Archive: News

Mike SiglerTompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler told the Lansing Town Board Wednesday that he has bought $1,000 of radio time to encourage listeners to support repowering the cayuga Power Plant.  He has recorded two advertisements that he says are airing currently, and will run for the next two weeks leading up to the NYS Public Service (PSC) Commission deadline for an acceptable repowering plan to be submitted.

"The ad is asking people to call the state," he said.  "Hopefully people will call and tell the Governor to support the power plant.  That is the goal right now."

The Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) today, without dissent, endorsed creation of a study panel to review, on its behalf, the current structure and operations of the municipal court system, to identify potential ways to sustain and improve the efficiency of operations and quality of justice provided by the town and village courts.

The action comes at the recommendation of TCCOG's Shared Services Committee, which is charged with considering areas where structural changes may result in greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Local firefighters responded to a fire at the Cayuga Power Plant Sunday morning at 2:10am.  The fire occurred near one of the Cayuga Drive plant's two 150 mws turbines, which was shut down at the time of the incident.  Upstate New York Power Producers Chief Operating Officer Jerry Goodenough says the turbine is off line while the incident is being investigated.

"We are investigating the incident for root cause and the turbine is still off line, Goodenough says.  "We are conducting a thorough investigation and have not determined a root cause."

Before the Legislature's Public Safety Committee, Tompkins County Sheriff Ken Lansing and other officers who responded to the four-day incident on Hornbrook Road in the Town of Danby provided a detailed recap of the events that began when barricaded subject David Cady fired at police during an attempt to serve a felony DWI arrest December 30, and ended January 2, when Mr. Cady was found deceased inside the residence from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Public Safety Committee Vice Chair Jim Dennis, who had requested the presentation, noted that there have been few incidents in the county such as this, and expressed hope that the discussion will convey valuable information that will result in benefit for the future.

A proposed ban on polystyrene foam food service containers would have a devastating impact on businesses in the Finger Lakes region, including Pactiv, which employs hundreds of workers at their Canandaigua facility.

The ban is supported by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose administration has prohibited the use of the containers by merchants in New York City beginning on July 1, 2015.

Senator Mike Nozzolio announced that the New York State Senate, in its first legislative act of 2015,  has enacted a long overdue comprehensive Women's Equality Agenda that will enhance the rights of women across New York and protect those who are most vulnerable to abuse and discrimination.

"Today, women across New York State are leaders in business, science, government and higher education," said Nozzolio, speaking on the passage of the Women's Equality Agenda.  "My colleagues and I were proud to enact these important measures which further enhance equality under the law, ensure equal pay, and strengthen protections for all women from domestic violence and human trafficking."

The State Education Department (SED) has agreed to improve its enforcement of the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE Act) after a state audit found schools failed to report numerous cases of violent and disruptive incidents and misclassified dozens of others, often as less serious events, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said today.

"The SAVE Act was passed by the state Legislature in 2000 to boost school safety and address violence in our public schools," DiNapoli said. "Unfortunately, it appears that many schools are failing to live up to the reporting requirements, leaving parents in the dark about violence and other incidents that affect the classroom learning environment. The State Education Department is taking necessary steps to reform this program, and I urge them to make these changes a priority. Parents and children should expect that schools are taking school safety seriously and are being given proper warning if problems are happening."

Congressman Tom Reed supported firefighters as the House passed the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act.

"Our volunteer first responders sacrifice their time and much more to protect and care for their neighbors," Reed said. "We have a responsibility to protect them and their organizations from the consequences of Obamacare."
 
The legislation passed by the House protects volunteer departments by exempting emergency service volunteers from being counted as full-time employees under Obamacare's employer mandate.

Lansing Fire Commissioners discussed a bid last week to erect a fire response training tower.  Training towers are special fire-proof buildings in which fires can be set to provide firefighters with realistic training situations.  The tower itself will cost the district nearly $85,000, but with additional costs including a certified contractor to erect the tower, and possible infrastructure additions to the current training pad, the cost could rise to nearly $190,000.

Commissioners say that the project has been considered for about eight years, and funding is already allocated.  A contractor based in Louisiana bid $188,000 to purchase and erect the tower, but commissioners said they would prefer to use a local contractor, which they estimated would save the district about $30,000.  The added cost is related to license fees and insurance for an out of state contractor to work in New York State.  Fire Chief Scott Purcell said that some of the money saved could be used for a short length of roadway to the training tower and additional lighting.

About 25 Lansing residents attended a public hearing Monday on the Cayuga Farms development, planned for a 31.5 acre site along triphammer Road, south of Asbury Road.  Most were neighbors who wanted to voice concerns about increased traffic, the nature of the 102 planned rental units, impact on property taxes, and the impact of proposed sewage package plants on local streams.  Project Engineer Timothy Buhl and Town Engineer David Herrick were on hand to explain the project and answer questions.

"The idea is to capture the transient market of people coming from urban areas to work at the colleges," Buhl said.  "They would ultimately buy a house, but don't know where to locate.  We're looking for young, two-worker families.  It's an in-between type of rental of higher-end people that we're looking for."

2014 Legislature Leadership Reelected for the Year Ahead
The Tompkins County Legislature, at its 2015 organizational meeting, reelected Chair Michael Lane (D) and Vice Chair Jim Dennis (D) to continue to lead the Legislature in 2015.  The positions of Chair and Vice Chair are filled each year by a majority vote of members of the Legislature.
 
Mr. Lane was the only candidate nominated for Chair, and Mr. Dennis the only nominee for Vice Chair, and the election votes for each were unanimous.  Nominating Mr. Lane to continue as Chair, Legislator Dan Klein (the newest member of the Legislature) praised Lane for his “excellent job in steering the ship with a steady hand,” describing him as a very patient, thorough person who brings a great deal of institutional memory and experience to the position.  Legislator Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, seconding the nomination, expressed appreciation for his consistent outreach and ability to connect to each of his fellow members of the Legislature.

Congressman Tom Reed announced Monday that he is joining Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) as a co-sponsor of an amendment to proposed House rules for the 114th Congress. The amendment would protect the Social Security Trust Fund from being raided in order to bail out the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Trust Fund. If no solution is agreed to, SSDI is projected by its trustees to go bankrupt in 2016.

"That is unacceptable," Reed said. "Anyone who cares about finding a fair solution for both the catastrophically disabled who depend on SSDI and senior citizens who depend on Social Security knows that we must find a long-term solution which protects both of them rather than a short term band aid which threatens them both."