The recently-reported kerfuffle resulting in the withdrawal from the New York State Fair of the Carol Baldwin Fund and its pink recycling bins is more evidence of the Fair being hamstrung by political nitwits and incompetent bureaucrats in Albany. RECYCLE BARRELNewschannel 9 aired an interview by reporter Andrew Donovan with Executive Director Elizabeth Baldwin, who was clearly exasperated by what she termed  “non-communication and mistreatment” by the state. The cancer-fighting agency’s annual booth in the Science and Industry building will also be absent.

There’s been no comment from the state, but take it from The Hound, this mess oozed right out of Albany. Decades of experience covering the Fair have made it clear that this type of stupidity is always forced upon Fair administrators by overzealous lawyers and political hacks. The director and his team can’t say so if they want to stay employed, but we’d bet you a two-dollar bottle of tap water (thanks, Albany) that is the case.

Will reporters on the scene when the Gov shows up, perhaps on opening day, ask her about the needless meddling that made a simple operation benefiting a very worthwhile cause into an impenetrable tangle of red tape.? More important, will she answer? Probably not.

Someone should remind the politburo that this event belongs to us. Nobody asked regular folks what they think about bureaucratic meddling chasing this important fundraiser off the Fairgrounds. But they should already know the answer.