Archive: News

Canandaigua - Endorsed Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform State Senate candidate Pam Helming, announced Wednesday that she has kicked off a six county 'Whistle-Stop Tou' of New York State's 54th Senate District.

"Over the last few weeks I've met with hundreds of residents of the 54th District.  I have been eager to kick-off my official tour of all six counties and look forward to sharing my plan to reform Albany, revitalize our state, restore common sense and Upstate values back to state government," said Helming.

As the Triphammer Road repaving project is underway Village of Lansing Trustees awarded a $61,417.50 contract Monday for striping the road.  'Striping' is the painted lines that define lanes, shoulders, bicycle paths, crosswalks, and so on.  But with only one bid to choose from, the Village will pay at least twice what it could have cost.

"It's a lot," Mayor Donald Hartill told the Trustees.  "Normally it would be $20,000 to $30,000 for that type of striping.  It's directly related to the very rigid liability specification.  The specifications were written more tightly than they have been in the past.  We have a new engineer who is managing it.  He was following 'the' book, whereas there is 'a' book that's adequate.  We didn't catch that."

The Government Operations Committee of the Tompkins County Legislature weighed in today on a proposed Local Law that would, subject to voter approval, modify the County Charter to change the elected Sheriff to an appointed position after the end of the current election term.  The full Legislature last night, despite considerable deliberation, failed to reach any agreement to schedule a public hearing to take public comment on any proposed charter change regarding the position.

Following discussion, the committee recommended, by a 4-1 vote, adoption of a Local Law that would change the office of Sheriff in full from an elected to an appointed position, appointed by the County Legislature, as of January 1, 2019, rather than a split position, as favored by the Legislature's special Charter Review Committee.  Legislators Will Burbank, Dooley Kiefer, Carol Chock, and Committee Chair Dan Klein voted in favor; Legislator Rich John voted no, saying that while he also favors a single appointed position, he believes the committee is proceeding much too quickly, and that it needs more information, including hearing from the Sheriff and others in the department.

Religious bigotry is increasing and is more visible in America than we've seen in decades. And while conversations about Islamaphobia abound in the media, the FBI reports that almost 60% of religiously-oriented hate speech and crimes are actually committed against Jews – and only 16% against Muslims.

Why, then, is there an absence of conversation about antisemitism? To answer this question, the Ithaca Area United Jewish Community (IAUJC) invited political scientist Miriam Elman to discuss "Hate Speech and the New Antisemitism" on July 31 at the Space@Greenstar. More than 60 people attended.

In a July 19, 2016 letter to Tompkins County Sheriff Kenneth Lansing, the New York State Commission of Corrections announced its revocation of a variance that has allowed the County to operate the County Jail with 18 beds more than the 82 beds the facility was designed to accommodate.  The Commission directed the Sheriff to eliminate all double-bunking in cells by September 1, 2016.

In briefings to the Tompkins County Legislature's Public Safety and Budget, Capital, and Personnel Committees, Undersheriff Brian Robison, Jail Captain Ray Bunce, and County Administrator Joe Mareane characterized the State's decision as abrupt and costly.  The annual expense of housing, or boarding-out, 18 inmates in out-of-county jails is estimated to be $558,000.  This cost would be in addition to the $255,000 per year the County now spends to board out inmates.

Canandaigua - Conservative Republican Floyd Rayburn, candidate for the New York State Senate, 54th district, challenged his opponents to a series of six debates today.

"We want every voice heard in this election.  We were able to do a series of debates with 12 candidates in the race.  I think we can accommodate six.  I want all of our ideas and plans heard.  At the end of the day, voters should know who they think will best represent them in Albany.  I'm confident I'll be able to show them that that's me," said Rayburn.

As you enter Lansing, new signs have joined the 'Welcome to the Town of Lansing' signs at six major entry points to the Town.  As of last week large signs inform people entering the Town that Lansing is a 'Right to Farm' community.  The signs are part of a new initiative by the Town Agriculture Advisory Committee to make people more aware of farming and what it means to the community.

"People need to be more aware that we are a farming community," says Agriculture Advisory Committee Chair Connie Wilcox.  "You're going to have big equipment on the roads.  You're going to get held up a little bit every now and then.  People need to slow down and respect what the farmers are doing -- and realize that if they want to eat they need to respect farmers, because that's where their food is coming from."

Canandaigua - It was reported today that all of the candidates in the 54th Senate District had their petitions challenged;  only two of those challenges will apparently go forward because only those two had specific objections filed against them.

"We were always confident our petitions will hold up to scrutiny.  Our volunteers were diligent in collecting the necessary signatures and we have more than enough to qualify for the ballot.  It's shameful that agents supporting one candidate are challenging the legal signatures of Republican voters in the 54th district.   It's a page out of the Obama playbook when he ran for State Senate in Illinois, "said Floyd Rayburn reacting to a challenge to his petitions.

The Special Committee of the Tompkins County Legislature performing the once-a-decade review of the County Charter today recommended adoption of a new Local Law that would remove law enforcement responsibilities from the elected office of County Sheriff and transfer them to an appointed leadership position under a new county Department of Police.  Any change in the position would be subject to a mandatory voter referendum, and would not take effect until after the end of the current elective term of Sheriff, as of January 1, 2019.

Under the recommended Local Law, the elected position of Sheriff would continue to perform civil duties of the office that include the service of court documents and operation and management of the County Jail.  An appointed Commissioner of Police would serve as the County's chief law enforcement officer, leading a county Department of Police.

Tompkins County again this year has been recognized as one of the nation's top digital counties by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties (NACo).  The award identifies best technology practices among U.S. counties nationwide, recognizing leading examples of counties that use technology to improve services and boost efficiencies.

The top-ten ranking was based on the County's digital achievements in the categories of civic engagement; policy; operations; and technology and data.  Tompkins County also achieved top-ten rankings in 2013 and 2014.

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D/WFP-125 AD) announced last Friday that she has sent a letter (attached) to the Public Service Commission in opposition to a proposed $7.6 billion dollar bail-out plan for three aging nuclear power plants across the state.

"Asking New York State ratepayers to fund non-economic nuclear power plants with $7.6 billion dollars over twelve years is unconscionable," Lifton said. "While I am pleased about the state's efforts to achieve 50% of our electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030, nuclear facilities absolutely do not qualify as "renewable" and should not be a part of the Clean Energy Standard, as is currently proposed."

Canandaigua -  New York State Senate candidate Pam Helming today announced her endorsement of Donald Trump for President, calling him a "leader who will shatter the status quo and fight to make America great again."

Helming, who is running to replace long-serving state Senator Mike Nozzolio in the 54th Senate district, threw her support behind the New York businessman on the same day he delivered his official remarks to the delegates at the GOP convention in Cleveland.  He was officially named as the Republican nominee on Tuesday.