Archive: News

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that he has issued the first set of conditional pardons restoring the right to vote to 24,086 people under community supervision in New York State. Building on the Governor's sweeping criminal justice reforms, this group of pardons follows the Executive Order signed on April 18 to improve civic engagement and reduce recidivism. New York State Election law provides that a Governor's pardon restores the right to vote to individuals who lose this right due to being on parole for a felony that resulted in their incarceration.

"The right to vote is fundamental and it is unconscionable to deny that basic right of citizenship to New Yorkers who have paid their debt to society," Governor Cuomo said. "Restoring a voice to men and women reentering their communities will strengthen our democracy, as well as the reentry process, which in-turn will help reduce recidivism."

Washington, DC - Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) introduced the Reducing Excessive Debt and Unfair Costs of Education (REDUCE) Act Tuesday to encourage universities to lower costs for all eligible students, regardless of their economic background.  The REDUCE Act also increases transparency in how colleges are spending their money to encourage public pressure on universities to lower the cost of education that has students drowning in debt.

"We should care about the working-class students who are being taken advantage of by the unfair costs of college," said Reed. "In most cases, the richer the school, the smaller the percentage of working class students being served by the college. We currently give these schools huge tax breaks and subsidies, and it is time they start serving the working-class taxpayer who supports them."

	The adopted Lansing Comprehensive Plan revision and all accompanying documents are available at the Lansing Town Hall and on the Town Web site.

When Connie Wilcox was appointed chair of the Comprehensive Plan Committee in January of 2016 her stated goal was to get a draft of the Comprehensive Plan revision the Town Board could approve by some time in the fall of that year.  A nearly year-long review of that draft by the Planning Board set that goal back, and then a last minute public push to change parts of the Planning Board version added about four months to the process some Town Board members hoped could be completed last December.  In all, it took over six years -- work on the revision began in 2012 -- before the Lansing Town Board adopted a final draft of the revision.  Many citizens expressed worry that what was written in the plan was 'written in stone'.  Wilcox and Town officials insisted that it is simply a guide for future development, zoning, and would be used as a rough template to craft most townspeople's vision for the next decade.  So now that the plan has been adopted, what's next?

"Probably the biggest reason you do a comprehensive plan is so you can update your land use (zoning) ordinance," says Lansing planning Consultant Michael H. Long. "That's probably the next big step in terms of the Town of Lansing."

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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced more than $17.8 million to fund the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative and SNUG, New York's street outreach program - both of which received national recognition for employing an evidence-based approach toward reducing gun violence. The 17 counties and 20 law enforcement agencies participating in the GIVE initiative will share $13.3 million of the funding, while the 11 SNUG sites throughout the state will share $4.5 million. This funding will allow communities to build on the work supported by GIVE and SNUG, which helped them significantly reduce gun violence and homicides in 2017.

"By investing in evidence-based practices with a proven record of success, New York is committed to combatting gun violence in every corner of this great state," Governor Cuomo said. "From enacting the strongest gun safety laws in the nation to supporting these crucial programs, this administration is doing everything in its power to combat gun crime and protect New Yorkers."

Legislature Adopts 2019 Financial Goal, Fiscal Guidelines for Departments and Agencies
In two resolutions approved tonight, the Tompkins County Legislature approved a 2019 tax levy goal and spending targets for 2019. The tax levy resolution directs County Administrator Jason Molino to prepare a recommended operating and capital budget that can be supported with a tax levy increase of 2.2%, an increase that is beneath the County's estimated 2019 tax cap of 2.87%. Both the tax levy guideline and the spending targets for departments and County agencies to use in preparing their budgets were approved by unanimous votes. (Legislator Leslyn McBean-Clairborne was excused.)

County Administrator Jason Molino today presented the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee with a plan for reviewing the Office of Human Rights, appointing Reverend Dr. Kenneth Clarke, who has served under contract as Special Advisor to the Office of Human Rights, to the position of Interim Director of Human Rights, for an initial term of 12 months while the review is conducted.

In a briefing memo to the committee, Administrator Molino stated, "The Office of Human Rights (OHR) is currently in a period of transition due to several changes that have taken place over the past year or more. These changes include discontinuing all intake of human rights complaints at the County's local office, the Director of Human Rights vacancy and the diminution of the Human Rights Commission. As a result, the County now has an opportunity to review how the OHR mission aligns with community needs and how to best utilize County resources to meet those needs." The committee informally concurred with the Administrator's recommended review plan.

Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport will offer non-stop air service to Washington, DC beginning this fall, a development that is drawing praise from local air service officials.  United Airlines has announced that, effective October 4th, it will replace its Ithaca to Newark service with direct flights to Dulles International Airport. Airport Director Mike Hall indicates that service will begin with two round-trips per day, with the potential to expand to four round-trips daily, based on demand.

"I'm very excited about the new service. It should produce much greater reliability than is possible to have at Newark," Director Hall remarks. "Washington, DC is a very strong market for us, with our travelers such as those from Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Lockheed Martin having significant business in the DC area." There is already strong, reliable surface transportation to the New York metro area, he notes.

School district voters in Lansing passed the 2018-19 budget Tuesday, and elected school board members.  The $30,067,200 budget was passed 386 to 98, an 80% win for the District.  Aziza Benson won her fourth term on the Board of Education with 422 votes, and Walaa Maharem-Horan won her first term with 65 write-in votes.  Former School Board President Ted Laux received one write-in vote.  Voters also authorized the District to purchase and finance two 70-passenger student transport vehicles and two two-passenger vans.

Altogether there were about 180 write-in votes.  Erin Socha received the next highest number, 59. Several other people's names were written in. Among them were Tom Jones, Julie Boles, Linda Pasto, Dan Pace, Isaac Newton, Glenn Withiam, Mike Koplinka-Loehr, and Mary Cathles.

This year the Lansing school budget topped $30 million for the first time.  The budget increased 3.14% from last year.  The tax levy for the combined amount collected from property owners and PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of taxes) agreements rose 2.78%.  Because of a decline in PILOT payments, individual property taxpayers will pay 3.79% more.

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May 13th was an unlucky Mother's Day for a house that was severely damaged Sunday in Lansing.  The Lansing and Cayuga Heights Fire Department were dispatched to the house, still under construction, on Sperry Lane at 7:28am.  Tompkins County Sheriff's deputies were also dispatched to the scene.  Route 34B was closed between Lansing Station and Lansingville Roads for about four hours as firefighters battled the conflagration.  25 Lansing firefighters were eventually joined by 40 more from more fire departments, responding to a call for tankers when it was found that a broken water main reduced pressure to hydrants, hindering responders' ability to suppress the fire.  

"During our initial attack we experienced low water pressure from the hydrants so we had inadequate water supply," says Lansing Fire Chief Scott Purcell. "We later learned that there was a water main break down by the school which was the result of the low water pressure.  We called for tankers to shuttle water to the fire.  The departments with tankers that came and helped were, Freeville, McLean, Groton, Genoa, King Ferry, Aurora, and Poplar Ridge."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched a new multi-agency effort Thursday to combat maternal depression. At Governor Cuomo's direction, the Department of Financial Services will require all New York commercial health insurance policies to cover maternal depression screenings, including screening for the mother under the child's policy. The Department of Health and Office of Mental Health will launch a strategic awareness campaign to provide critical information about symptoms and treatment options for maternal depression. Finally, the Office of Mental Health will open the first State-operated intensive outpatient clinic focused on maternal depression. These comprehensive actions will ensure that women in New York can access crucial screenings and treatment to combat maternal depression. This policy is part of the Governor's 2018 Women's Agenda.

"Every woman deserves access to high quality health care, and through our efforts, we're taking action to provide this necessary, skillful and compassionate care to all New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "This administration will continue to break down barriers to health care access and provide this critical support to new and expecting parents, creating a stronger, healthier Empire State for all."

The Village of Lansing officially names three parks Monday after Village residents voted their choices.  53 ballots were cast, and the Village trustees unanimously agreed to use the names that received the most votes.  Two of the parks were named for Village luminaries, while the third celebrates diversity in a village whose residents originate from over 20 different countries world-wide.

The largest of the three is also the newest.  Work began last year on what had informally been referred to as the 'Dart Parcel' park, nestled between Northwoods and Dart Drives, with primary access and parking on the Northwoods side.  Designed along the lines of Dankert Park on uptown Road, the new park has playground equipment for older and younger children, and will include a soccer field once construction is finished.  A walking path through the 'forever green' woods will connect the park to Dart Drive.  The park will be christened 'Marion Hartill Park', after Mayor Donald Hartill's wife, who recently passed away.  She is being honored for her participation in the Village's Community party, including acting as its treasurer; for 'getting out the vote' in the Village; and for hosting the Mayor's annual holiday party.