Archive: News

Carli Teitelbaum won 3rd place in the NY State Youth Scholarship Tournament on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at Kingston Lanes in Kingston, NY. 30 finalists from around the state participated in the event.

The 9th grade and above handicap division bowled two 3-game blocks. With a total pinfall of 1409 including a personal best 225 game, Carli made it to the stepladder finals (consisting of the top four bowlers in each division).

Assemblywoman Lifton (D/WF-125) has filed an amicus brief to the Norse v. Dryden case with the New York State Court of Appeals.

"Today I filed an amicus brief with the Court of Appeals, in which I continue to present the legal argument for local zoning control over oil and gas development," she said. "Based on research into both New York State statute and case law, I believe --  as several Supreme Courts and the Appellate Division, Third Department have ruled --  that the Town of Dryden and municipalities across New York retain the ability to use their zoning powers to decide to limit or exclude gas drilling within their borders. I am hopeful that the Court of Appeals will uphold the previous rulings of the lower courts.”

Tom Reed is pushing for small businesses to expand infrastructure and create jobs. To give small businesses that freedom and flexibility to improve, Reed is co-sponsoring the America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014, a bill that makes permanent the long-standing Section 179 tax provision for small business expensing. The bill passed out of the Ways and Means Committee Tuesday on a bipartisan vote.

“Our goal is to give America’s job creators more certainty and more control over their own financial situation so they can make investments and grow,” Reed said. “Making this pro-jobs, pro-growth policy permanent is fair to small businesses which suffer when tax policies are extended for only one or two years at a time. By giving farmers and small businesses the ability to immediately deduct the cost of new equipment, they can better manage their cash flow and make investments in new jobs and growth that otherwise might have been put on hold.”

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) announced Tuesday that the initial I-81 Viaduct Project Advisory Working Group presentations are now available online. The presentations focus on the tunnel alternative, one of the alternatives being considered as part of a comprehensive environmental review of the project being developed to upgrade the 50-year-old highway viaduct through downtown Syracuse.

Preliminary concepts for the tunnel alternative were discussed earlier this month during the first meetings of the Community and Economic Development Advisory Working Group, and the Sustainability Advisory Working Group. The working groups will meet once a month.

It's not just any sale.  Shoppers flock to Lansing twice a year for the Lansing United Methodist Church (LUMC) Rummage Sale.  As well they should -- the selection of clothing, books, and just about anything else you can imagine is staggering.  But co-chair Ed LaVigne says that the shopping and making money for the church is only part of what makes the event successful.

"One way you can measure it is through money," LaVigne says.  "It is one of the things that helps with church missions and helps pay our expenses.  There are also intangible benefits, which is what spirituality is about.  It strengthens relationships, reaches out to people that may not normally seek help.  It includes people who may not have felt included in the past.  We celebrate the fact that they're there to help us, or that we're there to help them."

Lansing Town Board members met with Town Engineer David Herrick Wednesday to get details of a plan to reduce trihalomethane levels in the Emmons Road water tank and at the Cayuga Power Plant.  Last week Town Supervisor Kathy Miller told the Board that the Lansing Consolidated Water District is facing up to $100,000 for a permanent solution to keep TTHM levels below mandated levels of 80 parts per billion (ppb).  Herrick presented data from detailed monitoring study over the past year that shows higher than acceptable levels during summer months.

"It's happening during the warm months when more gas is dissolved in the water," Miller says.  "That's what happens -- it' chemistry.  In the winter you don't have so much of a problem.  With the increase of temperature when the summer months come on, that's when you get more gas dissolved in the water."

Residents gathered on Elmira Road last Saturday to participate in a Human Rights Rally calling for Tompkins County Sheriff Ken Lansing and District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson to take action to remove Stephen Moracco from service as a County Deputy Sheriff.  The rally was prompted by an incident five years ago in which Moracco arrested Amy Crockford, who alleged that the officer injured her on purpose after placing her in custody in the back of his squad car.  She also alleged she was taunted by Moracco because she is a lesbian.

In 2009 Moracco, working as an Ithaca Police Officer, arrested Crockford after an incident at the State Diner. According to Crockford, Moracco handcuffed and placed her in the backseat of the squad car without being seat-belted. Moracco then allegedly intentionally drove erratically causing Crockford to slam up against the door and front seat, which resulted in her sustaining injuries to her face and shoulder. Crockford was charged with disorderly conduct and released a few hours after her arrest. All charges were later dropped and Crockford states that she still doesn’t know why she was arrested.

The Legislature’s Government Operations Committee, meeting Tuesday, heard an update from County Administrator Joe Mareane on the County Living Wage study, and recommended that the Legislature appropriate funding from contingent fund to enable one agency to return to being a living wage employer.

The Legislature last year encouraged the County Administrator to begin implementing procedures recommended by the work group.  As part of the 2014 budget process, the Legislature directed that $100,000 from the 2014 Contingency Account be held aside for potential support of efforts to increase the level of attainment of the living wage goal by contractors providing services to the County.

In 2008 Lansing School District voters approved an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) with Johnson Controls that was expected to yield almost $9 million in savings including $3,260,000 of anticipated state aid.  School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso told the Board of Education Wednesday that careful auditing of the program has shown that the project has saved 3.8 million in energy costs over a four year period.

"It's nice to see all the efforts and our expectations come to fruition," she said.  "For the first few years it was a struggle to get people to turn off their computers and turn off their lights.  We sent an email out before break.  the auditor went around and reviewed everything, and it was amazing.  Not only are things turned off, but they are now unplugging things."

Public Hearing Scheduled Regarding Proposed Assessment Relief Law
The Legislature voted to schedule a public hearing at its next meeting May 5 on a proposed Local Law that would enact provisions of a new State law included in the 2014 New York State Budget bill.  The Mohawk Valley and Niagara County Assessment Relief Act gives a municipality, through Local Law, authority to adopt provisions of the act, which would allow the Department of Assessment to effectively “move” the taxable status date for an affected property owner to take into account any damage that occurred from the severe weather that occurred between June 20 and August 9 of last year.  County Administrator Joe Mareane said local impact appears to be very minimal—perhaps only one property owner affected that might result in an adjustment of $85 on the tax bill.

Continuing its consideration of the proposed renovation of the County Public Safety Building, the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee today reviewed a suggested redesign renderings of the Jail’s outdoor recreation area, a design that responds to concerns voiced by some to add more openness and air circulation to the outdoor area.

The design, presented by LaBella Architects, would replace much of the solid back wall of the three-sided structure with a five-panel mesh-covered opening, an opening that could be covered by a roll-down overhead door in the event of inclement weather.  Under that proposed design, the former concrete structure would become a steel-frame shelter, with steel trusses and a metal roof.

Tom Reed’s congressional campaign released its final fundraising numbers Tuesday for the first quarter of 2014.  Reed received more than $392,000 from January through March, bringing the total raised in the cycle to almost $1.9 million.

The campaign's first-quarter report, filed today, shows almost $1.9 million raised in the cycle and over $1 million cash on hand.