There are plenty of unique things about Plattsburgh, a small city in upstate New York, but its city council chamber is not one of them. The curved wooden desk for the council members and the mismatched chairs for the audience could have been located in any town in America. The only hint of regional flair at a public hearing on Thursday was a floor-to-ceiling poster of the famous 17th century French explorer Samuel de Champlain—armed with a sword and clad in in armor—peering over the council members’ shoulders. Champlain is mostly remembered for his prodigious mapping of North America’s eastern seaboard, the founding ... (full story)