Aurora paves the way to wireless

By Aurora trustee George Farenthold

Thursday, September 7, 2006 10:06 AM EDT

Senator Chuck Schumer said it best last month when he put it this way: “In an economy that is increasingly reliant on high speed Internet, not having high speed Internet access is like not having air to breathe.”
More and more of us find ourselves in this new American information society in a wholly unforeseen reality. This reality includes communicating and working wherever, whenever and however we can. It also absolutely includes working with the portable devices, portable computers and the smartest telephony equipment available.

It is also about our own economic future and about our children's future.

The whole world is now online. Nations such as Singapore and Ghana now have plans to be wired and wireless. Norwich, England is now one UK city that is already one giant hot spot.

WI-MAX service could cover a whole village the size of Aurora or even a commercial area the size of downtown Auburn and perhaps with the support of the county Legislature ultimately the whole of Cayuga County.

Today cities large and small are planning to connect via wired and wireless networks. San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis are all entertaining “Requests For Proposals” (RFP's) to both wire (utilizing fiber optic cable) and to wirelessly (WI-FI, WI-MAX) connect their citizens, their businesses and their educational institutions. Today, education at all levels (especially higher education) is increasingly more dependent on access to online services. This is certainly our future.

These cities are leading but they are no longer alone.

Many communities, large, small and even our village are all considering how to plan for the next generation of communications. This is the time for Aurora, Auburn and Cayuga County to seriously consider doing the same.

My Aurora neighbors and friends who think we need more “practical projects” like sidewalks, new paved streets, a new post office and park, archival storage and many fewer trash trucks are all certainly correct.

Know that I will certainly honor these classic government chores and all our grand history - but first give me a sustainable present and hope for our future. High-speed wireless Internet access is also a government responsibility that will help drive our future, our jobs and our connection to the whole world around us.

Our first priorities must be a present and a future with opportunity, jobs and hope for our families and our citizens.

Then I will be very happy to help build Aurora's citizens more sidewalks, more streets another park and perhaps someday too a museum to house those grand archives to save our shared history.

We must not allow well meaning questions to delay or forestall the inevitability of our future. Delay by ignorance, indecision or inaction is I fear a kind of folly of the worst kind. Something none of us in government or as citizens can afford.

If we want to keep our jobs and our children here, we would be wiser to keep focused on the future of our Internet and how it relates to our jobs or we all risk becoming exhibits in that virtual museum known as New York's lost opportunities.

That is something none of us want and our children can't afford.

The Citizens' Say

There are 16 comment(s)

What Aurora needs wrote on Sep 17, 2006 3:05 PM:

" is a trash can. There is not a single trash can in town. "

Give us DSL at an affordable price wrote on Sep 16, 2006 12:28 PM:

" Just because high speed internet is available via satellite or cable does not mean it is accessible to people of lesser means. It is EXPENSIVE. THe people want and need DSL, which is affordable if someone could pressure Verizon and other carriers to bring it to us. We DON'T need another of Pleasant's takeovers to bring us an unneeded and unwanted utility under her control or those who suck up to her. "

Anne Brodie wrote on Sep 16, 2006 11:30 AM:

" "High-speed wireless Internet access is also a government responsibility that will help drive our future, our jobs and our connection to the whole world around us." It sounds like a great Socialist idea, but maybe before the frills, our governments can begin to provide health care to those who cannot afford it. Let's think about our priorities. "

Printed in Today's Paper wrote on Sep 13, 2006 3:48 PM:

" Aurora Village Trustee George Farenthold's proposal to spend local, county or state tax money on bringing high-speed wireless Internet access to our village exemplifies pork barrel politics at its very worst. Across upstate New York, truly isolated rural communities with no hope of ever being served by DSL or cable companies urgently need government help to bring crucial high-speed access to libraries, schools and businesses. But Aurora does not fall into that category, as clearly explained in The Citizen's feature “Waiting to Connect” on Sept. 3. Our village already has high speed Internet access that businesses or individuals can purchase from a cable company. In addition, Pleasant Rowland's development corporation and Wells College provide wireless access for some of their properties. So why should the government subsidize such services here? Farenthold's proposal seems to be little more than self-promotion wrapped in wishful thinking and wasted tax dollars. Let's hope that county and state officials see his proposal for what it is, and direct any funding for high speed Internet access to those neighboring communities that actually need such support. As our village trustee in charge of buildings and grounds, Farenthold has overseen the deterioration of Aurora's infrastructure and refused to support routine maintenance of village property. His trendy, headline-generating scheme to mis-spend our tax money on unneeded (and widely unwanted) municipal Internet services will not solve any of Aurora's real and pressing problems. "

What George F will do about the "enmity" wrote on Sep 12, 2006 5:31 PM:

" and " the divisions". He just makes them worse. Pleasant is his lord and master. "

Laura Holland wrote on Sep 11, 2006 8:58 PM:

" You can't rely on good intentions. When George Farenthold ran for Aurora Village Trustee I had good intentions in voting for him because he told me that he would do something about high speed traffic through the village. We still have high speed traffic through the village but Farenthold is now more interested in high speed wireless internet throughout the village. And speaking of good intentions, it was with the best of intentions and complete trust in Pleasant Rowland's credibility, that we sold our house to her in October 2003. We all know how that turned out. I AM one of those "people who love this town and want it to thrive." But I can see now that it will take a heck of a lot more than good intentions and wireless internet to overcome this village's biggest problem - the enmity and divisions created in Aurora in the past 5 years. George, what are you going to do about that? "

Highly Skeptical wrote on Sep 11, 2006 4:08 PM:

" The road to hell - especially fiscal hell - is paved with good intentions, sometimes by well- meaning, and sometimes by not-so-well-meaning politicians. Good intentions are not good enough. Forgetting, for the moment, its advocate, this is an idea which does not stand on its own merit. I suppose it would be a nice thing for Aurora to have wireless internet - something to add to a tourist brochure perhaps. But as the other respondents have mentioned, it is an expensive frill for a municipality the size of Aurora. There are many other matters the village tax dollars should be allocated toward first. In addition, the users that want or need this service - Wells College, the Inn, Dories, and private individuals - already have it. Trustee Farenthold is not bringing anything to Aurora that does not exist there already. What possible benefit to the village can result from someone being able to get online while walking down the sidewalk? Why use the people's scarce tax money in that manner? Ridiculous. Now, in considering its advocate, one would have to question the full spectrum of trustee Farenthold's motivation in championing this kind of project for Aurora. Misguided civic mindedness? A sincere desire to benefit his community? Perhaps. But given his apparent personal ambition, I think it not unlikely that he is trying to push this expense on to the backs of Aurora's taxpayers in order to add another bullet point to his politician's resume. The rumor exists that once Spitzer becomes governor, Ms. Ryerson (and George along with her) may be heading to Albany. There is no way to concretely verify such a scenario, but given Mr. Farenthold's activism with the Spitzer campaign I find it to be an utterly plausible one. And although I do not want to delve too far into the subject, this critique would be less than complete if it did not at least mention the degree of suspicion extant within the community towards Pleasant Rowland and her appetite for control over the village. I have no way to confirm or to debunk the fears that she or her operatives would, or even could, find a way to abuse the privacy of the system's subscribers. But because I can find no practical benefit to a village wide wireless internet service otherwise, that is a risk, however real, I find not worth taking. "

Villager wrote on Sep 11, 2006 3:16 PM:

" Aurora certainly does not need, nor do the majority of its residents want, wireless internet access paid for by our taxes and controlled by our Government or Rowland's corporation. This proposed project serves no general common good whatsoever. It simply provides publicity for Farenthold and a powerful boost for Rowland at our considerable expense. "

Enough rotten eggs wrote on Sep 11, 2006 1:53 PM:

" When will the people who are constantly throwing rotten eggs toward any good intention in this village come to see progress for what it is. The people who love this town and want it to thrive, not just barely survive, are trying to help all of us. At least some people are thinking not only of their own selfish needs but what might be left for those after us. Good for you, George, and you, Pleasant for your good intentions and successes!!! Thank you! "

yet one more thought wrote on Sep 11, 2006 7:02 AM:

" It is not about Pleasant or Georgie. It is about Aurora. Aurora is just not in need of putting wireless in. Some would think we could do more with getting a real Village office other then a closet at the firehouse. I still think the $$'s that are going to the roads should have been put on the roof of the P.O. It is fine if the Inn has it for the guests there. They pay for it in the high room rent anyway. "

Voter wrote on Sep 10, 2006 11:58 AM:

" First, you get what you want, "THEN" you will do what you were hired - voted in - to do? Sounds like blackmail. Sounds wrong. "

Aurora Taxpayer wrote on Sep 9, 2006 4:31 PM:

" Not a very good ghost writer at that -- platitudinous nonsense, indeed -- and one that damns him out of his *own* mouth. "Delay by ignorance, indecision or inaction is...folly of the worst kind." Right. Like his irresponsible delay, refusing to repair our Post Office roof until winter is coming around again and the USPS has shown no signs of moving yet while their lease is still valid until 2009. So, if we have heavy snow we may be faced with doubly expensive emergency repairs to meet our contractual obligation to the USPS and to keep our mail from getting soaked. Folly for sure, George! "

Chickadee wrote on Sep 9, 2006 2:15 PM:

" No way did George compose this essay himself. SOunds nothing like him or his other work. I do believe he's hired a ghost writer for this phoney-baloney piece. What next? "

A "citizen" wrote on Sep 8, 2006 9:00 AM:

" This is absurd. George Farenthold spouts platitudinous nonsense as though Aurora were some great municipality, and not the tiny backwater village it is. What is this, Mr. Farenthold? Practice speechmaking for the big job you hope to net from Spitzer when he gets into office? Just re-read this sentence: "Our first priorities must be a present and a future with opportunity, jobs and hope for our families and our citizens." My god! The man is a trustee in a village of about 700 people! Not a single job in Aurora is dependent on wireless internet service. This is a silly waste of time and money, and I can't believe it's not all some gigantic joke. Sad thing is, it isn't. "

Sick of it wrote on Sep 8, 2006 8:20 AM:

" Putting wireless in the air won't buy laptops and wireless network cards for those who can't afford a computer. And no one with any sense would want Pleasant Rowland or any of her hand-fed cronies to be controlling yet another crucial service. Why don't you spend time lobbying Verizon to get affordable DSL out here instead of these outrageous, expensive projects which just put yet another municiple service under the control of that arrogant millionaire who lives in another state and calls all the shots in our lives. "

I don't have air to breathe wrote on Sep 7, 2006 8:46 PM:

" when you are in the room, Georgie. We HAVE high speed internet access, those of us who want it. What we don't want is you and Pleasant telling us what we want.....and spying on us. "

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