Archive: News

Prompted by a request to fly a LGBTQ flag in front of the Town hall to celebrate Pride Month this month, the Lansing Town Board struggled to come up with an objective policy that would allow positive, supportive messages while preventing hate groups from being permitted to fly their own flags there.  Board members said they wanted to support all Lansing citizens, but were concerned about possible liability if one group's flag were approved and another denied.

"How do we go about this and protect the Town?" asked Lansing Supervisor Ed LaVigne "If you do it for one how do you do it for the other.  To me it's not about this issue, it's about the policy.  If we come up with a policy that is generic and concise, how do we go about that so that we show we are a loving, caring, inclusive community?  If we allow it for one, I don't want a hate group come in and say 'we want to put our flag up also'."

Senator Pam Helming announced Wednesday that the New York State Senate unanimously passed a bill that she sponsors to promote youth involvement in local fire departments. The measure (S.2571) would create youth programs that facilitate a learning experience for our young adults interested in the firefighting field.

Washington, DC - Congressional Diabetes Caucus Co-Chairs Tom Reed (R-NY) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) today celebrated a policy change that the caucus had long advocated to modernize Medicare coverage: The federal government will now permit coverage of costs for Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) by patients who track their data using smartphones, tablets and other personal electronic devices.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that coverage of CGM supplies would be allowed for people who link them to smartphones, tablets and other personal electronic devices to share data and alerts with other people.

The Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium was formed in 2010 under Article 47 of NYS Insurance Law. Article 47 is the only pathway for small employers (less than 50 FTE's) to participate in self-funded, self-insured risk pools which have much lower premiums than they are currently paying.

This action alone saves taxpayers significant sums of money. The Consortium is currently the only Article 47 entity authorized in NYS as a cooperative of towns, villages, cities, and counties.

The Tompkins County Sheriff's Office, in collaboration with County Legislators and the District Attorney's Office, held a Gun Buyback Event on Saturday, June 9th. This event was designed to allow community members to voluntarily turn firearms in for a cash value; in a safe environment. Some community members are faced with the task of disposing of old firearms, but are unaware of the options for doing so in a safe manner; this event is an outlet for such a situation.

Tompkins County got the news that the Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport will become the Ithaca-Tompkins International Airport before the end of next year, when Governor Andrew Cuomo visited the airport May 3rd to announce that New York State would contribute $14.25 million toward the project.  The three big pieces were that the terminal would be significantly expanded, that a 5,000 square foot US Customs facility would be added, and a new State DOT facility would be built adjacent to the airport.  The Lansing Community Library Program Committee and the Lansing Democrats co-hosted Airport Manager Mike Hall Tuesday, who gave a presentation on what that will look like.

"If you want to understand the new terminal puff out your cheeks and stick out your tongue," Hall quipped. "We're expanding the baggage area significantly.  There will be more room (at the check-in counters).  When you get back to Security, there are going to be two lines.  There will be a priority check line for those people who travel frequently and have been cleared.  That will help process people through more quickly.  Then there's going to be a departure concourse with six gates.  We have six gates right now, but they're ground gates with one jet-bridge.  Now we're going to have four jet-bridges and two ground gates.  We need the ground gates because there's always the possibility that we'll get small airlines here."

Lansing riders were at the Town Hall Wednesday to share their ideas about bus service in Lansing.  Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc. (TCAT) representatives held the second of two meetings to talk about possible route changes and a potential addition of service to the Town in the middle of the day.

"This has been on my to-do list for a while as we've seen development occurring in Lansing," says TCAT Service Development Manager Matt Yarrow. "I've been talking with other staffers about it for a while.  We haven't been getting a ton of service requests, but we're starting to get more of them.  The Village Solars is really a large project that is pulling a lot of weight here.  We are experiencing some development in Lansing.   With that comes the opportunity to see if service could be designed that would be utilized in the middle of the day.  It doesn't have to run in the same alignment as the current routes.  We're open to trying to figure out what would be most appreciated and most used.  We understand a lot of those folks are trying to get to Cornell and aren't happy with what's here now."

It is pretty certain that no new natural gas capacity will be allowed in the Town and Village of Lansing.  And according to Village of Lansing Mayor Donald Hartill the DEC (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) will not allow any new sewage treatment plants on Cayuga Lake, or major expansions to the ones that service the Lansings.  In a town that is ripe for development those can be major impediments.  Developers are looking to heat pumps to compensate for the absence of natural gas, although one major town development -- the 72 unit Milton Meadows project on the town center land -- is struggling to get enough electricity delivered to actually power its heat pumps.  For sewer, the only way in the foreseeable future to increase capacity is to better manage Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) -- or to put it simply, get rid of the leaks.

"There is an upper limit to what you can put into the system," Hartill said at Monday's Trustees meeting.  "It will be monitored by meters that are more or less reliable.  We'll probably do a fair amount of monitoring, including televised monitoring in our system to find places where tree roots have punctured through and things like that."

Congressman Tom Reed (NY-23) declared his adamant opposition Wednesday to the use of heroin injection sites in our communities. This follows the announcement from the Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick calling on New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to approve a supervised drug injection pilot program in his city.

"Injection sites will bring an influx of violence, crime and homelessness into our backyards as dangerous drug dealers will naturally follow the increased heroin users into our communities," said Reed. "Only an extreme liberal ideology would support these spaces, and I will not help these radicals in their effort."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that more than $43.8 million will be awarded to support cancer prevention and early detection programs statewide over the next five years. The programs receiving these funds participate in the New York State Cancer Services Program, which aims to reduce disparities in breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality through free cancer screening for uninsured and underinsured, low-income populations. Programs participating in the Cancer Prevention in Action Program, which is tasked with engaging community stakeholders to reinforce healthy behaviors and reduce cancer risk, will also receive funding.

"The threat of cancer knows no income level nor status, and New York is working to ensure that all men and women have access to the life-saving benefits of early detection and prevention services," Cuomo said. "This investment is a major step forward in our efforts to support healthy communities while securing New York's position as a leader in cancer prevention efforts. We will continue to work to raise awareness and promote access to high quality screening for all."

Private elevator inspectors in New York City are missing hazardous violations and allowing unsafe conditions to go unrepaired, according to an auditreleased today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"In a vertical city, with tens of thousands of elevators carrying millions of people, it is unacceptable that New Yorkers should have to worry about false inspections or hazardous conditions. Even in a limited group of inspections, we found nearly every one missed violations that could pose risks to safety," DiNapoli said. "While the Department of Buildings deserves credit for taking steps to address the concerns and recommendations we've made in our audit report, the agency needs to ensure that all inspections are complete and thorough so that New Yorkers can feel confident that the elevators they ride in are safe."

Legislature Accepts State Airport Grant
The Legislature, by unanimous vote, accepted the $14.2 million Upstate Airport Development Grant recently awarded by New York State and committed to assuming full responsibility for all additional project costs. The project will expand the terminal by approximately one-third, update terminal systems, and enhance security, as well as construct a federal customs inspection facility. The solar-powered airport will employ a new geothermal heat pump system, with solar covered parking constructed as part of the project.

While total cost was projected two years ago at just over $22 million, Airport Director Mike Hall, in a detailed presentation to the Legislature, reported that current 2018 cost projections have increased the estimated total cost to $24.8 million, increasing the anticipated local share to 10.5 million (from $7.8 million). Director Hall said $2.5 million in Airport revenue, from federal sources and the Airport fund balance, is already committed and that the remaining $8 million County obligation can be supported through pending potential grant proceeds and financing based on Airport passenger facility charges.