Tagged: southern tier

In a decision released Tuesday, the state Supreme Court in Cortland County upheld the Town of Dryden's ban on drilling.

In his decision, Supreme Court Justice Phillip R. Rumsey says New York's oil and gas law gives the state the authority to decide how, but not where, drilling can be done.

Under this construction, local governments may exercise their powers to regulate land use to determine where within their borders gas drilling may or may not take place, while DEC regulates all technical operational matters on a consistent statewide basis in locations where operations are permitted by local law.

Binghamton looks to many visitors like any other post-industrial city in the Northeast: The historic buildings are in disrepair, and the rundown strip malls hide years of slow progress towards a revitalized Binghamton.

For years, the strategy for rebirth has been to perk up a storefront here, tear down a building there.

That's in evidence at the "Southside Commons," a concrete open space across the river and Route 434 from Binghamton's city center.  The space offers a raised area where bands can play in the summer, and a few tables and chairs scattered around the single lot wedged between two buildings.

It doesn't look like much, but a significant amount of work went into making it happen.

Maurice Hinchey's office announced Wednesday that the Congressman will not seek reelection this year.

The 73-year-old Democrat represented New York's 22nd District, which includes Binghamton, Ithaca and Monticello. First elected in 1992, Hinchey is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and a member of the Banking Committee.

He consistently voted with fellow Democrats in the Republican-controlled House, one notable exception was his vote against extension of Bush-era tax cuts, which was supported by a majority of both Democrats and Republicans.

Since early 2011, Cornell University has been getting almost all of its heat and power from natural gas.

No longer do they have to truck in 65,000 tons of coal from Kentucky and West Virginia. No longer do they buy most of their power from the grid.

The $82 million transition to natural gas has shuttered the soot-covered corner of the plant where coal used to be turned into heat.

A new, natural gas-powered section, with its computerized emissions monitoring, shiny pipes and modern control room, feels like a break from the past as soon as you walk in.

In attempt to cut $3 billion from its budget by 2015, the U.S. Postal Service is considering closing 3,700 post office, and about 250 mail processing centers.

One of the processing centers up for closure is Binghamton's: its work would be absorbed by the processing center in Syracuse. That would save the Postal Service about $4.6 million, according to district manager Edward F. Phelan.

Phelan was among the postal service representatives at a Wednesday public meeting in Binghamton. He painted a grim picture of the US Postal Service's financial situation.