STATE ASSEMBLY – WCDO Radio News

WCDO NEWS WEDNESDAY 5-3-17

wcdonews — Wed, 03 May 2017 18:37:46 +0000

NYSEG reports that over 500 power lines & over 80 Power poles were damaged by Monday’s storm. Dry ice & bottle water will be available at Norwich, Oxford & Windsor Fire Departments today until 8:00 PM. About 90% of customers that lost power, should be restored by tonight at 10:00 PM, the remaining 10% should be restored by 1:00 PM Thursday. The Afternoon, over 7000 customers were without power in Broome, Chenango, Delaware & Otsego Counties.
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Governor Cuomo today signed legislation investing a record $25.8 billion in education aid across New York State. The new legislation boosts education aid by $1.1 billion, including a $700 million increase in Foundation Aid. Aid to New York school districts has increased by 32% over the last 6 years.
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The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 41-year-old Sonya Thomas of Norwich for Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Thomas is accused of failing to report that her child had runaway and was missing for over a week. Thomas was issued an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in the Town of Norwich court at a later date to answer to the charges.
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The city of Oneonta announced that the Department of Public Service will be conducting additional curbside residential pick ups of residential brush & yard waste, for the rest of this week & into next week. The extra collection time is due to the high winds from Monday’s storm that knocked down limbs & branches all over the city more information is available at 432-6465, extension 3.
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The State Assembly Has approved a measure to allow Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to the list of approved ailments where doctors can prescribe medical Marijuana for treatment. Current law only allows for medical marijuana to be used by those suffering from cancer of Lou Gehrig’s disease, the bill now moves on to the State Senate for consideration.
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New Promoters are operating as the “Afton Motorsports Park” at the Fairgrounds in Afton this racing season. Ron Ford is one of the new promoters, he told WCDO News about some of the changes instituted this year:

(Ron Ford 5-3-17)

Ford said that the racing season would continue into the first week of October this year, in Afton.
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State Police conducted a traffic stop for speeding on State Route 23 in the Town of Davenport. The driver was 58-year-old Gasper Ciraolo of Bainbridge; the passengers were 22-year-old Ashley Nistad, and 18-year-old Colin Stanton, both from Sidney. A search located heroin, prescription pills and a switchblade in the vehicle; Ciraolo was arrested for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Criminal Possession of a Weapon and other traffic violations. Nistad and Stanton were arrested for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance; all 3 were arraigned in the Town of Davenport Court and remanded to the Delaware County Jail on bail, pending court action on May 9th.
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This year the 70-mile General Clinton Canoe regatta race features a new start location at Brookwood point in Cooperstown, Regatta Chairman John Harmon explains:

(John Harmon 5-3-17)

Brookwood Point is located at 6000 State Hwy 80, about 2 miles north of the village of Cooperstown. The Clinton race is the first leg of the prestigious Triple Crown of Canoe Racing, again this year.
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Farmers will have two opportunities to drop off their agricultural plastic for recycling under a special program offered by Otsego County Solid Waste Department, the Otsego County Soil & Water Conservation District, Otsego County Conservation Association, and Casella Waste Solutions. Ag plastic will be collected Saturday, May 6, at the Southern Transfer Station in Oneonta, and Thursday, May 11 at the Northern Transfer Station in Cooperstown, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. both days. The collection is free, but pre-registration is requested, at (607) 282-4087.

P.M. NEWS TUESDAY 3-18-14

wcdonews — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 17:07:22 +0000

Governor Cuomo continues his campaign to get the Legislature to support a plan to freeze property taxes for 2 years and push local governments to share services. Cuomo said that several years ago, before he was elected governor, the state passed a law making it easier for governments to consolidate, & it has fallen on deaf ears:

(Cuomo 3-18-14)

Cuomo also is calling for a $1 billion-a-year proposal to provide a rebate to property taxpayers, if schools and local governments abide by the tax cap and cut their tax levy. The State Assembly wants to give the rebate check without any requirements on local governments; the Senate wants any consolidation efforts to count toward the eligibility for the rebate. The tax cap limits the growth in property taxes to 2% a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. This year, it’s 1.6 percent

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The state senate has rejected a bill to open state financial aid to students in the country illegally. The Assembly passed the Dream Act last month and included it in its budget resolutions last week. Gov. Cuomo had indicated support. The proposal included a budget appropriation, of $25 million, to open Tuition Assistance Program money for students at both public and private colleges. Opponents of the bill said it takes opportunity away from students in the country legally.

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Village elections are being held today in New York State. Locally, most races feature unopposed candidates, in Afton, incumbent mayor sally Muller faces a challenge from Stephen Hitchcock; polls are open until 9:00 PM.

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The Bainbridge chamber of commerce will hold their next Business After Hours event today. The program will be hosted by the Jericho Garden Club of Bainbridge, and will be held at Galaxy Bowl from 6 :00 to 8:00 PM.

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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is calling on chain pharmacies to stop selling tobacco products. Earlier this year, CVS announced its plans to stop selling tobacco products beginning in October. Schneiderman and attorneys general from more than 24 other states are calling on companies including Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s, and Rite Aid to do the same. According to Schneiderman, tobacco-related diseases caused more than 480,000 deaths last year. Healthcare costs and productivity losses attributed to smoking cost the nation $289 billion in 2013.

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ASIS International, an organization for security professionals, honored State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico with its 2014 Person of the Year Award. The ASIS award is presented to a public official, or private sector individual, that has demonstrated outstanding dedication, caring, and service to the New York community. It recognizes the individual’s contribution to the security and safety of all citizens in New York State.

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“Cirque Dreams Rocks” Tickets are on sale at The Arena Box Office and Ticketmaster. The songs for CIRQUE DREAMS ROCKS are huge hits form the last several decades in the Cirque Dreams Franchise style. Tickets are available at the Arena Box Office and Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or on-line at Ticketmaster.com. More information about the show is available at BroadwayInBinghamton.com.

P.M. NEWS FRIDAY 3-7-14

wcdonews — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 17:24:37 +0000

Governor Cuomo is maintaining a strong lead over potential challengers despite a sharp drop in his job approval rating among voters according to a new poll released Thursday. The NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll has Cuomo leading just-announced Republican candidate Rob Astorino by a 65% to 25% margin. The poll shows a 10 point drop in the percentage of voters who believe Cuomo is doing a good or excellent job, dropping to 42%, the decline attributed to minority voters & upstate voters. The poll surveyed 658 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

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The state Assembly passed a bill this week that would delay portions of the Common Core education standards. The bill would prevent schools from using Common Core-based test scores on staff evaluations for 2 years and prevents schools from using scores to decide whether a student will advance to the next grade. The bill was sent to the state Senate where there is no sponsor on a companion bill.

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Congressman Chris Gibson announced that the House of Representatives passed the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. Congressman Gibson stated that the bill permanently removes the home sale/new policy rate increase trigger for primary residences, Reinstates grandfathered rates by decoupling rate increases from FEMA remapping & Ensures greater solvency of the program by authorizing a $25 annual fee on residential policies and $250 on business/ non-primary residence policies, with the revenue placed in a reserve fund.

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Firefighters from New York & Pennsylvania battled a blaze at 247 Grange Hall Road in the Town of Windsor early this morning. Fire fighters from Windsor, Kirkwood, as well as Hallstead and Susquehanna Pennsylvania battled the blaze, the cabin was a total loss and the cause of the fire in under investigation by Broome County fire investigators, no injuries were reported.

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The state Senate approved legislation to hold criminals responsible for the environmental damage occurring during their crimes. Sponsors said current criminal mischief statutes don’t address environmental devastation, so the bill would make crimes that result in large-scale environmental damage, a class C felony. The bill follows an incident in western New York in which criminals, who broke into an electrical transformer to steal copper, caused an oil spill that resulted in $1 million worth of environmental damage. The bill was sent to the Assembly.

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The state Assembly passed a package of bills to increase access to childcare and establish paid family leave. The measures include increased funding for childcare by nearly $400 million over the next four years and a one-time investment of $11 million for childcare subsidies. Another bill would require employers to provide a paid family leave insurance policy for employees, which would be partially funded through an initial weekly employee contribution of up to 45 cents. The bill moves to the senate for consideration.

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Daylight savings time means that clocks will be moved forward 1 hour, officially at 2:00 AM this coming Sunday morning, make sure to move your clocks ahead one hour when you go to bed Saturday night.

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The Oneonta Farmers’ Market is currently accepting applications from local farmers and artisans at their open-air Saturday market, located in downtown Oneonta. Applications are available at OneontaFarmersMarket.com. The Application deadline is March 15th; more information is available at 437-0158. The Oneonta Farmers’ Market is held every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month from 9am – 1pm in the Main Street Garage Walkway.

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A.M. NEWS TUESDAY 1-15-13

wcdonews — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:13:40 +0000

Voters in the Sidney central school district will decide today on a proposition to renovate the high school auditorium, fix drainage problems at the athletic fields, replace old boilers, plus and on a proposition for a Capital Reserve fund. Sidney superintendent Bill Christensen told WCDO that he hopes for a big turnout:

(Bill Christensen)

The vote will take place from 7:00 AM to 8:00 pm in the High School Lobby outside of the Auditorium.

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The state senate passed tough new gun laws yesterday, following last month’s shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in neighboring Newtown, Connecticut. Governor Cuomo announced late last night that the proposed legislation that made it to the Senate floor after 10:00 PM and passed by a 43-18 vote. The bill is expected to be taken up by the state Assembly this morning.

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State DMV Commissioner Barbara Fiala will deliver Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address in Norwich this morning. The presentation will be held at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus at 20 Conkey Avenue beginning at 11:00 AM.

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TCA Vision 21 will hold their next board meeting this morning, the meeting was moved from earlier this month, it will be held at 8:00 AM at the Sidney civic center in the 1^st floor board room. TCA Vision 21 is a Facilitator and organizer for groups, organizations, businesses and local municipalities to coordinate among the tri town communities.

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