A footnote on the ubiquitous Thompson who, like the proverbial horse apple, seems to be everywhere: A few weeks ago, a reader took me to task in a letter to the editor for writing that Thompson had been a member of last year’s charter revision commission. She was not, but did serve with distinction on the reapportionment commission and chaired the panel that recruited and secured a buyer for the Golden Hill Health Care Center in Kingston.
In days of yore, annual messages by elected leaders used to be delivered in January, sometimes on New Year’s Day. No more. It seems it now takes some locals two or three months to figure out what they’ll try to accomplish in the coming year.
Along those lines, Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo will deliver his second annual mayor’s message on the state of the city the first week in March. A decade ago, mayor’s messages were presented at a noon on New Year’s Day.
The Town of Ulster has retained the Jan. 1 tradition, but not this year. Supervisor Jim Quigley and family are vacationing in Australia where Hizzoner, a Tom Selleck look-a-like if ever there was one, is auditioning for the title role in the remake of Quigley Down Under.
And finally, some corrections are in order. I recently reported that U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey would retire on full ($174,000) congressional salary with health benefits. Not so. Members of Congress draw the same (relatively generous) retirement benefits as other federal employees. Average pension for congressman is $70,000 a year, according to a congressional website. They continue to pay health premiums in retirement, with the government picking up 75 percent of the tab. And Hinchey was born in Greenwich Village in 1938, not Hell’s Kitchen. I must have deduced the latter from all the hell he gave opponents over a 40-year career (38 years in office).
