Change for the good
On May 2, the Town of Ulster Town Board proposed ground-breaking zoning changes that are pace-setting for the entire county and New York State itself. If enacted, these zoning changes effectively shut the doors to any and all fossil-fuel electricity generation projects proposed for the municipality.
The simple, yet powerful, zoning amendment reads: “In no event shall a utility company structure be permitted in any Zoning District in the Town of Ulster if said utility company structure requires an ‘Air Quality Permit’ issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.”
Although a definition of utility company structure is missing in the proposed new local law, Town Supervisor James Quigley verbally defined the term as any proposed “power plant … operation in the town that’s regulated by either a federal or state authority … [such as] electric, gas, telephone, cable.” A version of this definition would be useful in the zoning law.
Credit for such an environmental commitment is due to the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) Law itself that demands citizen input on significant projects. Anyone reading articles on GlidePath since the end of 2017 knows that involvement has been robust. For example, the TownofUlsterCitizens.org recommended battery storage-only to decision-makers three times in the course of last year’s scoping process.
A confluence of public participation in SEQR, newly-enacted state policy on battery storage, and open minds turned GlidePath into a green project and created improvements to zoning every citizen can support.
Regis Obijiski
Town of Ulster
Bring back Kate
Once again, the New York Yankees sold their soul for political correctness.
They attempted to destroy the reputation of a wonderful, caring, patriotic American hero, Kate Smith, and remove the connection between God and America from their ballgame program.
It is ironic and outrageous that a baseball team would falsely accuse a great American when the New York Yankees have a heritage and are guilty of having barred Afro-American athletes from their teams for decades. They need to be censured by the commissioner and the public.
Paul Jankiewicz, Ph.D.
Ulster Park
Join the family! 
