Need is hiding in plain sight
Fall is here. And soon enough the holiday season will, too. This time though a whole new set of economic pressures will face the people who’ve already been struggling to get by.
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looking closer at.
Housing, local government, energy, community life, and the decisions that shape what comes next.
Ep. 7: The housing fix doesn’t have to be revolutionary
Upstate communities won’t solve the housing crisis with one sweeping plan. They can start by making ordinary homes legal again.
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Lessons learned about government from a tornado
Or actually, two of them ... like two or three miles apart.
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How do you avoid closing schools?
Next week I’ll get into consequences of declining enrollments across school districts in Upstate New York. So, I thought it’d be good to start with the stuff communities can do now to avoid it.
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Interactive map: How much are school districts shrinking?
This summer I tracked K-12 enrollment over the last 30 years to see what’s happening and help answer some questions I’m hearing more often. The data is stark.
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What happens when municipalities can't afford market rate?
Towns, cities, and villages can’t call it savings when low pay, chronic vacancies, and unaffordable housing leave taxpayers paying full price for half a service.
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Ep. 6: Caring enough to act is a unique thing
It's easy to complain about the world around us. But, caring enough to act, over the years it takes to create change is much harder.
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What's the line between personal responsibility and systemic failure?
When millions of people are struggling with the same problems, blaming their choices becomes a convenient way to ignore what the data has told us for years.
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Ep. 5: What’s the difference between audience and community?
As attention spans get shorter, creators are learning how to reach people faster. The harder and more important task is giving them a reason to stay.
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Where was the coverage?
Primary elections came in June, and after the contests were over, people asked the same question people in media always hear: Where was the coverage?!
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If we want to build more housing, a bigger multiplier is needed
The state already deploys revolving loan funds, but what if better execution were paired with all of the efforts we've seen to align zoning and land use so more housing could be built in scale?
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Part III: Walworth residents have a path forward, but it requires more than saying no
The real path forward requires elections, comprehensive planning and better rules before the next controversial project arrives.
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Part II: Walworth can’t legally fire everyone who delivered an unpopular outcome
Why removing Planning Board members, employees and consultants over an unpopular outcome would create more legal risk, not less.
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Part I: Walworth’s development fight can’t be solved with a townwide moratorium
Why a townwide development freeze wouldn’t erase existing approvals — and could leave Walworth taxpayers footing the legal bill.
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New York’s energy transition is becoming a blank check written by us
NYISO’s latest outlook shows how rising demand, transmission bottlenecks and unproven technology could leave households and small businesses carrying the financial risk.
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Ep. 4: Wolcott didn't just lose a grocery store
This week I sat down with Grace Rice, the former manager of Bob's Supermarket, which in recent years was known as Save-A-Lot before going independent. Last month they closed ending a decades long run.
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Ep. 3: Can communities stay the same and still thrive?
We can have thriving places again. But, it won't happen by accident.
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Ep. 2: Power and housing in Upstate New York
In Episode 2 of In Focus, I sit down with Ontario County Economic Development Director Ryan Davis and MRB Group's Matt Horn to talk about the complicated relationship between housing and power.
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New York’s utility companies created this mess. Stop asking everyone else to pay for it.
Utility companies knew the grid was falling behind long before residents did. Now New Yorkers are being asked to pay for the consequences.
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Why can't your town or county take over power?
In today’s column, we explore why most communities can’t simply take over their electric systems, despite growing frustration with utility rates.
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Ep. 1: A conversation with Margaret Morse
Seneca County Community Services Director Margaret Morse joins me to talk mental health, public policy, and why so many of the challenges facing communities are more connected than we realize.
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Why do we let tradeoffs talk us out of more housing?
There's no version of community that doesn't involve tradeoffs. They're unavoidable, and maybe, a little uncomfortable. But if we don't get comfortable with them, then we'll have much worse coming.
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Why does every development look the same?
The truth is that a lot of housing and development projects are resisted because of how they look. But there's a reason we see the same things over-and-over across the U.S.
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A reader’s housing struggle reveals the gap between words and action
After a conversation with a reader struggling to keep her family housed, I was reminded of the very real human cost communities ignore when they don't take action. And we need to talk about that.
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Newark-Wayne ending birthing services is a warning sign for the Finger Lakes
While many were surprised about RRH's decision to end birthing at Newark-Wayne, the reality is this was a long time coming after years of NIMBY-ism led community planning in shrinking, rural counties.
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Communities can’t wait for crisis before confronting reality
Serious question: Do we want towns and village or open air museums? Because many will be reduced to the latter in the years to come if we don't take problems seriously and start tuning out resistance.
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An open letter to Seneca Falls
Stepping away from housing and energy for a moment, here are a few outside thoughts on the town I grew up in as it finds itself at the center of a chaotic news cycle.
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If utilities want more money, then customers deserve answers
They say delaying grid upgrades will cost you more. Here’s what they’re not saying.
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The latest case of proposed dissolution
The Village of Addison is considering dissolution. As usual, a lot of the dialogue within the community misunderstands the relationship between changing trajectory and what dissolution offers.
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Budget crisis or badly flawed system?
Across the board, local governments and school districts are hitting the same financial wall with rising costs, limited revenue, and few easy options. It's not a budget crisis, it's what we built.
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We work to live, not live to work
Let's have another talk about AI, work, American culture, and the gaps we have in our communities today.
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Start with building small if you want to solve the housing crisis
If you live in a community where people are frustrated or even just nervous about large-scale housing proposals, then start with finding a way forward on smaller ones. Even if they're unconventional.
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Housing or environmental protections? One doesn't have to come at the expense of the other
What if housing is the biggest environmental threat we face as a region or state?
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What's affordable about affordable housing?
We talk about affordable housing, but the term is so widely misunderstood that it’s almost meaningless. Let's talk about that.
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The Finger Lakes can’t solve housing without fixing power
You can’t separate housing from infrastructure anymore. If communities are serious about growth, they need to be ready to approve it, and utilities need to be pushed to deliver capacity to support it.
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Assessments will make people mad until we find a better compromise
Everyone needs to pay their fair share, and a market-based system is by far the best one available to us, but until we compromise on execution, it will drive people mad.
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New York wants clean energy, but just can't build it
Hochul wants to make changes to New York's climate law, but will any change make the state better at executing the policy it has talked about for nearly a decade?
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Answering the AI question
A reader asked why I don't write about AI, since it's so central to the themes I write about. Let's talk about it.
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ACTION REQUIRED: School districts are still shrinking at alarming rates
Every few years I've dug into NYSED enrollment data to see where the region's school districts land. And at this point, it's more alarming than ever before.
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Assessments, housing supply, and shrinking populations
A wave of frustration and misinformation has spread over a relatively small Upstate NY town after assessment notices went out. So let's break down the process, disconnect, and what can be done.
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The senior housing trap
In aging communities, the allure of building more 'senior housing' sounds attractive. But it falls way short of actually moving the housing supply problem we see across Upstate New York.
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Communities can shape their future or have it decided for them
Communities say they want thriving downtowns and economic momentum. But as Bill Fulton explains, those outcomes require physical change many towns still resist.
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Rebuttal: NY's election law isn't a constitutional crisis
Rural elections aren’t being overrun. They’re being decided by too few people to resemble the communities they govern. I respond to an op-ed about New York's election law.
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Upstate New York needs action ... fast!
Edward Erfurt explains that actionable steps can be taken immediately by communities to start solving the real problems around housing.
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Recreational misery in the world around us
After writing about moving local elections last week, it dawned on me through conversations with readers that misery is one of the biggest reasons why folks don't participate.
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The myth about moving elections
You can move elections, but it won't move people to participate in local government. Turns out that's a bigger challenge than most in Albany realize.
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Preservation doesn't always have to mean frozen in time
I listen to people describe new housing as 'soul-less' all the time. Plain. Gray. And open concept. What does it have to do with historic preservation? A lot. So, let's talk about it.
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When housing gets stopped before there's even a proposal on paper
Sometimes communities let anxiety and selective information about new housing drown out basic planning process and long-term decision-making.
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Wishful thinking isn't effective community planning
A Byrne Dairy proposal in Weedsport is receiving a lot of backlash, but is it a bad idea? Residents want a grocery store, but that's exactly what closed on that property not too long ago.
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What happens when people figure out a policy doesn't make sense to them?
At the end of the day, policy still has to align with what people actually experience.
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This is how we end every year
It doesn't have to be the way we begin the next one though.
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What's next for The Debrief?
Change is in the air! I'll be participating in a new civic engagement project aimed at helping people understand the nuts-and-bolts of how local government works.
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Who's paying for all these grid updates anyway? Will we have blackouts anyway?
Utilities say they’re investing billions. What they rarely say is who’s actually paying and why that matters now.
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Dialogue in 2025 is a funny thing
A simple email exchange revealed just how hard it is to talk honestly about housing and wages.
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Why not try something that cuts through the noise?
What a small zoning fix in one community teaches us about rebuilding local economies from the bottom up. It's not hard to do, but does require something not seen very often in today's politics.
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Support local if you can
Supporting local businesses isn't an option for many families across the region, yet we consistently treat it as a purity test for whether individuals are good contributors to the local economy.
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Why the ‘good old days’ aren’t coming back without new neighbors
What do you see when you look around at the community you call home? What did it look like 50, 40, or even 10 years ago?
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The age of imitation
Authenticity used to mean substance. Now it’s just another label on the packaging.
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Seneca County can’t have it both ways on public safety
To pay or not to pay. Here's why Seneca County can’t have it both ways on public safety.
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The grid was built for profit: Now a bigger utility bill is coming
Local officials are warning the grid can’t handle growth, but utilities wants customers to foot the bill, and the state’s own data confirms it. Private control of public power has failed New York.
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The myth of “simple” manufacturing jobs
How a decades-long digital literacy gap is blocking workers from the very opportunities politicians keep promising.
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Shifting the cost: Fire service edition
Will dissolving the Fishers Fire District really save taxpayers money—or just shift the costs elsewhere? Let's talk response times, insurance premiums, and the price of losing public trust.
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Renting isn't a lifestyle: It's the only option as first-time homebuyers get older
Today’s first-time homebuyers are pushing 40—and in lieu of a miracle policy change—millions of renters are locked out for good.
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Progress is a marathon, not a sprint: Plans, goals, and benchmarks
Good ideas and good intentions aren’t enough—and neither is money. We need growth and measurable outcomes. The moment demands it.
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Time to think outside the box with housing
A faster, stronger, and more sustainable way to build homes exists—now it’s time for decision-makers to meet the moment and embrace change.
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Lead with a plan; not chaos or heroics
How local government can get away with functioning without a solid, long-term plan for a while, but the house of cards inevitably falls. What happens when residents are left scratching their heads?
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When the fire goes out: The fight ahead to rebuild Ovid after tragedy
A devastating fire has left a small rural town without its grocery store and economic hub. Looking back at what was, and what could be the future. Let's hope Albany steps up.
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Looking for consistency: The dollars and cents of essential services
Essential services are the backbone of our communities, but funding them is an ongoing struggle. It’s time to confront what we’re willing to sacrifice to keep costs down.
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The death of a village: What happens when communities stop participating?
Communities can't thrive on autopilot. When villages dissolve and schools close, it isn't just a loss of services—it’s a loss of identity, voice, and future.
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Are smartphone bans smart in classrooms?
The short answer is, yes, of course. But, to think the road stops there is a dramatic underestimation of the problematic relationship we have now with social media, technology, and relationships.
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Peter Mantius ends Water Front: A champion for Finger Lakes environmental journalism steps away
Veteran journalist Peter Mantius, who has relentlessly covered the Finger Lakes region's environmental issues for the last 7 years is calling it quits, as he moves to Massachusetts.
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The burden of overpromising in policy
When policies are burdened with unrealistic expectations, they often fail to deliver on their core purpose—fueling public frustration and opposition. The goal should be narrowly focused policy.
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What's next after the election?
Don't wait for change. Be change. There's so much that can be done from your own town or village! Today we take a look at Pew's collective data on voters who elected Donald Trump.
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Set it, forget it, and regret it: Don't ignore your comprehensive plans
Whether it's a roast you're cooking for the family or community comprehensive plan "set it and forget it" doesn't work. The difference between what, why, and how others have made progress.
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Asking 'why' is crucial to the future of our communities
Small towns or cities can't survive on 'no'—they need to ask why, embrace change, and find their purpose to thrive in the future.
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We can't say 'no' to everything when it comes to housing
We need to get past saying 'no' to everything and focus on making communities in Upstate New York viable again.
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Policy decisions have consequences
Good planning leads to nuanced discussions and solutions to common problems. Poor planning allows decisions to be created in a vacuum, often becoming one-dimensional.
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Who's gonna show up?
If local government does the bare, legal minimum when it comes to informing the public about its work, the community will respond with bare minimal feedback. Is that a good or bad thing?
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