Video: First efforts came with a barf pail for tasters.

Wasilla, Alaska — Move over fruit and vegetable flavored vodkas, and make room for a meatier taste.

The Alaska Distillery has just introduced its new Smoked Salmon Flavored Vodka.

It comes out about a year after a Seattle-based distillery, Black Rock Spirits, puts it bacon-infused vodka on the market.

Both vodkas have a smoky taste, and were intended to complement Bloody Marys. But mixologists and chefs are coming up with other carnivorous creations for the vodkas.

The Bakon Vodka will be available in 20 states within a month. The salmon-infused version can be found in Alaska, and a first shipment went out June 16 to Texas. The makers also hope to be on the shelves soon in California and Washington state.

He cooperated against accomplices and got 13 years in prison for weapon possession (video).

Syracuse, NY - The last of three men charged in the fatal shooting of a Syracuse cab driver received a break on his prison time - and an unusual thank you from the victim's family - as he was sentenced today.

Denny DeJesus broke down in tears as he offered an apology to the family of Timothy Gordon.

DeJesus had begun crying when Gordon's sister, Sherry, thanked him in court today for cooperating with authorities to bring the other two defendants to justice.

Timothy Gordon, 29, of Carbon Street, was found shot in the head in his overturned cab on Summit Avenue in the city's Strathmore neighborhood Jan. 29, 2009. He died the following day in the hospital.

DeJesus, 21, of Court Street, pleaded guilty in January to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

He had been promised a sentence of 15 years in state prison. But County Judge William Walsh today knocked two years off and sentenced DeJesus to 13 years in prison in recognition of his cooperation with authorities.

After DeJesus pleaded guilty to the gun charge and agreed to cooperate against his accomplices, 19-year-old Chuckie Phillips pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and admitted being the gunman who actually shot Gordon during a robbery attempt.

DeJesus then testified for the prosecution at trial against Eduardo Trinidad-Ayala, who ended up being convicted of second-degree murder, attempted robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.

Trinidad-Ayala, 24, of Gifford Street, was sentenced last month to serve 40 years to life in state prison. Phillips was sentenced to serve 20 years to life in prison.

Joe Blum / The Post-Standard, 2009Syracuse firefighters work to clean up the wreckage at Summit and Stolp avenues after cab driver Tim Gordon was shot in the head.

Sherry Gordon today acknowledged those other two defendants may never have been convicted but for DeJesus. For that, she publicly thanked him in court.

But she said she also wished he had called 911 after the shooting, adding that might have made a difference for her brother. She then urged DeJesus to learn from his mistakes so he might be a better person when he gets out of prison.

"I would like to apologize for what happened," DeJesus said in court today before he broke down in tears and was unable to continue his remarks. Defense lawyer Christine Cook told the judge her client wanted to tell the family he was sorry.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Doran also commended DeJesus for his cooperation. But the prosecutor could not bring himself to specifically ask for a reduction in the promised 15-year sentence, leaving that to the discretion of the judge.

Authorities initially thought DeJesus was the killer based on information provided to police by Phillips and Trinidad-Ayala.

Given that his accomplices were blaming DeJesus, DeJesus' decision to cooperate and implicate the other defendants could have been motivated by his own self interest, Doran conceded today. But the prosecutor said he believed DeJesus' remorse was genuine.

Walsh granted the two-year sentencing reduction without comment. He also sentenced DeJesus to a concurrent penalty of seven years in prison for violating probation in an earlier assault case.

"I'm glad that it's over," Sherry Gordon said as she left court with other members of the family. "I'm glad that the family gets some closure."

But she also said she felt bad for DeJesus' family for losing him to state prison. DeJesus' mother left the courtroom sobbing after the sentencing.

Sherry Gordon admitted outside the courtroom that thanking DeJesus had been difficult as he, too, deserved to go to prison for his role in her brother's death. But she acknowledged DeJesus seemed to be genuinely remorseful, unlike the other defendants.

"It's a hard pill to swallow, but you have to be the bigger person," she said in explaining her willingness to thank DeJesus for his cooperation.

Nonetheless, she said, the defendants never needed to shoot her brother. Her brother probably would not have even given chase had they stuck to the original plan to just skip out on paying the cab fare, she added.

She also noted her brother had already offered the defendants a discount in the fare. It went from a $30 fare to $9 to free but ended up costing her brother his life, she said.

But she said she suspected her brother's soul was now at rest given the completion of the case. But even that won't make it easier for the family since they have to go on without their loved one, she noted.

Also: Bayonets in stroller a no-no; teens using Botox.

The Associated Press

From The Associated Press:

Oversharing on social networks has led to an overabundance of evidence in divorce cases. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says 81 percent of its members have used or faced evidence plucked from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking sites, including YouTube and LinkedIn, over the last five years. Among the cases:

• Husband goes on Match.com and declares his single, childless status while seeking primary custody of said nonexistent children.

• Mom denies in court that she smokes marijuana but posts partying, pot-smoking photos of herself on Facebook.

» Read the story: Divorce lawyers: Facebook tops in online evidence [The Associated Press]

In other news:

» Two Rome men attempt to drive Jeep across Mohawk River [The Post-Standard]

» Drunken couple arrested after they were seen pushing a baby stroller with two young boys, open containers of alcohol and a bayonet inside at 1:30 a.m. [AnnArbor.com]

» Osama's out to get me, 'Rambo' says in NY [New York Post]

» Wrinkles? Whatever. Teens turn to Botox [MSNBC]

Tampa, Fla. — Two Tampa police officers were killed in an early Tuesday shooting during a traffic stop that has prompted a massive manhunt for two people. fficer David Curtis pulled over a red Toyota Camry around 2:15 a.m. because it didn’t have a visible tag. He called for back up after a background check revealed the male passenger...

Chris O'Meara / The Associated PressLaw enforcement officers fan out looking for evidence Tuesday near the location where two Tampa, Fla., police officers were shot during a traffic stop. Officials said 31-year-old Officer David Curtis died at Tampa General Hospital. Officer Jeffrey Kocab, also 31, had died earlier following the shooting.

Tampa, Fla. — Two Tampa police officers were killed in an early Tuesday shooting during a traffic stop that has prompted a massive manhunt for two people.

fficer David Curtis pulled over a red Toyota Camry around 2:15 a.m. because it didn’t have a visible tag. He called for back up after a background check revealed the male passenger in the car was wanted on a misdemeanor charge for writing a worthless check in Jacksonville, Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

The two officers approached the passenger side of the car. Six minutes after the traffic stop, a witness called to say Curtis and Officer Jeffrey Kocab had been shot. Authorities arrived to find them lying on the ground. Kocab and Curtis, both 31, were pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

Helicopters, police dogs and dozens of officers in bullet proof vests searched for the passenger, who is believed to be the shooter. A female who was driving the car was also being sought, McElroy said.

Tampa police said they were searching for Dontae Rashawn Morris, 24, and Cortnee Nicole Brantly, 22, who they described as persons of interest.

Police cordoned off an apartment building a few miles away, but no other details were available.

“We know they are armed and extremely dangerous,” McElroy said. “We don’t know what else they’re capable of.”

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and Mayor Pam Iorio announced Kocab’s death at a news conference at the hospital where the officers were taken. Dozens of somber officers filled the hospital.

Kocab had been on the force for 14 months. His wife is nine months pregnant with their first child, police said.

Curtis, a father of four boys, had nearly four years with the department. He remained on life support as doctors prepared to harvest his organs at the family’s request.

“They both said how much Dave and Jeff loved being a Tampa police officer. They both said their loved ones loved going to work everyday...that it was the best job in the world,” Mayor Pam Iorio said of the officers’ families.

“It’s just been heart wrenching as the family members have said goodbye to their loved ones and then it’s been heart wrenching to see the officers and how much they respect them,” she said.

This is the region’s second incident of law enforcers being shot in less than a week. Two Polk County deputies were shot early Friday in Lakeland after stopping a man riding a bicycle. They are expected to recover.

Brutus, NY -- Three Oswego County men were charged Sunday with pointing a green laser pointer pen at motorists on the Thruway. Sgt. Robert Simon of the Thruway State Police in East Syracuse said Joseph C. Ridgeway, 23, of 23 Bridge St., Pulaski, Frederick R. Sabine Jr., 32, of 3 Chinook Lane, Altmar, and Brian D. Farrell, 24, of 9...

Brutus, NY -- Three Oswego County men were charged Sunday with pointing a green laser pointer pen at motorists on the Thruway.

Sgt. Robert Simon of the Thruway State Police in East Syracuse said Joseph C. Ridgeway, 23, of 23 Bridge St., Pulaski, Frederick R. Sabine Jr., 32, of 3 Chinook Lane, Altmar, and Brian D. Farrell, 24, of 9 Broad St., Pulaski, were charged with disorderly conduct, a violation.

Simon said the trio was in a Penske yellow truck heading west and were arrested at the Seneca Service Center near Victor.

Troopers had received reports from other motorists that people in a truck were shining a green laser pointer at them going through a construction area in the town of Brutus, Cayuga County.

The three men will appear in Brutus town court at a later date.

Palermo, NY--Monday night Margaret Meldrim saw a hay feeder fly. The Meldrims had finished their evening chores around 7:30 p.m. after a humid day at their J120-acre Jackson Road farm in Palermo. Looking out her kitchen window as she was cooking dinner, Margaret told her husband Bruce they had a storm coming in. “Then I heard a freight train coming...

Palermo, NY--Monday night Margaret Meldrim saw a hay feeder fly.

The Meldrims had finished their evening chores around 7:30 p.m. after a humid day at their J120-acre Jackson Road farm in Palermo. Looking out her kitchen window as she was cooking dinner, Margaret told her husband Bruce they had a storm coming in.

“Then I heard a freight train coming through,” she said. “I saw my hay feeders that weigh a couple hundred pounds spinning in the air, 40 feet in the air.”

Today one of the hay feeders lay underneath a crumpled lean-to.

The Meldrims spent this morning speaking to an insurance adjuster and cleaning up from what they say was a tornado that stripped metal from a barn roof and flashing from their home. It imploded two lean-tos and sent huge tree branches down on a pick-up truck.

Debris lay deep in the woods two football fields away on Jackson Road. Two by four planks dropped by the tornado stood in the hayfield next to the house. And the Meldrims had reports that metal from their roofs was seen a mile away.

Rubbernecking motorists today drove slowly looking at damage at the farm while the Meldrims’ prize winning shaggy Scottish Highland cattle grazed in the high grass in a field behind the house.

The couple’s horses were in a barn because they can’t be left loose until fences destroyed by the tornado are repaired, Margaret Meldrim said.

As next door neighbors Amanda and Shaun Novitske helped the Meldrims clean up metal debris and branches, electricians and other repairmen were restoring electrical and phone service to the house.

Amanda Novitske said her first inkling of Monday’s storm was when she saw the trees bending one by one. Her husband and four-year-old nephew, James Carr III were washing up when they saw a funnel cloud, she said.

The suction around their house was so severe that Shaun Novitske couldn’t open the side door to bring in one of their two dogs. The 140-pound Great Dane-Saint Bernard mix, however, came barreling in through the door when called, Amanda Novitske said.

The Novitskes, their brother-in-law James Carr Jr., nephew and the dogs took cover in the basement of their home when the tornado came through. There was a roar -- then utter stillness and silence, Amanda Novitske said.

“It was terrifying. I don’t know how people out west do it,” she said.

Whether it was a tornado or not will be determined by the National Weather Service, which sent two storm surveyors to Palermo and Oneida County.

The meteorologists walked over the property taking pictures and making notes about the damage. The weather detectives will piece together their observations of the debris pattern, take statements from witnesses who saw the cloud and review Doppler radar data to determine if a tornado actually touched down, said Meteorologist Mike Jurewicz.

The Weather Service expects to issue a report today, he said.

Republicans pepper her with questions about thwarting military recruiters while a dean at Harvard, her stances on guns, abortion.

View full sizeSusan Walsh / APSupreme Court nominee Elena Kagan testifies Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on her nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington.

WASHINGTON — Challenged bluntly by Republicans, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said Tuesday the Pentagon’s recruiters had access to Harvard Law School students “every single day I was dean” and rejected claims she maneuvered to thwart them.

“I’m just a little taken aback by the tone of your remarks because it is unconnected to reality,” retorted Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the first Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to question President Barack Obama’s choice for the high court in public.

Said Kagan: “I respect and indeed I revere the military.”

The exchange came near the beginning of a full day of questioning by members of the panel, which will vote first on Kagan’s appointment to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Barring a major gaffe, the 50-year old Obama administration solicitor general appears well on her way toward confirmation in time to take her seat before the court opens a new term in October.

Kagan also spoke favorably of televising Supreme Court proceedings. “It would be a great thing for the court, and it would be a great thing for the American people,” she said.

She said recent rulings upholding gun rights are a “binding precedent” for future cases, and said Supreme Court holdings require that in any attempt to restrict access to abortion, “the woman’s life and the woman’s health must be protected.”

But she was less forthcoming when asked whether she believed the Supreme Court had erred last winter in ruling that corporations and unions were free to spend their own funds on political activity. Kagan said that as solicitor general, she had argued the government’s side of the case, which turned out to be a loser in a 5-4 ruling. Pressed to say what her personal views were, she said, “I did believe we had a strong case to make. I tried to make it to the best of my ability,” she said.

Obama criticized the ruling in his most recent State of the Union address, Democrats on the committee also have attacked it sharply and the House recently passed legislation to restrict its impact. Without referring to the proposed legislation, Kagan told Sen. Orrin Hatch R-Utah, the issue was now settled law as a result of the ruling.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the committee’s chairman, was first to broach the military recruiting controversy, raising the issue that Republicans had often cited in pre-hearing criticism of Kagan.

“I’ve only cried once during this process,” Kagan said, recalling her reaction to an op-ed article praising her for her treatment of the military, a commentary written by a Marine captain and 2008 graduate of Harvard Law.

The hearings turned testy when Sessions returned to the issue of the military’s presence at Harvard Law School, and a controversy that arose when she blocked recruiters from the career services office.

She has said she acted because the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bars openly gay men and women from serving, was a violation of the university’s anti-discrimination rules. And that as an alternative, she encouraged a campus veterans group to facilitate the Pentagon’s recruitment of students.

Sessions disputed Kagan’s version of events, saying that for one recruiting season “you gave them (the Pentagon) the runaround. ... You’ve continued to persist with this view that somehow there was a loophole in the statute that Harvard didn’t have to comply with.”

Kagan gave no ground, countering that “military recruiting went up that year, not down,” when Pentagon’s representatives worked through the veterans office on campus.

Kagan also sparred at length with Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who had said on Monday the late Justice Thurgood Marshall was a judicial activist. When Kyl’s turn came to question Kagan, he said she had written glowingly of the man for whom she once clerked, and he asked whether she would tend to judge cases in a way that would protect the rights of the disadvantaged. “If you confirm me, you’ll get Justice Kagan, you won’t get Justice Marshall,” she said. She added that the “glory of the courts” is accessibility to all, and after that, the Constitution rules.

Responding to Sessions on another issue, Kagan refused to describe her political views as “progressive in the mold” of the president who twice has appointed her to important jobs. She also sidestepped when the Alabama Republican, citing a characterization by a senior White House official, sought to label her as a “legal progressive.” “I honestly don’t know what that label means,” she said. “I’ve served in two Democratic administrations. ... You can tell something about me and my political views from that.”

Kagan also declined when Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., asked for her views of the other members of the court she hopes to join. She said it would be a “bad idea” for her to talk about current justices, drawing laughter from a crowded hearing room.

» On Day 2 of hearings, Kagan deploys humor and the artful dodge

Oswego, NY -- Authorities seized $59,000 in suspected drug money during a raid last week in Oswego, police said. The raid came Friday, a day after police seized more than an ounce of crack cocaine from 956 Middle Road, Lot 6-W. The resident, Emmanuel A. Frederick, 51, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession...

Emmanuel Frederick

The raid came Friday, a day after police seized more than an ounce of crack cocaine from 956 Middle Road, Lot 6-W. The resident, Emmanuel A. Frederick, 51, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, both felonies.

Working on information from the Middle Road case, police searched an undisclosed location in the city of Oswego and found the cash.

More charges may be filed, said Capt. Tory DeCaire.

BOSTON — The trial of a former Boston University medical student and former Central New York resident accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist is expected to take place in March 2011. Prosecutors and lawyers for Philip Markoff agreed Tuesday on a tentative date of March 14. Markoff was not present at the hearing in Suffolk Superior Court....

BOSTON — The trial of a former Boston University medical student and former Central New York resident accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist is expected to take place in March 2011.

Prosecutors and lawyers for Philip Markoff agreed Tuesday on a tentative date of March 14. Markoff was not present at the hearing in Suffolk Superior Court.

Markoff has pleaded not guilty in the April 2009 fatal shooting of Julissa Brisman, of New York City, and the armed robbery of a Las Vegas woman, both at Boston hotels.

An Aug. 4 hearing is set for a planned defense motion to suppress Markoff’s statement to police the day he was arrested. Markoff’s lawyer also plans to ask the judge not to require Markoff’s presence at that hearing.

Abby Sunderland says she wasn't "majorly hurt" when the rogue wave hit, but her boat was.

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (AP) -- Abby Sunderland said Tuesday she faced down moments of terror on the high seas when her boat was rolled over by a rogue wave as she tried to sail around the world.

Still, the 16-year-old was proud of her effort, hoped it might inspire others and wasn't ready to abandon sailing.

"The past few weeks have been really crazy for me," said Sunderland, who looked poised and comfortable as she sat next to her 18-year-old brother Zac at a news conference in Marina del Rey, where she set sail in January.

Sunderland flew back home Monday after being rescued from the Indian Ocean by a fishing boat. She was about halfway through her journey when a fierce storm battered her 40-foot boat Wild Eyes. A rogue wave capsized the boat and destroyed its mast.

"As you probably all really know, I'd much rather be sailing Wild Eyes back in here. But the plane was really comfortable," she deadpanned.

In her first statements since returning home, Sunderland said she was below deck working on her boat as the storm was letting up.

"The storm I was in did not roll my boat. I was hit by a rogue wave once the storm was already dying down," she said. "I didn't have a lot of warning."

Since her voyage went awry, Sunderland's parents have come under relentless criticism for allowing the teenager to set sail alone.

Sunderland once again defended her attempt, saying the question of her age should have been settled after she became the youngest person to sail solo around Cape Horn.

"Growing up on boats and feeling, you know, that you know what to do in case of an emergency, it really helps," she said. "I knew when I headed out for this trip that I was gonna be testing myself, and I was gonna have to push myself to my limits."

Sunderland acknowledged, however, there were moments when she was terrified.

"You get scared and then you have to get over it because being scared, it doesn't do anything good," she said. "It just makes you hesitate and makes more problems start coming."

Sunderland's mother is pregnant with her eighth child, and the sailor told reporters she might have a new little brother before the news conference ended.

Family spokesman Lyall Mercer said the baby would be named Paul in honor of the captain of the boat that rescued Sunderland.

Sunderland's parents were unable to attend the news conference because of the pregnancy. They issued a statement saying they have been subjected to intense personal criticism that has crossed the line of decency.

"To hear the intensity of the personal hatred spewed by some in the media and on blogs was shocking to us," Laurence Sunderland said in the statement. "Abby should not be subjected to these hurtful attacks against members of her family, especially as what was being said was based, at best, on twisting facts out of context and, at worst, on total fabricated lies."

The statement added, however, that the family was willing to forgive critics who don't know their family or understand the experience and ambition of the two siblings.

Zac Sunderland, 18, successfully completed a round-the-world voyage last year, briefly becoming the youngest person to do so. His record has since been broken.

Abby Sunderland said she was as prepared as possible for the trip. Every sailor knows there is risk in trying to sail around the world, she added.

She said she wasn't "majorly hurt" when the rogue wave hit, but her boat was.

She set off her emergency beacons and waited. She was amazed when a plane dispatched from Australia to find her flew overhead the next day. Two days later the fishing boat arrived.

Sunderland thanked her rescuers and other people who helped with her trip. She singled out her brother as someone who had helped inspire her.

"I'm living proof that things don't always work out the way you plan, but you can only plan so far in an adventure," she said. "You can reduce risk but you can never completely eliminate it."

Sunderland plans to keep sailing but for now has other things to do.

"I'm just gonna be focusing on school, a driver's license, all that, getting back to a normal life," she said.

View full sizeAP Photo/Jae C. HongAbby Sunderland, the 16-year-old girl who attempted to sail around the world, speaks as she is joined by her brother Zac during a news conference in Marina Del Rey, Calif., Tuesday.

Also, the National Weather Service confirms tornado in Oswego COunty, and students complain new math Regents exam is too tough.

From Time magazine:

Police were searching Tuesday for the man suspected of fatally shooting two Tampa police officers during an early morning traffic stop of a car that didn't have a visible license plate.

Officer David Curtis pulled over the red Toyota Camry around 2:15 a.m. and called for backup after a background check revealed the male passenger in the car was wanted on a misdemeanor charge for writing a worthless check in Jacksonville. The two officers approached the passenger side of the vehicle and six minutes later a witness called 911 to report they had been shot.

The woman who police believe was driving the car, 22-year-old Cortnee Nicole Brantly, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon for questioning, but she was not arrested.

» Convict Sought in Deaths of 2 Tampa Cops [Time]
» Fallen Tampa police officer 'lived for his kids' [Tampa Bay Online]
» Mourners pay respects at Tampa police memorial [Tampa Bay Online]

In other news:

» National Weather Service makes it official: A tornado hit Oswego County [centralny.ynn.com]

» Some students think new Regents exam is too tough [CNYcentral.com]

» Colton-area residents warned of hungry bear [Watertown Daily Times]

» US House rejects extension of unemployment benefits [WSYR-TV Channel 9]

» Tioga Downs owner pushes for table games [pressconnects.com]

» Veto spells delay for budget [Albany Times Union]

» $460 million upgrade OK'd for Niagara Power Project [The Buffalo News]

» Google to defy China's censors a little less [The Washington Post]

Palermo, NY -- National Weather Service experts have confirmed what Bruce and Margaret Mildrim already knew: That was a tornado that touched down on their Jackson Road farm Monday night. After a survey team visit Tuesday morning and a look at radar data, the weather service said Tuesday afternoon that the tornado that struck around 8:25 p.m. Monday was classified...

Palermo, NY -- National Weather Service experts have confirmed what Bruce and Margaret Mildrim already knew: That was a tornado that touched down on their Jackson Road farm Monday night.

After a survey team visit Tuesday morning and a look at radar data, the weather service said Tuesday afternoon that the tornado that struck around 8:25 p.m. Monday was classified as a zero on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the lowest ranking for a tornado on the scale.

Maximum winds were estimated at 70 mph to 80 mph, said meteorologist David Thomas at the weather service office in Buffalo.

The path of the tornado was 150 yards wide at the widest and ran along the ground for 1.6 miles, he said.

On Sunday, an EF1 tornado touched down in Allegany County, the weather service declared Monday.

Tornadoes are rare, but not unheard of in Central New York. Last May, a EF1 tornado damaged trees and a roof in Georgetown in Madison County.

According to National Weather Service records, the last tornado in Oswego County touched down in 1996, injuring three people.

Monday's tornado knocked down two small farm buildings and tore the roof off a two-year-old hay barn, but didn't injure anyone and left 19 head of Scottish Highland cattle unharmed, though a little skittish, according to Margaret Mildrim.

See previous stories about Monday's tornado here, here and here.

Contact Charles McChesney at cmcchesney@syracuse.com.

The 21st annual Citizen of the Year award is Wednesday at Temple Adath Yeshurun in Syracuse. The award ceremony will recognize four people for their outstanding careers and support of charities. Tickets for the dinner will be sold at the door for $200. The optional meet-and-greet for National Honoree John Thompson Jr., former Georgetown University men’s basketball coach, will begin...

The 21st annual Citizen of the Year award is Wednesday at Temple Adath Yeshurun in Syracuse. The award ceremony will recognize four people for their outstanding careers and support of charities.

Tickets for the dinner will be sold at the door for $200. The optional meet-and-greet for National Honoree John Thompson Jr., former Georgetown University men’s basketball coach, will begin at 5 p.m. followed by a cocktail reception and dinner. Main course selections include prime rib, salmon or a vegetarian dish.

This year’s honorees include: Charles W. Beach, founder of C.W. Beach Co.; Marci Erlebacher, executive director of the Jewish Community Center of Syracuse; Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick; and Cornelius “Neil” B. Murphy, president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Fernando Alfonso III can be reached at falfonso@syracuse.com or 470- 6078 .

In return, Assembly and Senate are refusing to print Paterson's bills on other topics and have postponed confirmation of his judge nominations.

View full sizeMike Groll / APLobbyists Michael Elmendorf II (left) and Michael Durant stand in the Senate lobby at the Capitol in Albany on Tuesday. Republicans in New York's Senate minority say the Democrat-led Legislature shouldn't count on them to help override Democrat Gov. David Paterson's budget vetoes.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday that he’s ended negotiations with the Legislature over the 6,900 vetoes he promises to make on all additional spending and every pork-barrel grant in the Legislature’s budget passed Monday.

“I’m done talking to legislative leaders,” Paterson told The Associated Press. “I am not going to operate in this process any more. I am doing the vetoes. As far as I am concerned, this budget process is over.”

The comment comes a day after he vetoed the Legislature’s budget that he said spends too much, is unbalanced and irresponsible. If he vetoes all the Legislature’s changes, the 2010-11 budget will essentially be identical to Paterson’s budget proposal made in January.

Paterson’s hard line comes as legislative leaders seek to save aspects of their budget that added $600 million to school aid, included some property tax relief and included reappropriation of thousands of so-called member items that provide grants to programs and groups back in their home district.

Senate leader John Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, said he’s still pushing Paterson to increase school aid and allow property tax relief. “Those are very key components to our conference,” Sampson said Tuesday. “I will continue our conversations. I will be speaking to the (Assembly) speaker and see ways we can work things out, work out the vetoes. ... I’m the arbitrator, I guess.”

Meanwhile, the Assembly and Senate have refused to print Paterson’s bills on other topics and confirmation of his judgeship nominations were postponed Tuesday. “You have to use whatever tools you have to negotiate,” Sampson said.

Paterson dismissed the annoyances. “If they don’t believe I am going to sign those vetoes, I will sign them on television.”

The Democratic governor said Tuesday that after his vetoes are complete, legislative leaders will have to come to him with solid counter proposals for his policy goals that lawmakers rejected in the budget.

View full sizeMike Groll / APAssembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, talks to reporters at the Capitol in Albany on Tuesday.

Paterson said legislators need to agree to a contingency fund to prepare for the potential loss of up to $1 million in Medicaid funding from Washington. He also wants to empower the public university system to raise tuition by as much as 8 percent a year for up to four years and evolve into the highest ranks of academics in the nation.

Paterson also said he needs lawmakers to support some form of his local property tax cap, rather than what he called the tax relief “gimmick” in the Legislature’s budget proposal. Paterson said if lawmakers refuse to prepare for a likely loss of Medicaid funding, he will ignore Albany decorum and call them back to balance the budget during the fall campaigns.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said staffs still are trying to negotiate settlements of the vetoes. The final bill, the revenue bill that pays for the programs passed Monday, is scheduled for a vote by late Thursday. “Once we pass a revenue bill we will take it up in conference and make a determination as to whether we will move to override,” Silver said Tuesday.

Silver said he could support a public universities plan if poor children were fully covered by aid. Currently, the Tuition Assistance Program pays for full tuition of New York’s poorest students. But Silver still opposed a Medicaid contingency. He said it “suddenly” was a priority for the governor after the Legislature rejected his proposal to empower the public universities.

The stalemate comes as the Senate Republican minority, which would likely block the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber to override vetoes, said Democrats can’t count on their support. But the GOP conference stopped short of committing to block any overrides, despite voting as a bloc against every budget bill Monday.

View full sizeMike Groll / APSenate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, talks on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Albany on Tuesday.

“Democrats have created an unbalanced budget that includes no relief for property taxpayers and continues to cut the STAR property tax relief program by millions of dollars,” said Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos of Nassau County.

He said the Democrats created a budget “after a tortured budget process where they violated the budget reform law, negotiated in total secrecy, (and) excluded Republicans.”

Albany landfill offers cheaper power than proposed Geddes facility.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The New York Power Authority this week chose a landfill gas-to-energy plant in Albany to provide supplemental power to the village of Solvay, a setback for a proposed wood-burning power plant in Geddes that had hoped to win the contract.

Solvay will pay about 5 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity from Albany Energy LLC, which burns methane recovered from the Albany city landfill, said John Montone, superintendent of the village electric department.

The Albany plant submitted the lowest of 13 bids made in response to a request for proposals issued by NYPA, which supplies all of Solvay’s power. The village gets most of its electricity from NYPA’s hydropower facilities — for just 1 cent per KWH — but the hydropower allocation does not cover all of the village’s needs.

NYPA’s seven-year contract with Albany Energy, which can be extended up to 10 years more, will replace some of the energy NYPA now buys for Solvay on the spot market. Montone said he does not expect it to change the rates paid by Solvay consumers, who pay an average of 5 cents per KWH, but the contract will protect consumers if market prices rise in the future.

In September 2009, NYPA sought bidders to provide up to 35 megawatts of renewable energy to supplement Solvay’s hydropower. Albany Energy will supply 7.2 megawatts.

The developers of Onondaga Renewables — a planned 35 megawatt biomass plant in Geddes — thought they were a lock to win. Texas-based Catalyst Renewables Corp., which opened a Syracuse office and announced plans to build the $150 million facility in 2008, prompted NYPA’s request for proposals by initiating talks with Solvay, said Eric Spomer, president of Catalyst.

“We along with Solvay caused this RFP to happen,” Spomer said. “We were willing to compete.”

But Catalyst officials expected NYPA to place greater emphasis on the local economic impact of the project. Onondaga Renewables anticipated hiring 26 full-time workers and spending $21 million a year on salaries and fuel costs, which would boost the local economy, Spomer said.

NYPA chose the low bidder. Onondaga Renewables’ price of 10 cents per KWH was roughly double what Albany Energy bid. That leaves the future of Onondaga Renewables in doubt.

Catalyst, which is developing the project in a joint venture with Atlantic Power Corp., of Canada, will continue trying to find a long-term buyer for its output, Spomer said.

Onondaga Renewables recently won a 10-year, $68 million contract to sell its renewable energy credits to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. And the plant would qualify for nearly $40 million in stimulus funds if it started construction this year, Spomer said.

But the developers need a long-term contract to sell the power in order to finance the plant, he said. “We will continue to evaluate how we cause that to happen,” Spomer said. “We’re not giving up.”

Vernon, NY - It’s a long shot, but Vernon Downs could become a full-blown casino at the end of a deal the state Senate put in motion Tuesday. The Senate passed a bill that could ask New Yorkers on the 2011 ballot whether they want to change the state constitution to allow casino gambling in some parts of the...

Li-Hua Lan/The Post-StandardCustomers play one cent and nickel slot machines at Vernon Downs racetrack in this 2008 file photo. A proposed constitutional amendment would allow Vernon Downs to become a full casino with table games.

Vernon, NY - It’s a long shot, but Vernon Downs could become a full-blown casino at the end of a deal the state Senate put in motion Tuesday.

The Senate passed a bill that could ask New Yorkers on the 2011 ballot whether they want to change the state constitution to allow casino gambling in some parts of the state.

The bill would have to pass the Assembly, be signed by the governor, pass both houses a second time, then survive the 2011 general election. If the constitution is changed, citizens in each county would have to vote again to approve a casino in that county.

The legislation has limits:

* It only applies to counties with populations of less than 500,000 people.

* It only applies to areas that are not precluded by an agreement with Native Americans.

* The county must have a facility with pari-mutuel wagering and live horse racing.

The limits were written to accommodate five horse racing tracks: Vernon Downs, Monticello Raceway, Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, Tioga Downs and the Concord Hotel, proposed for the Catskills.

The legislation, however, does not name those race tracks and it remains to be seen whether any other sites could get the appropriate licenses to qualify.

Jeff Gural, principal owner of Vernon Downs, applauded the bill. It could allow Vernon Downs to add table games and poker to its video lottery terminals. He said the casino and hotel could double its employees to 600. He called it a “jobs bill” and said voters should be allowed to decide whether they want gambling in their communities.

“It would give us another option when we compete with Turning Stone,” he said. “I think if you ask gamblers, sometimes they like to switch casinos just when they think their luck is bad. Having two casinos would be good for the area.”

New casinos would provide revenue for state and local governments and would pay for police and fire services and treatment of people addicted to gambling, the Senate bill said.

Gural is talking with developer Wilmorite, Inc. about building harness racing and video lottery terminals – or a “racino” — at the state fairgrounds in Geddes as revenue source for building a hotel next to the convention center in downtown Syracuse. Current laws would have to be changed to allow a racino, much less a casino. Gural said he has not considered the possibility yet.

“I would love to have it as an option,” he said. “But we’re a ways off from that.”

Christopher Higgins, chief counsel to the Senate majority, said it is unclear whether Onondaga County and other counties that don’t currently have live horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering, could obtain the necessary licensing and then seek approval to host a casino.

“It’s an interesting question. You do have a horse track there,” Higgins said, referring to the track at the state fairgrounds.

He said the intent of the sponsor, Sen. Eric Adams, D-NY, was to limit casinos to Oneida, Saratoga, Tioga and Sullivan counties.

Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, whose district includes part of Oneida County, voted for the proposed constitutional amendment.

“My reason for supporting it is we’ve had casino gambling (at Turning Stone Resort & Casino) for close to 20 years. It’s been a part of the community for a long time. It seems to me as a result of that, the people of Oneida County, if they are supportive of additional gaming, they should so choose.”

He said he believed a casino at Vernon Downs would create jobs and spur economic development. New York has no compact with the Oneida Indian Nation, which runs Turning Stone, that would preclude Vernon Downs from becoming a full casino, he said.

In a brief statement, the Oneida Indian Nation, which operates Turning Stone Resort and Casino, expressed no concern about competition if Vernon Downs becomes a full casino.

“Turning Stone Resort is destination resort that competes with other destination resorts in the Northeast, Las Vegas and around the world. Whether this legislation becomes law or not is not our issue,” said Mark Emery, the Oneidas' director of media relations.

The gaming bill was referred to the Assembly, but that house had not yet taken it up at 6 p.m.

Aides for Gov. David Paterson said he would review the legislation when it reaches his desk.

Michelle Breidenbach can be reached at mbreidenbach@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3186.

On Monday, the state Legislature finally began passing a budget. But Gov. David Paterson has cut off negotiations and promised to veto 6,900 items that tack on all additional spending and pork-barrel grants. “I am not going to operate in this process any more," he said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. "I am doing the vetoes....

View full sizeTim Roske / APNew York Gov. David Paterson speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Albany on April 27.

On Monday, the state Legislature finally began passing a budget. But Gov. David Paterson has cut off negotiations and promised to veto 6,900 items that tack on all additional spending and pork-barrel grants. “I am not going to operate in this process any more," he said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. "I am doing the vetoes. As far as I am concerned, this budget process is over.”

That has syracuse.com users talking about how the Legislature doesn't get the anger taxpayers are harboring for the budget process. One online user, kamran727, talks about his admiration for the lame duck governor:

"You know regardless if you are liberal or conservative I actually like this guy now. Since he is not going for re-election he is trying to do the right thing. Cut spending. No special crap for districts and that's why dems don't like him cause than they won't get re-elected. He is doing more than Cuomo will ever do cause he looks like a status quo guy."

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Common Councilor Bill Ryan says Miner likely didn't know about Kelvin Chambers' record.

Dick Blume / The Post-StandardSyracuse Fire Fighter Kelvin Chambers stands next to Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner at a June 24 award ceremony. At left is Timothy Visser, who also was awarded for his actions.

Syracuse, NY -- When Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner last week blocked an award to a veteran city police officer for his role in a civil police brutality case, she spoke of the extra responsibilities borne by the police and firefighters as the price of wearing the badge.

“It is that responsibility that weighs heavily on us all, because when a few, or one, or some, do not recognize that responsibility or perhaps fall short in exercising that responsibility, everyone in the community takes note,” Miner said in justifying her position.

But one of the firefighters honored during that day’s ceremonies — and photographed with the mayor — has a criminal record that was never mentioned. The District Attorney’s office this week verified that Lt. Kelvin Chambers has at least three criminal convictions for violating court orders in domestic violence cases.

Syracuse City Court records show Chambers, 48, is currently on three years probation — with a requirement that he attend counseling, treatment or educational programming from Vera House — for a physical confrontation with his wife.

Court papers show that Chambers was arrested May 3, 2007, on a felony charge of first-degree criminal contempt and a violation count of second-degree harassment following an incident at 301 Prospect Ave.

Chambers was accused of violating an order of protection that had been issued for his wife by Salina town Justice Herman Harding which was in effect until April 10, 2008.

The felony complaint accuses Chambers of grabbing his wife’s jacket around her chest and neck area so hard that Iris Chambers was left with lacerations on her neck and bruises on her left breast. Court papers show that Chambers was taken into custody by police after the incident to be held in jail pending arraignment in City Court the following day.

Court papers also indicate a county grand jury voted in September 2007 to return the felony criminal contempt count as a misdemeanor charge of second-degree criminal contempt to be handled with the second-degree harassment count in City Court.

Chambers pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor criminal contempt charge before City Judge Stephen Dougherty on Sept. 11, 2008. He was sentenced by Dougherty this past Feb. 10 to three years’ probation. Dougherty also signed another order of protection for Chambers’ wife effective through Feb. 10, 2012.

The Post-Standard archives show Chambers had been arrested on criminal contempt charges on three other occasions as well: in March 2008, in February 2006 and in August 1999.

First Chief Assistant District Attorney Rick Trunfio said prosecution records show the March 2008 case was resolved with Chambers pleading guilty last July to second-degree criminal contempt for which he was sentenced Aug. 6 by Salina Town Justice Paul Carey to a conditional discharge and $500 fine.

Trunfio said the February 2006 case appears to have been resolved in May 2007 with Chambers also pleading guilty to second-degree criminal contempt. Trunfio said the office could not find a record for a 1999 case.

Defense lawyer Jerald Harrell confirmed he has represented Chambers in some criminal matters. But he declined further comment.

The newspaper archives show Chambers became a city firefighter in July 1996 and was promoted to his current position as a lieutenant in February 2007.

Lindsay McCluskey, Miner’s spokeswoman, said Tuesday the mayor would have no comment on the Chambers matter. However, Common Council Member Bill Ryan, who is familiar with the award process, said the mayor signs only three of the more two dozen awards that were to be given out at last week’s ceremony.

Ryan said it was likely Miner knew nothing about Chambers' legal issues.

The awards aren’t widely discussed before they are given, he said. John Cowin, who retired as fire chief in January 2009 after 31 years with the department and now serves as Miner’s deputy mayor, may have known about Chambers' issues, Ryan said. However, “it’s very possible he didn’t know Kelvin Chambers was getting an award until he stepped on stage.”

Staff Writer Charles McChesney contributed to this report. Contact Jim O'Hara at johara@syracuse.com.

WASHINGTON — Hungry children looking for a free meal this summer may not be able to find one. States and cities have cut funding for summer meal programs as need has skyrocketed, according to a new report from an anti-hunger group that tracked the program in 2009. Budget woes that have left many families hungry are also affecting local governments...

WASHINGTON — Hungry children looking for a free meal this summer may not be able to find one.

States and cities have cut funding for summer meal programs as need has skyrocketed, according to a new report from an anti-hunger group that tracked the program in 2009. Budget woes that have left many families hungry are also affecting local governments that find themselves without the needed dollars to feed children while they are out of school.

“Low-income children across the country clearly bore the brunt of budget cuts,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, which compiled the report released Tuesday.

Summer nutrition programs aim to feed children who get most of their nutrition — or sometimes their only real meal of the day — at school. The food research group measures the effectiveness of those summer programs by comparing the number of low-income children receiving meals during the summer with those receiving free and reduced-price school meals during the school year.

The group’s data, collected from the Agriculture Department and a survey of state child nutrition officials, show that during the summer of 2009, only 16 percent of students who ate free or reduced-cost lunches during the school year were fed when school was out. The figure was 17 percent in the summer of 2008 and 21 percent in 2001.

California is one of the biggest losers, the group says. The state, in the midst of a budget crisis, had 78,000 fewer children participating in summer nutrition programs in 2009, a 13 percent drop from the previous year. The group says the decrease was mostly due to the closure of many school districts’ summer school programs.

Other states with big losses in participation included Louisiana, South Carolina, Kentucky, Hawaii and Utah.

Money for summer programs often gets lost as lawmakers and government officials scramble to pay for meals during the school year. The food research group is pushing Congress to pay more attention to the summer meals as they consider a wide-ranging nutrition bill designed to improve school feeding programs. They are also urging states to increase participation rates in order to qualify for more federal funds.

The report isn’t all bad news. Reversing the trend, West Virginia’s participation grew by 24 percent last year after the state added new sites for distribution and recruited religious organizations to serve summer meals. The District of Columbia also did well, serving meals to four out of five eligible children.

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York businesses would have to extend funeral and bereavement leave to unmarried same-sex couples under a bill passed by the Legislature and awaiting Gov. David Paterson’s signature. The bill, which passed the Assembly 107-26 this month and the Senate by voice vote on Monday, prohibits discrimination by employers in the state who provide such leave to...

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York businesses would have to extend funeral and bereavement leave to unmarried same-sex couples under a bill passed by the Legislature and awaiting Gov. David Paterson’s signature.

The bill, which passed the Assembly 107-26 this month and the Senate by voice vote on Monday, prohibits discrimination by employers in the state who provide such leave to other workers and would take effect 60 days after signing.

Paterson has been a strong advocate of gay rights, including same-sex marriage; he will review the bill when it reaches his desk, spokesman Morgan Hook said Tuesday.

Same-sex couples who get legally married in Massachusetts, Canada and some other places are entitled to government benefits like married couples under New York law. But sponsors of the bill said bereavement leave also should be available to same-sex couples who haven’t left the state to marry but are in “a committed relationship,” defined as “a long-term relationship characterized by emotional and financial commitment and interdependence.”

“Enlightened companies with domestic partnership policies now allow this type of funeral or bereavement leave,” said a memo by the sponsors, including Assembly member Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat.

Similar bills have been introduced since 1998.

In December, legislation that would have allowed gay marriage in New York was defeated in the Senate after having passed in the Assembly. Marriage between same-sex couples is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

New York has several laws, executive orders and court decisions that grant many rights long enjoyed by married couples to gay couples. A budget measure proposed this week by Democrats who have majorities in the Assembly and Senate would have allowed gay couples legally married in other states to file as married couples for tax purposes in New York.

That measure, though, faced objection from Sen. Ruben Diaz, a Bronx Democrat and minister, and Democrats needed all of their 32 members to pass budget bills. The measure was dropped.