Archive: News

Speaker Carl Heastie, Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow and Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman today announced that the Assembly passed legislation to recognize Juneteenth and Abolition Commemoration Day in New York State.

"African American history has too often been overlooked, whitewashed and relegated to the confines of a single month," Heastie said. "I am proud to serve in this incredibly diverse legislative body, and one that continues to work to represent the diversity of our people and our history. I am also proud that today I can tell Association for the Study of African American Life and History New York State Director Bessie Jackson, a constituent of mine who for years has advocated for the recognition of Abolition Day, that her hard work has finally paid off."

Albany, NY - Senate Democrats today rejected an amendment brought to the floor by Senator Pam Helming to rescind Governor Cuomo's expanded powers. The Governor has used and extended these extraordinary powers, originally granted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for over 140 days.

"We can all agree that in times of crisis, decisions must often be made quickly. However, they should not be made in a way that undermines the very foundation of our democracy and our system of checks and balances. No Governor, regardless of political party, should have the ability to make hundreds of unilateral changes to state laws without input from the State Legislature. We have elected a State Legislature for a reason and it's unconscionable that elected officials would choose to give up their constitutional responsibility and simply hand it over to the Governor," said Helming.

After many months of editing and discussion, and a brief public hearing, the Lansing Town Board unanimously passed a Solar and Wind Energy law at its July meeting (7/15).  The law amends Lansing's Land use Ordinance that relates to solar and wind energy systems that are planned for sites in the Town.  One of the recurring concerns as the law was being crafted was to protect prime farmland, which is part of the best locations in the Town for solar arrays along existing power lines that were installed for electricity delivery by the now-closed Cayuga Power Plant.  Board members had considered a 10-acre limit, and considered it again when Tompkins County included it among tits comments on the law.

But Town Attorney Guy Krogh noted that developers could get around a 10-acre provision by submitting several 9.9 acre applications, and said any larger solar far that is proposed is likely to be more than 10 acres.

"Even a small community solar system will be more than 10 acres," he said. "The average small system is 12 to 14 acres. So this 10 acre limit doesn't make any sense. So at the end of the day, it comes down to what is the appropriate policy and what is the need of the town of Lansing?"

In recent weeks, local higher education institutions announced plans to welcome students for in-person instruction for the fall semester. Each reopening or reactivation plan has been developed with consistent and ongoing communications that began early in the pandemic among Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3).

Tompkins County Health Department (TCHD) will continue to work closely with all three institutions and will urge returning students and all Tompkins County residents to stay vigilant to stop the spread of COVID-19. TCHD will continue contact tracing operations, issuing isolation and quarantine orders, and sharing public health messaging consistent with up-to-date federal and state guidance.

The Tompkins County Health Department reported Tuesday on ten new positive COVID-19 cases along with information on the nature of their exposure. By yesterday that number had spiked to 25 new cases since last Friday.  As the number of positive COVID-19 cases increases locally, the Tompkins County Health Department is reminding residents of mask requirements, quarantine guidance, and other critical information to stop the spread of the disease. On Saturday Health Department officials reportedthat they received notification that a non-customer facing GreenStar employee tested positive for COVID-19. The employee is asymptomatic and currently in isolation.

“Our Health Department nurses conducted the contact tracing investigation and all close contacts have been identified. This was not a public exposure. The individual who tested positive is in isolation and all close contacts are in quarantine,” saidTompkins County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that four additional states meet the metrics to qualify for the travel advisory requiring individuals who have traveled to New York from those states, all of which have significant community spread, to quarantine for 14 days. The newly-added states are Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin. Delaware has been removed. The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average. Yesterday, Governor Cuomo announced a travel enforcement operation will commence today at airports across the state to help ensure travelers are following the state's quarantine restrictions and to help contain the rates of COVID-19 transmission in New York State.

"New Yorkers showed incredible courage and resiliency throughout this pandemic, and nowhere is their work more evident than in the numbers we release every day, including in New York City, once a global hotspot," Governor Cuomo said. "However, the success of our efforts depends on citizens' willingness to comply with state guidance, socially distance, wear masks and wash their hands, and rising cases around the country continue to threaten our progress, which is why four new states have been added to New York's travel advisory.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that the start of "Operation Hardhat," a statewide traffic enforcement detail targeting motorists who drive recklessly through work zones. The operation is a joint initiative between the New York State Police, Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority, to crack down on work zone violations and highlight the importance of safe driving when encountering construction, maintenance and emergency operations along state highways.

"New York's highway workers and first responders put their personal safety on the line every day to help ensure our roads and bridges remain safe and in good repair," Governor Cuomo said. "As New Yorkers, we have a responsibility to keep these essential workers out of harm's way - and that means slowing down, moving over and using common sense. We have zero tolerance for those who drives recklessly and endanger the lives of others."

Multiple suspicious blue-green algae blooms, also known as HABs (Harmful Algal Blooms), have been reported in the Tompkins County portion of Cayuga Lake this week and monitoring is continuing. These blooms may be small in size and confined to specific areas of the shoreline and bays. Areas where blooms are not observed can continue to be used for recreational use.

The Tompkins County Health Department urges residents and visitors to beware of blue-green algae. These blooms can occur in any calm body of water and may produce toxins that are harmful to people and animals. Do not drink the water and avoid contact with the water if it appears discolored or has an unpleasant odor.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday that a travel enforcement operation would commence Tuesday, July 14th, at airports across the state to help ensure travelers are following the state's quarantine restrictions and to help contain the rates of COVID-19 transmission in New York State. As part of the enforcement operation, enforcement teams will be stationed at airports statewide to meet arriving aircrafts at gates and greet disembarking passengers to request proof of completion of the State Department of Health traveler form, which is being distributed to passengers by airlines prior to, and upon boarding or disembarking flights to New York State. A new electronic version of the DOH traveler form is now also available, making it easier and more efficient for travelers to complete the form.

State DOH has also issued an emergency health order mandating that all out-of-state travelers from designated states complete the DOH traveler form upon entering New York. Travelers who leave the airport without completing the form will be subject to a $2,000 fine and may be brought to a hearing and ordered to complete mandatory quarantine. Airlines have all pledged to help make passengers aware of the new requirement using pre-flight emails, pre-flight announcements, in-flight announcements and other methods. Additionally, travelers coming to New York from designated states through other means of transport, including trains and cars, must fill out the DOH traveler form online.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced yesterday that New York State has established two church testing sites in COVID-19 hotspots in Houston, Texas. The sites, located in Northwest Houston's Fallbrook Church and Southwest Houston's Higher Dimension Church, are in highly-impacted minority communities, are up and running, and will be operational for two weeks, with the capacity for up to 1,000 tests per day. New York State sent more than 20 healthcare workers and public health experts to Houston to consult on the city's COVID-19 response and has also provided supplies. The governor made today's announcement on a conference call with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

"When New York went through the unprecedented challenge and unimaginable tragedy of COVID-19's apex in the state, states throughout the country provided supplies, ventilators and personnel during our time of greatest need," Governor Cuomo said. "Now that New York's numbers have stabilized, we're returning the favor across the country, and I am glad to be able to help the great city of Houston establish two testing sites in vulnerable communities. I thank our incredible partners for their efforts to establish the sites and provide supplies and expertise."

With the beginning of the school year only -- theoretically -- a month and a half away, school administrators are scrambling in what, until this week, was a state guidance vacuum to figure out how the Lansing schools may open.  Lansing School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso told Board of Education members on July 7th that there had been "zero guidance from both the State Education Department and the Governor's Office" at the time of the school board meeting.  She said her administration is looking at plans developed by colleges and universities, and other states that had already filed their plans for school reopening, as well as consulting with other superintendents in the region.  And while the the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) did issue guidance Monday, it does not address all the questions Lansing school administrators need to have answered.  Pettograsso said that whatever happens, the District's first priority is the safety of students and employees.

"We're really trying to be tight up front with making sure everybody's safe and healthy," she said. "Right now some of the guidance that's come out does say if a student has a fever, they do have to stay home for two weeks. If a teacher has a fever, they have to quarantine. So we will be doing things like temperature checking daily in the classrooms."

For the first time people were allowed to come in person to the Lansing Town courtroom for the Town Board meeting Wednesday.  Very few did come, but the Town is allowing up to 50% capacity of the town courtroom to attend.  Town meetings continue to be live streamed on the Town's YouTube channel, however, and are available there to view after meetings occur.  Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne said that other activities are cautiously opening as well.  One of those is the Lansing Parks & Recreation Department's baseball camps.

"They have an interesting system where, you drive in between the Community Center and the Library," LaVigne said. "You stop here at the front, still in your car, and that's where either Owen or Jenna reach you right before your camp. They'll take tyour name and then they'll circle around. And then all the applicants that want to be in camp have a name tag with a barcode on it. The head instructor has a thermometer. Everyone stays in the car and they test them right there."