(CUOMO 9-16-15)

The governors will convene a meeting to review initial recommendations in 10 days. In 30 days, the group will again report directly back to both governors with any and all further findings and recommendations.
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Former Greene Police Chief Steven Dutcher pleaded guilty to 2 counts of official misconduct and 1 count of criminal contempt in Broome County Court. Dutcher purchased items with village funds for personal use, if Dutcher pays $3,038 in restitution to the village of Greene, he will be placed on probation and fined $1,000.
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Broome County Executive Debbie Preston presented a $365 million budget to the County Board Monday. Preston said the budget contains a 2.5% tax levy increase, due to unfunded state mandates & the rising costs of doing business. Taxpayers would see an annual tax increase of $5 per $80,000 in home value if the budget is passed by county lawmakers.
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The DEC reminded hunters to apply for deer management permits this week, ahead of the October 1 deadline. Hunters can apply for up to 2 deer management permits once they have secured a hunting license. Sporting licenses and permits can be purchased at one of DEC’s 1,100 license sales outlets, or ordered at 866-933-2257, or online at dec.ny.gov/permits.
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The Unadilla rotary club is hold an Autumn Fest in Unadilla this Saturday. Rotarian Zoë Vandermeulen explains:

(Zoë Vandermeulen 9-16-14)

The event runs form 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Unadilla Community field Saturday.
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New York tax collections have continued to rise despite a growing income gap between its richest residents and everyone else, even as a national study shows overall growth in state tax receipts slowing as the income gap widens across the U.S. State officials say New York’s progressive income tax rate, which rises from 4 percent to nearly 9 percent for earnings above one milliond dollars, buoys its largest revenue stream for public services and helps insulate it from the problem faced by states dependent on more regressive taxes like sales taxes. New York’s annual average tax revenue growth is 3.28 percent so far in this decade.
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State Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera has convened a Wage Board as directed by Governor Cuomo. The Board will investigate what, if any, modifications should be made to the required cash wage rates, and the allowable credits for tips, meals and lodging for food service workers and service employees in the hospitality industry. The Wage Board, made up of members representing labor, businesses and the public, will make a recommendation to the Commissioner by February 2015
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New York ranks near the bottom for nursing home quality in an annual report that analyzes nursing home care in each state. The report by Families for Better Care, a Florida-based nursing home advocacy group, gives New York an overall grade of F and a rank of 45. New York received the same score and ranking in last year’s report. The report evaluates states on eight quality measures ranging from the average amount of nursing home staffing to the percentage of facilities with deficiencies. New York got failing or below average grades in five of eight categories. Read more at nursinghomereportcards.com
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State Police reported that 4 people were injured in an accident on State Route 7 in the town of Unadilla on Sunday.  The accident occurred at around 2:45 Sunday afternoon, between a car and motorcycle occurred in a driveway near the juncture of Sheep Pen Road and Sanly Road, Police said that 21 year old Benjamin Newman of Bainbridge; & 68 year old Richard Lewis of Birmingham, Alabama collided, 4 people suffered a variety of injuries.

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State Police at Oneonta arrested 43-year-old Ramnarine Baldeo of Schenectady for False Personation and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation.  The arrest resulted from a stop for not wearing his seatbelt on I-88 in Oneonta; Baldeo is accused of giving the Trooper a false name and date of birth, to keep his suspended driver’s license from being found out.   Baldeo was arraigned and was remanded to the Otsego County Jail in lieu of $1,500 cash bail.

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State Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera today announced that through a partnership with the US Department of Treasury, New York leads the nation in the number of recoveries made, with more than 19,000 individuals who filed fraudulent Unemployment Insurance claims & had their federal tax refunds intercepted.  The Program returned $21 million over the past 6 months to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. New York was the first state in the nation to implement this program and has recovered more than $139.4 million since February 2011.

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Hunting and trapping licenses, and Deer Management Permits for the 2014-15 season are now available for purchase through the State DEC.  Sporting licenses and permits can be purchased at one of DEC’s 1,100 license sales outlets statewide. Licenses can also be ordered at dec.ny.gov/permits.  The 2014-2015 hunting and trapping licenses are valid for 1 year beginning this September 1st

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Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino, and the GOP statewide ticket, filed 4,400 pages of signatures in an attempt to create a “Stop Common Core” ballot line this fall.  Astorino’s campaign filed 62,000 signatures from voters in support of the effort, if certified by the state Board of Elections, the effort would give Astorino a 3^rd ballot line against Governor Cuomo in the November election.

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New York is getting new restrictions on the sale of ivory or rhino horn to prevent the slaughter of the endangered animals. Gov. Cuomo signed legislation into law that prohibits the sale of ivory or items containing it unless they are antiques or used for educational or scientific purposes. The rules would also apply to rhino horn. Federal law already restricts ivory imports and interstate sales. The Wildlife Conservation Society said New York is the nation’s No. 1 importer of ivory.

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Governor Cuomo is using his campaign money to pay the cost of travel for himself and his staff to Israel. The three-day journey to Israel is officially a government trip. But members of the delegation are using campaign funds to pay their way. State Senator Jeff Klein and Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are also using campaign funds. The group was scheduled to meet with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu today & return tomorrow.

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Governor Cuomo directed State Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera to convene a Wage Board to review and recommend any changes to the relevant regulations for food service workers and service employees in New York State. Tipped workers are paid a required base rate. Their tips added to that base pay must equal or exceed the minimum wage. The Wage Board will meet to review regulations for food service workers and service employees and recommend changes if needed. The minimum wage will increase to $8.75 on December 31st, and to $9.00 on December 31st, 2015. A schedule of public hearings will be announced soon.

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The Chenango Summer Jam will be held Saturday On the Park, in Downtown Norwich. Musical acts will perform starting at 5:00 PM; more information is available at chenangosummerjams.org

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The Annual Greene Arts & Crafts Festival will be held Saturday in Downtown Greene from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. More than 200 artisans will exhibit their arts & crafts on the streets of Greene. More information is available at 656-8225 or greenenys.com.