(Alan Sessions 10-19-16)

More information about the program is available at 432-4800 extension 109 or by e-mail: cdoworkforce@gmail.com or at the BEAM Facebook page.
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Governor Cuomo’s popularity is still over 50%, according to the latest Siena Research Institute poll released today. 56% of respondents still view Cuomo favorably, down slightly from 57% in September, 41% have an unfavorable opinion of Cuomo, up slightly from last month. In spite of the arrests of Former aides, Cuomo is viewed favorably by 71% of Democrats and 52% of independents; about 66% of Republicans view him unfavorably. Cuomo polled weakly in the upstate counties, where 52% view him unfavorably and 45% favorably.
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The meeting of the Oneonta Planning commission originally scheduled for today has been cancelled. The next meeting has been scheduled for November 16th in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall.
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Long time area Physician Dr. Abraham Saludo died last week in Sidney at the age of 80. Calling hours are today from 1:00-3:00pm and 6:00-8:00pm at C. H. Landers Funeral Chapel, on Main Street in Sidney. A funeral mass will take place at Sacred Heart Church on Thursday morning at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Sidney Emergency Squad, the Sacred Heart Church, of Sidney.
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The City of Oneonta will be crack sealing the Dietz Street parking lot and several other city streets beginning tomorrow morning. The work will begin at 7:00 AM, and signage & flaggers will guide traffic through the affected streets. More information is available at 432-2100. In the event of a rain out, the work will proceed the following day.
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Governor Cuomo hosted the New York State Tourism and Craft Beverage Summit Tuesday in Albany, where the state’s largest investment in tourism to date of $55 million was announced; dedicated to promoting New York’s attractions, drawing more visitors, creating jobs and further growing the both industries. Initiatives include new welcome centers in every region of the state that will feature Taste NY markets and offer locally-grown produce, and an additional $2 million in funding to promote special events specifically related to agritourism and the craft beverage industry
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Governor Cuomo announced the launch of 5 public service announcements as part of a campaign to urge New Yorkers to join together in the fight against addiction. The statewide “Combat Addiction” campaign emphasizes the far-reaching effects of addiction and connects New Yorkers with information and support services through social media, public service announcements. The ads direct individuals to a #Combat Addiction web page, which includes informational sections for individuals, families, friends, medical practitioners, law enforcement, educators, and community organizations.
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A Town of Oxford resident was arrested by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. 46-year-old David Mack was charged for allegedly possessing cocaine, while working at a Town of Norwich business. Mack will appear in the Town of Norwich Court at a later date.
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(Lori Stevenson 11-25-14)

Francisco LaBoy & his Father Jose expressed their gratitude for the support they have received with this campaign:

(Francisco & Jose LaBoy 11-25-14)

Plans are in the works to continue the fundraising campaign next year, another “Wear Your Striped Socks” campaign Assembly is scheduled for Sidney October 15^th 2015.

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Delaware County Sheriff Deputies responded to a reported 1-car motor vehicle accident on State Highway 10 in the Town of Walton. Deputies arrested 55 year old Richard Wood of Walton, for driving while ability impaired by drugs, he was released with appearance tickets made returnable for Town of Walton Court at a later date.
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A decision on where up to 4 casinos will be located in upstate New York is expected to be announced December 17th, when a board reviewing casino applications is expected to meet for the final time. The board is choosing from 16 applications, with 4 licenses are set to be awarded for 3 upstate regions: the Albany-Saratoga area, the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region and the Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley. The decision will be made following months of public hearings and presentations on the proposals.
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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called upon the FTC to update the Telemarketing Sales Rule to better protect consumers from unscrupulous telemarketers. Schneiderman & 36 other Attorney general’s offices have asked the FTC to protect consumers from telemarketing fraud and abuse, an average of only 37.5% of funds raised by telemarketers were retained by the charities & in 50.3% of the campaigns, the charities retained less than 30% of the money raised. Schneiderman has taken action against 8 entities under investigation for fraudulent fundraising
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Siena Research Institute released its annual New York Poll of Holiday Spending Plans for the year. While spending trends remained the same this year, excitement for the holiday season has dropped. 58% of New Yorkers said they’re excited about the upcoming holiday season, down from 72% a year ago. Nearly 2/3rds of New Yorkers are planning on spending the same amount of money this year, only 7% plan to spend more.
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Former Greene Police Chief Stephen Dutcher was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay $1,255 in fines and surcharges. Dutcher also agreed to pay $3,038 in restitution to the Village of Greene and signed a 5-year order of protection in favor of his estranged wife. He pleaded guilty in September to 2 counts of official misconduct and 1 count of 2nd degree criminal contempt. Dutcher was arrested April 24 after state police responded to a request from Greene officials regarding missing village property.
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The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced today that e-filing continues to gain strength, reducing by 15% the number of paper income tax returns filed during last year’s tax season. Nearly 90% of the 10.4 million income tax returns received were e-filed—an increase of 4% from the previous year, the savings for New Yorkers adds up to $45 million each year. The increase in e-filing also contributes to the Department’s ability to issue refunds 27% faster than in previous years, with the average refund now issued in 22 days.

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(Crouch 6-16-14)

This year’s legislative session is scheduled to end this Thursday.

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Investigators have been unable to determine exactly what caused the fire that destroyed the Ellis Brothers furniture building in Binghamton. The April 30th fire caused heavy damage throughout the building, which was torn down because of the danger of collapsing. Fire officials believe the fire may have started in a maintenance room, but there were too many other possible causes that could not be narrowed down, officials have closed the investigation.

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A new Sienna research institute poll regarding how the state is doing compared to 4 years ago, shows that voters are divided. 32% believe that New York is better off now, 26% believe the state is worse off, and 40% believe the state’s condition is unchanged. Regarding the voters personal situation, 28% believe they are better off, with 23% feel their situation is worse, and nearly believe their situation is the same. 39% to 50% of New Yorkers say the state is headed in the right direction, Upstate New Yorkers; however, say the state is going in the wrong direction by a 5-point margin.

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The Delaware County Department of Public Works will be closing county route 16 in the towns of Franklin & Walton, to through traffic to replace a bridge just north of Douglas Hill Road, the project should take about 3 weeks, weather permitting, motorists should seek alternate.

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New York will no longer add a sales tax to the charge for tastings at wineries, and the state is creating a $350,000 fund to research hops and malting barley for beer. The announcement by Governor Cuomo comes after wineries pushed for the change at an April summit in Albany. Wineries conducting tasting were already exempt from paying a use tax. The governor has been bullish on the state’s wineries and its expansion of beer production. There’s a website to tout the state’s products at taste.ny.gov.

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Proposed legislation in New York would require high school students to learn CPR. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Mark Grisanti, would require students to learn CPR before they graduate. In a 30-minute class, students can learn how to operate an AED. The Board of Regents would be responsible for implementing the training, and school districts would have to fund it. It passed the Senate, but has to be voted on by the Assembly and approved by the governor, before it can become law.

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The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce will hold their next meeting tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM At the Unadilla Fire Station. The chamber’s next big event is the annual Carnival of Sales on Saturday July 12th, volunteers are needed for that event, those interested can volunteer by calling 369-2614.

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Broome County Executive Debbie Preston said she is continuing to recover from lung cancer and is feeling better each day. Preston said she has been cleared to return to work on June 30, starting with half days and working up to full days. In April, Preston announced she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She has since undergone surgery in New York City. She recently had a follow-up appointment with her doctors at Sloan Kettering. Her next follow-up appointment is set for December.

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(Cuomo 4-23-14)

Local counties were awarded millions of dollars through the Regional Councils, for their for infrastructure repairs or replacements following Superstorm Sandy, Tropical Storm Lee & Hurricane Irene since 2011.

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The State Labor Department released local area unemployment rates for March.   The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.9% in March, the number of private sector jobs in the state was 7,539,300, the highest ever for the month. Locally, the Binghamton & Southern Tier region had 7.6% unemployment, down 9/10th from March of last year.

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State Police & the State Liquor Authority conducted an underage drinking initiative detail in Otsego & Delaware counties.   The detail used a group of 3 underage operatives who attempted to purchase alcoholic beverages from 4 convenient stores and 5 bars in Otsego & Delaware Counties. No arrests were made as all the establishments passed.   The establishments were located in Meridale, Delhi, Davenport, & Oneonta.

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Local authorities are currently not required to be notified of hazardous materials being brought through an area on freight cars. US Senator Charles Schumer is calling for that policy to be changed, currently, the State Police in Albany are notified, but that does not help the local authorities and emergency responders in the event of a train derailment.

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Delaware County Public Health is reminding area parents to keep to the recommended schedule for child vaccinations. The Centers for Disease control said that vaccinating children on time is the best way to protect them against 14 serious and potentially deadly diseases before their second birthday. Officials report that when parents choose not to vaccinate or they delay vaccinations, children are left unprotected against diseases that still exist such as measles and whooping cough. More information on childhood vaccinations is available at 832-5200 or cdc.gov/vaccines.

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A new Siena Research Institute poll shows Governor Cuomo is leading Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino in a head-to-head race. However, results from the poll suggest Cuomo’s lead would slip if a third party candidate, who voters view as more liberal or progressive than the governor, entered the race. In a one-on-one race with Astorino, Cuomo leads 58 percent to 28 percent. The poll shows his lead would drop 15 points if a Working Families Party candidate entered the race. Cuomo’s favorability fell slightly compared to last month. 57 percent have a favorable view of the governor, while 38 percent have an unfavorable view.

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The Norwich Emergency Management Office, in collaboration with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, will offer a course in weather spotting. The free SKYWARN weather spotter’s course will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27, at the Norwich Fire Department. SKYWARN is a national program that provides real-time severe weather reports to the National Weather Service. For more information call 334-1230.

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New York State ended the 2013-14 fiscal year with a budget surplus, and deposited $175 million in the Rainy Day Reserve Fund, according to a report by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. However, DiNapoli said the $143 billion budget continues to rely on temporary funding sources to attain balance. The General Fund’s year-end balance, of more than $2.2 billion, was $432 million more than the February Financial Plan projections.

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(Magee 3-6-14)

In less than 2 months, Sidney village leaders will know if their aggressive plans to get residents out of the flood zone, will beat out other plans for ran additional 3 million dollars from the state.  John Redente has been helping to put together the final plans based on public input:

(John Redente 3-6-14)

The state will announce which community plans will get the additional funding in the first week of May.

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SUNY Broome Community College will hold its annual Job Fair from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on April 10^th  in the SUNY Broome Ice Center on Front street in Binghamton.  The event is open to the public, in recent years, the Job Fair has hosted between 60 and 70 employers.

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Upstate residents continue to be more positive about their current economic status than they are about the future, according to the Siena Research Institute’s monthly Index of Consumer Sentiment. The current pulse of upstate consumer sentiment yields a 83.4 index, up more than 2 points since January. consumer confidence dips to 68.4, up 2 points from January, but still far lower than New York City’s 79.8. Overall, the state’s confidence index fell 1.2 points in February, while the nation’s index rose by 0.4 points

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US  Senator Charles Schumer said a standardized heroin database could help law enforcement and public health professionals throughout New York fight the drug.  Schumer said police could use the database to discover heroin use patterns, helping them crack drug rings. Data about heroin-related hospitalizations and overdoses can also help police. Schumer wants the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy, to work with law enforcement agencies to set up the statewide database, to create a blueprint for the database. The office would work with interested counties, and state health entities, to build the database, to track heroin abuse trends, fatal overdoses and emergency room admissions

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A collection of Southern Tier labor unions, landowners and business groups are uniting to form a pro-fracking group. Southern Tier Residents for Economic Independence launched with 6 groups from the Binghamton and Elmira areas joining up, including the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York and the local carpenters union.  Some of the same unions, and the landowner group, were part of a group called Clean Growth Now, which launched a pro-fracking coalition in late 2011. Health Commissioner Nirav Shah has given no indication when his work may be completed on a heath effects study on Hydrofracking.

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