Archive: News

Winter storms through New York got so bad that on January 19th Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a Disaster in all 62 counties.  Cuomo has been issuing warnings state-wide throughout the winter updating residents on numerous significant snow storms, during which he prohibited tractor-trailers and buses on the New York State Thruway and most other interstate highways.  Here in Lansing snow plowing crews routinely work well into the night to keep local streets plowed.

"We have ten plow runs," said Lansing Highway Superintendent Charlie 'Cricket' Purcell at a Town Board meeting last week. "Everybody's out at the same time.  It takes about two and a half hours to complete a plow run.  Ideally you'll see a truck go by your house every two hours."

One week ago Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced plans to close up to three correctional facilities following record reductions in the State's incarcerated population and reported crime. Specifically, under legislation introduced as a budget amendment, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will select the prisons, transition staff and incarcerated individuals, and cease facility operations by no later than September 1, 2019. But Upstate legislators are pushing back against the closings, saying that the loss of jobs would be devastating the region because Five Points Correctional Facility, Auburn Correctional Facility, and Willard Drug Treatment Campus are three of the largest employers in the Finger Lakes region.

"Our region is home to thousands of correction officers and prison support staff," said NYS Senator Pam Helming (who represents lansing). "They work hard each and every day to keep these facilities secure. It is because of their sacrifice and expertise that the correctional facilities in our region are among the most efficient in the state. The officers and staff who work in these facilities are our friends and neighbors. They are coaches, community volunteers, and property taxpayers. They give back to our area and make our region stronger. That is why I am working with NYSCOPBA, Council 82, and local leaders to send a loud and clear message to Albany: We cannot balance the state budget on the backs of the corrections staff and the communities where they live, work, and raise their families. The Governor's proposed prison closures coupled with the downstate-led Senate's push to eliminate the use of Special Housing Units (SHUs) for disciplinary purposes and attempts to increase the wages of the incarcerated is all about taking care of the criminals. There are already serious safety concerns in New York's prisons, including double bunking, that could be exacerbated with prison closures. It is long past time to refocus our efforts on helping crime victims and standing with those who keep our communities safe."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed two pieces of legislation Wednesday to increase ballot access for candidates running for public office following the recent change in New York's primary election date. The first bill (A.2570/S.2862) temporarily reduces the number of signatures required on designating petitions by 25 percent for candidates running for public offices to be filed in 2019. The second bill (A.2693/S.2699) reduces the petition signature requirement for ward, town, city, or county party committees to 3 percent of enrolled voters of the party.

"New York has made significant progress in modernizing our voting laws and ensuring fairness in our electoral system with the passage of key legislation this year," Cuomo said. "These changes further our progress by easing the burden for potential candidates who may not have had the chance to adjust to earlier petition dates this election, helping to ensure that candidates who want to run for office have the chance to do so."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced legislation Monday expanding assistance available for victims of hate crimes and certain other crimes often associated with domestic violence who were not physically injured during the crime is now effective. Signed by Cuomo last summer and effective today, the new law allows these individuals to apply for reimbursement of shelter costs and crime scene cleanup expenses from the New York State Office of Victim Services.

"By providing greater protections for innocent victims of crime, we are ensuring individuals who have endured the pain and suffering of these horrific events receive the support they need to recover," Cuomo said. "New York is proud to be one of the first states to provide compensation to crime victims, and the expansion of this law reaffirms the State's commitment to helping these individuals and their family members whose top priority should be healing, not navigating the financial burden of an act of crime against them."

Standing at the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport last Friday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched a major push to secure a $10 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to complete critical upgrades to the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. Schumer said that the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport is undergoing a major modernization and expansion effort, which will help transform it into a nationally recognized airport with world-class facilities, as well as a gateway for travelers throughout the Southern Tier and to destinations across the country and around the globe.

"The $25M expansion and renovation of the Ithaca Tompkins Airport is essential to maintaining and growing the strongest, most globally connected and diverse economy in Upstate New York. We thank Senator Schumer for his support and diligent effort to secure the federal portion of this project," said Mike Hall, Director of the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport.

Many local organizations, including volunteer fire departments, veterans groups, sportsmen's clubs, and fraternal orders such as Elks Clubs and Mason Lodges, hold raffles each year. The funds they raise are used to support a variety of worthy charitable causes across our region. Legislation has been put forward in the State Assembly that would prohibit non-profit organizations from holding gun raffle fundraisers.

The legislation was introduced by Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, a Brooklyn Democrat, and is currently in the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee. There currently is no same-as bill before the Senate.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday that the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services' Office of Counter Terrorism conducted counter terrorism exercises at 1,000 locations in 2018. During each exercise, counter terrorism experts from state and local agencies go undercover as customers and assess the ability of businesses to recognize and report suspicious activity. The 1,000 exercises conducted in 2018 represents a 56 percent increase in these operations since 2016 when Cuomo directed the Division to expand them in his State of the State Address. Additionally, the Division also partnered with federal, state, and local law enforcement for "Operation NY-SECURE" which involved the completion of 20 counter terrorism and incident response exercises at rail stations throughout the state.

"New York State will never be intimidated by the threat of terrorism, but we will always be prepared when it rears its cowardly head," Cuomo said. "These exercises play a critical role strengthening law enforcement's counter terrorism preparedness and serve as a reminder to businesses and the general public to stay alert and report suspicious activity when they see it."

School Business Administrator Kate Heath told the Lansing Board of Education Monday that she is considering implementing a GPS tracking system on school buses that would allow parents to track their children as they are transported to and from school. 

"It would go on all our buses, and it would be a parent tool to see where their kids are on the bus," Heath said. "They could see where their bus is, where they got off, where they got on.  It tracks erratic driving so they can focus on what areas need training.  So we're going to be looking at what the software would cost, and what the implementation of that might be."

The Lansing Town Board approved the hiring of C.J. Randall as Director of Planning Wednesday.  Randall will be the Town's full time planner, and serve as the Town Planning Department head.  Randall will begin working part time on March 25th as she wraps up current jobs before she comes to Lansing full time May 25th as a planner and department head.  In addition Planning Consultant Michael Long, who has served as the Town's part-time planner for more than four years, will begin a new agreement with the Town to continue to assist with the Town's capital planning needs.

"This is something we've been looking at for a few years," says Lansing Supervisor Ed LaVigne. "It's been considered, and now is the time to do it.  The intent was for Michael to be here about two years.  He's been here for four and a quarter, and a lot of stuff got accomplished.  But now, because we have so much development going on and we're growing so fast, it's time.  The main reason for doing it now is we have a lot of work on the land use ordinance, which is a continuing thing now.  We hadn't touched the Comprehensive Plan since 2003, and now we're doing all this 'back homework'.  We also need a department head for the Codes Office, which we haven't had for a long time."

Washington, DC - Congressman Tom Reed, announced Wednesday that he has joined colleagues reintroduced the School Resource Officer Act to assist law enforcement agencies in hiring additional school resource officers (SROs) by directing funds for cost-share grants to pay the salaries and benefits of SROs.

"We continue to receive tremendous amount of input from across the district while listening to superintendents, teachers, parents, mental health and law enforcement personnel about ways to make schools safer," Reed said. "From those conversations, it was clear we need to continue our emphasis on giving schools the ability to integrate School Resource Officers into their overall safety plan."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched Wednesday a nationwide campaign to fight for tax fairness following yesterday's meeting with President Trump on the devastating impact of the elimination of full state and local tax deductibility, which disproportionately impacted New York and other predominantly Democratic states.

"For the first time ever since the tax code went into effect under President Abraham Lincoln, the federal government says, we will also tax the tax you paid to the state government and the local government," Cuomo said. "So they now tax the tax that you paid. First ever tax on tax. So what does it mean? It means if you pay taxes of $100,000, you are taxed on that. If you pay property taxes of $20,000 you're now taxed on that. We have worked for seven years to reduce the tax burden on people. We have a two percent property tax cap every year, which means property taxes can't go up more than two percent. If you now tax people's property taxes, that's like a 30 percent increase."

In a 3-2 vote the Lansing Town Board passed a resolution Wednesday calling for the United States to prevent nuclear war.  The resolution was moved by Councilman Joseph Wetmore, in response to a plea last November by Lansing resident Dennis Osika for the Town to mirror the City of Ithaca's resolution.

"I really strongly think that we ought to make a strong statement," Wetmore said. "I know everyone says they agree with this issue.  I think making a statement as a town adds meat behind our feelings.  I think it's important that, on some issues, we stand up as a town and say this is important to us.  I would like to move this and have us pass it and pass it along to our elected officials and hope that they listen to our collective voice more than they listen to individuals."