Should New York State be in the Ski Business?

OK, I'm not really asking the question. Rather, the question mark in the title is simply a recognition that New York State's ownership of Gore Mountain, Whiteface and Belleayre is a controversial and multi-faceted topic.

The Post-Star raised the question in an editorial last month, and suggested that taxpayers might be better served if New York's state-owned winter sports facilities, including Gore and Whiteface, were privatized.

In my view, taxpayers and Adirondack residents are better served by finding ways to make the existing state ownership - through the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) - more successful. My counter-point to The Post-Star's editorial can be read here on the Adirondack Almanack, and here as a guest essay in the Nov. 6 Post-Star.