Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi releases a portion of previously sealed grand jury report into fatal Megabus crash. Watch video

Jim Commentucci / The Post-StandardThe wreckage of the Megabus is being towed away by Meyer's Towing, of Camillus, on Sept. 9, 2010.

Syracuse, NY - An Onondaga County grand jury recommended a number of prompt changes on the Onondaga Lake Parkway to address the dangers posed by a low overhead railroad bridge.

"The Grand Jury believes the only sure-fire way to prevent another tragedy is to increase the distance between the roadway and the bridge," the grand jurors wrote in their report.

But for now, it recommended a number of changes it believed could be implemented by this past July.

The recommendations were included in a report the grand jury issued after it investigated a crash on the parkway that killed four passengers on a Megabus that slammed into the CSX railroad company bridge Sept. 11, 2010.

See our ongoing coverage in words, photos and videos.

That grand jury report has been sealed since it was handed down when the grand jury also returned an indictment in April charging Megabus driver John Tomaszewski with criminally negligent homicide in the four deaths.

But County Judge Anthony Aloi today ordered the recommendation section of the report unsealed after he rejected a defense request to dismiss the case against Tomaszewski.

The grand jury report included five recommendations the panel indicated it thought could be implemented by July 1.

They were:

1.) The installation of an overhead infra-red warning device that would trigger a visual warning sign to alert drivers of vehicles taller than 10'9" of the low bridge just ahead. The device would be linked to sensors in the road to ensure that only vehicles on the road could trigger the warning device.

That would be better than a warning device the state Department of Transportation had installed during the 1980s that did not work properly and created an annoyance to neighbors because of the loud noise it created, the grand jury concluded.

The DOT reported to the grand jury that mechanical overhead impact devices - in which something hanging over the road physically strikes an oversized vehicle to warn the driver of the bridge - could be dangerous to motorists. But the DOT did not research thoses devices so the grand jury recommended it do so.

2.) The installation of better signs for the Regional Transporation Center to more clearly alert motorists - especially bus drivers - that that is where the bus station is located.

The grand jury concluded bus drivers not familiar with the area may not know the bus station is located at the Regional Transportation Center and may, therefore, miss the exit and end up on the parkway with the low bridge.

The grand jury recommended the DOT place more signs along Interstate 81 about the location of the bus station.

3.) Improve pavement markings on the roadway for drivers who may miss road signs while watching the road ahead of them. The grand jury noted this would be an inexpensive means to quickly address the safety situation on the parkway with no drawbacks to current parkway motorists.

4.) Lowering the speed limit on the parkway - "even by only 10 mph" - to reduce the severity of impacts by over-height vehicles.

4.) Creation of a pull-off lane for oversize vehicles to use to turn around once drivers realize the existence of the low bridge ahead.

The grand jury noted that since 1987, drivers of 254 over-height vehicles have driven down the parkway and realized at some point they cannot fit under the bridge. Those drivers have had to stop on the highway or the shoulder of the road and wait for police to come to stop traffic so the over-height vehicles could safely turn around.

That is a time consuming effort that endangers and delays other motorists, the grand jury noted. Creation of pull-off areas for the over-height vehicles to get off the road - along with signs alerting drivers of such pull-off lanes - would make the roadway safer, the grand jury concluded.

5.) The grand jury stopped short of endorsing a ban on all commercial traffic on the parkway, something being considered by the DOT. That might reduce the number of over-height vehicles that would hit the bridge but could not eliminate the possibility of another over-height vehicle getting onto the parkway and striking the bridge, the grand jury noted.

While the state DOT reported Old Liverpool Road could handle the increase in traffic, the grand jury concluded more research needs to be done on the impact of shifting commercial traffic from the parkway to Old Liverpool Road.

In court today, Aloi said he did not think releasing to the public the grand jury recommendations would create any prejudicie in the criminal prosecution pending against Tomaszewski.

"It is my opinion the importance of the report transcends this case," Aloi said, noting some of the grand jury recommendations already have been implemented.

But the judge also noted a number of government and private agencies have long known of the dangers posed by the low bridge.

"Perhaps long before this something should have been done," he said. Implementation of the grand jury's recommendations could help prevent any future tragedies, he added.

Also, have you tried What Was There?

Erik Petersen, Bozeman Daily ChronicleIn this photo taken Sept. 12, Harold and Mary Jo Paul pose for a photo behind the statue of St. Francis which was stolen from their Bozeman, Mont. home and then returned with a makeover.

From the Associated Press:

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — St. Francis may have been from Assisi, but according to Mary Jo Paul, he wasn't a sissy.

In a letter to the editor published Aug. 13 in the Chronicle, she warned the thieves who stole her 2-foot, roughly 50-pound terra cotta statue of St. Francis to watch their karma.

Maybe whoever stole St. Francis read the letter and was a little worried, or maybe returning him was the plan all along.

Either way, Saturday morning, St. Francis reappeared in exactly the same spot from where he was taken from their Sourdough Road home. But he's not unscathed.

A new paint job gives him glittering green robes, gold sandals and a purple rope belt.

"I call it shock and awful," Paul said.

St. Francis also has new eyebrows, rouge on his cheeks, green sparkle eye shadow to match his robes and yellow finger and toenail polish. His bird friends, once muted terra cotta, are now a brilliant blue and canary yellow.

Read the full story

In other news:

» What was there

» Anderson Cooper gets a spray tan with Snooki [Buzzfeed]

» Thief who swallowed diamond is caught on X-ray [Yahoo News]

» Caravan which doubles as boat for sale [Newslite]

» Photos of NYC circa 1940 [Daily Mail]

The federal agency that investigates transportation crashes includes the use of hands-free devices in its proposal.

Joe Imel/AP Photo/Daily NewsMarch 2010 scene of a crash between van and truck in Kentucky. NTSB blames accident on cell phone use by truck driver.

In its most sweeping recommendation yet, the National Transportation Safety Board is calling for a ban on the use of cell phones by truckers and other commercial drivers, even if they use a hands-free device.

The NTSB, which investigates major transportation accidents, has no power to make laws. But the board's recommendations often serve as the basis for new federal and state regulations.

"We believe the ban on cellular telephones, hand-held and hands-free, are appropriate in this case," NTSB Director of Highway Safety Don Karol told the Associated Press.

The agency's recommendation came as part of its investigation into a crash in Kentucky that killed a 45 year-old truck driver and ten other people last year. The NTSB concluded that driver Kenneth Laymon of Jasper, Alabama, had just dialed a phone call when his rig crossed an unpaved median on I-65 near Munfordville, Kentucky. It struck a van carrying 12 people.

Investigators say the driver made 69 calls and texts in the 24 hour period leading up to the crash. The driver was known to possess a hands-free device, but it is unknown if he was using it at the time of the crash.

The NTSB believes both hand-held and hands-free cell phones are a distraction and should not be used by commercial drivers.

Deborah Hersman, chair of the safety board, acknowledged truckers would likely oppose the ban. But she compared it to how people reacted when seat belt laws were first proposed.

"Changing behavior can start right now, for drivers of big rigs, but also for the rest of us," Hersman tells CNN. "When you are at the wheel, driving safely should be your only focus."

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates the industry, has already banned texting while driving and is in the final stages of issuing regulations banning the use of hand-held cell phones.

The American Trucking Association, which is made up of some 37,000 trucking companies, supports bans of hand-held cell phone use and texting. Boyd Stephenson the group's safety and security manager tells USA Today "The highways are our workplace, and we have consistently supported safe highways."

But Stephenson says the trucking association takes no position on the hands-free devices because of mixed results in safety studies. A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found no decrease in insurance claims in four states that enacted bans on hand-held cell phone use.

No state bans the use of hands-free phones. Nine states, including New York, prohibit the use of hand-held phones and other devices. Text messaging while driving is illegal in 34 states, also including New York.

What do you think? Should truckers and other commercial drivers be prohibited from using cell phones even if they have a hands-free device? Leave your comments below.

The report also pointet out the cement seal that was put in place the day before the explosion that triggered the spill.

File photo / AP PhotoIn this April 21, 2010 file photo taken in the Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig is seen burning.

The report, released today, said in the days leading up to the disaster, BP made a series of decisions that complicated cementing operations, added risk, and may have contributed to the ultimate failure of the cement job.

The details were contained in the final report from an investigation team of the U.S. Coast Guard and the agency that regulates offshore drilling. The panel held hearings in the year following the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon tragedy. The Coast Guard-Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement investigation was among the most exhaustive.

Other investigations spread around the blame rather evenly, faulting misreadings of key data, the failure of the blowout preventer to stop the flow of oil to the sea and other shortcomings by executives, engineers and rig crew members. The joint investigation team laid considerable blame on BP's shoulders.

The report said the decisions included using only one cement barrier and BP's choice to set the production casing in a location in the Macondo well that created additional risk of influx of oil or gas. The casing is a steel pipe placed in a well to maintain its integrity.

The panel said BP failed to communicate these decisions and the increasing operational risks to rig owner Transocean.

"BP, as the designated operator under BOEMRE regulations, was ultimately responsible for conducting operations at Macondo in a way that ensured the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources, and the environment," the panel concluded.

In addition to the rig worker deaths, the resulting oil spill off Louisiana spewed more than 200 million gallons of crude from an undersea well owned by BP. The disaster caused billions of dollars in damages to hundreds of miles of coastline and wreaked havoc on the Gulf economy.

The report pins the causes for the disaster on many of the same faulty decisions as previous probes, including those by the president's independent oil spill commission, Congressional committees and the companies themselves. But it is likely to carry more weight in Congress, where Republican lawmakers in particular have said they are unwilling to adopt reforms until the federal investigation was complete.

Since the disaster, the Obama administration has reorganized the offshore drilling agency and boosted safety regulations. But Congress has yet to pass a single piece of legislation to address safety gaps highlighted by the disaster.

Alexander Nicholson is facing two years in state prison for sex with 14-year-old boy.

Ellen M. Blalock / The Post-StandardAlexander Nicholson, a former Onondaga County Sheriff's deputy, admitted to having sex with an underage boy. He is expected to serve two years in prison.

Syracuse, NY - A former Onondaga County Sheriff's deputy is facing two years in state prison after pleading guilty today to engaging in sex with an underage boy.

Alexander Nicholson, 35, of 134 Dewey St., Syracuse, pleaded guilty before County Judge Joseph Fahey to one felony count of second-degree criminal sexual act.

He admitted engaging in an act of anal sexual conduct with a 14-year-old boy sometime between July 12 and Aug. 31, 2007.

That was one of 36 counts in an indictment accusing Nicholson of abusing his authority as a law enforcement officer to engage in sexual encounters with two underage boys. Authorities said the sexual incidents occurred while Nicholson was off duty.

Read our previous coverage of this ongoing story.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Doran told Fahey the family of one of the victims had consented to the disposition but the second victim had declined to talk to the prosecutor or his investigator.

But the lawyer representing the first victim is now also representing the second victim and he reported the second family also now consented to the disposition, Doran told the judge.

Nicholson could have faced up to seven years in state prison for the most serious Class D felonies lodged against him. But the plea deal calls for Fahey to sentence Nicholson to two years in prison.

Defense lawyer Emil Rossi asked that Fahey recommend Nicholson serve that time in a protected facility because of his background as a law enforcement officer. Law enforcement officers convicted of crimes generally are directed to serve their time in the state prison facility in Dannemora which has a protective unit for vulnerable inmates.

Fahey scheduled sentencing for Nov. 16.

Rossi had no comment as he left court with Nicholson and the defendant's family.

Doran said authorities had investigated a number of tips and generalized complaints about Nicholson after he initially was arrested. But officials found no evidence of any other victims besides the two boys covered by the indictment, the prosecutor said.

Doran also said he believed the two-year state prison sentence was an appropriate penalty. He noted first-time offenders like Nicholson often are sentenced to straight probation or probation with some local jail time.

The case also could have civil ramifications.

Lawyer Robert Lahm said he has filed a notice of claim with the count on behalf of the first victim and will be preparing one for the second victim as well. That preserves their rights to sue the county for money damages stemming from the deputy's sexual contact with the victims.

The force of the explosion blew an employee off of his feet, fire officials said.

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A Cicero fire truck stands by outside the Ziebart rust-proofing shop at 6174 South Bay Rd., where a man was injured by an explosion.

Cicero, NY -- An employee of a Ziebart rust-proofing shop on South Bay Road was injured in an explosion this morning at the shop, a Cicero fire chief said.

The explosion occurred about 10:20 a.m. in a laundry room off the shop floor at 6174 South Bay Rd., Deputy Chief Jon Barrett said. The force of the explosion threw the employee, who was standing outside the 6-foot by 6-foot room, off of his feet, Barrett said.

The employee, who was not identified just after the explosion, was taken by ambulance to Upstate University Hospital.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation. The explosion started a fire that employees of the shop put the fire out before Cicero and North Syracuse fire departments arrived, Barrett said.

The building suffered minor damage and employees were allowed back in after the fire department left.

The men are suspected of stealing two flatscreen televisions Sept. 2.

Clay, NY -- Onondaga County Sheriff's deputies are looking for two people wanted in the thefs of two flatscreen televisions Sept. 2 from the Clay Walmart.

One suspect is wearing an orange shirt, between 6 feet and 6 feet, 3-inches, and has a weight between 150 and 170 pounds, deputies said. The second suspect is wearing a T-shirt with an "LRG" logo and is between 5 feet, 8 inches and 6 feet tall, and has a weight of about 240 pounds.

The two men were seen leaving in a blue Dodge Intrepid from the 3949 Route 31 store.

Anyone with information is asked to call deputies at 435-3051 or sherifftips@ongov.net.

Martinous Hudson arraigned today on nine-count murder and attempted murder indictment.

Syracuse, NY - A Salina man accused of fatally shooting two friends and wounding a third will stand trial in the case Jan. 30.

State Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti set that trial date after Martinous Hudson was arraigned today on a nine-count indictment.

Hudson, 28, of 368 Electronics Parkway, is charged with murdering LaVonna Hamilton, 17, and Maurice Miller, 24, - and trying to kill Eric Bellamy, also 24 - by shooting them early the morning of Aug. 6.

Police said Hudson and his friends were driving around smoking marijuana when Hudson suddenly began ranting incoherenly about the devil, pulled a gun and opened fire on his companions in a vehicle in the 100 block of West Glen Avenue.

He's then accused of stealing at gunpoint a car from a 73-year-old man at a nearby apartment building in the 100 block of West Seneca Turnpike.

Brunetti entered a "not guilty" plea for Hudson and ordered the defendant held in jail without bail. The judge scheduled argument of motions for Nov. 10 and the trial in January.

At the request of Senior Assistant District Attorney Melinda McGunnigle - and over the objection of defense lawyer Gerald Harrell - Brunetti ordered Hudson to provide the prosecution with a saliva sample for DNA testing.

Hudson previously was ordered to provide a hair sample for the prosecution to check for evidence of drug abuse since the defendant told police he was high on PCP at the time of the shootings.

A town-by-town comparison of how your tax bill would change under the proposed 2012 budget.

Enlarge graphicThe Post-Standard

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney presented her proposed 2012 budget to the county Legislature this morning.

The graphic at right shows how Mahoney's plan would affect property taxes in each of the 19 towns, 15 villages and the city of Syracuse.

More on the proposed 2012 Onondaga County budget

» Video: County Executive Joanie Mahoney makes her 2012 budget proposal

» Joanie Mahoney's 2012 Onondaga County budget proposal would raise taxes in 14 of 19 towns

» Proposed Onondaga County budget includes $7.7 million for Central Library project

» Video: Joanie Mahoney speaks with The Post-Standard's editorial board on the 2012 budget

Here's what one user, Anne, had to say about Joanie Mahoney's 2012 Onondaga County budget proposal.

John Berry / The Post-StandardOnondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney presented her budget proposal for 2012 to the county legislature this morning.

Onondaga County government will end this year with $79 million in the bank, but it would collect the same amount of property taxes in 2012 under the proposed budget by County Executive Joanie Mahoney.

Mahoney said Tuesday her $1.2 billion budget proposal would keep county property taxes at $153.8 million — a plan sure to disappoint some lawmakers who, in this election year, have demanded the county use the surplus to cut taxes.

While the tax levy would remain level, tax rates would not. Also, the proposal would give county Comptroller Robert Antonacci a $12,640 raise and county Clerk Ann Ciarpelli a $6,000 raise.

Users of syracuse.com had plenty to say. Here's what one user, Anne, had to say:

"Antonacci and Ciarpelli should be ashamed to even consider accepting the proposed raise. Your names are now burned into my memory and neither of you will get my vote next time around. Joanie, this is no time to be giving out raises for anyone. If they can't live on $72,654 and $87,160 then maybe they should go get jobs in the private sector."

» Read the story and all the comments

» Read what else Anne had to say

» Become a public blogger on syracuse.com

» Connect with syracuse.com

» Read all the Your Comments features

In Europe and North America, heart disease and diabetes dominate.

Bikas Das / AP PhotoIn this Dec. 15, 2004 file photo, spectators stand beside a cut-out of former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram, a diabetic patient, holding a blood-glucose monitoring system, during a road show for diabetes awareness in Calcutta, India. The U.N. General Assembly in will hold its first summit on chronic diseases - cancer, diabetes and heart and lung disease next week.

What's killing us? For decades, global health leaders have focused on diseases that can spread - AIDS, tuberculosis, new flu bugs. They pushed for vaccines, better treatments and other ways to control germs that were only a plane ride away from seeding outbreaks anywhere in the world.

Now they are turning to a new set of culprits causing what United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls "a public health emergency in slow motion." This time, germs aren't the target: We are, along with our bad habits like smoking, overeating and too little exercise.

Next week, the U.N. General Assembly will hold its first summit on chronic diseases - cancer, diabetes and heart and lung disease. Those account for nearly two-thirds of deaths worldwide, or about 36 million. In the United States, they kill nearly 9 out of 10 people. They have common risk factors, such as smoking and sedentary lifestyles, and many are preventable.

It's hard to fathom the suffering these maladies are causing in some parts of the world.

For example, until a few years ago Ethiopia had one cancer specialist, Dr. Bogale Solomon, for more than 80 million people.

"Now three more oncologists have joined," he said, and these four doctors struggle to treat patients in a country where cancer drugs and even painkillers are in short supply.

Wondu Bekele took his 2-year-old son, Mathiwos, to that lone cancer center in Addis Ababa when the boy developed leukemia. The desperate father got advice from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the United States, procured chemotherapy drugs from India, and against all odds, got his son treated. Yet the little boy died because the hospital had no separate ward to protect him from catching disease from other patients. The father founded a cancer society in his son's name and will represent cancer groups at the U.N. meeting.

"Practically all cancer-related medicines are either nonexistent or beyond the reach of ordinary Ethiopians," he said. "We are struggling to make a difference here."

Advocates may be struggling to make a difference at the U.N., too. Key officials have been unable to agree before the meeting on specific goals - reducing certain diseases or risk factors such as smoking by a specific amount and date. With the global economy in turmoil, finding money to meet any goals could be an even bigger hurdle.

"The timing is difficult with the economy the way it is, but it should not prevent us from setting goals," said Dr. Sidney Smith, who heads the World Heart Federation, an umbrella group of more than 200 organizations focused on heart disease.

"Many of the things we're proposing cost very little" and some, such as smoking cessation, even save money, said Smith, a cardiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We're not talking about trying to find a new magic bullet. We're just talking about behavior and cost-effective medicines" like aspirin and generic blood pressure drugs that lower the risk of multiple diseases, he said.

This is only the second time the U.N. has taken up a health issue. The previous one in 2001 led to creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, with billions from governments and private groups such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Now even rich nations are cash-strapped, and it's unclear whether private groups will step in. Asked whether the U.N. meeting would alter its focus, the Gates Foundation indicated it would not.

"Unfortunately, there is a lack of comparable investment in infectious diseases, which disproportionately affect the world's poorest," said a statement from the foundation. "Our priority will continue to be investing in cost-effective treatments that lead to maximum impact and fill in a gap where other resources are not invested."

However, advocates say there are disparities in chronic diseases, too.

"The common belief that cancer is a problem of rich countries is a misconception," said Dr. Eduardo Cazap, president of the Union For International Cancer Control.

Dr. Ala Alwan, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization, agreed.

"Most countries in Africa are currently overwhelmed with their increasing demand" from cancer patients, and the region also has the highest rates of stroke and high blood pressure in the world, Alwan said.

In Ghana, 23 million people are served by two oncology centers; the country has four cancer doctors and no specialist cancer nurses, said Dr. Allen Lichter, CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, an organization of cancer specialists. The society has trained more than 2,000 doctors in developing countries on cancer care and plans to do more.

Africa also remains the only region in the world where infectious diseases, maternal-infant health problems and poor nutrition still kill more people than noncommunicable diseases do.

Worldwide, stroke and heart-related diseases account for nearly half of all noninfectious disease deaths - 17 million in 2008 alone, WHO says. Next is cancer (7.6 million deaths), followed by respiratory diseases such as emphysema (4.2 million). Diabetes caused 1.3 million deaths in 2008, but that's misleading - most diabetics die of cardiovascular causes.

The U.N. chose to focus on those four diseases and their common risk factors: tobacco use, alcohol abuse, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and environmental carcinogens.

They have varied impact around the world:

• Europe and North America. These regions are paying the price of too much eating, too little exercise and smoking: heart disease and diabetes dominate. Cancers that are more prevalent with age - breast and prostate - reflect long life spans in these regions where treatment is widely available. In Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, lung cancer is the dominant cancer in men. Europe has the highest smoking prevalence in the world: 29 percent.

• Asia. Southeast Asia has the lowest rates of obesity in the world, even lower than Africa. Yet in China, where only 6 percent of the population is obese, nearly 4 in 10 people have high blood pressure. China also has three times the death rate from respiratory diseases as the United States. Many areas also have high rates of infection with HPV, a sexually spread virus that can cause cervical cancer.

In India, the government has launched an aggressive diabetes and high blood pressure screening project. There are 51 million diabetics in India, the second-highest incidence in the world after China. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer in India among men; in women, it's cervical cancer.

• Central and South America. Cancer prevalence patterns largely resemble North America except that cervical cancer dominates among women in certain areas. Access to care is much poorer in many countries. Dr. Angel Sanchez, an International Cancer Corps volunteer for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, told of conditions at a hospital in Honduras, where there are more than 700 new cancer cases every year for two oncologists to handle.

John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said the U.N. session must lead to specific goals and more money, or a chance to make a difference with these diseases may be lost for decades.

"This is our moment in the sun," he said. "A resolution alone is insufficient."

it's just the second time in the last two decades reading scores have fallen as much in a single year.

Paul Vernon / AP PhotoA student taking the SAT at Upper Arlington High School in Upper Arlington, Ohio, leaves after completion of the test in 2005.

SAT reading scores for the high school class of 2011 were the lowest on record, and combined reading and math scores fell to their lowest point since 1995.

The College Board, which released the scores today, said the results reflect the record size and diversity of the pool of test-takers. As more students aim for college and take the exam, it tends to drag down average scores.

Meanwhile, other tests taken by more representative groups of high school students have shown reading skills holding steadier. And in the context of the 800-point test, the three-point decline in reading scores to 497 may seem little more than a blip.

Still, it's just the second time in the last two decades reading scores have fallen as much in a single year. And reading scores are now notably lower than as recently as 2005, when the average was 508.

Average math scores for the class of 2011 fell one point to 514 and scores on the critical reading section fell two points to 489.

College Board officials pointed to a range of indicators that the test-taking pool has expanded, particularly among Hispanics, which is a good sign that more students are aspiring to college. For instance, roughly 27 percent of the 1.65 million test-takers last year came from a home where English was not the only language, up from 19 percent just a decade ago.

But the increasingly diverse group of test-takers is clearly having more trouble with reading and writing than with math. Wayne Camara, College Board vice president of research, said recent curriculum reforms that pushed math instruction may be coming at the expense of reading and writing - especially in an era when students are reading less and less at home.

"We're looking and wondering if (more) efforts in English and reading and writing would benefit" students, Camara said.

Gary Phillips, chief scientist at the American Institutes of Research, cautioned against using SAT scores as a way to measure national performance.

Overall on reading, "I think we're treading water in the long-run," Phillips said, citing other tests like the National Assessment of Educational Progress. "In the short run, we've had a few blips in a couple directions. Based on the international comparisons, however, we're still not doing all that well."

The College Board, a membership organization that owns the exam and promotes college access, also released its first "College and Career Benchmark" report, which it said would eventually be used to give states and school districts better data on how ready their students are for college. Based on research at 100 colleges, the College Board calculated that scoring 1550 or above on the three sections of the test indicated a 65-percent likelihood of attaining at least a B-minus average in the freshman year of college.

Overall, 43 percent of test-takers reached that benchmark. The College Board emphasized the tool is for policymakers, and shouldn't be used by college admissions officers to evaluate individual candidates.

The main message from the College Board was the importance of a rigorous curriculum, which is a strong and perhaps growing predictor of SAT scores.

For instance, nearly one in five students takes less than four years of high school English. That's about the same percentage as a decade ago, but it now makes a much bigger difference on SAT scores: The reading scores of those students have fallen from 500 to 462. Students who took AP and honors classes, meanwhile, score significantly higher across the board.

A decline in average scores isn't necessarily good news for top students who were applying to competitive colleges. The number of high scores is also increasing. For instance, the number of students with math scores of at least 700 is up 22 percent since 2007.

The SAT and rival ACT exam are taken by roughly the same number of students each year. Most colleges require scores from at least one of the exams but will consider either. In recent years, some colleges have adopted test-optional policies allowing applicants to decline to submit test scores at all.

The College Board, which charges $49 this year for the test, has faced criticism from some educators over fees. This year it says it had responded to the weak economy with more financial aid, granting 350,000 students fee waivers, an increase of 77 percent in the last four years.

Fighter jets from Massachusetts and Vermont are involved in exercises.

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) — Military jets are flying across northern New York skies on training missions this week.

New York state military officials say two F-15s from the 104th Fighter Wing based at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Mass., conducted scramble drills over designated military air space in the North Country on Wednesday morning.

In addition, F-16s from the 158th Fighter Wing in Burlington, Vt. are conducting night flights over the region Tuesday through Friday both this week and next. The fighters are flying over the range at Fort Drum.

"Creation of cross-designated officers would allow us to more effectively identify, assess and interdict persons and organizations involved in transnational crime," Eric Holder said at Lake Placid meeting.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — The U.S. and Canada will each designate officers who can work investigations on both sides of the border in a new pilot project next year, Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday.

Holder told a group of federal prosecutors and district attorneys from northern border districts that the initiative stems from broad agreement earlier this year by President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to cooperate more on law enforcement.

Calling the threats on both sides of the 5,500-mile border “unprecedented,” Holder said shared information and joint efforts have led to millions of dollars in drugs and assets seized, gang operations disrupted and extraditions of suspected smugglers and violent criminals.

“As you discussed earlier today, the creation of ‘NextGen’ teams of cross-designated officers would allow us to more effectively identify, assess and interdict persons and organizations involved in transnational crime,” Holder said. It would also reduce duplication of effort, he said.

Richard Hartunian, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, said there are already some cross-designated U.S. and Canadian officers on boats patrolling waterways between the two countries. “It’s the same idea. Work together. Operate across the border together. And respect the sovereignty of each nation. That’s the challenge. We all have different concerns and different laws that apply in different situations.”

Details of the pilot program, including precisely where and when it will begin, were not disclosed during the meeting at New York’s Lake Placid.

Holder said senior officials from the U.S. Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security have been meeting since December with counterparts from Public Safety Canada and Justice Canada on how to proceed. He promised it won’t jeopardize citizens’ privacy rights.

Most people polled said they believe the matter should be handled at the state level because of differing moral standards.

View full sizeTed Richardson / APSteve Tanis (left) and his partner, Rich Garraputa, both from Greensboro, N.C., walk toward the North Carolina Legislative Building on Halifax Mall in Raleigh, N.C., after a rally against a state constitutional amendment that would say marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union in North Carolina. The N.C. Senate voted Tuesday to put the marriage issue to a vote in 2012. The men have been together for 13 years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barbara Von Aspern loves her daughter, “thinks the world” of the person her daughter intends to marry and believes the pair should have the same legal rights as anyone else. It pains her, but Von Aspern is going to skip their wedding. Her daughter, Von Aspern explains, is marrying another woman.

“We love them to death, and we love them without being judgmental,” the 62-year-old Chandler, Ariz., retiree said. “But the actual marriage I cannot agree with.”

It’s complicated, this question of legitimizing gay marriage. Americans are grappling with it from their homes to the halls of government in the shadow of a presidential election next year. The ambivalence is reflected in a new poll that shows the nation is passionate, conflicted and narrowly split on same-sex marriage.

Fifty-three percent of the 1,000 adults surveyed believe the government should give legal recognition to marriages between couples of the same sex, about the same as last year, according to the nationwide telephone poll by The Associated Press and the National Constitution Center. Forty-four percent were opposed.

People are similarly conflicted over what, if anything, the government should do about the issue.

Support for legal recognition of same-sex marriage has shifted in recent years, from a narrow majority opposed in 2009 to narrow majority support now. Some of the shift stems from a generational divide, with the new poll showing a majority of Americans under age 65 in favor of legal recognition for same-sex marriages, and a majority of seniors opposed.

In some places, government has moved ahead while the nation debates. New York in July became the sixth state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize same-sex marriage. Still, the issue played a part in the special election Tuesday to replace disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. Democrat David Weprin’s support for gay marriage cost him support among the district’s Orthodox Jews, and he lost to Republican Bob Turner.

Also Tuesday, lawmakers in North Carolina, the only state in the Southeast that does not have language in its constitution banning gay marriage, voted to put the question on the 2012 ballot. Most Americans who live in states where gay marriage is not already legal say it is unlikely their state will pass such a law; just 20 percent think it is likely to become law in their state.

Americans also are conflicted on how to go about legalizing or outlawing gay marriage.

One option is banning gay marriage by constitutional amendment. About half of the poll’s respondents, 48 percent, said they would favor such an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Most who feel this way do so intensely. About 40 percent would strongly favor such a change. Forty-three percent said they would oppose such an amendment, and 8 percent were neutral, according to the poll.

Most — 55 percent — believe the issue should be handled at the state level, however, and opinions on how states should act are split. People are about evenly divided on whether their states should allow same-sex marriages — 42 percent favor that and 45 percent are opposed — and tilt in favor of state laws that allow gay couples to form civil unions — 47 percent in favor, 38 percent opposed and 13 percent neutral, according to the poll.

“The different moral standards in different areas, probably, are the biggest reason that same-sex marriages are an issue,” said Dale Shoemaker, 54, a military retiree from Boise, Idaho. If gay couples who want to get married live in a state that doesn’t allow it, they can move to one that does, he said.

Either way, gay couples “should have benefits,” Shoemaker said. “If they’re living together and cohabitating and are a couple, (they should have) the insurance and retirement and that type of thing, the monetary benefits.”

Nearly 6 in 10 (57 percent) in the poll shared Shoemaker’s take when it comes to government benefits. They said same-sex couples should be entitled to the same legal benefits as married couples of the opposite sex. Forty percent felt the government should distinguish between them.

The poll did uncover some inequities. It suggests, for example, that opponents of same-sex marriage were far more apt to say that the issue is one of deep importance to them. Forty-four percent of those polled called it extremely or very important for them personally. Among those who favor legal marriage for gay couples, 32 percent viewed the issue as that important.

Von Aspern is an example of an American whose opposition to gay marriage is deep and abiding. It’s based on her religion — she is Mormon — and as such it overrode other considerations when it came to her daughter’s wedding. “It was very difficult,” Von Aspern says. “We had to bring them to the house and hug them and love them and tell them these things and not let that keep us apart.”

Also, FEMA extends flood relief to five Southern Tier counties, and CEO of Petco answers questions about animal deaths due to flooding.

View full sizePaul Sakuma / APWorkers leave Solyndra in Fremont, Calif., in this photo from Aug. 31. Leaders of a House panel say they plan to make Obama administration officials answer for putting taxpayers on the hook for a half-billion dollar loan that went to the now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer.

From The Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration’s eagerness to deliver economic stimulus may have influenced a federal review of a loan to a now bankrupt solar panel manufacturer, a move that may have left taxpayers on the hook for a $528 million debt, House Republicans said Wednesday.

The panel examining the loan disclosed e-mails that appear to show senior staff at the White House Office of Management and Budget chafing about having to conduct “rushed approvals” of federal loan guarantees designed to help jumpstart the nation’s renewable energy industry.

GOP lawmakers said the White House had scheduled a groundbreaking for Solyndra Inc. even before the Department of Energy had submitted its final paperwork on the terms of the loan to the OMB.

“We would prefer to have sufficient time to do our due diligence reviews and have the approval set the date for the announcement rather than the other way around,” said one of the emails from an unnamed OMB aide to the office of Vice President Joe Biden.

Solyndra was cited by President Barack Obama as an example of how the economic stimulus bill would increase employment through investments in renewable energy. But it couldn’t compete with foreign manufacturers of solar panels in the U.S. and the European market dried up. It has filed for bankruptcy, laying off 1,100 workers. Shortly after the filing, FBI officials raided the company’s headquarters in Fremont, Calif. The company said the FBI was seeking records on the loans.

Republican lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigations panel are questioning why there was a rush to approve the loan and whether the entire loan guarantee program is warranted. “Our investigation raises several questions about whether the administration did everything it could to protect taxpayer dollars,” said the committee’s chairman, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan.

White House spokesman Jay Carney attributed the rush to scheduling decisions. “What the emails make clear is there was urgency to make a decision on a scheduling matter. It is a big proposition to move the president or to put on an event and that sort of thing so people were simply looking for answers about whether or not people could move forward,” Carney told reporters at the White House.

“It had nothing to -- and there is no evidence to the contrary -- nothing to do with anything besides the need to get an answer to make a scheduling decision,” he said.

The Obama administration and Democratic lawmakers have aggressively sought to invest in renewable energy projects as way to increase employment and to reduce the reliance on oil. They note that other nations are also investing heavily in solar and that the race for solar manufacturing jobs is worth winning because the global market is going to be worth trillions of dollars. But the Solyndra fallout has been a huge embarrassment for the White House while Obama travels around the country promoting his jobs plan, which includes more investments in renewable energy.

The subcommittee has been investigating Solyndra for nearly six months as it began to have financial troubles. GOP lawmakers on the committee also noted that investors in Solyndra had contributed to Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Federal officials told lawmakers that Solyndra went through three years of review, beginning with the Bush administration, before any taxpayer money was put at risk. Jonathan Silver of the Department of Energy said that the company was well positioned to succeed in 2009.

But Chinese companies have flooded the market with inexpensive panels, and Europe’s economy weakened demand from customers. The result has been an unprecedented drop in solar cell prices this year.

Silver said the loan guarantee program is about giving U.S. companies the tools they need to succeed in the world marketplace, and one of those tools, as other countries have learned, is low-cost financing. “This isn’t picking winners and losers. It is helping ensure that we have winners here at all,” Silver said.

But GOP officials disputed that the Bush administration was willing to go along with a loan guarantee for Solyndra, noting that a Department of Energy committee voted against offering a conditional commitment to Solyndra in January 2009. The committee said the deal was premature and questioned its underlying financial support, said Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida, chaiman of the investigative panel for the Energy and Commerce Committee

Two executives with Solyndra Inc. were also asked to testify Wednesday but are now expected to appear voluntarily next week instead. They are Brian Harrison, the company’s president and chief executive officer, and W.G. Stover Jr., a senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Democratic lawmakers attempted to focus the concerns on Solyndra itself and argued that the company’s problems shouldn’t be used to derail a worthy program.

Solyndra was heralded as one of the nation’s bright spots of green technology innovation, creating a solar tube of sorts that could soak up sunlight from many angles, producing energy more efficiently and using less space. The company’s panels were also light and easy to install, which was meant to save upfront costs.

But over the past few years, other companies caught up and provided similar products at a lower cost.

Related stories:

» Solyndra: House committee grills officials over failed solar firm [Los Angeles Times]
» White House Aides Pushed for Solyndra Decision, Panel Says [Bloomberg Businessweek]
» Solyndra loan: White House pressed on review of solar company now under investigation [The Washington Post]
» Solyndra clouds a national priority [MarketWatch]

In other news:

» FEMA extends flood relief to five Southern Tier counties [pressconnects.com]
» PETCO CEO answers questions about animal deaths [centralny.ynn.com]
» Auburn city garage repair costs are rising [The Auburn Citizen]
» Slow down in school zones: Manlius police targeting speeders [CNYcentral.com]
» National Grid opens compressed natural gas station in Cicero [centralny.ynn.com]
» Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente is upset with county Board of Elections again [Utica Observer-Dispatch]
» Surge in crimes plague Buffalo area churches [The Buffalo News]
» Indian River school bus accident sends students, driver to hospital [Watertown Daily Times]

Police accused William J. Knopp of having images and videos of children involved in sex acts.

William J. Knopp

Oswego, NY – Law enforcement officials today accused a Town Of Oswego man of having child pornography.

The U.S. Marshall’s Service and the New York State Police Computer Crime Unit served a search warrant at a Town of Oswego residence today, and arrested William J. Knopp, 48, of 364 Thompson Road, Oswego.

Police accused Knopp of three counts of possessing a sexual performance of a child and one count of promoting a sexual performance of a child.

The investigation revealed that Knopp had several images and videos of children under the age of 16 involved in sex acts, state police said.

Knopp was arraigned in the Town of Volney Court and released.

A news roundup of western Onondaga County.

Enlarge graphicThe Post-Standard

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney presented her proposed 2012 budget to the county Legislature this morning.

Of all the towns in the western suburbs, Elbridge would be the hardest hit in Onondaga County, with a 17 percent proposed property tax hike. (The county’s most populated town, Clay, would take the biggest hit, at 19 percent.)

Residents in the town of Marcellus would see a 13 percent hike, and Camillus and Onondaga could each see an 11 percent increase.

Meanwhile, every village in the county and town of Geddes residents would see a 1 percent savings, according to the proposed budget.

The graphic at right shows how Mahoney's plan would affect property taxes in each of the 19 towns, 15 villages and the city of Syracuse.

» Read the full story: Will your property taxes go up or down under Onondaga County's proposed budget? [syracuse.com]

In other West news

» Bishop Ludden 5K Walk and Run set for Oct. 1 [syracuse.com]

» 25 Central New York high school students named National Merit Scholarhip semifinalists [syracuse.com]

» Camillus residents to vote Sept. 20 on whether to abolish town's receiver of taxes office [syracuse.com]

» College Night at Bishop Ludden slated Sept. 28 [syracuse.com]

» Primary Vote 2011: Who won in Onondaga County? [syracuse.com]

» Camillus village board meeting rescheduled for Sept. 29 [syracuse.com]

» Onondaga artist, former Syracuse police officer to be remembered Tuesday [syracuse.com]

West resources
» Today's weather forecast
» Today's obituaries
» What's going on? Events calendar for Western Onondaga County
» Onondaga County reported crimes database
» See all west news on syracuse.com
» Police Blotter

Bill would affect people earning more than $250,000 a year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nervous that Social Security seems under siege from all sides, congressional liberals on Wednesday proposed raising the payroll tax that funds the program, but only for people earning more than $250,000 a year.

The legislation is designed to keep the pension program solvent for the next 75 years, which is the standard used by government actuaries, by putting an additional $6.5 trillion into the Social Security trust fund over that period. The plan also is intended to head off other efforts to overhaul the program or trim benefits, or to use its funds to help pay for debt reduction.

“No more discussion about raising the retirement age, no more discussion about cutting benefits, no more discussion about privatization,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., one of the sponsors.

With Republicans making opposition to tax increases their mantra, the measure seems to have little chance of enactment. Nonetheless, it gives liberals a chance to underscore their support for the widely popular program at a time when President Barack Obama has proposed cutting the payroll tax to help create jobs and GOP presidential contender Rick Perry, the Texas governor, has called its finances a “Ponzi scheme.”

The bill’s sponsors noted that during his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama proposed raising the payroll tax on people earning over $250,000. He’s discussed the idea as president but has yet to offer legislation following through on it.

Currently, workers and their employers each owe a payroll tax of 6.2 percent of a worker’s wages up to $106,800 a year. That tax would also be imposed on wages above $250,000 under the liberals’ plan. Other sponsors include Sens. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

In an effort to boost consumer spending and create jobs, Obama last week proposed paring the 6.2 percent payroll tax on employees to 3.1 percent next year and cutting the payroll tax for employers as well. He would replace the revenue Social Security would lose with money from the government’s overall budget.

That plan has split liberals. Sanders said he opposes it because it would make Social Security more vulnerable to budget cuts. Boxer said she favors it because it would create jobs while protecting Social Security.

In debt reduction talks between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, this summer, they discussed a plan to slow the growth of Social Security benefits that they never embraced. In 2005, President George W. Bush proposed letting recipients turn part of their Social Security nest egg into stock market investments. The idea went nowhere.

Clerk cites religious beliefs in her decision; couple says they are being discriminated against. Town says it doesn't have power to order her to issue licenses.

Katie Carmichael (left) and Deirdre DiBiaggio tried last month to obtain a marriage license from a town clerk in Cayuga County. Ledyard Town Clerk Rose Marie Belforti refused to issue the license herself, saying it was against her religious believes.

In the rural Cayuga County town of Ledyard, one elected official’s religious beliefs have collided with the state’s recently enacted Marriage Equality Act.

This week Town Clerk Rose Marie Belforti and the town board received notice that a lesbian couple from Miami, Fla., are considering suing the town if Belforti continues to refuse to grant a marriage license to them.

The couple, Katie Carmichael and Deirdre DiBiaggio, owns a residence in nearby Springport and tried last month to obtain a marriage license from Belforti under the state’s Marriage Equality Act, which became law in late July. Belforti would not issue them a license and told the couple her deputy clerk could process their request if they could make an appointment for another day.

That didn’t sit well with DiBiaggio and Carmichael, who have been together for 10 years. They said Belforti discriminated against them and has a legal obligation as an elected official to uphold the new marriage equality law. Both women criticized the town for enabling Belforti to seemingly dodge the duties of her elected position.

“I think she is hiding behind her religion so she doesn’t have to do her job. But that seems like a slippery slope to me. I mean how far does this go? Does she refuse to issue a license to somebody who’s been divorced or maybe someone who’s had premarital sex?” DiBiaggio, a Miami lawyer, said Wednesday.

Carmichael said “it’s the principle. We’re looking for Rose to do her job or resign. We just want to not be discriminated against and we want the woman to do her job.”

Belforti, a Republican, was first elected in 2001 and is running unopposed so far for her sixth two-year term in November. Belforti told The Post-Standard Wednesday that she would respond to the newspaper’s questions later in the day. However, she did not return several more telephone messages from the newspaper.

Town Attorney Adam VanBuskirk said Belforti informed the town board on Aug. 8 that she would not issue same-sex marriage licenses because of her fundamental Christian beliefs. Belforti later “agreed,” VanBuskirk said, to let her deputy clerk, Susan Radcliffe, issue all marriage licenses, including those to same-sex couples, in the future.

The town board did not try to force Belforti to change her position or have her deputy clerk issue future marriage licenses, according to VanBuskirk.

“She is an elected official. The town board does not have authority to command her or remove her from office,” he said. “The bottom line for the town is that no one will be turned away and everyone will be treated the same.”

By coincidence Wednesday Auburn City Clerk Debby McCormick issued a marriage license to a gay couple that had called earlier in the day. She said her office does not discriminate against same-sex couples wanting to be married and she took Belforti to task for mixing her religious beliefs and government duties as an elected official.

“We took an oath to uphold the state constitution. We’re supposed to treat everyone the same, it’s part of our job,” McCormick said. “I don’t like to hunt or fish but I issue hunting and fishing licenses.”

DiBiaggio and Carmichael have drawn legal representation and support from the People For the American Way Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based national advocate for civil and human rights.

“Elected officials don’t get to pick and choose the laws they want to enforce. This is about applying the law equally to everyone,” said Drew Courtney, a spokesman for the organization.

That’s all DiBiaggio and Carmichael, a filmmaker, are seeking, the couple said. They are determined to force Belforti to marry them. “We’re not going to stop until this is resolved. I would really like to go back in there and do what we intended to do,” Carmichael said.

Scott Rapp can be contacted at srapp@syracuse.com or 289-4839.