Good Morning and welcome to the Monday Trail Mix.
One can't help wondering if Governor Cuomo hoped a couple of the reporters who accompanied him to the Adirondack State Park might get lost...
Alarming national student dropout rates are in the spotlight this week in a major media collaborative.
Government
Governor Cuomo took a bunch of reporters along on his weekend visit to the Adirondacks, He made the trip to promote a big new $50 million land purchase that will add tens of thousands of acres to the Park's forest preserve, and to try and change the subject. North Country Radio's Brian Mann was in one of the canoes...
He also, as Capitol Confidential's Jimmy Vielkind blogged, back the decision by DEC Commissioner Joe Martens to get the State Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah to conduct the review into the health impact of hydrofracking as summarized by Matt Richmond late on Friday.
Here are the governor's comments recorded by NCPR's Brian Mann.
This puts the fracking decision on a virtually unlimited timeline writes Tom Wilber in his Shale Gas Review.
One Democratic congressional candidate called for an end to NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) contracts that he blames for the exodus of jobs from Central New York as Ellen Abbott of WRVO news explains.
Education
The State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse has plans for a new $86 million academic buildingreports Rick Moriarty at The Post-Standard.
Dropout Nation
It is estimated that one in four young people drop out of high school each year and this represents a significant impediment to their own future happiness, health and success and a challenge to the ongoing development of an innovative and productive American workforce.
This recently releasedreport from the Social Science Research Councilshows high levels of disconnection amongst youth aged 16-24 from study OR work in 25 major metro areas.
These reports by the Innovation Trail team are part of American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen; a multi-year public media initiative, supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), to help local communities identify and implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis.
The American Graduate project brings together more than 60 public media stations around the country in an initiative to help students stay on the path to graduation and future success.
A forum and community conversation about the dropout crisis in Rochester, N.Y. will be held at WXXI's Studios, 280 State Street, Rochester from 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept 24.
To be part of the studio audience call (585) 258-0252.
PBS Frontline will air a special "Dropout Nation", airing at 9:00 p.m. on WXXI-TV/HD.
Our colleagues at New York Now are also reporting on plans to make kids more school ready.
This editorial for the Brookings Institution makes the argument for continued innovation in education.