Archive: News

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation (S.300/A.5604) Tuesday conforming laws in estate planning and surrogates court procedures to the Marriage Equality Act. Signed by Governor Cuomo in 2011, the Marriage Equality Act provides that marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples are to be treated equally in all respects under the law. This new law updates the language in the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law to recognize same sex marriages by removing phrases such as "husband/wife" and replacing it with phrases that recognize both same-sex and different-sex marriages, such as "spouses, husbands or wives." In the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act, the phrase "father and mother" is updated and replaced with "parents" to recognize both same-sex and different-sex parents. The law goes into effect immediately.

"Marriage equality is about dignity and respect for the LGBTQ community, which is why New York was the first big state in the nation to get it done," Cuomo said. "With this measure we're ensuring every law on our books, no matter how technical, is reflective of the fact that families sometimes have two dads or two moms or two husbands or two wives - and we celebrate that diversity because it's what makes New York who we are."

Judy Drake is running for the Lansing Town Board.  She and her husband Doyle have two grown children, and she has lived in Lansing all her life.  This is her first time running for elective office, but she has been serving on the Lansing Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for the past seven years.

Drake is the Human Resource Manager for the Town of Ithaca, and works as an assistant to the Ithaca Town Supervisor.  She also works as the Human Resources official for the Bolton Point Water System, working with the General Manager and representatives from all the participating municipalities, including Lansing.  She chairs the Greater Tompkins County Intermunicipal Health Insurance Consortium, which currently has 39 participants, over seven counties, and will grow to 44, including the Lansing Library, in January.  She says her 22 years working behind the scenes with elected officials and boards in the Town of Ithaca gives her unique experience she could bring to the Town Board if elected.  She says she has no pet project, but wants to work on good and efficient operations of the Town.

A retired Tompkins County Deputy Sheriff, Jeffery "Otto" Norman is running for Lansing Town Board, his first time running for elected office.  He has lived in 66 years.  He and his wife Denise have eight children between them.  At the Sheriff's office he started as a road patrol officer before being promoted to road patrol sergeant (supervisor).  He retired in 2001.

Norman says he has worked with all different kinds of people from all walks of life through his career in the Sheriff's Department.  He says, "Law enforcement isn't just arresting people or writing parking tickets.  A lot of it is social work."  He says that helped him develop his ability to communicate and to listen and help with problems.  He is running on a platform of public safety and how rapidly the Town is growing.  He says keeping up with increased traffic growth and burden on the schools is up to the Board to deal with these issues.  He summarizes by saying communication skills and being a 'problem fixer' are the key attributes he will bring to the Town Board.

Bronwyn Losey is running for Lansing Town Board.  She came to Lansing over 30 years ago when she was in first grade.  She and her husband Jeff have two children.  She is the founding director at Global Roots Play School, which provides child care for children whose parents are in English as a Second Language class.

Losey says she has experience in starting and running organizations, and says she is a quick study.  She has overseen budgets, grant writing and recording, and has managerial experience.  She says she is running because she has heard from a lot of people that they want more control over the shape of the future of the Town in terms of how development happens.  "I'm running out of a sense of public service," she says. "It hasn't necessarily always been my dream, but I think I can do the job, and I think I can do it well, and I was asked."

Ed LaVigne (R)		Michael Koplinka-Loehr (D)
Judy Drake (R)	Jeffery 'Otto' Norman (R)	Andra Benson (D)	Bronwyn Losey (D)
Click on the photos above to read each candidate's interview.

Last week we featured the interviews of the two Town Supervisor Candidates.  This week we have the Town Board candidate interviews, while continuing to make last week's interviews easily available.  All the interviews will be easy to find through election day.  Click on the photos above to read each candidate's responses.

	Important note: The Star was not able to interview Andra Benson due to extenuating circumstances in her available time (click on her image for an explanation and her 2015 interview).

Here's how it works.  All candidates for the same office are asked the same questions (so six questions for the two Supervisor candidates, and another six for the four Town Board candidates).  No candidate is alerted beforehand on what the questions are, and none are told what other candidates have answered.  So the questions are the same but the answers are different, allowing you to decide which candidate's answers best align with you.  The transcripts are almost verbatim -- there are a few grammatical corrections, or consolidation of redundancies, but if you could hear the interviews while reading the transcripts you would be satisfied that the candidates actually said what has been transcribed.

My hope is that these comparative interviews are a good tool for you as you decide who to vote for.  It is intended to highlight the candidates in their own words.  The Lansing Star does not and never has endorsed candidates because we feel you should be able to make your own decisions based on what you learn about the individuals who are running for office.


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A group of concerned citizens are hoping the Lansing Town Board will make an advisory committee official at the November board meeting.  Spearheaded by Sue Ruoff, Diane Beckwith and Lauren Chambliss, the committee would promote transparency between the Cayuga Operating Company (COC), government agencies and the public, engage the public in support of the project, explore solutions, and support COC as it seeks state funding and other business incentives.  Ruoff and Chambliss asked for the official stamp of approval, presenting a possible resolution for the Board to pass in November.

"The issue of what happens to that plant affects all of us," Chambliss said. "We want to be part of the transition and support it for our community, with transparency, and with help, and with everything we can do to make sure this is a win-win for everybody, including the shareholders or the corporation, but, most importantly, our community."

Washington, DC - A bipartisan group of lawmakers comprised of Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Tom Reed (NY-23), Max Rose (NY-11), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), called on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Tuesday, to stop blatantly violating U.S. law, to immediately change their policy, and to remove all content from Foreign Terrorist Organizations and affiliated profiles, including Hamas and Hezbollah, by November 1st. If Twitter is better at determining violent extremist content than the U.S. government, Dorsey should come and testify before Congress.

In a September 2019 letter to a bipartisan group of members — Gottheimer, Reed, and Fitzpatrick, Twitter stated that the platform is no place for terrorist organizations. Twitter then proceeded to outline its policy, which makes exceptions for Hamas and Hezbollah.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation (S.748/A.5424) Monday providing an exemption from jury duty for breastfeeding women. The service may be postponed up to two years.

"While jury service is a critically important civic duty, we also know new moms oftentimes juggle countless responsibilities and navigate enormous adjustments in the early stages of their child's life," Governor Cuomo said. "This commonsense measure takes that reality into account by providing new moms the flexibility and option to postpone jury service while they care for a newborn."

County Administrator Jason Molino provided the Legislature's Public Safety Committee a report last week on status of the Building Conditions Needs Assessment of the County Public Safety Building, being performed by LaBella Associates. The $74,000 study, approved by the Legislature two months ago, is conducting a thorough examination of the more than 30-year-old building's current condition, intended as a first step to help provide guidance as the County considers whether to renovate the existing structure or replace it with a new building.

Administrator Molino said the study's scope of work has been expanded to include three new alternatives that have been discussed as potential options to house the Sheriff's Civil Division and Road Patrol, which would allow repurposing of present space for Corrections programming. The alternatives to be examined include property at 767 Warren Road, located in the Cornell Business and Technology Park adjacent to the Airport; a potential addition to a future new Airport fire station (crash-fire-rescue building); and either adding on to the existing Public Safety Building or building a new stand-alone structure. Assessment of all alternatives would include how each could achieve the County's goal of net-zero emissions.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has finalized contracts with Equinor Wind US LLC for its 816 megawatt Empire Wind Project and Sunrise Wind LLC (a joint venture of Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy) for its 880 megawatt Sunrise Wind Project to deliver clean, affordable renewable energy to New Yorkers. As the largest procurement for offshore wind in the nation's history, this announcement advances Cuomo's nation-leading Green New Deal goal to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035 and position New York State as the regional hub of this rapidly growing industry in the United States.

"New Yorkers know all too well the devastating impacts of climate change and the catastrophic consequences if we do not act urgently," Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said. "By finalizing the contract awards for the nation's largest offshore wind procurement, we are realizing the positive impacts these projects will have on the environment, while diversifying our economy and bringing significant economic benefits to the Empire State."

Last Friday Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the completion of Tompkins Community Action's Amici House, an $8.1 million project providing 23 units of permanent supportive housing for young adults in Ithaca, including those with children. The apartments are located in the same building as Tompkins Community Action's offices and next door to the agency's new Harriet Giannelis Child Care Center, a Head Start/Early Head Start facility serving income-eligible families.

Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick said, "With the state's help, the city of Ithaca is creating real solutions to homelessness and the high cost of housing. Tompkins Community Action is an expert in providing the kind of direct services that interrupt poverty and their expertise in leading this project has made it a model for the state. Childcare, substance abuse counseling, mental health treatment, and employment assistance - all hand-in-hand with housing. We thank the state for its support and look forward to welcoming more people in from the cold."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation (S.5091B/A.4781B) last Friday requiring pharmacies to inform patients of Class I drug recalls made by the FDA within seven days. Drugs that are issued a Class I recall have a high probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death. The severity of health risks associated with the use of these recalled drugs is particularly high for elderly patients and those taking long-term medications. Currently there is no requirement for pharmacies to communicate this information to patients who have received the recalled drugs.