says she hopes GOP voters will help “rehire” her for two more years
08/14/08
Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20) (Source: Gillibrand campaign)
This year’s race for the 20th congressional district is drawing national attention. The match-up between Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican challenger Sandy Treadwell promises to be one of the most expensive in the country. The stage was set two years ago, when Republican John Sweeney’s campaign imploded following a series of scandals. Gillibrand won a decisive upset, with fifty-three percent of the vote. She even claimed victories in North Country counties that tend to be more conservative. The question now is whether a Democrat can hold the district, which stretches from the Hudson Valley to Saranac Lake. Republicans still hold a huge advantage in voter enrollment. But Gillibrand told Brian Mann that party labels won’t decide the outcome in November.
GOP’s Treadwell says he’s more in tune with 20th District conservatism
08/13/08
Sandy Treadwell (Source: Treadwell campaign)
It’s been a tough year for Republicans in New York state and around the country. The GOP could lose two more House seats in November, in western New York and on Long Island. The best chance for Republicans to win back a seat may be in the 20th district, which stretches from the Hudson Valley through the North Country to Lake Placid. The race between Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican challenger Sandy Treadwell is expected to be intense and expensive, with a price tag of at least six million dollars. Today and tomorrow we’ll talk in-depth with the two candidates. We start with Sandy Treadwell, who lives in Essex County. Treadwell is a former Secretary of State and a former chairman of New York’s Republican Party. He spoke with Brian Mann.
Author: Americans live in ways that increasingly set them apart
08/12/08
Author Bill Bishop says America is going through "the big sort."
America has always been patchwork of cultures and races and religions. While some people have pushed for more integration, and a kind of national melting pot, journalist Bill Bishop says we’re more divided than ever. Bishop is a national expert on rural issues. His new book, called The Big Sort, looks at the very different and sometimes contradictory ways that Americans are living their lives. He told Brian Mann that the new segregation isn’t about race or class. Instead, it’s ideology and lifestyle that sets us apart.
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