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Lt. Gov. Duffy officially opens New York State Fair

Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy filled in for Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the official opening of the New York State Fair in Syracuse today.  While Cuomo was hosting President Obama in Buffalo, Duffy was tasting New York state products in the new Taste New York Tent at the Fair.

"Sometimes we don't realize how great New York state is," Duffy said. "What we produce, wine, beer, yogurt... we're the yogurt capital, I think, of the world right now."

The former mayor of Rochester says the promotion of agriculture at the fair dovetails with the Cuomo administration's push to publicize agricultural products.

"The Taste NY tent we are in now at the fair, I was in the same tent at the PGA [event] in Rochester a couple weeks ago," Duffy said. "It was the biggest hit of the entire tournament. People were pouring in there… thousands came through there tasting New York products."

While dozens of anti-hydrofracking protesters dogged the governor on opening day in 2012, this year there were only a handful of protesters following Duffy. They were calling for a repeal of the New York Safe Act, the state's new gun control legislation.

Cuomo did end up attending the fair later in the day, visiting during the afternoon.

The 12-day fair attracts almost a million people to the Syracuse area annually.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.