Archive: News

The Department of Transportation (DOT) does not adequately monitor whether railroads in New York state comply with bridge inspection and reporting requirements or fully carry out its own bridge inspection responsibilities, possibly putting the public at risk, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“The gaps in the railroad bridge oversight program uncovered by my auditors are troubling,” DiNapoli said. “DOT needs to do a better job making sure it’s on the same page with the railroads and the federal government so the public can be assured it is not in danger.”

In a nearly three-hour-long session, the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee presented information and responded to questions on the County’s plan to renovate the County Jail and how that relates to county history regarding the jail and Legislature’s commitment to alternatives to incarceration.  The $900,000 project, which has not yet received final funding approval, would replace little-used indoor recreation space with a sheltered outdoor facility, adding seven jail beds that will reduce inmate board-outs to other counties, a project that in recent weeks has drawn concern from some community members who oppose an increase in jail beds.

County Administrator Joe Mareane explained that the goal was to put the Legislature’s decision to support the plan in the context of its history of working to reduce the jail population through alternatives. “This is a county that has committed itself to alternatives to incarceration,” he said.  Participating in the presentation, along with Administrator Mareane and members of the Public Safety Committee, were District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson; County Judge John Rowley; Sheriff Ken Lansing; Probation and Community Justice Director Pat Buechel; Deborah Dietrich, Executive Director of the organization Opportunities, Alternatives, and Resources (OAR); and Suzi Cook, Chair of the Tompkins County Criminal Justice Advisory/Alternatives to Incarceration Board.

The sewer project may be dead, but Lansing students still have to use the bathroom.  With two failing septic systems and a third reaching the end of its estimated useful life, school officials are planning a replacement project that is estimated to cost more than two million dollars.  School Board President Glen Swanson says he hopes to have a project ready for the May budget and Board Of Education election.

"Everything is going on schedule," Swanson said Monday. "We're going as fast as we can and we're still aiming toward a vote at the time of the budget vote.  We have a timeline."

New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio announced Thursday a new Senate initiative designed to reduce the burden on taxpayers and to create jobs.  This important series of legislative measures would eliminate the utility tax in two years and cap State spending, while reducing the burden on New York’s hardworking taxpayers and job-producing businesses.

“We must take decisive action to keep New York State moving in the right direction and create a more favorable environment for job-producing businesses to grow well paying jobs right here in our local community. That is why I am working aggressively to reduce the heavy burden that costly and duplicative government regulations and taxes have on hardworking business owners and taxpayers all across our State,” said Nozzolio.

Steve Oplinger (left) and Robert WagnerLansing Fire Commission elections are coming up next Tuesday.  Fire Commission Chairman Robert Wagner is running for for his fourth five year term.  Steve Oplinger is running for the remaining two years of Jeff Walters' term.  Walters resigned when he moved away from Lansing.  Tonya Reynolds filled the position for a brief period, and Oplinger was appointed after she reigned.  In two years he will be eligible to run for a five year term.

The election is scheduled for next Tuesday, December 10th from 6pm to 9pm at Central Station (80 Ridge Road, Lansing).  Both candidates are running unopposed.

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The Lansing Town Board continued to argue about the value of hiring a full time planner Wednesday.  Although the board passed a budget that includes funding for a full time position and that amount is less than was budgeted this year, some board members are taking a cautious approach to adding a full time position to the Town's roster, despite strong advocacy from Supervisor Kathy Miller, Planning Board Chairman Tom Ellis, and Jonathan Kanter, a professional planner who has held half-time position this year to guide the Town of Lansing as it updates its comprehensive plan.

"If you have been to a Planning Board meeting lately, or this year, things are different," she said.  "They're really working well and I attribute that to Jon.  He's worked really well with them.  You have to admit they are a cohesive group now, and that is so crucial to what goes on here.  When they deal with developers come in the facade developers see is so much more professional.  It's a lot different from what we saw the year before."

Albany, NY-  Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D/WF-125) delivered her Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Regulations comments to the DEC today in a 9-page letter addressed to Commissioner Joseph Martens. Her comments focused on the regulations’ ambiguous scope, lack of environmental protections, inadequate fee structure, failure to address greenhouse gas emissions, lack of adequate citing criteria, inadequate insurance and bonding requirements, and vague accident reporting.

Lifton expressed concern about the focus on LNG use for transportation purposes, while the proposed regulations would actually allow for facilities of all sizes. “Emphasis on the creation of an LNG transportation network is misleading, perhaps unintentionally so, but it is crucial that the public know the intended scope of these regulations,” she said in her letter.

Legislature Accepts Livable Wage Report
The Legislature, following the recommendations of its Government Operations and Budget Committees, accepted, but did not adopt, the recommendations of a County work group following an extensive study of how the County’s decade-old Livable Wage Policy should apply to County contracts.  The vote was 13-2, with Legislators Carol Chock and Leslyn McBean-Clairborne dissenting.  The action gives the County Administrator time to apply procedural guidance established by the work group as part of its report, before taking a more formal action to either adopt or amend the group’s recommendations.

The work group report recommends the Living Wage policy, in place since 2003, remain in place without modification, as a statement of the Legislature’s aspirational goals, with procedures put in place to ensure consistent interpretation and application of the policy, and to establish accountability for performance.  It  recommends, in part, that the policy apply only to service contracts involving over $50,000 per year in County funds, that certain types of employees and positions be exempted, with criteria used to determine whether it is “practical and reasonable” to incorporate the living wage standard into a contract.

Congressman Tom Reed Monday announced a grant awarded to the Hydrilla Task Force to help in the group’s efforts to eradicate hydrilla from the Cayuga Inlet. Congressman Reed worked with the local Task Force to identify the grant opportunity and sent a letter of support on the Task Force’s behalf. The grant was awarded in the amount of $75,000.

“This grant is great news for the Tompkins County community as it continues its work to eliminate this threat to ecosystems, recreation, and the local economy as a whole,” Congressman Reed said. “We will continue to work with the Task Force to see that the area receives its fair share of resources to help combat the spread of hydrilla.”

Who owns Lansing students' private data?  Should it remain inside the local school district or shared state-wide?  Lansing School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso reported Monday on a New York State Education Department (NYSED) plan to collect and aggregate student data state-wide that opponents say may compromise student privacy.  The plan calls for districts across the state to enter testing data into one of three third-party data entry systems that would then be aggregated into inBloom, another third-party system that would provide the data dashboard for the state.  Pettograsso says that the plan is already being challenged in court.

"That's what I'm reading about," Pettograsso says, "that there is a conflict of interest for the data and privacy and how much control the State has over student data and demographics.  I'm learning a lot more about it right now."

Adults are constantly amazed when their teenagers are able to sleep through the morning, wasting -- in the adult's estimation -- half the day.  But parents have long known what sleep specialists have documented -- that teenagers do better later in the day after a good night's sleep.  School Board member Karen McGreevey asked the Lansing Board of Education Monday for a review of school schedules to optimize student performance during the school day.

"Is it possible for the district and the School Board and the District Shared Decision making team to make looking at the way we schedule our school day in the elementary, middle and high schools a priority this year?" McGreevey asked.  "One idea is looking at the middle school and high school starting later."

Thousands of New Yorkers have already declared their support for State Senator Mike Nozzolio’s efforts to enact legislation (S.996) to prohibit the purchase of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products or lottery tickets with public assistance benefits. Senator Nozzolio has co-sponsored this important legislation and led the effort to adopt this measure in the State Senate during the last legislative session.

“Public assistance was designed to help needy individuals provide for their families and themselves until they transition back to the workforce and become self-sufficient. It was never designed or intended to be used to purchase items such as alcohol, tobacco products, or lottery tickets.  Please take a moment to visit my website at www.senatornozzolio.com and sign my petition in support of ending welfare abuse,” said Nozzolio.