The removal of more than 400 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) compound in Texas made front-page news for several days in April. However, a follow-up Associated Press story revealing that the phone call that initiated the raid was a hoax got short shrift.

For myriad reasons, most of which I do not agree with, there seems to be a growing movement advocating abolition of the penny. The coin is often considered a worthless nuisance, one not even worth bending over to pick up. But the need to abolish the penny is important national problem number 1,356, well behind the more urgent need to abolish the designated hitter.

New York state is a high-tech disaster area. According to a recent survey reported by the American Electronics Association, New York has the third-largest high-tech work force in the nation, at roughly 301,000 people, consistent with our position as the third most populous state.

In New Guinea, where the native people do battle with each other as a matter of honor — rival clans in the highlands have fought wars that last for decades, and each killing leads to a retalitory murder.

It was a minor upset. At least to me and the small circle of specialized handicappers I consulted. But contrary to our expectations, The Gazette’s My Fabulous Father contest drew more entries than last year’s My Marvelous Mother. Granted, the margin was just one entry, 57-56, but I thought the Moms would win easily.

An open letter to the trustees of the Schenectady County Public Library:
With all due respect, ladies and gentleman, have you lost your minds? You want to shut down the main branch of the library for a year and a half, and with only one month’s notice?

In Schenectady, there is a problem: Too many people are shooting at each other.

It’s a shame that politicians have to apologize for statements they make that are true.

As the wife of an elected county court judge and appointed acting supreme court justice, I feel compelled to write in response to the issue of raises for state judges.

I’m as mad about high gas prices as the next guy, but what I’m really mad about is the fact that this is a problem we created for ourselves and are doing virtually nothing to solve. And solving it would involve so little sacrifice.

It’s high time to go on strike. I’m not talking about some union local or a guild out in California. I mean a comprehensive and all-inclusive national strike.

Now that seven donkeys and two elephants have entered the 21st Congressional District race, the field is both crowded and confusing. There is so little known and so much to learn about most of the candidates. Then there is the shadow of “the 800-pound gorilla,” Paul Tonko, darkening the entire race course.

Like the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, I am a minister in the United Church of Christ. I have preached to my congregations that, for instance, I do not regard homosexuality as a sin; and that if we insist on supporting the death penalty, we must recognize that we do so because of our human need for retribution, not because it is a deterrent or a money-saver or God’s will.

It’s perhaps a strange coincidence that the familiar little peace symbol was unveiled on an April 4, some 50 years ago, at a “ban the bomb” rally in England. Forty years ago on that same date, April 4, came the death of one of the greatest proponents of peace, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

If you look forward to finding your local paper on your doorstep each morning, to reading it with your breakfast coffee or in your recliner after work, consider this. “That lovable old-fashioned bundle of ink and cellulose,” according to Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times may be on its way out.