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The Advocate on Robert Ricks Jr., a National Weather Service retiree: It’s 2021, so let’s put aside the debate about the growing power of federal bureaucrats and salute a civil servant for a job well done. Most folks probably never heard of Robert Ricks Jr., who spent 30 years crafting forecasts for the National Weather Service. He retired last month. His most memorable forecast, his masterpiece, was issued at 10:11 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2005, as Hurricane Katrina was making its assault on New Orleans. “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks … perhaps longer,” was his most star...

dphillips@post-journal.com Despite municipal and county leaders focusing most of their time on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic this year, local leaders still found time to discuss possible future shared services. The Countywide Shared Services Initiative was proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in spring 2017 and later adopted by the state Legislature as part of the 2018 state budget. The initiative established panels in each county across the state, and each is convened by the county executive and is made up of mayors and supervisors in the county. The panel is tasked with developing a shared se...

dphillips@post-journal.com Despite municipal and county leaders focusing most of their time on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic this year, local leaders still found time to discuss possible future shared services. The Countywide Shared Services Initiative was proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in spring 2017 and later adopted by the state Legislature as part of the 2018 state budget. The initiative established panels in each county across the state, and each is convened by the county executive and is made up of mayors and supervisors in the county. The panel is tasked with developing a shared se...

CORRECTION 1.7.21: This article has been updated from its original version to reflect that Rochester has an ordinance that established a "percent for art" program. That program, however, has been dormant since its adoption in 2007. CITY had initially reported that no such ordinance was on the books. Every year for as long as anyone can remember, and for as long as available records show, Monroe County adopts a budget that offers crumbs in the way of funding to arts and cultural organizations. It happened again in December, when legislators approved a $1.2 billion spending plan...

Aubri Juhasz / WWNO It’s been a busy week for the Orleans Parish School Board. During its last two meetings of the year, members rejected tax exemptions for the Folger’s Coffee Company, approved new accountability measures for charter school finances, received an update on music and art education, and amended district-wide discipline policies to account for virtual learning. If you’re having a similarly busy week you probably didn’t hop on Zoom to watch the board meetings in real time. Fortunately, we’re here to catch you up. Board members unanimously reject tax breaks for Folg...