Oswego, NY -- The City of Oswego will hold a community meeting 6 p.m. Wednesday to discuss ways to improve the safety for those fishing on the Oswego River, to avoid the tragedies like last week’s drowning. The meeting will be held at the EconoLodge, on the shore of the Oswego River. Oswego Mayor Randy Bateman said representatives from Brookfield...

Oswego, NY -- The City of Oswego will hold a community meeting 6 p.m. Wednesday to discuss ways to improve the safety for those fishing on the Oswego River, to avoid the tragedies like last week’s drowning.

The meeting will be held at the EconoLodge, on the shore of the Oswego River.

Oswego Mayor Randy Bateman said representatives from Brookfield Power, the Coast Guard, the Port Authority of Oswego, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, local businesses, city agencies as well as fishing guides and those who fish have been invited with the goal of figuring out how to better educate people on how to stay safe on the river.

“My goal is to get everybody involved,” Bateman said. “We’re going to brainstorm and find ways to educate.”

On Sept. 28, four fisherman were swept into the river, one drowned. On Thursday, 17 fisherman had to be rescued when rain and storm-drain runoff swelled the river.

Contact Charles McChesney at cmcchesney@syracuse.com.

The Cayuga Indian Nation won another court victory Monday in its bid to continue selling tax-free cigarettes at its LakeSide Trading stores in Union Springs and Seneca Falls. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by Cayuga and Seneca counties to overturn a recent ruling in which the state Court of Appeals sided with the Cayugas, lawyers for both...

View full sizeLauren Long / The Post-StandardMike Hopper, of Rome, completes a sale of cigarettes for Sue Beadore, of Glenfield, on Aug. 6 at the SavOn convenience store, in Verona.

The Cayuga Indian Nation won another court victory Monday in its bid to continue selling tax-free cigarettes at its LakeSide Trading stores in Union Springs and Seneca Falls. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by Cayuga and Seneca counties to overturn a recent ruling in which the state Court of Appeals sided with the Cayugas, lawyers for both sides said.

The story generated comments from syracuse.com users on both sides of the issue, and even one who had a different take on the subject. Here's what dartime had to say:

"The Indians are only in business because of NY overtaxes. If only NY would lower its taxes to that of other states and help create jobs. Actually, buying cigs from the Indians leaves more money for the consumer to help spur the economy. Buy cheaper cigs in Pa or southern states if you can. They undersell the Indians."

» Read the story and all the comments

» Read what else dartime had to say

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Clay, NY - Clay Town Supervisor Damian Ulatowski tonight proposed a $13,419,186 tentative budget, an increase in spending of $704,159. That's roughly 5.5 percent more than this year's budget. The tentative 2011 budget proposes a 13.71 percent increase in the tax rate, which is an increase of $7.68 per $1,000 in assessed value. Clay is on partial assessment. Town Comptroller...

Clay, NY - Clay Town Supervisor Damian Ulatowski tonight proposed a $13,419,186 tentative budget, an increase in spending of $704,159. That's roughly 5.5 percent more than this year's budget.

The tentative 2011 budget proposes a 13.71 percent increase in the tax rate, which is an increase of $7.68 per $1,000 in assessed value. Clay is on partial assessment. Town Comptroller John Shehadi told residents at a board meeting tonight that the average town tax bill would increase by about $65 under the tentative spending plan.

"This is an unfortunate blow to the taxpayers in Clay...," Ulatowski said.

Clay's tentative budget scales back on mileage, training and conferences, and it does not add any new employees next year, according to the supervisor's 2011 budget message.

Two of the town's roughly 105 employees took an early retirement incentive this year and their positions will not be filled, Ulatowski said. Another employee, who worked in the highway department, also retired this year. His position was filled, but with someone earning less money, the supervisor said.

Elected officials will not receive a salary increase for the third consecutive year, however employees in two bargaining units will receive a pay raise as negotiated through labor contracts. Salaries are expected to cost an additional $250,919 next year. The town also expects to pay $111,310 more in retirement contributions and $265,063 more in health insurance costs, Ulatowski said. He added that the town has no control over those costs.

"We want to revise the health coverage for union employees, but both bargaining units are currently under negotiation so we have to maintain the current coverage until agreements are reached," he said.

Earlier this year, the town changed health insurance plans for non-union employees and retirees, which saved a combined $181,000, the supervisor said.

During his budget message tonight, Ulatowski quoted G. Jeffrey Haber, executive director of the Association of Towns, who said, "Property taxes are too high in New York state, but the number of local governments has very little, if anything, to do with it."

Ulatowski also reiterated statements he had made to the Onondaga County Legislature earlier this year when the county was renegotiating a sales tax sharing agreement.

The new revenue-sharing formula, approved by lawmakers earlier this year, will give the county’s 19 towns -- including Clay -- just one-third of their previous allocation of sales tax money. That change means the county is keeping $47 million that the towns would have gotten.

"Time and time again we are called upon by our residents to answer their call for better and more efficient services, yet with each successive call the pressures of trying to deliver those services gets harder and harder as we are challenged by having to make do with less and less resources," Ulatowski said again tonight.

Clay town board members will now review the tentative 2011 budget and make recommendations.

An informational hearing on the budget has been scheduled for Oct. 18 during the town's regularly scheduled 7:30 p.m. town board meeting.

Dan Maffei and Ann Marie Buerkle sparred and attacked each other, but neither offered specifics on how to rein in spending.

View full sizeMike Greenlar / The Post StandardCongressman Dan Maffei (left) counters a point made by Republican candidate Ann Marie Buerkle during their debate Monday at WSYR-TV Channel 9. At center is moderator Dan Cummings.

Editor's note: This story was written by staff writers Paul Riede and Mark Weiner.

DeWitt, NY -- In the race to represent Central New York in Congress, one of the candidates is in tune with the people and the other is way out of the loop. The question is, which is which?

In a debate Monday that could set the tone for the rest of the campaign, U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, and Republican challenger Ann Marie Buerkle, of Onondaga Hill, both pounded away at the idea that the other is out of the mainstream.

Maffei said Buerkle listens only to one segment of the 25th District’s residents — her conservative supporters. Buerkle said Maffei is more aligned with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi than with his constituents.

The debate at WSYR-TV (Channel 9), moderated by station anchor Dan Cummings, was the first in a race that will heat up over the next four weeks, with at least three more debates scheduled for next week. It was taped Monday afternoon but will air at 8 p.m. Friday and again at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Throughout the hourlong session, Maffei sought to present himself as well within the mainstream of legislators who have represented the 25th District, which is composed of Onondaga and Wayne counties and parts of Cayuga and Monroe counties. “This is a moderate district; it’s always been a moderate district,” he said. “The Republicans and the one Democrat who represented this district before me were moderates. I think it’s important that we have a moderate legislator.”

Meanwhile, Buerkle argued that she is the true Central New Yorker. “You’re a Washington insider who has lived in Washington, and you reflect the views of Washington,” she said, turning to her opponent. “You’re not in touch with the people here.”

Maffei, seeking his second term, enters the last month of the race with a 10-to-1 advantage over Buerkle in available campaign cash. He raised more than $2.2 million for his campaign and had $1.1 million left at the end of August, according to Federal Election Commission records. Buerkle raised about $340,000, and had $182,000 remaining.

Buerkle only recently began television advertisements. Maffei has been advertising for more than a month and will likely continue to run ads daily through Election Day, Nov. 2. Buerkle is counting on the debates and public forums to bring her message to voters.

The candidates sat side by side behind the Channel 9 anchor desk Monday, rarely looking at each other and barely exchanging words during commercial breaks. As the debate wore on, the tension between the two grew more palpable.

While each vied for the middle ground, the ideological gap between them could hardly have been more clear. Maffei touted the things that government can do right, such as the bill he supported — and Buerkle opposed — to fund the hiring of more teachers across the nation. Buerkle spoke of a government that has overreached — from the “failed stimulus” to the stalled cap-and-trade legislation to the health care reform bill.

“Dan thinks that the government has all the answers, and I rely on the American people,” she said. “I rely on the people who live in the district to know what’s best for their family, to know what bank to bank in, to make the choices they need to live.”

View full sizeMike Greenlar / The Post StandardRepublican Congressional candidate Anne Marie Buerkle (right) makes a point during her Monday debate with Congressman Dan Maffei in the WSYR-TV Channel 9 studio.

Buerkle went on the attack over health care reform, which she wants to repeal. She accused Maffei and the Democrats in Congress of passing the bill without popular support. “What Dan did when he supported this health care bill is he sold the interests of the 25th District down the river and agreed to pay costs for Nebraska and Louisiana and other states in order to get them to support this bill,” she said. She said the bill would require the addition of 16,000 positions at the Internal Revenue Service.

Independent sources, including factcheck.org, have said that is a false claim.

Maffei called Buerkle’s statements “fiction” and suggested Buerkle may have picked them up from the Internet. But he hardly gave the health care bill a ringing endorsement, saying it is imperfect legislation that only began to fix a system that was heading for disaster. “We were heading off the cliff and we swerved,” he said. “We still have to do a lot more work to get back on the road. But at least we swerved, and that’s the most important thing. We took on this issue.”

Both candidates agreed that growing federal deficits are a problem, but neither voiced a lot of ideas on how to cut spending.

Maffei noted that he co-sponsored a cap on discretionary spending through 2013, a bill that passed the House but was altered in the Senate. And he said he voted against a funding plan for NASA — even though he is “a ‘Star Trek’ geek.” He said Buerkle had only one idea to cut spending — to eliminate the federal Department of Education.

“What specifically would she cut?” he asked. “It seems like we’re going back in time to an era of Bush economics, when you could have tax cuts not paid for, you could have spending on wars not paid for and somehow that doesn’t increase the deficit. That’s exactly what increases the deficit.”

Buerkle said repealing the health care bill would save money, as would reviewing the spending of all federal agencies. “This administration has created an entitlement mentality unsurpassed by anyone, and we need to cut back and figure out who we’re going to care for and how we’re going to do that,” she said.

She stood by her belief that the Department of Education be abolished. “Since the ’70s, our math and science and education scores have remained flat, and the Department of Education budget has increased 190 percent,” she said. “It’s not what’s working for our schools.”

As the debate wore on, the attacks sharpened. Buerkle said Maffei hadn’t held a public town hall meeting with his constituents since the health care bill passed. Maffei retorted that he had held two meetings specifically on the bill after its passage.

Maffei went back to 1994 in noting that Buerkle voted for a tax increase when she was on the Syracuse Common Council. Indeed, she did vote with the Republican-controlled council for a budget that raised taxes by 5.1 percent. But the council’s budget trimmed a bigger proposed tax hike.

Contact Paul Riede at priede@syracuse.com or 470-3260. Contact Washington correspondent Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751.

Also new this year: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say everyone 6 months or older should get vaccination. Plus where you can find a flu clinic.

Mike Greenlar / The Post StandardJoe Jarvis, 90, of DeWitt, gets a new high-dose flu vaccination shot designed for senior citizens on Monday at Blessed Sacrament School. The shot was administered by Nancy Clark, a registered nurse; the clinic was put on by the Regional Medical Services.

A new extra-strength seasonal flu vaccine made for people 65 and older is making its debut this flu season, but people may have trouble finding it.

Fluzone High-Dose vaccine, made by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-aventis, contains four times more antigen — the ingredient in vaccine that boosts immunity — than regular flu vaccine. People’s immune systems weaken with age, placing them at greater risk of severe flu-related illness. A higher dose of antigen is supposed to give older people a better immune response.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine in December for people 65 and older as part of its fast-track review process. Clinical studies showed the high-dose vaccine provided better immunity than regular vaccine among people in that age group. It also produced a higher rate of non-serious adverse side effects.

The FDA is making the company do more studies to see if the new vaccine will be effective in the general population.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not taken a position yet on whether older people should get the high dose vaccine.

The flu is a respiratory illness that can cause severe illness and death. Each year, the flu and its related complications cause an average of 226,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths nationwide.

Just like the regular flu vaccine, the high-dose version protects against three flu strains most likely to make people sick this flu season. One of those strains is the H1N1 swine flu strain that caused widespread illness last flu season.

Whether they get the high dose or regular dose, most people will only have to get one vaccination this year. Two vaccinations were recommended last season because the seasonal flu vaccine did not provide protection against H1N1.

While doctors’ offices and other providers seem to have plenty of regular vaccine on hand, not everyone has the high dose version.

North Medical Family Physicians, one of the Syracuse area’s largest practices, is not offering it.

“I think it’s a great marketing technique, but I don’t know if it’s any better than a regular dose,” said Dr. Robert Feldman, who chairs the practice’s immunization committee. “I don’t see any strong benefit in it as of yet.”

He said the best way to prevent the flu in the elderly is to vaccinate children, who tend to spread the virus.

“If you take a village and vaccinate all the children, the amount of influenza in the elderly drops tremendously,” Feldman said. “We really need to not just immunize people over 65 or people at risk. We need to immunize almost everybody.”

In a new recommendation this season, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says everyone 6 months or older should get an annual flu vaccination.

The Onondaga County Health Department will not offer the high dose version at any of its 14 clinics scheduled from Oct. 26 through Nov. 23. Dr. Cynthia Morrow, the county’s health commissioner, said her department is waiting to see how it works.

Loretto, which has already vaccinated all its nursing home residents, is not using the new vaccine. “Our people looked at it months ago and made a decision there wasn’t enough evidence yet to back it up,” said Michael Connor, a Loretto spokesman.

The high-dose shot also is not available from Maxim Health Services, one of the nation’s biggest vaccinators that runs flu clinics in Rite Aid, Kinney Drugs, P&C Pharmacy and other chain stores.

Dr. Jeff Sneider, a solo practitioner in Syracuse, ordered 50 doses of the new vaccine for his patients.

“I think the patients who accept it will be the ones who want to be on the edge, be out front, go to the health food store and do everything right,” he said.

If the vaccine works well, Sneider said regulators may eventually allow it to be administered people of all ages who have weakened immune systems.

Regional Medical Services, a Camillus nonprofit that puts on flu shot clinics in area malls, senior centers and other locations, is offering the high-dose version. So is CNY Family Care, a large family medicine practice in East Syracuse, and Kmart pharmacies.

Pamela Wilson, director of nursing at CNY Family Care, said her practice is not automatically giving the high dose vaccine to all older patients. “If a physician feels a patient is at higher risk because they have respiratory problems, diabetes or some underlying disease process than the doctor may choose to offer them the high dose,” she said.

The high dose vaccine costs more.

Kmart is charging $45 a shot for the high dose shot, $20 more than it charges for the regular dose. The new vaccine is covered by Medicare.

James T. Mulder can be reached at 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com

Cayuga, NY -- A boil water advisory remains in effect for the Village of Cayuga and the Town of Aurelius Water District 3, which includes residents along State Route 90. The Cayuga County Health Department issued a boil water advisory on Sept. 25 after a water main break and loss of pressure in the distribution system for the village. The...

Cayuga, NY -- A boil water advisory remains in effect for the Village of Cayuga and the Town of Aurelius Water District 3, which includes residents along State Route 90.

The Cayuga County Health Department issued a boil water advisory on Sept. 25 after a water main break and loss of pressure in the distribution system for the village.

The department said Monday that it expects the boiled water advisory to remain in effect throughout the week. It asked customers to continue to conserve water so that the plant's operation can be reduced.

People should not drink the water without boiling it first. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice.

There have been problems with water clarity since the break and repair, the department said.

A storage tank was filled over the weekend, and the village is making some minor improvements to the plant, which should improve the water filter's performance.

The department said it will not lift the boil water advisory until the filter plant consistently produces water that meets clarity standards, and water samples show that no harmful bacteria is in the system.

Also: U.S. strike kills 8 German militants in Pakistan.

APFaisal Shahzad

From BBC News:

The man convicted of an attempted car bomb attack in New York's Times Square is due to be sentenced at a court in Manhattan.

Faisal Shahzad faces a mandatory life sentence after pleading guilty in June to 10 weapons and terrorism charges.

Prosecutors say the Pakistani-born US citizen has not shown any remorse for his actions.

Explosives packed into the vehicle on 1 May failed to detonate and Shahzad was arrested two days later.

» Russian scientists win Nobel Prize in physics [The Associated Press]

» U.S. Strike Kills Eight German Militants in Pakistan Amid Terror Warnings [Bloomberg]

» Dieters need a good night's sleep to fight fat: study [Reuters]

Syracuse, NY -- More than 100 high school students will visit six Central New York manufacturers today for the first ever Manufacturing Career Days, sponsored by the Manufacturers Association of Central New York and Partners for Education and Business Inc. Air Innovations, Inficon, Nixon Gear, Revonate, Seneca and Welch Allyn are participating in the event that includes tours and job...

Syracuse, NY -- More than 100 high school students will visit six Central New York manufacturers today for the first ever Manufacturing Career Days, sponsored by the Manufacturers Association of Central New York and Partners for Education and Business Inc.

Air Innovations, Inficon, Nixon Gear, Revonate, Seneca and Welch Allyn are participating in the event that includes tours and job shadowing.

The event is designed to spark student interest in manufacturing careers.

Syracuse, NY – With Election Day only four weeks off, three candidates for major offices will bring their campaigns to the Syracuse area today. Syracuse resident Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for governor, will meet the media at 11 a.m. to talk about his plan to reduce property taxes. The news conference is in front of the Onondaga County...

Syracuse, NY – With Election Day only four weeks off, three candidates for major offices will bring their campaigns to the Syracuse area today.

Syracuse resident Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for governor, will meet the media at 11 a.m. to talk about his plan to reduce property taxes. The news conference is in front of the Onondaga County Courthouse on Columbus Circle if the weather is good, or at local Green Party headquarters, 2617 S. Salina St., if it’s not.

Joe DioGuardi, the Republican/Conservative candidate challenging Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand for her U.S. Senate seat, plans a news conference at 11 a.m. at Rural/Metro Medical Services, 488 W. Onondaga St., followed by a meet-and-greet at 12:30 p.m. at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, 246 W. Willow St.

Gillibrand will follow him at 3:30 p.m. with an appearance at SRCTec Inc., 5801 E. Taft Road, Cicero. She plans to talk about how to spur manufacturing job growth and move toward clean energy production, including bills that would provide grants and tax credits to manufacturers whose products go into alternative energy projects. Gillibrand also has the Independence and Working Families lines.

A recent poll in New Hampshire tested Trump's popularity as a potential Republican candidate.

APBillionaire businessman Donald Trump.

Appearing on "Fox & Friends" and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe" on Tuesday, Donald Trump said he is "absolutely thinking about" a run for president in 2012.

The real estate mogul and host of the popular NBC reality television series 'The Apprentice' made the remarks one day after saying he was not behind a recent New Hampshire poll that tested his popularity as a potential Republican candidate.

According to Time Magazine's Mark Halperin, New Hampshire residents were polled in September about several potential Republican candidates for 2012, including about 30 questions on Trump.

"The Republican field is so weak and so unsettled, there's some candidates there who could develop into strong ones, but there's no clear front-runner the way the Republicans usually have. If Trump decides to run as a Republican, I think as we've seen in the past, he knows how to get attention," Halperin told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough.

In an interview on CNN's "American Morning" on Monday, Trump said, "I will say this, somebody has to do something or this country is not going to be a very great country for long."

What do you think - should Donald Trump run for president? Leave your comments below.

» Time: Halperin's Take: Why Trump Is In The Mix

» NY Times: Ambitious, Donald? “Absolutely” Trumps “Certainly Not”

» WRGB: Donald Trump considering run for president

» CNN: Trump says he's not behind mysterious NH poll

Get complete Politics & Elections coverage on syracuse.com.

Oswego, NY -- The Oswego County district attorney's office has a week to decide to seek permission from the state Court of Appeals to challenge the ruling that dismissed the felony charges against Katherine and Richard Graham. Oswego County Court Judge Walter Hafner dismissed the felony charges against the town of Oswego couple in April and the district attorney's office...

Oswego, NY -- The Oswego County district attorney's office has a week to decide to seek permission from the state Court of Appeals to challenge the ruling that dismissed the felony charges against Katherine and Richard Graham.

Oswego County Court Judge Walter Hafner dismissed the felony charges against the town of Oswego couple in April and the district attorney's office appealed. The justices in the Supreme Court Appellate Division Fourth Judicial Department heard the arguments and agreed with Hafner's ruling.

Katherine Graham, 26, and Richard Graham, 29, originally were charged with two felony counts each of assault and reckless endangerment and two misdemeanor counts each of assault, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.

During a hearing for them Tuesday morning in Oswego County Court, District Attorney Donald Dodd asked Hafner for a week to look into appealing the decision to dismiss the felonies to the state's top court, the Court of Appeals.

Hafner seems a bit perplexed at the request. He told Dodd that the appellate court was unanimous in its decision and no new legal issues or questions were mentioned in the appellate court's ruling.

The Grahams, of 208 Furniss Station Road, town of Oswego, were accused of failing to supply adequate food to their twins, who were 14 months old when the parents were arrested last summer.

Ithaca, NY – The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology is seeking backyard birdwatchers to help with Project FeederWatch. The program, which launches its 24th season on Nov. 13, compiles information from birders to help Cornell scientists track patterns in bird populations around the country. The season ends April 8. “By engaging the public we are able to pick up...

View full sizeGord Belyea / CornellEvening Grosbeak.

Ithaca, NY – The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology is seeking backyard birdwatchers to help with Project FeederWatch.

The program, which launches its 24th season on Nov. 13, compiles information from birders to help Cornell scientists track patterns in bird populations around the country. The season ends April 8.

“By engaging the public we are able to pick up fluctuations that could be the result of climate change, habitat destruction, disease or other environmental factors,” project leader David Bonter said. “These are large-scale changes that we would not be able to see without the massive amount of data we receive from our participants.”

Among the changes noted by project scientists are the declining numbers of the Evening Grosbeak, once one of the most common backyard birds, the expansion northward of the Northern Cardinal and Anna’s Hummingbird, and the invasion of the nonnative Eurasian Collared-Dove into North America, lab officials said.

It costs $15 to enroll in Project FeederWatch. Visit www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw or call the lab toll-free at (866) 989-2473 to learn more and to sign up.

Also: Firefighters watch and do nothing as home burns down; a tax on taxes.

» Firefighters watch as home burns to the ground [WSPD 6]

» If you do this in an e-mail, I hate you [The Oatmeal]

» Spotswood police remove woman sealed in duct tape-covered car [NJ.com]

» City considers taxing taxes [Detroit Free Press]

At least 7 became ill a few weeks ago, from the same bacterial infection that sickened more than 200 there in 2008.

Dick Blume / The Post-StandardAt least seven people in Central New York have become ill with the bacterial infection Campylobacter after eating at Hinerwadel's Grove in North Syracuse.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Public health officials are investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness among people who ate at Hinerwadel’s Grove in North Syracuse.

At least seven people in Central New York became ill with the bacterial infection Campylobacter after eating at Hinerwadel’s Sept. 15, according to the Onondaga County Health Department. The infection can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. People who become ill from the infection can have symptoms for up to two weeks.

The incubation period for the infection can be as long as 10 days. Dr. Cynthia Morrow, the county’s health commissioner, said she anticipates the number of people ill associated with the outbreak will grow.

The Health Department said there is no indication of improper food handling at Hinerwadels. The department said it is working to determine the source of the infection.

The Health Department is asking anyone who ate at Hinerwadel's on or after Sept. 15 and who became ill to call the department at 435-6607.

More than 200 people got sick at Hinerwadel’s in 2008 from the same infection. Raw mahogany clams were suspected as the source of that outbreak.

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse high school student is facing a misdemeanor weapon possession charge after police found the student with a pellet gun during school hours Monday. Nottingham High School student Jerome Bowens, 16, of 101 Fernwood Ave., is charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds. Police were called to the area of Meadowbrook Drive and Brookford...

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse high school student is facing a misdemeanor weapon possession charge after police found the student with a pellet gun during school hours Monday.

Nottingham High School student Jerome Bowens, 16, of 101 Fernwood Ave., is charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds.

Police were called to the area of Meadowbrook Drive and Brookford Road about 9 a.m. after a witness reported seeing a male showing a handgun to several other males, Deputy Police Chief Joe Cecile said. Police found four males that fit the witness's description in the 3000 block of East Genesee Street and, when questioning them, found a gun in Bowens’ waistband, Cecile said.

The pellet gun was manufactured to resemble a .45-caliber Glock handgun, Cecile said.

Bowens admitted having the gun with him when he went to class at Nottingham earlier in the morning and had put the gun inside his locker before heading to class, Cecile said.

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse man today admitted robbing five people at a North Side social club in May. Tommy Downing, 36, of 119 E. Matson Ave., pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi to five felony counts of first-degree robbery. He admitted acting together with another man to commit the holdup May 6 at a private social club...

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse man today admitted robbing five people at a North Side social club in May.

Tommy Downing, 36, of 119 E. Matson Ave., pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi to five felony counts of first-degree robbery.

He admitted acting together with another man to commit the holdup May 6 at a private social club in the 300 block of North Salina Street.

The plea deal calls for Downing to be sentenced Oct. 26 to 10 years in state prison. He could have faced a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison for his role in the heist.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Kasmarek said the victims were playing cards when Downing and the second suspect came in and committed the robbery. The prosecutor said Downing pulled a gun and pistol-whipped a couple of the victims before he and his companion stole money and jewelry from the five victims.

Defense lawyer Patricia Campbell said one gun was involved in the holdup and it apparently was passed back and forth by Downing and the second suspect during the heist.

That second suspect, Willie Hill, 35, of 114 Crippen Place, also was in court today. Aloi offered him the same 10-year prison deal and gave him until Friday to make a decision on whether to accept it and plead guilty.

As part of Downing's plea deal, Kasmarek agreed there would be no prosecution of Downing in connection with a January street robbery that was under investigation but for which no charges had yet been filed.

In reversal, Hoffman says he does not want to split the vote in three-way race.

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in New York's 23rd district, dropped out of the race today. He is shown here conceding the special election for the seat last year at his campaign headquarters in Saranac Lake.

Washington -- Doug Hoffman, who helped ignite the national Tea Party movement last year but whose second bid for Congress fell flat, withdrew from the race today in the 23rd Congressional District.

Hoffman lost the Republican primary to Matt Doheny on Sept, 14 but insisted he would stay in the race on the Conservative Party line.

After repeated suggestions that he would only be a spoiler and hand the election to U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, Hoffman said today he would step aside.

"It was never my intention to split the Republican vote in the 23rd District," Hoffman said in a statement. "So today, I withdraw as a candidate from this race. Under New York State Election Law my name cannot be removed from the Conservative Party line on the ballot. However, I strongly urge and request that my supporters not vote for me and certainly not vote for the Democrat or Working Families Party candidate."

Hoffman also endorsed Doheny, who he long criticized as too "liberal" and a Wall Street insider out of touch with the 23rd District.

"Matt Doheny and I may have differed on some issues during the course of our primary race," Hoffman said. "Now, we must put those differences aside and do what is best for our nation. So today, I am asking all my supporters to cast their vote for Matt Doheny on Election Day, November 2nd."

Doheny welcomed Hoffman's support: "Doug Hoffman deserves a round of applause from everyone across the 23rd who want to see this Congressional seat back in conservative, Republican hands," Doheny said. "And he deserves a round of applause from the voters across this nation who will bring fiscal sanity back to Washington, D.C. by electing a Republican House majority in November."

Doheny added, "I thank Doug for carrying the conservative torch in the 23rd, and am deeply appreciative that today he has passed that torch to me."

Doheny,who was in Watertown this morning, planned to travel to Syracuse at 4 p.m. to address the media.

Since the primary, Hoffman has seen some of his base move to Doheny. Leaders of the Upstate New York Tea Party said they would switch their personal endorsements to Doheny. A formal vote of the full group was still being tabulated.

Contact Washington correspondent Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751.

Many say the park was only place to take their dogs off-leash. County says rules never changed, just signs went up.

Frank Ordonez/The Post-Standard Lisa Baer, (left), Leigh Neumann (center) and Kathy Coffin walk their dogs in a designated area at Jamesville Beach Park. Over the summer, Onondaga County installed signs reminding people that dogs are required to be on a leash at the park.

For several years, Megan Leach and numerous others have hiked the back trails at Jamesville Beach Park with their dogs running alongside them, off their leashes.

Onondaga County this summer installed signs telling people to keep their dogs on their leashes. It’s not a change in policy, just a reminder of what the park rules are, county officials say.

Dozens of dog owners, however, say they’re upset and frustrated that they can’t run their dogs off leash anymore.

“We go to Jamesville because we like to hike the trails with our dogs off leash,” said Leach, of DeWitt. “It’s so much better exercise, and we have no other area to go. There’s a million other places people can go to walk, jog or cycle, but nowhere else for us.”

Leach and a group of supporters sent a letter to the county, asking for some type of mutually agreeable solution. Leach said they’re suggesting people register their dogs and pay a fee to hike with them off-leash on the trails. Then, if there’s any incident, the dogs can be tracked.

Onondaga County Parks Commissioner Bill Lansley said dogs have never been permitted to run off-leash along those trails, but many people started doing it and nothing was said. Recently, some neighbors and other park-goers have complained, and the county decided the new signs were necessary to enforce the regulations, he said.

“There are two large fields in the park that are designed where dogs can run off their leashes,” Lansley said. “After we got some complaints, we decided to put up the signs to indicate where the boundaries are. We realize people who were using the trails this way might be surprised, but it’s not a change.”

Mark Orr, of Syracuse, who brings Shelby and Greta, his two Chocolate Labrador retrievers, to the trails to run with him, is disappointed.

“It’s the most wonderful place for the dogs, and I really like hiking the trails with my dogs,” Orr said. “I always thought it was a given we could be there.”

Orr said some people have reported they’ve been issued tickets by park police for being on the trails with their dogs off-leash.

Lansley said his office is willing to talk with the park users about the issue, but made no promises.

Roni Morgenstern, of Chittenango, hopes something can be worked out. She said it’s therapy for her to walk along the trails with Remy, her Labrador.

“I go during all the seasons, and I was so surprised when suddenly the signs went up with no discussion,” she said. “I just don’t like the process. I think together we could sit down and solve a problem, and have a discussion about how we can all share the park.”

Marilyn Lerman, who will soon be 80, said Jamesville is the only place where she can exercise her dog.

“The field they want us to go in with our dogs off leash is too breezy in the winter,” she said. “The dogs aren’t aggressive; they just like to run on the trails with their owners. This is the only place we had.”

Contact Elizabeth Doran at edoran@syracuse.com or 470-3012

New York — A Pakistani immigrant who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison by a judge who said she hopes he spends some of his time behind bars thinking “carefully about whether the Quran wants you to kill lots of people.” Faisal Shahzad’s thirst for bloodshed showed no...

APFaisal Shahzad

New York — A Pakistani immigrant who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison by a judge who said she hopes he spends some of his time behind bars thinking “carefully about whether the Quran wants you to kill lots of people.”

Faisal Shahzad’s thirst for bloodshed showed no signs of waning as he and U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum sparred repeatedly over his reasoning for giving up his comfortable life in America to train in Pakistan and carry out a potentially deadly May 1 attack in the heart of Times Square.

Instead of exploding, his massive bomb in the back of an SUV sputtered, attracting the attention of a street vendor, who alerted police. The discovery set off an evacuation of the tourist-laden area and a massive investigation that resulted in his arrest two days later as he sought to flee the country.

“You appear to be someone who was capable of education and I do hope you will spend some of the time in prison thinking carefully about whether the Quran wants you to kill lots of people,” Cedarbaum told Shahzad after she announced his mandatory life sentence, which under federal sentencing rules will keep him behind bars until he dies.

Shahzad, 31, responded that the “Quran gives us the right to defend. And that’s all I’m doing.”

Earlier, Shahzad offered a lecture of his own for Americans, saying he felt no remorse.

“We are only Muslims ... but if you call us terrorists, we are proud terrorists and we will keep on terrorizing you,” he said.

At another point, he said: “The defeat of the U.S. is imminent.”

Cedarbaum said her sentence was very important “to protect the public from further crimes of this defendant and others who would seek to follow him.”

During Shahzad’s statement, Cedarbaum cut him off at one point to ask if he had sworn allegiance to the United States when he became a citizen last year.

“I did swear but I did not mean it,” said Shahzad, a former budget analyst from Connecticut who was born in Pakistan.

“So you took a false oath,” the judge told him.

Shahzad demonstrated throughout the half-hour proceeding in Manhattan that he had not wavered in the months since he pleaded guilty in June to 10 terrorism and weapons counts, some of which carry mandatory life sentences.

“I want to plead guilty and I’m going to plead guilty a hundred times forward,” he said in June.

On Tuesday, he picked up where he left off.

“If I’m given 1,000 lives I will sacrifice them all for the life of Allah,” he said at the start of a statement that lasted several minutes and was interrupted several times by the judge who said she wanted to hear what he had to say about his sentencing. “How can I be judged by a court that does not understand the suffering of my people?”

Shahzad, who last year received explosives training in Pakistan to prepare for his bombing attempt, said attacks on Americans will continue until the United States leaves Muslim lands.

“We do not accept your democracy or your freedom because we already have Sharia law and freedom,” Shahzad said.

Two deputy U.S. marshals stood behind Shahzad throughout the sentencing.

Shahzad had instructed his attorney not to speak, and smirked as the judge announced her sentence. When a prosecutor tried to speak, the judge told him it wasn’t necessary.

Asked by the judge if he had any final words, Shahzad said, “I’m happy with the deal that God has given me.”

Syracuse, NY – New York state can cut local property taxes if the state takes over paying the local share of Medicaid and makes four other reforms, the Green Party candidate for governor said this morning. The five-point property tax-cutting platform laid out by Howie Hawkins also included: • Enacting a single-payer healthcare system in the state • Obeying...

File photographHowie Hawkins.

Syracuse, NY – New York state can cut local property taxes if the state takes over paying the local share of Medicaid and makes four other reforms, the Green Party candidate for governor said this morning.

The five-point property tax-cutting platform laid out by Howie Hawkins also included:

• Enacting a single-payer healthcare system in the state
• Obeying a law that he said calls for the state to share 8 percent of its revenues with localities, not the 2 percent now shared
• Increasing state spending on schools
• Ending income tax breaks he said benefit the rich.

“The major difference between me and the major parties is they are protecting the tax cuts for the rich and they want the working people and the general public that use public services to pay for the deficit,” Hawkins said.

“I think that’s totally unnecessary and a recipe for dead-end depression, because where the economy is right now, we need to increase public spending to get business investment and consumer demand up,” he said.

Enacting his program would cut combined state and local taxes for the 95 percent of New Yorkers who earn less than $200,000, Hawkins said.

The New York Association of Counties shares his view that the state should take over the local Medicaid burden, typically the biggest expense of county governments, he said.

“My plan is in the mainstream of New York politics and the plans of Democrat Andrew Cuomo to cap property taxes, or Republican Carl Paladino, to have a mandatory cut in property taxes, is out of the mainstream,” Hawkins said. Local leaders around the state have told him they fear caps or cuts would force funding cuts for schools, police and other services, he said.

Starting a publicly financed single-payer health care system would be the best way for the state to take over Medicaid, he said. Such a system would cut out high administrative costs and executive salaries, duplicative services and the profit-oriented pricing generated by private insurers, he said.

Income tax reforms such as ending the rebate of stock transfer taxes, reverting to the state income tax structure of the 1970s and imposing a 50 percent tax on bankers’ bonuses would raise $34 billion more for the state, Hawkins said.

He rejected the notion that they would drive the finance industry out of New York City, saying the nation’s money people need to stay where its financial business is done.