Regional news and notes

THE CORRECT CORRECTION
One of my pet peeves is that publications run big gaudy headlines or dramatic articles on the front page but when they make an error, the corrections are almost inevitably buried in small print, often in the middle of the newspaper, no matter how big the headline.

Kudos to the Glens Falls weekly The Chronicle for bucking that trend.

Last week, the paper ran an article based on the premise that the city of Glens Falls taxpayers could save $142 million if the city's two school districts merged. It turns out that in crunching the numbers, the reporter used a premise that was incorrect. The amount saved would be only $26 million.

This isn't a minor error like misspelling someone's name. It's a significant error that dramatically affects (though doesn't negate completely) the entire premise of the article.

But rather than burying the admission inside, The Chronicle ran a correction as one of its main front page articles, giving it roughly the same prominence as the original article.

I tip my cap to News Editor Gordon Woodworth (who wrote the article) and Editor Mark Frost for having the integrity to handle this error the right way.

***

IMMIGRATION ISSUES: IT'S NOT JUST FOR THE SOUTHWEST
North Country Public Radio is running a series on a topic that might fly under the radar: Hispanic immigrants working on farms in northern New York.

This piece points out the quandry faced by many farmers.

***

SMALLMART
NCPR also has an interview with the author of The Smallmart Revolution, which calls on local economic developers to look beyond transitory big box stores and foster locally-based small business that are more likely to develop roots in the community.

***

SLOWING DOWN
Winter is on the way. And while many upstate New York residents bemoan the fourth season which seems to occupy well more than a quarter of the year, NYCO blog takes a moment post an essay in praise of winter.

This time of year allows us to settle down a little bit. The cold air and snow reduces the running around, and gives us more time at home. After the clocks turn back to standard time, night falls pretty early, and affords some time to spend with our loved ones in the evening, the essay observes.