Another Pin In The Map

"Unknown Assailant", the most prolific and dangerous gunman in Utica, opened fire again last night:

Two people were shot Wednesday night at the intersection of Jay and Nichols streets, according to Utica police.

Police said Zeffaire Hobbs, 18, and LeShawn Thomas, 17, both of Utica, were being treated for nonlife-threatening injuries at St. Elizabeth Medical Center. Police said the pair was taken to the hospital privately. The shooting happened around 10:05 p.m., police said.

Police are investigating and no arrests have been made.

That means another pin my Crime Tracker map that keeps a record of violent crimes and arsons since the first of the year. It's till horribly undercounting incidents, since I haven't gone back and filled in many crimes from earlier in the year, but it's up to date as far as the last two months are concerned.

Red pins are violent crimes.

Red pins with dots are violent crimes where someone was actually injured or killed.

Yellow pins are arsons.

The blue pin is the home of Mayor David "See no evil, hear no evil" Roefaro.


View Larger Map

Hotel Utica Countdown: H+31

It's now been a month since Utica Mayor David Roefaro missed his self-imposed deadline to resolve the Hotel Utica crisis.

Last month, the city's Urban and Economic Development Commissioner, Robert Sullivan, said that he and his crack staff had developed "several plans" to deal with the problem and were in the process of selecting their final solution. Supposedly, as he stated when interviewed by WKTV, we could expect a press conference "in the coming weeks".

Obviously, we're still waiting.

Mr. Roefaro's administration has continued to demonstrate, time and time again, a level of inability to handle this matter that truly boggles the mind. They've now spent months allegedly working on the problem and, despite constant talk of "getting tough" and "cracking down", have absolutely nothing to show for it. In the meantime the city has been on the hook for close to $10,000 a week covering the Hotel's debts.

That leaves us with only two possibilities for why the Roefaro administration continues to hem and haw while the city treasury hemorrhages cash: they're either incompetent or corrupt.

Given Mr. Roefaro's close ties to the owners of Hotel, and his support for the infamous "Friends and Family" plan, we should probably be praying that he's just incompetent.

Let The Weekend Begin

Another weekend, another shooting in Utica:

At least one person was shot in East Utica early Friday night.

The victim was being attended to on the porch of 777 Blandina St. before being taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

Utica Public Safety Commissioner Daniel LaBella confirmed at least one person was shot in the 6 p.m. incident.

Police also were believed to be involved in a foot chase with the suspect near Blandina Street but apparently eluded capture, according to police radio transmissions.

And with that, another pin gets added to the Utica Crime Tracker map.

Red is a violent crime.

Red with a dot is a crime where someone was actually injured or killed.

Yellow is an arson.

Blue is Mayor Dave "I'm cleaning up this city, one gum wrapper at a time" Roefaro's home.


View Larger Map

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

It's increasingly obvious that Utica Mayor David Roefaro is woefully out of touch with the state of the city. How else to explain his laughable obsession with littering just days after the city convulsed with one of the bloodiest weekends in it's history?

With that in mind I've finally launched a project I've been considering for a while- an interactive map tracking violent crimes and arsons across the city. Thanks to Google Maps it's a simple matter to mark locations where crimes occur as they happen. For the purposes of this project I'm defining violent crimes as those involving a weapon or resulting in the death or injury of a victim. I'll update the map on a daily basis with new crimes as well as go back over time to add those that happened since the first of the year.

Here's how things look as of today. Red tags with a dot denote crimes where someone was actually injured or killed. Plain red tags mark violent crimes without direct injuries. Yellow tags are arsons. Just click on the tags for more information about the incidents they represent.


View Larger Map

You can reach the map directly over here.

Update: At the suggestion of a kind emailer I've added a blue tag marking the location of the Mayor's home. As they said, it should quickly become obvious why Mr. Roefaro hasn't a clue about how dangerous his city is.

Priorities

You would think that after one of the bloodiest weekends in history, with two people dead and multiple victims in the hospital with gunshot and stab wounds, there would be some kind of official response to the soaring levels of crime in Utica. That was indeed the case at last night's Common Council meeting as Mayor Roefaro took the gloves off and imposed a policy of swift and decisive action...against littering.

Think twice before throwing that gum wrapper on the ground.

Mayor David Roefaro submitted a letter Wednesday to the Utica Common Council urging the council members to take an aggressive approach toward eliminating littering in the city.

There already are fines for littering, but the fines can be dropped or reduced by judges, Roefaro said. A minimum, mandatory fine should be instituted to make residents know they will have to pay if they litter, Roefaro said.

“We’ve got to be proactive, and we’ve got to hit them in the pocketbook because that’s the only way they’re going to stop littering,” he said.

People are being gunned down in the streets in an unprecedented wave of violence, but Mr. Roefaro's primary concern is the growing menace of food wrappers and empty soda cans.

That popping sound you just heard? That was my head exploding.

Seriously, no one can be that out of touch. It's beyond my comprehension that an elected official could be worrying about cracking down on littering without having the slightest bit of concern about the steady stream of shootings, stabbings, and arsons that fill the news on a daily basis. Sweet Jebus, even the most disconnected OCD neat freak would realize the unsightly bloodstains on the sidewalks and the empty bullet casings in the gutters trump a couple of gum wrappers.

While the city's violent crime doesn't appear to hold much interest for Mr. Roefaro, he did manage to work himself into a hissy-fit on another issue:

During a caucus meeting before the council meeting, officials discussed a parking-garage complex planned for downtown.

Councilman Frank Vescera, D-1, said he thinks some issues regarding the project could better have been addressed if the project’s environmental review was first submitted to a committee instead of directly going before the entire council.

“A big project like this should have gone through the committee,” Vescera said.

In response, Roefaro said the more than $10 million in state and federal funding allocated for the project needs to be earmarked before the end of the month or the city will lose the funding.

Roefaro stood up and said loudly that the complex was a good project.

“If you don’t want it, then throw it out the window,” Roefaro said, as he threw a stack of papers, including the meeting’s agenda, across the length of the caucus room.

Roefaro continued to express his frustration before leaving the caucus.

“I can’t stand it anymore,” Roefaro said before exiting.

He did not attend the council meeting.

I suspect Mr. Roefaro isn't the only one who can't stand how city government is being run at this point.

Update: A kind emailer suggests that the parking garage project is just another facet of the Roefaro "Friends and Family" plan designed to reward the Clark family, owners of the Adirondack Bank building. I don't think that's true, since I seem to remember this project has been in the proposal stage for years. It may well be a giveaway for the Clark family, but it's not one exlusive to Mr. Roefaro's administration.

Update: Another kind emailer sends along this link to the Governor's proposal for developing downtown Utica:

Downtown Parking, City of Utica

The City has stated the lack of available parking in downtown as the key difficulty in convincing businesses to locate or stay in the area – a fact the City says is supported by situation of the nearby Harza building. In 2005, the Federal Government committed $5 million and in 2006 the state committed $5.5 million toward the construction of a new parking garage in downtown and renovations to the Hotel Utica’s parking garage. The goal expressed by local leaders is not to have parking serve existing downtown workers (many public sector), but to meet the needs of new downtown private sector tenants.

Components of the Project:

• Construction of a new parking garage downtown in the Genesee Street corridor to serve new private sector needs

• Renovations to the Hotel Utica’s parking garage

Economic Development Potential:

• The construction of a new parking garage is expected to create more parking for area businesses

Funding:

• Total project cost is $16.5 million
• $2 million in existing State resources

Projected Date of Completion:

• 24 – 36 months

Based on the criteria set forth here it's hard to see how the Charlotte Street facility would do more than service the existing crowds from the State and County office buildings. Or is the project the governor is talking about something totally different?

Reaching New Heights

The Mad Max-ification of Utica continued over the long holiday weekend, as the city's already soaring crime rate hit an unprecedented level of violence. In just three days the city managed to rack up it's 30th arson fire of the year, yet another domestic stabbing, a double shooting that claimed one fatality, and capped things off with another murder on Monday night.

For the year so far that gives us 26 unsolved arsons (and the highest arson rate in the nation), 6 unsolved murders, and 16 unsolved shootings.

Update: The Roefaro administration's response to this weekend's violence? An essay contest:

Utica Mayor David Roefaro is announcing a "Why I Love Utica" essay contest. The contest is open to all Utica City School District children in the third and fourth grades.

The top ten winners will be announced the week of October 6, 2008 and invited to an award ceremony at Hanna Park, the following Saturday, October 11, 2008, where the top ten speeches will be read by the winners. Mayor Roefaro will present the winners with an award and refreshments will be served.

I think a lot more kids would love Utica if huge swathes of the city weren't no-go zones.

Boilermaker Roid Rage

I know I'm late to the party on this, but what's up with the 2009 Boilermaker logo? Forget all the hoopla about not including Utica, I'm talking about how it...well...sucks. Let's take a closer look.



I know converging arcs give a sense of dynamism and motion, but the sloppy text layout here is just ugly and amateurish. Would it really have taken that much more time to snap the text to the defining curve of the image? That's what...two extra clicks of the mouse?

And what in the name of all that is holy has happened to that runner? His entire body is out of proportion for a baseline human, much less the lithe physique of someone competing in a 15k foot race. From the freakishly huge chest, arms, and calves the inevitable conclusion is that he's jacked up on a cocktail of steroids and human growth hormones, and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a little crystal meth and some testosterone mixed in there for good measure. That impression may be intentional considering the pharmaceutical buffet of performance-enhancing drugs offered for sale in the Varick Street area, but I never expected to see the 'roid trade so openly acknowledged in the Boilermaker's promotional materials.

Call me cynical, but this is a perfect example of the "Good enough for Utica" mentality at work.

Update: Aha! I've found the actual model used in the new Boilermaker logo:

By Any Other Name

Normally Strikeslip handles this kind of thing, but this example of "de-Uticafication" caught my eye:

The Fireworks Over Central New York celebration was a nostalgic event for many.

After a decade-long hiatus, the event drew hundreds Saturday to the Herkimer County Fairgrounds.

They were probably even more nostalgic for the classic "Fireworks Over Utica" shows that used to draw thousands of people to the parkway back in the 80's. (Old guy mode on) I can remember when the entire Conkling Park area was filled with so many people there wasn't room to squeeze in another lawn chair. (Old guy mode off) It's too bad that the days when Utica had the population to support an event like that are long gone.

It's also a little sad what's happened to WOUR. It used to be a uniquely Utica radio station that was famous across the northeast for it's programming and personalities. Now, with the notable exception of Genesee Joe, it's essentially a Syracuse radio station trying to sound like it's in Utica. The old 'OUR was a huge part of my youth in Utica, so much so that I spent way too much money on a motherlode of insanely cool WOUR memorabilia that was on Ebay earlier this year.

Hotel Utica Countdown: H+9

Nine days have now passed since Utica Mayor David Roefaro failed to meet his self-imposed deadline for resolving the Hotel Utica fiasco. I'll refrain from too much self-congratulation (and the inevitable blogger triumphalism) and simply point out that the Observer-Dispatch has finally covered the story:

Hotel Utica remains behind on some tax and loan payments more than three months after Mayor David Roefaro said the city expected to find a solution to the difficulties within 90 days.

City and hotel officials said they still are communicating about their options and are working on plans that would allow hotel officials to consistently pay on time.

This is exactly where we stood three months ago, so Mr. Roefaro and his staff have the dubious distinction of accomplishing absolutely nothing in the last 90 days. This despite repeated pledges to "resolve" the issue or at least "reach a consensus" on the problem. Put simply, Mr. Roefaro has been lying through his teeth.

Hotel officials paid more than $132,500 in Utica City School District taxes on July 21 and more than $40,700 in Oneida County taxes on Aug. 19, according to school and county records.

But the hotel is past due on almost $70,000 in city taxes and has missed its last four U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development loan payments to the city, according to city records.

“Some tough decisions have to be made by the ownership,” city Urban and Economic Development Commissioner Robert Sullivan said. “Because that cannot and will not continue.”

That's tough talk coming from a man that's delinquent on his own payments to the city, a situation that, amazingly, hasn't resulted in his resignation or firing. At this point the idea that anyone would take Mr. Sullivan's pronouncements seriously is beyond laughable. Could someone please order him a big rubber nose and some size 36 shoes? If the man is going to beclown himself so thoroughly it's only right that he dresses the part.

On May 15, Roefaro said a solution to the hotel’s payment difficulties was expected within 90 days.

Now, about 100 days later, Roefaro says that goal wasn’t set in stone.

“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he said.

Nor, apparently, much of a work ethic. I know the funeral and embalming business doesn't exactly run at a breakneck pace, but you would think Mr. Roefaro would have some appreciation for making an effort in order to meet a deadline. Otherwise we would be hearing from more of his funeral home customers about how bad dear old Aunt Milly smelled at her viewing.

Hotel Utica General Manager Tony Zaleski said the hotel had a strong summer with 90 percent occupancy in August and about 80 percent occupancy in July.

“As with anything else, we said all the taxes would be paid by the end of the summer,” he said, “and that will be the case.”

Zaleski said he wasn’t aware the loan payments haven’t been made because owners Joseph Carucci and Charles Gaetano handle those. He said he expects the payments to be on track soon, but the hotel spent about $200,000 this summer paying off school and county taxes.

“There’s just only so much money,” he said.

If the Hotel Utica has a 90 percent occupancy rate and still can't meet it's financial obligations it's time to accept that it simply isn't a viable concern. It's doomed to failure, and having the city continue to prop it up with millions of taxpayer dollars does nothing more than prolong the inevitable. Actually, it's the worst thing the city could do- with each passing day the hotel's debt, and the city's liability for same, continues to balloon ever higher.

In July 2007, Hotel Utica was behind more than $300,000 in taxes and had missed multiple loan payments on what was originally a $5 million loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that the city guaranteed during the Edward Hanna administration.

The hotel soon made the payments and renegotiated the loan deal, but then fell behind $215,000 in taxes by May.

Roefaro and Sullivan said they will continue to work with hotel officials on how they can meet the loan demands, but they stressed the need to begin making up some lost ground.

“They’ve got to start paying their money,” Roefaro said.

Roefaro said he can’t estimate when the situation will be resolved, but he has been and will continue meeting with the hotel’s owners to determine a plan as expeditiously as they can.

This is exactly where we were 90 days ago.

No, strike that. This is exactly where we were a year ago, back when Mr. Roefaro was just a candidate. He was mouthing the same "They have to pay, it's not right, something must be done" line then and he still hasn't accomplished anything.

I know the Mayor has had a busy schedule of parties, golf tournaments, and personal appearances, but is it too much to ask that he does some work that doesn't involve swinging a golf club or slurping down cannolis?

Since the crack squad at Utica City Hall can't seem to come up with a plan of action, much less carry one out, I'll offer up my own. It's not like I could do a worse job, right?

First, the city needs to determine if the Hotel Utica is actually a viable business. At this point every indication seems to be that it isn't, but a thorough audit and analysis of it's financial situation would put the question to rest once and for all. One would think the city would have already done this, but history demonstrates it's never a good idea to put any confidence in the capabilities of city workers.

Second, the city has to decide what to do based on the results of the audit. If analysis shows that the Hotel has a snowball's chance in hell of actually meeting it's obligations the city and hotel need to come to an agreement that includes a timeline of operations and regular benchmarks for success. If the audit shows the hotel's business plan won't work, or if the hotel fails to meet the terms of the agreement mentioned above, the only option is foreclosure.

Yes, that's a drastic option, but it's the only one the city has. If the hotel isn't a viable business the sooner the city forecloses, the better. Waiting just makes the process more expensive, since the city's loan liability grows with every passing day.

In the meantime the city needs to start shopping the property around and see how much it could get for it, either from another hotel chain or a business looking for some prime downtown real estate. Call me crazy, but selling off the building go at a fire sale price of one or two million dollars seems like an acceptable, if non-optimal, option. With the outstanding balance of the loan topping six million dollars the city would be in the hole for four million dollars, and that's equal to the interest the city would be paying for the next eight years anyway.

Wasted money? You bet. But we've already wasted millions more on the Hotel Utica and it's time for the fiscal hemmoraghing to stop.

Update: Here's a flashback to what Mr. Roefaro was saying back in 2007:

Hotel Utica's owners have consistently failed to meet loan repayment terms since 2001, and have fallen behind on their taxes the past two years. How should Utica address this situation?

The Hotel Utica situation is a bi-product of both the Hanna and Julian administration that lacked both the commitment to tackle real business issues and the integrity to admit when they made some serious mistakes.

We must give the hotel the opportunity to make good on their debt. However, inevitably if the hotel can't meet their business commitments, foreclosure is the only option. We can't hold just a few businesses to policy and we can not allow tax payers money to finance private interests.

Hotel Utica Countdown: H+8

We're now eight days past Mayor David Roefaro's deadline for resolving...er..."reaching consensus on"...the Hotel Utica fiasco.

Servicing the Hotel's debt costs the city $1315 a day, so another $10,520 in desperately needed public funds have vanished into the ether since Mr. Roefaro's 90-day deadline was reached. That's on top of the millions of dollars the project has already consumed.

For some more background, check out Joe Kelly's interview with the Hotel Utica's General Manager over at CNYHomepage.com.

Update: This is kinda related to the "Observer-Dispatch Deathwatch" below, but a kind emailer points out that the only outlets of any kind covering Mr. Roefaro's inability to handle the Hotel Utica issue are all online. None of the traditional news outlets, be it the OD, WKTV, or what passes for news at the local radio stations, have done anything on the issue for months.

What I find particularly interesting is that CNY Homepage is produced by the broadcast group that owns WUTR, WFXV, and WPNY, none of which could realistically be described as "news" outlets. I believe the last locally produced newscast on any of those stations happened back in 2005, just before their ownership consolidated operations at the former WUTR studios on Smith Hill. It's unfortunate that the area's population collapse made that consolidation necessary, but I think it's notable that the low cost of distributing content via the internet has, to an extent, once gain made them a viable news source.

A Traveler's Tale, Redux

Another traveler, another negative reaction to Utica. Although in this case, the writer is a former resident of the area:

I grew up in a small town outside of Utica. In the 50's it was incredibly vibrant, young, and prosperous as WWII and Korean Vets settled and raised their families. There were several GE plants (light military and household appliances), Bendix (military parts and washing machines), Bosherts (heating systems), and a lot of small manufacturer's. Everyone had 3 to 4 kids so the schools were growing. For the most part, all this is gone. Utica's once bustling downtown area is empty now. Large department stores are gone, replaced by Dollar General, Walmart, and chain drug stores in the strip malls on the outskirts. People my age left for college and didn't come back and the population aged.

Click through and read the rest of this post, as well as the followup.

Stories like this make me incredibly depressed. What other reaction can you have? No one likes to live in a place people describe with words like "dirty", "empty", "rundown", and "hardscrabble", but what makes it even worse is that things never seem to change for the better. Even projects that should improve how the city looks end up being disasters because of the pervasive "Eh. Good enough for Utica" attitude.

Case in point- the area around the Memorial Auditorium. How many millions of dollars have we spent building state-of-the-art public safety buildings down there? The new buildings themselves are beautiful, but their siting is a nightmare. Everything seems cramped and shoved together because of the lack of green space or open areas, a problem compounded by the fact that the rest of the neighborhood looks like Berlin after WW II.

Move more than a few feet beyond the new construction and you're confronted by empty, boarded up buildings surrounded by waist high weeds and shattered, pothole filled streets. Walk around the block and you'll find sidewalks in disrepair, unraked gravel parking corrals, wrecked police cars, rubble strewn empty lots, vacant industrial buildings...it's a veritable picture-book of urban decay, despite the expenditure of piles of taxpayer money.

Who approved this embarrassment? Who amongst our local leadership can look at that and say "Great job boys, you should be proud"? Why does everything in Utica, every single public works project in recent memory, have to be so shoddy and ugly?

Hotel Utica Countdown: H - 8 Days

Just eight days to go before we discover how Utica Mayor Dave Roefaro is going to solve the Hotel Utica problem.

The excitement, it builds!

Hotel Utica Countdown: H - 9 Days

How time flies. It seems like just yesterday that the ongoing Hotel Utica debacle entered it's latest phase, but now we're just nine days away from discovering how Mayor Dave Roefaro and the crack team at City Hall are going to solve the whole sorry mess:

Mayor David Roefaro said in 90 days the city should have a resolution to Hotel Utica’s continuing pattern of falling behind on its tax and federal loan payments.

Roefaro and Urban and Economic Development Commissioner Robert Sullivan Thursday met with hotel co-owners Joseph R. Carucci and Charles N. Gaetano. The mayor said a few options were discussed, but he wouldn’t elaborate.

That 90-day period comes to a close on August 13th. Will Roefaro stick to his principles and refuse to continue subsidizing a private business? Or will he cave and keep the Hotel Utica's taxpayer-supported gravy train chugging along?

Update: As the suspense builds, keep in mind that the Hotel Utica *should* be one of the most successful hotels in the country based on it's own business figures. Here's a flashback to some numbers from earlier this year:

What an interesting contrast. By any objective standard the Hotel Utica is in desperate financial straits, as it's inability to make regular tax and mortgage payments would clearly demonstrate. Business must be terrible, right?

Actually, no. If the given figure of a 70% occupancy rate is true the Hotel Utica is doing some boffo business. In fact, based on numbers from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, it's occupancy rate is well above average. Here are the latest figures for the hotel industry as a whole:


At-a-Glance Statistical Figures

4,389,443 guestrooms
$133.4 billion in sales
$61.93 revenue per available room (RevPAR)
63.3% average occupancy rate

The average room rate was $97.78 in 2006—up from $90.88 in 2005.


A quick check of Travelocity shows that the weekday rate at the Hotel Utica is $99.99 while the weekend rate is $149.99.

That means both the hotel's standard room price and occupancy rate is well above the industry average, which would seem to be exactly what you want for a thriving hotel.

A Traveler's Tale

Four guys from Buffalo spent last week biking across the state along the Erie Canal. Their experience riding through Utica is particularly illuminating, demonstrating an all too common reaction to the city. See it for yourself over here.

The Observer-Dispatch Deathwatch

The battle for the future of Gatehouse Media continues, but the situation is looking increasingly grim:

GateHouse Media is likely to default under its credit agreement unless it can negotiate an amendment to its covenants or get a cash injection from its largest stakeholder, says Fortress Investment Group, Moody's Investor Service, in a report downgrading the community newspaper publisher's credit and probability of default ratings.

Moody's downgraded GateHouse's Corporate Family rating to Caa1 from B2. Under Moody's definition, the new rating signifies a "substantial risk" of default.

Moody's also downgraded its Probability of Default rating to Caa2 from B3.

"The downgrade reflects Moody's heightened concern that GateHouse could face a near-term default under the financial covenants of its loan agreement, absent an amendment or another equity cure from its largest owner, Fortress Investment Group LLC," Moody's Senior Analyst John Page wrote.

Still not a peep from the Observer-Dispatch, or any of the other Gatehouse-owned papers in the area, about the dire straits of their corporate parent.

Update: Thanks to Peoria Pundit for the link. They're facing much the same situation we are, with the collapse of Gatehouse likely to produce a major shift in the local media landscape.

The Observer-Dispatch Deathwatch

Things aren't looking very bright for Gatehouse Media, the corporate parent of the Utica Observer-Dispatch, Herkimer Telegram, Little Falls Times, and the various area Pennysaver papers. Earlier today their stock fell even further, dropping to a record low of 56 cents. Most of that plunge can be credited to the news from Moody's that the company has a good chance of defaulting on it's loans:

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded GateHouse Media Operating, Inc.'s corporate family rating to 'Caa1' from 'B2' with a negative outlook citing concerns over near-term liquidity and the likelihood that the company will face a default under its credit agreement, absent an amendment or equity cure.

Moody's (nyse: MCO - news - people ) also said it cut the United States-based publisher's probability of default rating to 'Caa2' from 'B3' and other debt ratings to 'Caa1' from 'B2'.

Several emailers have suggested there may already be some talks underway about the disposition of Gatehouse's local assets. One of the most horrifying scenarios is that a group of investors affiliated with the Arcuri gang may be looking to finally stem the tide of bad press, while another emailer says the Matt family may be part of another buyout effort. Keep in mind that both options were sent to me by anonymous sources, so a little skepticism is probably in order.

As always, you can get the latest stock price from Google Finance.

The Observer-Dispatch Deathwatch

It would appear the final meltdown of Gatehouse Media is finally underway. While I'm writing this their stock has fallen to a new low of 73 cents, setting the company on a seemingly inexorable journey to the pink sheets.

On the bright side, several kind emailers have pointed out that the liquidation of the company's assets could actually bode well for the area. More than a few employees think the sale of the OD could result in the departure of at least one questionable member of upper management, something they seem to look forward to with considerable relish.

Update: At market close Gatehouse Media had fallen to an unbelievable 66 cents a share. Google Finance has the details.

Update: Editor and Publisher has more on Gatehouse and it's cratering stock:

On another brutal day for the newspaper sector Monday, shares of four chains hit all-time lows, led by a 21% plunge in GateHouse Media Inc. shares to 66 cents a share.

Also hitting new lows were The McClatchy Co., Lee Enterprises, and Sun-Times Media Group.

There was no particular news to explain the sell-off in GateHouse, whose stock has been cratering in the past three weeks. GateHouse (NYSE: GHS) closed at 66 cents, down 18 cents, or 21.43. Floor trading in GateHouse has been suspended, and the stock faces the risk of being de-listed from the Big Board.

Is this the start of the final death spiral?

Update: Analysts seem to think Gatehouse is on it's last legs:

Shares of community newspaper publisher, Gatehouse Media, Inc. (NYSE: GHS), plunged Monday following an across the board ratings cut by Moody's who cited doubts about its ability to service debt.

Gatehouse Media shares lost over 21% of their already low value Monday, dropping to a new 52-week low of $0.66 cents that put the New York-listed community newspaper publisher on a path towards delisting from the Exchange. But somehow shares managed to rally in the aftermarket, rising 24 cents, or 36.3%, to trade at 90 cents, six cents over the day's high.

The dismal news coming out of Moody's Investor Service really came as no surprise, but in reading into the rating agency's comments on Gatehouse Media's debt, the analyst covering the Company had to bite his lip to keep him from commenting about the dividend Gatehouse paid out in the last quarter. At the time, Wachovia Capital Markets analyst John Janedis cut his rating on Gatehouse to "Market Perform" from "Outperform". Janedis issued his rating cut appropriately on Fridy the 13th, perhaps unknowingly signaling an end to the Company.

Read the whole story.

Now is probably an appropriate time to start speculating about who will be buying up Gatehouse's local papers. More importantly, is it likely we'll see a major change in editorial oversight when the buyout happens?

The Firm Hand Steering The Ship Of State

Dave Roefaro once again demonstrated his masterful grasp of city government over the weekend:

Utica Mayor David Roefaro said during an interview Wednesday that his opinion “doesn’t even make a difference” as far as giving medical coverage to part-time employees. It was in practice long before he took office, the mayor said.

“They’re all covered by union,” Roefaro said. “There’s no at-will employees who are getting benefits.”

But, according to the city Comptroller’s Office, there is one part-time attorney who receives medical benefits and retirement. Two additional part-time attorneys also are enrolled in the retirement program. All three are considered “at-will” or nonunion employees.

Roefaro, interviewed again on the subject one day later, said he believes the part-time employee policy could be reviewed.

“Everything deserves to be looked at,” he said Thursday.

Part-time city employees getting sweetheart deals on Mayor Roefaro's watch? Say it ain't so!

The Observer-Dispatch Deathwatch

After climbing above the $1 mark on Wednesday the stock price of Gatehouse Media, the OD's corporate parent, has once again fallen below a dollar. You can track the stock for yourself at Google Finance.

Update: Friday's close was 84 cents. Ouch.

Another One Bites The Dust

Stop me if you've heard this story before: local blogger finally gets fed up with the ever worsening death spiral of central New York and decides to move on.

This time, it's the guys behind Uticasux.com that are heading off to greener pastures.

Maybe I'm self-indulgent, but it's not a good sign when so many of the people discussing the area's issues end up moving out of state.