The shocking thing about the ORDA cuts

Okay, the big shocker today is that the state Senate wants to zero out state support for ORDA’s programs and facilities.

That’s a $6.6 million hit to programs from Wilmington to Lake Placid to North Creek. Ouch.

But the second big shocker is that the move came as a surprise. So far as I can tell, no one saw it coming.

A few years ago, the Republican-controlled state Senate was the place where ideas like this got squashed.

Now the Senate’s Democratic leadership hits the North Country with a plan that even took state Senator Betty Little (R-Queensbury) off guard.

Here’s Sen. Little’s statement, issued today:

“The proposed complete elimination of state funding for ORDA is the biggest surprise today. It was just weeks ago that not only New York State, but the entire nation, was celebrating the victories of so many winter Olympic athletes who trained in Lake Placid. ORDA and Lake Placid attract hundreds of thousands of tourists, so I am perplexed by the logic of this proposed cut which no doubt would cost the state and the region a lot of revenue.”