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Wherever the Pride flag flies, it tells LGBTQ+ people that we are seen, valued, and protected. So when the Trump administration removed that flag from Stonewall, they were attacking more than just a symbol. It was part of their strategic campaign to push LGBTQ+ people, especially trans youth, out of public life.

Thanks to a vigorous response from allies and elected officials, we re-raised that flag. But if we truly want to honor the legacy born at Stonewall, we must respond with equal strength to President Donald Trump’s broader campaign of intimidation. From weaponizing the Department of Justice and Medicaid funding to slashing youth mental health programs, federal officials are using every lever of government to target and isolate us.

The consequences are already unfolding here at home. NYU Langone recently ended its gender-affirming program for minors amid federal funding threats. It is a flashing red warning sign that a world-class hospital system is capitulating.

We must respond with decisive action.

That means expanding the Lorena Borjas Transgender Wellness & Equity Fund so trans-led organizations statewide can provide housing, healthcare, workforce development, and legal services to a community under siege. It means fully funding LGBTQ+ youth mental health programs, including crisis services that replace those abruptly cut by Washington. It means passing anti-bullying protections like the BEACON Act to ensure schools are safe for queer and immigrant students. And it means mandating Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care so hospitals cannot be coerced into abandoning patients.

Half the country has banned or restricted gender-affirming care. If New York does not fortify itself now, we will lose our status as a beacon for the queer community.

Stonewall was never just about a flag. It was about resisting erasure and building power. To honor that legacy, Albany must ensure LGBTQ+ New Yorkers are not only visible but protected.The writer is the Executive Director for the NEW Pride Agenda.

Published March 30, 2026

Land surveying is one of the oldest professions in the world, yet many people know very little about it — or about the growing need for surveyors here in New York state. For many professionals in this field, surveying wasn’t the career they originally set out to pursue — it was the opportunity that found them. Others, like me, discovered a passion for the profession early on, following in the footsteps of family members who introduced us to the work. Today, I serve as president of the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors, and I’ve seen firsthand how critical this profession is. Surveyors play an essential role in responsible land development. Every road, home, business, and infrastructure project begins with accurate measurements and mapping of the land.  Without surveyors, development cannot move forward safely or legally. At the same time, our profession faces a workforce shortage as many experienced surveyors approach retirement. We need the next generation to discover the opportunities this field offers. Land surveying combines outdoor work, technology, math, history, and problem-solving. It offers variety, meaningful collaboration with engineers and builders, and the chance to create work that has lasting impact on communities. For young people searching for a fulfilling and stable career, land surveying may be the opportunity they didn’t even know existed. By raising greater awareness of this rewarding profession, we can help the next generation discover a career that offers purpose, opportunity, and a lasting impact on the communities we build.

The writer is the President of the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors.

Published March 30, 2026

New Yorkers are watching candidates fan out across the state, collecting signatures to earn a place on the ballot. It sounds simple. It isn’t. New York has some of the most burdensome petition requirements in the country for state and local office. The onerous requirements lead to fewer challengers to incumbents, fewer independents running for office and fewer choices for voters. In Albany County, many candidates for local office run unopposed.

Party leaders and incumbents insist the rules are necessary to weed out frivolous candidates. Fair enough — there should be a threshold. But let’s be honest about our current rules in New York. They aren’t a modest screening device. Technicalities, short windows, high signature counts, and hyper-litigious challenges make running for office feel less like civic participation and more like trial by ambush. Most candidates now have the expense of hiring people to collect signatures. When access to the ballot is this difficult, competition shrinks and accountability weakens. Voters are left choosing from a narrow menu curated by the very system that benefits from keeping it narrow. That’s not democracy, that’s cronyism.

Other states manage to maintain ballot integrity without erecting barriers that deter everyday citizens from stepping forward and allowing party control of elections. New York can, too. Reasonable signature thresholds, longer collection periods, and fewer technical traps would preserve seriousness while expanding opportunity. Some states have even ditched the archaic door-to-door petitioning requirement altogether.

Groups like Unite NY are pushing to broaden access and increase voter choice. More voices, more choices is actually good for democracy. When elected officials argue that we must limit choice for our own good, skepticism is warranted. New York prides itself on leading the nation. On ballot access, we’re clinging to a monopoly. It’s time to open the doors.

Published March 30, 2026

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As we enter the final state budget process, it is important to note that Gov. Kathy Hochul has invested more than $2.5 billion for programming and facilities to make our families, children, and communities stronger and safer. One missing need: Where are the workforce and providers who will offer and implement treatment and increase access? We need to continue to invest in the vital workforce and staff to ensure effective success. We still have a serious mental health crisis. Wait lists are excessive, families and clients suffer without options, and lives are ruined. We need comprehensive and sustainable workforce mental health investment — 4% cost-of-living adjustment, scholarships, loan forgiveness, living wages and professional support — if we want to address the crisis. The prior investments are significant, but without the staff, they will be for naught. 

The writer is the CEO of Northern Rivers Family of Services.

Published March 30, 2026

Last year, New York state activists and advocates won a $50 million pilot program for the Housing Access Voucher Program. A pilot program is not necessary; we already know housing vouchers work.

I was homeless from 2022 to 2024. During this time, my mental and physical health declined dramatically. I was malnourished, and my body stopped making white blood cells. It was a federally funded housing voucher that saved my life. I was able to secure housing, improve my health, and be hired full-time as a tenant organizer. None of this would be possible if I had not secured the housing first.

Housing is the foundation. Without housing, there is no stability, no health, no path forward. With housing, everything changes. My health improved. I was able to focus. I was able to work. I was able to rebuild my life.

I work with unhoused tenants of Albany every day. When the unhoused are permanently housed, I see vast improvements in their quality of life. I see people stabilize. I see people reconnect with care. I see people begin to plan for their future instead of just surviving the night.

We do not need more studies to prove what we already know. Housing vouchers work. Housing vouchers save lives. The Housing Access Voucher Program must be fully funded and expanded so that more people can secure housing first and rebuild their lives.

Published March 30, 2026

The article “Volunteer fire departments sound alarm over staffing” (March 5) highlights a critical issue facing our communities. As the District Superintendent of Questar III BOCES, I believe part of the solution lies in engaging the next generation through robust, hands-on learning. 

Two years ago, our BOCES worked with local fire companies in Columbia and Greene counties to launch a Fire Science program at the Donald R. Kline Technical School in Hudson. Subsequently, other BOCES across the state have established similar programs in response to regional needs. 

Our one-year program not only equips high school juniors and seniors in Columbia, Greene and Rensselaer counties with invaluable skills but also directly addresses a pressing workforce need. Students also have the option of taking an additional one-year program in EMT, which is another area with a shortage of workers. 

As fire officials push for remedies such as stipends to boost recruitment, we must also prioritize educational pathways that make service accessible and appealing to young people. Programs like ours allow students to earn hands-on skills and certifications while still in high school, ensuring they are ready to answer the call at 2 a.m. In fact, our Fire Science students serve as volunteers in their local fire companies.

Published March 30, 2026

New Yorkers concerned about the amount of toxic microplastics in their bodies have the opportunity, while the Legislature is in session, to contact their state senator, Assembly member and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to demand the passage of the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. 

This act gives large companies 12 years to reduce the plastic in their packaging and to figure out a way to recycle what they must use. It also bans the use of 17 kinds of plastic — the most harmful of the many thousands available.

Even those of us who routinely forget to bring our own shopping bags can make a difference by contacting our legislators about this bill, which provides a way to regulate and reduce the use of plastics in packaging.

Of course, business interests are ganging up on this bill. They claim that its demands will create expenses that they will need to pass on to consumers. But consumers are already paying to get rid of plastic waste through local taxes.

Compared to remembering to bring bags to the grocery store, squinting at Resin Identification Codes and sorting recyclables, calling or emailing state legislators is easy, but it is probably the most important step that a New Yorker can take to stop the accumulation of ubiquitous microplastics.

Published March 30, 2026

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Loss aversion is built into us as humans. Psychologists say that to accept a potential loss, we may even need a possible payoff twice as big before we’re willing to take the risk.

This may partly explain New York’s slow-walked implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Reaching our renewable future means leaving behind fossil fuel habits that have grown comfortably familiar.

Yes, the energy transition involves loss. But not acting fast enough will bring even bigger losses, and we’re not talking enough about that risk.

Climate risk is dynamic, and destabilization progresses inexorably. The portion of the Earth that is already unbearable is growing. As can be seen in the 2024 New York State Climate Impacts Assessment, we’re in danger of significant, effectively permanent, harm here at home in this generation. No one would knowingly risk this.

Some decision-makers are using affordability concerns to argue we should slow implementation. But the New York Independent System Operator has shown that electricity prices are closely linked to gas market volatility, not expenditures on renewables. Lower dependency on gas insulates states from this upward price pressure.

We need to cart out “Don’t risk our livable climate!” signs and insist that local, state and federal elected officials answer the question: "What's your plan for protecting us from the relentless destabilization of our climate system?" We must insist on a public discussion of the costs of delayed action.

The future is bright, but only if we protect the CLCPA and channel the state's resources towards implementing it.The writer is the environmental specialist for the League of Women Voters of Albany County.

Published March 30, 2026

The Times Union prints near-daily news and commentary about the state's energy plans. 

Whether to retain, suspend, modify or repeal the state's 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is a common topic.

Little is said about the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's periodic reports projecting average temperature increases in New York of five or more degrees Fahrenheit within the lifetime of today's young people.

Many other studies predict dramatic decreases in quality of life and health worldwide if temperatures continue soaring. 

How do these realities fit into long-range state energy planning? Are we willing to accept a rapidly destabilizing climate and continuing massive species extinctions as unavoidable or are we willing to peacefully work together with the rest of humanity to identify and implement policies to minimize planetary disruption? 

As some have warned for decades, the Earth has limits that we are now far exceeding. Are we smart enough and do we care enough to make the changes needed to retain a healthy biosphere that every living thing depends on? Do we care about the quality of life tens or hundreds of years from now?

Published March 30, 2026

In our last presidential election, more than 40% of the citizens of voting age did not cast a vote, more than 100 million citizens. In the 2022 midterms, the estimate is 53%, or about 125 million citizens. More than half our voting population did not participate. 

With those factual numbers, our Congress has decided to make voting more difficult. Why is the Republican Congress doing this? To support a myth started after the 2017 presidential elections by the-then newly elected president, who authorized the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity Committee. The committee was formed and disbanded before issuing a report after having failed to acquire any evidence of voter fraud.

The likely agenda of the commission was to create new barriers preventing Americans from exercising their fundamental right to vote. It seems like the same agenda the Republicans Congress has in the currently proposed Save Act. They are doing this, again, without any evidence of so-called voter fraud but plenty of evidence of lack of voter participation.

It isn’t the first time we have limited voting in our country. My own grandmothers and mother were born without the right to vote. In 1964, we needed a March on Washington to get voting rights for millions of African Americans. It seems like the theory of the current leadership in the country is limited voting will enhance their electability.

A democracy should expand voter and citizen participation, not limit it. This is what we have all learned including our Congress and president back in junior high. Let’s hope everyone remembers what we were taught, especially our political leadership.

Published March 30, 2026 

It is the height of irony that, after criticizing and pressuring our NATO allies on defense spending and trade, President Donald Trump now appears to be seeking their assistance in policing the Strait of Hormuz. Some allies have expressed hesitation about participating.

Trump has publicly urged greater NATO involvement, warning that the alliance’s future could be affected if European nations do not contribute to shared security efforts.

Trump’s approach to diplomacy is often described by critics as transactional and confrontational, though supporters argue it pressures allies to share more of the burden.

As NATO leaders consider the current situation in the Middle East, they are weighing their own national interests, security commitments and domestic constraints. It is still possible that some nations may send warships to the Strait to protect global shipping and energy supplies.

The attack on Iran was viewed by some as justified given the country’s role in supporting militant groups and its nuclear program, though others warned it risked escalation. There was no clear indication that Iran would pull back from destabilizing the region.

However, Trump pledged not to involve the United States in “endless wars.” He has not clearly outlined a long-term strategy for resolving the conflict. As he has often said, he goes with his gut regarding foreign affairs. I wonder what his gut is telling him now.

Published March 30, 2026

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Frank J. Ciervo, in his letter "Oppose ICE? Then work to get the law changed" (March 5) states that those who oppose ICE detentions, instead of protesting, should direct their efforts to changing immigration law.  Those of us who are protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity see no need to change the laws. What we are demanding is that ICE agents obey existing laws. I am referring to the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the Refugee Act of 1980.

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, requiring warrants based on probable cause. The Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination (the right to remain silent) and guarantees due process. The Refugee Act of 1980 established a legal right for individuals already in the U.S or at a port of entry to apply for asylum.

ICE completely disregards these laws and is running roughshod over our rights. They are breaking into private homes without warrants and detaining individuals who are reporting for their immigration appointments. They are conducting sweeps and detaining people without regard to their immigration status or their right to due process.

Documented individuals and even U.S. citizens are being swept up in these raids. It is no secret that those targeted are being racially profiled, and that ICE agents are so aggressive because they have been assigned quotas to fill. All of this is part of a vast and growing detention industry.

ICE must be reined in and made to obey the law like everyone else.

Published March 30, 2026

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