Hugh Reynolds: State of the county

To sensible people, that vote should have indicated a course of action.

The columnist Reynolds.

Notes

Chairman Parete has announced the appointment of Kingston’s Cappy Weiner as county attorney. Weiner, one of the county’s top defense lawyers, replaces Langdon Chapman, a legislative guru, but with a $5,000 cut from Chapman’s $50,000 salary.

While highly regarded as a defense attorney, Weiner’s resume shows little experience in municipal affairs. “He’s quick learner,” Chairman Parete said of his appointee.

Parete may need a prominent defense attorney on his side, if only to keep rogue party members in line.

Peter Fluchers, treasurer of the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR), expressed the hope that with “new leadership on both sides” the county would drop its lawsuit against the local trainmen. Trouble is, there are three sides, and the county executive shows little indication of curbing legal action aimed at voiding the railroad’s lease with the county.

“I’m pretty amazed and offended,” said CMRR supporter Walter Otto, “at litigation [meant] to harass into submission a private enterprise staffed by volunteers.”

Amen to that.

Here and there

Some may recall that troubadour Pete Seeger, who died last week, made a documentary with then-assemblyman Maurice Hinchey in the late 1980s about garbage. It was highly acclaimed by environmentalists. For me the lasting image was of Seeger standing on the dock strumming his banjo and singing “garbage, garbage, garbage” as a barge piled high with refuse left a Manhattan dock bound for the oddly named Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island.

Speaking of committee assignments, Deb Brown, the lone Republican on the nine- member Kingston Common Council, perhaps gets too much flak for taking the $500 stipend afforded party leaders. (She’s leader of a party of one.) But as Brown points out, as the only Republican she’s assigned to every Common Council committee, meaning that she’s at City Hall at least twice a week. Democrats, with eight members, can afford to spread the talent.

Business must be good at Mainetti, Mainetti and O’Connor of Kingston, one of Ulster County’s more prominent law firms. I saw founder Al Mainetti pull up in a top-of-the-line Mercedes AMG V-8 on Sunday.

“Nice car,” I said.

“Tough on gas,” he replied.

Mainetti will need a full tank to visits new branches the firm announced in Poughkeepsie and Newburgh last week, that and the addition of several new attorneys, including Mainetti’s son Alexander.

The firm does give back to the community, as witnessed by its donation of fireworks for Kingston’s most recent Fourth of July celebration. Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, which seem to have fireworks almost every night, can hardly wait.