Shannon DeCelle

(clockwise from top left) After more than a hundred people gathered at the state Capitol
on Jan. 11 to call for a hike in the state’s minimum wage, they got their wish earlier
this month, as the Legislature overrode Gov. Pataki’s veto of a bill that will raise the
minimum wage to $7.15 by 2007; wherever you were in the Capital Region this year,
there’s a good chance that peace vigils like the one pictured here were happening in
your neighborhood; in August, a crowd of anti-choice activists—and their children—
jammed Lark Street to tell passersby about the “sins” of abortion, homosexuality and
the Islamic faith; in April, Billionaires for Bush made several appearances around the
Capital Region in mock counterprotest against proposals to close corporate tax loopholes,
and to advocate for a “one dollar, one vote” election; local advocacy groups
calling for the state government to reach a consensus on voting-machine standards
delivered a “paper trail” of more than 41,000 petitions to the state’s elected officials
on July 13, but no agreement has been found thus far.

John Whipple

Shannon DeCelle

Leif Zurmuhlen

Alicia Solsman

John Whipple

Chris Shields

Teri Currie

Alicia Solsman

Alicia Solsman