Charles Schumer

Synthetic drug use hasn't hit the epidemic proportions of 2012, but with reports of related hospitalizations and law enforcement issues on the uptick, Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the DEA to step up its enforcement efforts.

To draw attention to the issue, Schummer held a press conference this morning in the library at Batavia High School, joined by Superintendent Chris Daily, Principal Scott Wilson, GCASA Communications Director Pamela LaGrou, and Sgt. Greg Walker, head of the Local Drug Task Force.

"We gave the DEA the authority (with legislation in 2012) to ban a long list of chemical look-alikes," Schumer said. "If it's almost marijuana, or almost methamphetamine, or almost Ecstasy, or almost cocaine, and they can switch a few molecules, we told the DEA you don't need legislation to make it a Schedule 1 drug. You can ban it. The problem is, the DEA is moving much too slowly."

The DEA is battling against a worldwide network of independent chemists, small labs and distributors who are constantly reformulating their drugs. Schumer thinks the DEA can keep pace.

"The DEA has a panel of scientists, experts, keeping tabs on new drugs," Schumer said. "We would hope they can ban these before they are actually sold on the market."

Schumer came to Batavia High because of reports of four students who were hospitalized as a result of using synthetic drugs.

It's important to education young people about the dangers of these often unknown substances, school officials said.

Walker said that while opiate-based drugs remain the number one drug enforcement issue in the county, there has been a slight increase in synthetic drug usage locally.

"Like the senator said, in 2012, we did have a big influx of the synthetics and since then, it has dropped off," Walker said. "Now that Cloud 9 has come up, it's starting to come back, but we're not seeing that huge surge we saw in 2012."

Schumer said he fears a repeat of 2012 in 2015 if the DEA isn't more aggressive in its enforcement efforts.

"They've banned 20 (substances)," Schumer said. "But there are another 300 on the list. We're asking the DEA to move much more quickly. The drugs are powerful. They have severe side effects and some kids develop permanent mental problems as a result of using them."

With a vast meadow in the heart of Pembroke stretching before him, Sen. Charles Schumer envisioned its new purpose. "We stand in front of hallowed ground," he said.

The site has been selected for a new Western New York Veterans Cemetery. This was Schumer's first visit to the location since it was chosen.

“With so many thousands of local veterans,” Schumer continued, “it was an insult to Western New York not to have a National Veterans Cemetery close for loved ones to pay their respects.”

The 132-acre parcel located at Route 77 and Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is about 100 miles closer to Western New Yorkers than its sister in Bath, Steuben County.

At a gathering Monday, Schumer, alongside former military members and their families, proposed the new site to be named after local war hero William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan. 

“ ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan is a true Western New York Hero,” Schumer said. “I cannot think of any better way to commorate his life and honor our region’s veterans than by naming the Western New York Veterans Cemetery the ‘General William Donovan Western New York Veterans’ Cemetery.' ”

However, not all veterans received the proposed name with enthusiasm.

“Placing a name on a building is nice,” Joy Joyce, Oakfield-Alabama American Legion Post 626 vice commander, said. “But what makes this general any more important than other veterans?” 

“It doesn't matter who it's named for, it’s what it stands for,” said Vietnam Veterans of America New York State Council Western District Director Ted Wilkinson. “General Donovan is a respected man and deserves to be recognized. He should be an inspiration for people to come here.”

“I look at it as, by giving (the cemetery) an individual name, it gives it a tourist-attraction appeal,” said veterans advocate Patrick Welch. “By using a name, it will give people an opportunity to do the research; it's a way to honor an individual. From a historical standpoint, Donovan’s career (and its impact) spans the 1800s to the 21st Century.”

Donovan was born to immigrant parents in Buffalo, and attended St. Joseph Collegiate Institute and Niagara University. He remains the only American to earn all four of the highest military awards in the United States: The Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. Furthermore, he earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart, as well as honors from several other nations for his service during both World War I and II.

Additionally, Donovan founded the Office of Strategic Services, currently known as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 

“We are alive today because of Bill Donovan,” Schumer said. “People don’t realize it, but praise God there hasn’t been another terrorist incident that succeeded like the one on 9/11. That’s because our CIA, as well as our NSA, our Navy SEALs, and all of our armed forces have done a great job.

“(The terrorists) have tried,” he continued. “Believe me, I read the intelligence documents. I know. But because these people (CIA) are so good and unknown ... people don’t know one tenth of what they know, and it all started with Bill Donovan.”

In addition to the 132 acres currently procured, Robert and Frances Haegar have offered their 60-acre plot of land adjacent to the cemetery -- to enlarge the site to the 200 acres originally wanted. Robert Haegar is a 30-year veteran with the Navy Reserves.

“The land was my grandfathers farm,” Frances Haegar said. “It needs to have a purpose. We can’t do anything with it and it hurts me to see it go wild. It feels great for the land to be used for a veterans' cemetery.

“My father helped with this land. I spent my childhood here,” she continued. “It is a pretty site and it needs something to put it back to a nice site.”

The 60 acres will not only increase the size of the cemetery, but will also allow for better access.

“Hopefully we will live long enough to see this completed,” she said.

According to Schumer, the hope is that groundbreaking will take place at some point next year and 2016 for the first veteran to be interned.

“There is an old saying,” Wilkinson said. “Never judge a vet by the medals on his chest.”

Press release:

Today, in a letter to the Board of Directors of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), U.S. Senator Charles Schumer pitched Upstate New York as the international center for the growing semiconductor- and chip-fabrication industry. Schumer touted several Upstate locales and specifically pointed to the newest potential mega-site (1,250 acres) for chip fab, the Genesee County Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP).

Schumer highlighted the development of Upstate New York’s nanotech sites, underlining the many advantages offered by the Luther Forest Tech Campus, the Marcy Nanotech campus, and now the Genesee County STAMP site. Schumer, who recently hosted the SIA at a Capitol Hill briefing with newly elected senators, urged the 18 semiconductor industry CEOs who comprise the SIA Board to consider Upstate New York sites, including STAMP, when establishing their next semiconductor manufacturing and research facility, citing advantages like access to affordable power, and world-class research universities and proximity to a large qualified workforce.

“The STAMP site will join existing hubs like the Luther Forest Tech Campus and Marcy Nanotech campus, and will become the second semiconductor mega-site in New York State, bolstering the state’s reputation as the preeminent destination for high-tech semiconductor research, design, and development,” Schumer said.

His letter to industry leaders was released in advance of the 2013 Annual Semiconductor Industry Association Dinner, to be held on November 7th in San Jose, California, when representatives from STAMP will make a presentation to the Board of Directors to outline the advantages of the site. Representatives of other New York centers, including Marcy and Luther Forest will also be present.

Schumer continued, “Thanks to decades of joint public-private investments in infrastructure and education, and a talented workforce, Upstate New York is the number-one place to establish semiconductor manufacturing in the nation. The promise of the Genesee County STAMP site only adds to New York’s reputation as fertile ground for high-tech and, specifically, semiconductor manufacturing. Simply put: the high-tech manufacturing sector has the potential to remake Western New York and the entire Upstate economy, delivering a new generation of middle-class jobs. It has already begun in the Capitol District, is spreading to Utica, and is poised to take-off in Western New York, too.

"Upstate New York’s proximity to transportation and energy networks, its access to the creativity and large workforces of major metropolitan cities, and its world-class technology and engineering universities are exactly what the semiconductor industry needs to ensure national and global success – and I made that known to the CEOs of the leading companies.”

In his letter, Schumer highlighted the unique advantages various Upstate New York State sites, including Genesee County’s STAMP site, provide to the semiconductor industry. The industry has benefited from the State’s advanced transportation networks, industrial infrastructure, and utilities at its other leading semiconductor sites. Schumer explained that the STAMP site would continue with this trend, offering close access to Interstate-90, high-capacity electric transmission lines, a large-scale high-pressure gas line, and the New York Power Authority’s hydropower low-cost electricity zone.

These assets ensure that the semiconductor factory would receive robust utility capacity, redundancy, and reliability at competitive prices, in some cases at a 75-80 percent market discount. The STAMP site is also situated between the Rochester and Buffalo metropolitan areas, which contain international airports, active customs stations, and a 2.1 million workforce population.

Last year, Schumer successfully advocated on behalf of STAMP by calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide necessary wetlands permit assurances so that STAMP’s developers could advance the site’s development and begin marketing the site to prospective tenants. Schumer has also taken a lead advocacy role for the semiconductor industry in the 113th Congress, which has led to the passage of major immigration reform legislation and a long-term reauthorization of the federal helium reserve, a critical lifeline for semiconductor manufacturers.

The growth of the semiconductor industry in Upstate New York has also been encouraged by the region’s strong research and educational base. The State is home to some of the world’s leading technology and engineering universities, including the University of Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University at Buffalo, the University of Rochester, and Cornell University — all of which are spearheading efforts in research, commercialization, workforce development, and collaboration in the high-tech and semiconductor fields.

Schumer called on the SIA companies to consider the advantages offered by the New York’s high-tech resources, and mega-sites like STAMP primed for development, when choosing the location of their next chip fab. Schumer noted that the long-term development of the STAMP site would bring long-lasting, stable jobs to New York and make the region a hub of high-tech manufacturing.

Calling high-speed rail "21st Century technology," Sen. Charles Schumer stopped in Bergen on Tuesday to try and prod CSX to make way for a new passenger rail line that would connect Bergen and Chili.

The $58 million demonstration track, Schumer hopes, would lead to perhaps more than $1.5 billion in funding to build a high-speed rail line from Buffalo to New York City.

CSX, Schumer said, is standing in the way of progress by not providing access to the right of way of its current lines.

Meanwhile, the federal government -- it won't cost New York taxpayers anything, Schumer said -- has buckets of money to spend on high-speed rail, and if New York doesn't grab the money, some other state will.

CSX is hampering New York's rightful claim to the money, according to the senator.

"High-speed rail has been shown to work in other countries," Schumer said. "It will work in Upstate New York. It will create jobs and bring companies to Upstate New York."

Upstate, Schumer said, is a lot like Europe.

"We’re a little more closer to Europe where it has worked," Schumer said. "The distance between the French and German cities and the distance between our cities, and the difference in population of the French and German cities and our cities are very similar."

He spoke several times about the benefits to Rochester and Buffalo of high-speed rail, but while standing in Genesee County, he made no mention of how high speed might benefit the local economy.

In an era when business executives can, as a practical matter, get from Buffalo to Manhatten in nano seconds, Schumer said high-speed rail is a business necessity.

"High-speed rail is 21st Century technology," Schumer said. "Just figure out if you have to get from Midtown New York to Midtown Buffalo or Midtown Rochester, you can go 200 mph in a train – it takes an hour to get from downtown New York City to the airport, then you’ve got to wait for the plane. Yes, the actual plane flight is faster, but when you look at it, rail is faster and easier."

Bergen Mayor Ralph Marsocci expressed concern about a 200 mph training passing through his village and Schumer said that is certainly one of the issues that would need to be addressed.

After a round of skeptical questions by reporters and even one or two of the local business leaders in attendance, Schumer said, “We can hear people say ‘No, no, no' and the same people said ‘No, no, no’ to the Erie Canal. Transportion has always been a linchpin of our economy in Upstate New York. Building good strong transportation makes a great deal of sense."

Below, a photo of a sign hung on a building near where Schumer spoke Tuesday. It reads "Choo Choo Chuck / The Track to Nowere (sic)."  

Bottom two pictures, gratuitous photos of trains that passed while the media was waiting for "Choo Choo Chuck" to arrive.

As one of the trains approached during Schumer's remarks, Schumer recalled, as he leaned out from the podium to watch the approaching train, that when he was a child his family couldn't afford nice vacations, so they went to this cabin that was right next to a rail. His parents hated it, he said, "but when I was 5 I used to love to stand there and watch the trains go by."

After much talk about the need to locate a new veterans' cemetery close to Batavia, only two potential sites announced today by Sen. Charles Schumer are in Genesee County.

Three sites are in Alden and one is in Akron.

The two potential sites in Genesee County are in Le Roy and East Bethany.

Schumer was in Batavia on March 7 to announce his plans to fast track the construction of a cemetery, ideally close to Batavia since it's centrally located between Rochester and Buffalo.

Currently, the closest veterans' cemetery to either city is in Bath.

Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs are expected to visit the six potential sites this week.

The exact locations were not released.

The sites were identified after the VA solicited proposals from area landowners willing to sell at least 200 acres of land to the government

“I have long fought for this veterans' cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said in a statement.

Full press release after the jump:

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to visit six potential veterans cemetery sites this week in Western New York: three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  The six sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued earlier this year.  Earlier this month, Schumer wrote a letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, urging that the VA establish a firm timeline for completion of the long overdue veterans’ cemetery in Western New York, specifically in choosing the cemetery site. The VA has yet to acquire the necessary land for the cemetery, further delaying the design and building phase that will ultimately lead to a suitable resting place for Western New York veterans. Today’s announcement marks a step in the right direction towards bringing a long overdue cemetery to over 200,000 veterans in Western New York.

“I have long fought for this veterans cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said. “After everything the many thousands of veterans in this region have done for us, it is imperative that they have a local resting place where they can receive the honor they deserve.”
VA National Cemetery officials announced that they will be in Buffalo on Wednesday, March 30th,  to conduct site visits at 6 potential cemetery sites within the VA’s target area in WNY. This target area is the area 7 miles to the North and south of the Thruway, and about 20 miles to the East and West of the Town of Pembroke in Genesee County. The six locations being assessed are three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  These six potential sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued in January 2011.

In a March 7th letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, Schumer wrote, “There are some 200,000 veterans in the Buffalo-Rochester region who are not served by a national cemetery.  They have waited too long for this important project and they have been disturbed by a lack of information and communications with the VA.  I urge you to ensure timely progress in selecting and developing a site, and I request that a firm schedule for the project be established and shared with the community.” In today’s announcement, the VA outlined the firm schedule that Schumer had strongly lobbied for. During the VA’s visits to each location,  the officials will assess which sites best fit the VA’s criteria, which includes factors such as the site’s topography, access to highways, proximity to wetlands, and the impact of neighboring facilities. After this assessment is complete, the VA will rank and score each site as part of its evaluation process.  The VA will then narrow the field of candidate sites to the top two and will  proceed with a more detailed due diligence analysis.  The VA anticipates that this review will continue for most of this year.  If it proceeds accordingly, the VA would then be on track to acquire the 200-acres of property by the end of this year or the Spring of 2012.  The VA will then hire an architectural/engineering firm to help develop the master plan for the site, clearing the way for construction.

There are currently six National Cemeteries in New York State, but the facility in Bath is the only one in all of Central New York, Western New York, the Southern Tier and the Rochester Finger Lakes Region.  Current VA regulations allow for establishment of a new cemetery when it would serve 80,000 or more veterans within a 75 mile area. In Western New York alone there are approximately 125,000 veterans. Combined with the Rochester area, which is also more than 75 miles away from the nearest national cemetery in Bath, there are more than 200,000 veterans without appropriate access to a cemetery. A cemetery location in Western New York not only makes sense, but would fulfill an urgent need of these veterans.

Veterans Affairs began seeking a cemetery site in August 2010, with the effort focused within a 50 mile diameter area which included parts of Ontario, Canada, Lake Erie, Erie County, Orleans County, Niagara County and Genesee county. In January 2011, the VA announced that they were starting over and had moved the area under consideration to the east and would center it in Genesee County. Today’s announcement means that these milestones in the process will not continued to be pushed back.

Schumer has long argued that it is critical for the veterans cemetery location to be decided on and for building to begin immediately.  Half of New York Veterans are 65 years of age or older, and now is the time to start planning for the future of those veterans, and ensuring that they are treated with the honor they deserve.  Schumer has heard from local veterans groups that veterans in Western New York desperately want to be buried in a national shrine, but don’t want to force their families to travel long distances to visit, potentially at great hardship to do so.

Today, there are more than 22 million veterans who are eligible for the honor of burial in a National Cemetery. Veterans with discharges other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. Those who die on active duty may also be buried in a national cemetery.

After years of indecision, it's time to put the construction of a new veterans' cemetery in Western New York on the fast track and Genesee County is the perfect place to build it, said Sen. Charles Schumer today at a press conference inside Batavia's American Legion Hall.

Schumer called on Gen. Eric Shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs, to set a hard and fast deadline for construction to begin and to appoint a regional ombudsman to move the process along.

"The purpose is twofold -- to get it done quickly and to have local input from our veterans' groups," Schumer said.

There are 200,000 veterans in Western New York -- representing a proud tradition of service, said Schumer -- and they and their families deserve a cemetery closer than Bath, which is more than an hour from Batavia.

"Families shouldn't have to drive 75 miles to see a loved ones simply because you want to give them a proper burial in a veterans' cemetery," Schumer said.

"If you looked at all the veterans in Western New York and dropped pins on a map, and you had to find the middle, it would be here, in Genesee County."

In January, the Veterans Administration announced it had narrowed its range of possible locations to the Batavia area. The VA is looking for a suitable 200-acre location and a willing seller.

Schumer said the role of the ombudsman will be to act as a liaison between the local veterans' groups and the VA, enabling the groups to make one or two site selection recommendations to the VA and then moving the process along quickly.

The ombudsman should be someone all of the veterans' groups respect and can work with, Schumer said.

"I will bird-dog this until we make sure a veterans' cemetery is built."

Sen. Charles Schumer was in Batavia yesterday to tell local dairy farmers that he is working to bring in federal dollars to help their beleaguered industry.

But he also gave a pep talk for America. WBTA posted the audio (MP3).

Here’s the truth. People do’t like to hear it, but it’s the truth. For the last 15 years under Democratic and Republican presidents, here’s what America did: We consumed more than we produced. We borrowed more than we saved. We imported more than we exported.  We were the great production giant of the world. In the last 15 or 20 years, you know what we were? This big giant, big muscles, strong, astride the globe, stuffing our face with candy.

Schumer said Americans need to become a nation of producers again -- saving and exporting, rather than spending and importing.

But America has one advantage, Schumer said: there's no barrier to any person doing whatever he or she wants with his or her life.

We’ve gotten off track. We’ve gotten too fat. We can get back on track. Only America has the system that says, ‘I don’t care who you are, how much money you have, what your daddy did, or mom, you can achieve the stars if you work hard.' So the $64,000 question is, what are the policies that get us back and we’ll be giant again.

Photo courtesy WBTA.

Nearly $1.7 billion in education aid will make its way to New York schools from the stimulus package, Sen. Charles Schumer announced today. That $1.7 billion will be direct aid, he stressed, in addition to another $4.7 billion "in additional education and other aid to New York State schools."

Of that, the Western New York districts will see $102 million. We have not received the details on a county-by-county breakdown, but we hope to have the specific figures for you later this morning.

Details from the press release:

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that the economic stimulus package will include nearly $22 billion in direct education aid through the Title I and Special Education/ Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federal formulas nationwide. Upstate New York is estimated to receive a total of approximately $320 million in new funding for Special Education and approximately $176 million in Title I grants, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Department of Education respectively, for a total of $496 million in new direct funding to Upstate New York schools. This funding will give New York’s school districts the flexibility and tools they need to keep serving and educating our children.
 
Here is how the funding will break down across the state:

    * Capital Region schools will receive an additional $36 million in Special Education/IDEA funding and $14 million in Title I grants for a total of $50 million in direct school aid.
    * Central New York schools will receive an additional $37 million in Special Education/IDEA funding and $25 million in Title I grants for a total of $62 million in direct school aid.
    * Hudson Valleyschools will receive an additional $94 million in Special Education/IDEA funding and $37 million in Title I grants for a total of $131 million in direct school aid.
    * North Country schools will receive an additional $21 million in Special Education/IDEA funding and $11 million in Title I grants for a total of $31 million in direct school aid.
    * Rochester-Finger Lakes schools will receive an additional $48 million in Special Education/IDEA funding and $32 million in Title I grants for a total of $79 million in direct school aid.
    * Southern Tier schools will receive an additional $24 million in Special Education/IDEA funding and $13 million in Title I grants for a total of $38 million in direct school aid.
    * Western New York schools will receive an additional $58 million in Special Education/IDEA funding and $44 million in Title I grants for a total of $102 million in direct school aid.

Updated (11:55 a.m.): We received the full report from Sen. Schumer's office. Genesee county will receive a total of $3 million in direct aid stimulus funding. That will be divided as follows:

• Alexander Central School District: $265,618
• Batavia City School District: $983,317
• Byron-Bergen Central School District: $340,026
• Elba Central School District: $172,529
• Oakfield-Alabama Central School District: $309,421
• Pembroke Central School District: $332,549
• Pavilion Central School District: $258,944
• Le Roy Central School District: $371,503

You can download the complete report here.

Sen. Charles Schumer, in tandem with newly appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, issued nearly twenty press releases this morning on funding earmarked for upstate New York communities in the upcoming federal omnibus bill. None of that money has yet been tagged for projects in Genesee County, at least not according to the announcements out of Schumer's office. Buffalo and Niagara Falls were both listed as recipients of significant funding.

Buffalo was awarded $950,000 for its Main Street revitilization project. Niagara Falls will receivie $950,000 to ramp up its "international railway station." Tack on funding for university and medical projects, railway infrastructure and tourism, and the funding level for the greater Buffalo region tops $3 million.

From an article in the Buffalo News this morning:

The money for Buffalo and Niagara Falls will be included in an omnibus federal spending bill funding government operations through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill today, with Senate consideration set for next week.

Rochester also looks to benefit. The George Eastman House is on the bill for $381,000 "to preserve and allow access to museum library collections through new Web applications."

From the press release:

"This is terrific news for the entire Rochester community," said Schumer.  "The George Eastman House is one of the oldest and most revered photography and film museums worldwide. In these technology-driven times, it’s important for the federal government to do everything in its power to ensure that such historic, cultural gems as this one are able to adapt in ways that allow them to both preserve their heritage and expand their resources.”

“These federal dollars will go a long way to preserve the collections at the George Eastman House while making them accessible through the internet,” said Senator Gillibrand. “These snapshots are an important part of our history. I will continue to work with Senator Schumer to ensure that New York receives its fair share of federal funding.”

A significant portion has been eyed for higher education in the state. St. John Fisher College is on tap for $475,000. Albany's College of Nanoscience and Engineering is marked for $1 million. Binghamton University is in line to receive $2 million.

Batavia City Council members Charlie Mallow and Marianne Clattenburg were in Albany recently meeting with "key officials," according to Mallow, in the hopes of securing fundig for the city. We hope to soon hear what progress they made.

Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• The cause of a fire at Cristina's Restaurant early Saturday morning is still being investigated. The kitchen and restaurant portions of the building suffered a total loss, and the banquet rooms sustained smoke and water damage. Business owner Charles Brumstead is asking anyone who has upcoming reservations at Cristina's to call (585) 343-1029.
• Temperatures will again climb towards 90 degrees during the second half of this week, and high humidity won't make it any more tolerable. Yay.
• Sen. Charles Schumer says that families will pay an average of $720 more to heat their homes this winter. In the meantime, he's putting together a proposal that would provide federal aid to help families cover the cost of the increase. We should check out his Web site from time to time to see where it goes.

Gov. David Paterson and Sen. Chuck Schumer visited the Grange at the Genesee County Fairgrounds today for a forum on agriculture. More than 100 farmers from upstate counties came out to attend the Q&A session that kicked off with a brief recap of the federal Farm Bill by Schumer.

About 20 people lined up at the microphone for a chance to ask the governor questions on agricultural policy and the future of upstate farms. In fact, there were so many folks interested in getting their voice heard that the governor didn't have time to address them all — and an event that was expected to last about a half-hour ran well over an hour. Immigrant labor and supporting youth education in agriculture were among the many issues raised by the public.

Paterson was joined by state Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith who took up the issue of immigrant labor. From a released statement issued by the governor's office after the event:

Farmers have been increasingly frustrated at their inability to find qualified workers to harvest their crops, hampered in large part by federal regulations requiring them to exhaust all domestic possibilities before being granted waivers to hire non-domestic workers. Farmers insist the supply of farmhands is far outweighed by the demand, and without sufficient federal waivers from the Bush Administration, crops will literally die on the vine.

The governor also discussed a state program to fight the Plum Pox virus that threatens "stone fruit crops" such as peaches. The program will continue to study infected crops and reimburse farmers for their losses from destroyed crops.

UPDATE: The blog Poltics on the Hudson covers Gov. Paterson's visit:

Business leaders in upstate are criticizing the governor’s plans to go back to the old policy, in which a New York City chairperson oversees the state’s entire economic development program.

Right now, Dan Gundersen serves as the upstate chair, based out of Buffalo.

“No one has said that we are taking Mr. Gundersen away from upstate,” Paterson told reporters after a town-hall meeting in Batavia on farm issues with Sen. Charles Schumer.  ...

“And I certainly understand that the economy is reeling, the anxiety is overflowing in upstate New York.”

Paterson went on to say that “I wanted to have an ability of the agency to have a centralized organization” yet he doesn’t plan to diminish any services to upstate.

“If we don’t change something, we’re not going to have improvement around here,” Paterson said.

“And I would invite some of those who said they were irked, to please call me because I let them know since the time I was in office two months ago that if they ever had a problem, they should call me and not one of them have called me in the past few days.”

Also, here's News 10's coverage.  And Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the Albany Watch blog wonders why Paterson has missed four consecutive legislative work days.

His absence is giving rise to speculation that he doesn’t intend to push an aggressive agenda for the rest of the legislative session.

“It’s hard to drive the Albany agenda without being in Albany,’’ said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “That’s why the Executive Mansion is in Albany.’‘

Update posted by Howard Owens