Editorials from around New York

Recent editorials of statewide and national interest from New York’s newspapers:

The (Auburn) Citizen on flooding at Lake Ontario.

May 7

We applaud officials from Fair Haven - and from Albany - for getting the necessary resources in place to tackle the immediate issue of flooding along the Lake Ontario shoreline. But we believe that officials trying to make a political issue out of the situation are all wet.

An international agreement called Plan 2014 that went into effect this year will allow the water level of Lake Ontario to rise and fall more naturally, rather than be kept at a more consistent level. The plan was signed by the United States and Canada after six years of studies showed that it would reduce flooding along the St. Lawrence River and help revitalize wetlands necessary for healthy ecosystems.

Some feared that Plan 2014 would lead to high water along the southern shore that would damage lakeside property. And some, believing that rising waters have proven them right, are demanding a quick abandonment of the plan.

U.S. Rep. John Katko has long opposed the lake management plan, even calling on President Donald Trump to have the United States withdraw from the agreement. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week that he is trying to force the international commission to release water from a dam to help the situation.

But the lake commission counters that unusually heavy rainfall this spring is to blame for the current problem. Some areas in the lake’s watershed got more than twice the usual amount of rain in April, bringing the lake to its highest level in 24 years.

And it’s important to remember just how large an area the Lake Ontario watershed encompasses. Heavy rain hundreds of miles away can lead to shoreline flooding along the southern and eastern shorelines - just as it has in decades gone by.

Fair Haven Mayor Jim Basile said the village has been monitoring the situation and is ready to help with sandbagging. And Cuomo said that state resources are in place to help wherever they’re needed. That’s great to hear, because that’s the right approach for dealing with a weather emergency.

The lake level is expected to continue to rise for the time being. Politicizing the flooding is not going to help. Sandbags just might.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2qnIED4

Niagara Gazette on New York state gambling laws.

May 6

There was a time not so long ago when veterans groups and fraternal organizations were flush with members and supporting themselves just fine with dues, fundraising events and a regular schedule of bingo games.

The climate has changed significantly over the years and now many of these organizations are struggling to survive amid declining enrollment.

Representatives from organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Elks and the Moose are now lobbying state lawmakers to support a measure they hope will help them stay afloat long term.

The proposal would allow private clubs and lodges to raise money by allowing them to acquire video gaming machines for use in-house by their members.

It’s been at least two decades since the state authorized bell jar pull tabs to be sold by such organizations and many representatives say those games of change just aren’t bringing in the bucks that are needed, especially in an era of increased competition from state-licensed casinos, racetracks and New York’s own state lottery.

According to the Council of Private Organizations (CONPOR), a group formed 35 years ago to assist fraternal groups such as the Elks and the Moose, revenue from charitable gaming fell by $49 million across New York from 2001 to 2015.

The revenue dip has forced some clubs to close, while threatening the sustainability of suicide counseling, mentoring programs and other services run by the VFW, CONPOR has advised the state Gaming Commission.

Leaders of New York’s veterans and fraternal organizations believe “changing the game” to allow clubs and other private groups to acquire video gaming machines would lead to increased revenues. They are also hoping it will help make their groups more attractive to potential members, especially those who are still in their younger years.

For veterans groups like the VFW, the mission is key to their survival.

“We must attract younger veterans in order to keep our programs going,” Dennis Sullivan, state VFW commander, told members of the state Gaming Commission in April.

A spokesman for the state Gaming Commission, the agency that also oversees the Lottery and thoroughbred and harness tracks, said officials there are updating rules on charitable gaming and are conducting statewide hearings on the issue with an eye toward helping groups raise more money for worthy causes.

As the hearings go forward, “more changes could be on the way,” said the spokesman, Lee Park.

Officials have noted that the proposed legislation respects the exclusive territory agreements between Native American tribal casino operators and the state by requiring that any club within such an area to seek the Gaming Commission’s approval for the machines in question.

The commission, in turn, would consult with the tribes.

While it’s important to respect the exclusive nature of the state’s gaming agreement with Native American tribes, including the Seneca Nation of Indians right here in Western New York, there’s no reason why the proposed changes should not move forward.

The benefits afforded to VFW posts, Elks and Moose lodges and other private-membership organizations would outweigh any impact on the bottom line of larger Native American casinos and state-run racetrack casinos.

In a state where gaming has now been legalized, in one form or another, in just about every region, it simply does not makes sense to prevent community groups with long and successful records of service and charitable work from allowing their members to play video games of chance.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2qZ0nh8

(New York) Daily News on former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

May 9

The red lights were flashing. The sirens were blaring. Still, President Trump put a man who could be blackmailed by the Kremlin in one of the most sensitive positions in government.

So it is now confirmed, under oath, by former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates.

Monday, Yates told a Senate subcommittee that, soon after the inauguration, she went to the White House counsel with an urgent warning: that retired Gen. Michael Flynn’s knowing lies about his contacts with Russia left him subject to manipulation by foreign adversaries.

As Yates, deadpanning, put it: “You don’t want your national security adviser compromised with the Russians.”

In all, Yates said, she spoke to the White House counsel three times about the dangers of continuing to give Flynn sensitive secrets and power.

That is sure as heck more than the generic “heads up” the White House has since claimed they understood Yates to be communicating.

And it is of a piece with the person-to-person message President Obama delivered Trump about Flynn in the two’s Nov. 10 sit-down - an extraordinary note of caution on a personnel matter for an incumbent President to aim at his successor.

Trump, of course, ignored Obama. And it took nearly three weeks after Yates’ exhortation for him to oust Flynn - and then, only because his lies to Vice President Mike Pence got leaked to the press, kicking off a cascading scandal.

The only thing worse than that all that willful deafness and blindness? Trump’s now galling attempt to pawn off his decision to elevate Flynn on the fact that Obama, who fired him, had granted him a security clearance. The buck stops where?

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Online:

https://nydn.us/2qOxzKK

Poughkeepsie Journal on President Trump’s travel ban.

May 9

President Donald Trump’s initial attempt to institute a temporary travel ban on refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries was justifiably, and predictably, rejected by several courts.

The plan was poorly handled and executed; the fallout and chaos it caused were palpable. And, quite frankly, the president’s latest attempt to address this matter isn’t any better.

The first executive order sparked legal challenges, airport protests, condemnations from politicians and denunciations from advocacy groups. And the president’s response to the mayhem bordered on delusional.

“It’s working out very nicely. We’re going to have a strict ban, and we’re going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years,” he said.

But, after losing several rounds in court, the president subsequently backed down. He abandoned the worst aspects of the order, such as inexplicably including green card holders who are authorized to live and work in the United States, and has issued a new ban. For starters, the new order no longer restricts travel from Iraq, one of seven countries listed in the original order. It does include Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Yet, as before, the order shuts down the U.S. refugee program temporarily to give the federal government time to develop “extreme vetting” procedures to prevent terrorists from entering the country. And yet, as before, federal court rulings have blocked the travel ban from taking effect.

Throughout their opinions, judges rightly cite the administration’s lack of a national security justification in seeking the ban. They cite the lack of due process. And they cite the fact that our Constitution and the nation’s immigration laws are supposed to provide protection from discrimination based on religion, nationality and place of birth.

In contrast, on the campaign trail, Trump made it perfectly clear he intended to institute a “Muslim ban,” and, fittingly, his words have come back to haunt him.

What’s more, the country’s best high-tech companies - including Google, Apple and Microsoft - have denounced the policies as being bad for business. And USA Today recently reported that, if left unchecked, travel analysts predict “Trump’s temporary travel ban and an inhospitable political climate could punch an $18 billion hole in U.S. tourism by international visitors over the next two years.”

That would particularly hit New York City hard, a key destination for foreign travelers, and cause rippling economic efforts throughout the state.

So far, Trump has spent months trying to get his order in place but has failed miserably. The issue is making its way through the appellate court system and is expected to end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The president is learning the hard way that there are three branches of the government - and the courts can be a formidable obstacle when executive orders run counter to constitutional principles.

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Online:

https://pojonews.co/2pZ0VoQ

The (Syracuse) Post-Standard on pharmaceutical companies failing to help to those who volunteer for clinical trials.

May 9

How unfair that twin boys with muscular dystrophy may be denied treatment with a drug they tested in a clinical trial because their insurance company won’t pay for it.

Nolan and Jack Willis, 15, of Fayetteville, helped obtain Food and Drug Administration approval of Exondys 51. It is the only known treatment for the muscle-wasting disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The drug is expensive — $1.5 million a year to treat both boys - and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield only covers it for patients who can still walk. Their mother, Alison Willis Hoke, lost three appeals; a lawsuit may be her last resort. The drug’s manufacturer, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, provided Exondys 51 to the Willis boys for free during the appeals process but can’t do so indefinitely.

It’s easy to blame the insurer, the pharmaceutical company or both for putting profits over patients. Alas, it’s more complicated than that. For makers of “orphan drugs” that target rare diseases, research and development are risky and costly. When the pharmaceutical company charges outrageously high prices for an innovative treatment, insurers push back, to contain health care costs. Jack and Nolan are caught in the middle of a tug-of-war that is happening across the health care spectrum.

In the end, however, it seems to us that insurers and drug companies ought to place greater weight on providing costly therapies to patients who also took big risks - with their lives and health - by participating in clinical trials. The Willis boys’ willingness to do so may one day help many more children afflicted with this ultimately fatal disease.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2pwD3WN