Free Republic

UPDATE: Gov. David Paterson was loudly booed this afternoon when he was introduced to drop the ceremonial first puck at the outdoor hockey game between the Syracuse Crunch and the Binghamton Senators. The governor, who earlier announced his candidacy for election to a full term, took to the ice at the outdoor rink assembled at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes around 1:25 p.m. The game was supposed to start at 1. Thousands in the fairgrounds grandstand booed so loudly that the governor's words were indistinguishable over the public address system set up for the first outdoor American Hockey...

NY officials want older trucks fitted with emission-reducing equipment; cost put at $195M ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York is taking steps to reduce diesel emissions in its construction fleet. The Department of Environmental Conservation is floating proposed regulations requiring trucks made before 2007 to be fitted with emissions-reducing equipment and to use ultra-low-sulfur fuel by 2011. The new regulations would apply only to state-owned trucks or trucks used for state contract work. The DEC estimates it will cost $195 million to retrofit about 30,000 state trucks. The New York State

Kennedy Takes A Beating From Upstate Media Reporters Jump All Over Mostly Silent Princess Of Camelot; Mayor Of Syracuse Doesn't Offer Endorsement Who Should Get Senate Gig? Siena Poll: Cuomo 26, Kennedy 23 Reporting Marcia Kramer NEW YORK (CBS) Caroline Kennedy took a page from Hillary Clinton's playbook and began an upstate listening tour On Wednesday. The road trip included stops in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo to help convince Gov. David Paterson and voters she's the one to replace Clinton in the U.S. Senate. But it was a tough crowd. The black SUV pulled up to Syracuse city hall Wednesday...

You drink diet soda, so you must be healthier. Right? That's what New York Gov. David Paterson is talking about with his proposal for an "obesity tax" — a 15 percent slap on non-diet sugary soft drinks. Think $1 for a Diet Coke, $1.15 for a Coke. There's just one problem: Studies have found links between drinking diet sodas and obesity and diabetes. A 2005 study at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and separate studies released in 2007 at the University of Alberta in Canada and the University of Massachusetts found that diet soda drinkers were...