The reasoning is likely because Stone, who retired in 2010, has since had four strokes and is currently in the hospital. Pursuing further action would be moot and likely cost the State even more money and resources. He’s already abused and wasted enough of our taxpayer dollars.

What bothered me, though, were those that came to his support and claimed that the charges shouldn’t have been pursued because of the stances he took.

From James Odato of the Times Union:

More than 80 fans of former state wildlife pathologist Ward Stone put their names on a letter to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman urging him to disregard a referral from the inspector general’s office concerning the IG’s findings of years of improper behavior by the now-retired Department of Environmental Conservation veteran. The April 9 letter, describing Stone as the state’s “environmental superman,” was signed by representatives of a host of groups, including the Sierra Club, Save The Pine Bush, Dyken Pond Environmental Center, Occupy Albany, Frack Free Catskills and Community Advocates for Safe Emissions, and Albany County Legislator Doug Bullock and nature columnist Carol Coogan, plus four of Stone’s children and their mother. The missive was unnecessary, however, because Schneiderman had decided not to pursue a case against Stone not long after the IG sent him its highly critical findings, according to the AG’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Givner. “Upon reviewing the IG’s report in February, the Office of the Attorney General declined to pursue the matter further,” she said when asked for a response to the letter. She had no more comment

Gross.

I’ll reiterate my  initial reaction to the allegations, which hold even stronger now that this has all been put to bed:

I won’t ask if the ends justify the means, since the issue at hand is a bit more complicated than that, but I worry that too many people are eager to put the personality before the principles and use this as an indictment against those involved in the environmental movement and, on a much larger scale, any of those who view environmental conservation as a priority for the State.

What I’m saying is that we shouldn’t let this discourage those that are in a position to do some good. If anything, it should encourage more people within the system to take a stand when the State and its leaders are in the wrong. I mean, Hell, Ward Stone did it and yet he still got away with living at work, abusing subordinates, and shooting poor defenseless woodland creatures. What’s the worst they can do to you?

So, State officials and administrators, I urge you: be more like Ward Stone was to the public for so many years. Just don’t be like Ward Stone was to everyone else.

Shame on those who signed the letter knowing Ward was guilty of all he was accused of (and more). Actually, I’ll go further and state that all should be ashamed, because that letter specifically states that it was okay for Ward to have stolen from the State and its taxpayers simply because he felt he was owed more.

Part of being an adult and a decent human being is accepting responsibility when you have betrayed the trust of others, knowingly did wrong, and/or erred in an egregious manner. Nobody’s perfect, but a good deed does not absolve the individual of bad deeds, and it certainly does not provide just cause for committing wrong.

The sort of justification Stone’s supporters imply is not only logically and ethically unsound (do they really think there aren’t other people out there like Ward Stone who could have done what he did without his gross transgressions?), it’s potentially dangerous.

Assembly majority leader Sheldon Silver

The New York State Senate passed the bill to legalize Mixed Martial Arts in the Empire State by a slightly larger margin than last year (43-14), but still faces uncertainty in the State Assembly. In the previous two years, the bill to legalize MMA (full text of bill) passed in the Senate only to be killed in Committee before it can reach the Assembly floor.

Assembly Majority leader Sheldon Silver reiterated his apprehension to the Times Union’s Jimmy Vielkind:

“I have mixed feelings about it,” said Silver at a press conference to announce tenant protection. “On the one hand I do believe it’s rather violent and it sets a tone for people. On the other hand, you can turn on the television and see it, a child can see it from their homes on a regular TV and we’re one of the few states that don’t legalize it. Obviously legalization comes with regulation, and we may be better off having regulation.”

 

“Members control the process,” he said. “The bill is in the legislative process at this point. We have a committee-driven process and we’ll see what happens. There’s a lot of sentiment for it and there’s a lot of sentiment against it.”

“I do believe it’s rather violent and sets a tone for people,” he said, ignoring the violence, injuries, and death associated with other sports. …

Read more over at the Mixed Marshall Arts blog

As if it wasn’t strange enough already with its ridiculously high ceilings and everything from a miniature bus terminal to a gigantic McDonald’s combined with a high school cafeteria, an acquaintance of mine on Facebook (Kathleen Jordan) shared this notice that has been posted around areas where there’s constructions:

Where do we begin? The awkward grammar (“fix your place up”)? The fact that the choice of words suggests the work is being done by an outside, unexpected, and uninvited party? The strange pose the construction worker is taking? How about the fact that he’s a tiger of all things?

When sharing on Facebook, Kathleen wrote the following:

Whenever anything is under construction in the ESP concourse, the great state of New York feels the need to post these beauties. Look at it. LOOK AT IT. It’s looking at you.

What can you say? It’s not just a posting. It’s art.

To cap off the surreal, when I first saw this image, I had this song playing in my office:

I might have to re-up this song onto YouTube with just an image of that poster, along with absolutely no descriptor or explanation.

First,there’s the Catholic Church. Whether or not it’s by their own design, the marriage equality debate is the most visible local political presence I can recall the Catholic Church having in my lifetime. Archbishop Timothy Dolan has rallied hard in the print media and taken to the airwaves against the measure, making him a more prominent and public figure than he ever has before.

The fierceness of the opposition is a bit surprising. Dolan and other Church officials have stated repeatedly that they will not settle for religious exemptions, no matter how rigorous and thorough. There can be no compromise. Their position is to be expected, but the level of visibility they’ve maintained in the waning days of the debate is at best ill-advised and possibly catastrophic due to the elephant in the room whenever they insert themselves into debates in the public sector: clergy abuse. To invoke the issue purely for the sake of debate is an unfair logical fallacy, but it needs to be noted because it’s the reason the voices of Archbishop Dolan and others aren’t being heeded by even the most virulent among their congregations. The long and the short of it is that a litany of scandals has resulted in a very serious image problem for the Vatican that undermines their moral authority. They have enough trouble already dictating movements among its faithful when it has to issue as many apologies as it does edicts. To do so in the media, while what few churches aren’t shuttered have empty pews, seems almost silly.

The other organization that has unwisely chosen this issue as their hill to die on is the Conservative Party of New York State. Their obstacles aren’t image and shrinking participation, but priorities and relevance.

CPNYS took a gamble in threatening to pull their line from any Republican who voted in favor of marriage equality. The metaphor of playing their hand has been invoked, but more apt would be tossing a ball into a roulette wheel. More and more, younger Republicans are in favor of the measure, and even the older ones aren’t the social conservatives that one finds to the West and the South. If statements and actions of the CPNYS on this issue are any indication, they have grossly misread GOP victories in New York State over the last five years: it’s the fiscal conservatism, not the social conservatism, that took root and bolstered their ranks. The fact that they’re standing in front of marriage equality with their palms extended upwards while the state’s going bankrupt behind them has not escaped the attention of the younger members of their rank and file, who not only disagree with the stance on marriage equality but are hitting their heads on the desk at the threat of pulling the line for those voting yes. Senators like Roy McDonald telling them to stick it is moot since he has a stronghold in his district that can survive a race without the CPNYS line. But if Republicans cut a deal to get this passed – and they will – it will be a profound embarrassment and a blow to the strength of their ballot line and lobbying power.

Regardless of the outcome from this session, marriage equality is going to pass and there’s going to be a price to pay for both groups. Their stance and vigilance against marriage equality caters to a rapidly shrinking segment that is – literally – dying off, but it’s not their position that’s damning. It’s their inability to see the writing on the wall. Nobody’s going to ask the Vatican or members of the old guard in the Conservative Party to change their minds on homosexuality, because as history has shown, they have a better chance of talking bricks into changing their color from red to blue. They are, though, asking them both to back off, and the warning has thus far gone unheeded.