The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

The Corning Leader reports that an earmark obtained by Randy Kuhl has expired and will have to be re-appropriated.

The Star-Gazette has a few more details about Massa's in-district recovery czar. I agree with Dragonflyeye that keeping a database of what's spent would be a good job for Mr. Heenan.

Stu Rothenberg at the Rothenberg Political Report has a couple of posts for those of us who can't wait for the next election. First, he's got the 29th ranked as "Democrat Favored", the safest rating for a competitive race. However, he says that Massa could be vulnerable if Republicans come up with a "strong challenger".

If you're curious why the Chamber of Commerce, usually a solid backer of Republicans, has been praising Democrats, perhaps this snippet from a post at MonroeRising will provide a clue:

...there’s plenty of pork, like the millions for the grape center in Geneva, NY, thanks to Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Reps. Maurice Hinchey and Michael Arcuri.

MonroeRising runs that quote with a pig cartoon, because, to them, the grape center is obviously "pork".

I have a Republican, conservative friend who's also a successful entrepreneur. The other day, he was describing a new food product that he's developing. He used a government center (I believe it's the grape center -- it was in the Geneva area) to help him with the product. He provided the center with an idea and a sample of the product. In a few days, a food scientist at the center had analyzed his sample, provided ideas on where to source the raw materials, and gave him references to factories in the area that could mix and package it.

My friend had nothing but good to say about the center. He was impressed by the professionalism of the employees and the quality of the advice he got there.

I'm sure there are many legitimate questions to ask about whether the grape center needs a $2.2 million earmark. But I'm also sure that the Chamber of Commerce is A-OK with that earmark, because it's there to benefit the kinds of people who pay Chamber of Commerce dues and who, until recently, believed that Republicans has their best interests at heart. How things have changed.

I received this mailer [pdf] in yesterday's mail. It was created by a consortium of unions and drug companies, and it congratulates Eric Massa for voting for S-CHIP expansion.

The Hill points out that the Chamber of Commerce is congratulating Massa for his vote on the stimulus package.

Seeing the Chamber of Commerce and drug companies spending money to congratulate Massa has me waiting for frogs to fall out of the sky, peering at the horizon in search of horsemen.

The Corning Leader covers Massa's Tuesday press conference, which included a discussion of an earmark for the Corning transportation center.

The Star-Gazette has Massa's reaction to last night's speech. Spoiler alert: he liked it.

The Hornell Evening Tribune has an update on wind power in the Cohocton area, along with some commentary from Eric Massa. Massa's also mentioned in a Messenger-Post editorial about struggling dairy farmers.

The Democrat and Chronicle and Star-Gazette have a Gannett News Service story about local Representatives' expectations for President Obama's speech tonight. According to the D&C headline, they want optimism and truth. Reading today's financial headlines, those seem mutually exclusive.

The Corning Leader reports on some more New York State Senate member items that have been taken away. This is related to an earlier post about the loss of those items in Penn Yan.

The Democrat and Chronicle and Messenger-Post have stories detailing the local impact of stimulus funds. In the D&C story, area Representatives (including Massa) say they're worried that the money will be bottled up by New York State and fail to reach cities and counties.

Eric Massa has an op-ed in todays D&C, disputing Wednesday's editorial about corporate donations.

The Messenger-Post covers Massa's town hall meeting in Canandaigua and his meeting with their editorial board.