Governor Cuomo today announced a 30-day budget amendment that will Prohibit level 2 and 3 sex offenders, whose victims were under the age of 13, from being within 1,000 feet of a kindergarten or pre-K school; Ban certain sex offenders from living in temporary emergency housing or shelters that house families; and Require the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to obtain a list of schools from the State Department of Education, and distribute that list to probation and parole departments to ensure sex offenders stay away from those locations.
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State Police arrested 33 year old Frank Bowles of Oneonta for Criminal Mischief and Unlawful Possession of Marihuana. This arrest occurred after troopers responded to a fight in progress at the Lantern Hill Trailer Park, on State Route 23, in the town of Oneonta. Bowles is accused of smashing a window of a trailer when he was denied entry; Troopers located him walking in the park with lacerations to his hand. Bowles had his injuries treated at the scene by EMS, & while being arrested for damaging the window, Bowles was found to unlawfully possess about 15 grams of marijuana on his person. Bowles was arraigned before the Oneonta Town Court and subsequently remanded to the Otsego County Jail in lieu of $250.00 bail.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 56 year old Dennis Hulse of Auburn, on charges of unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a controlled substance and driving while ability impaired by drugs following a traffic stop on State Highway 17 in the Town of Colchester. Hulse was also charged with driving 80 miles per hour in 55 miles per hour zone. He was later released on traffic tickets returnable to Colchester Town Court at a later date.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 28 year old Meghan Armstrong of Walton, for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and Unlawful Possession of Marihuana. Armstrong was also cited for no plate lamp as well as not wearing a seatbelt while operating a motor vehicle. This arrest stemmed from a traffic stop on Chambers Hollow Road in the Town of Hamden. Armstrong is scheduled to appear in the Town of Hamden Court at a later date to answer the charges.
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Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and State Senator Fred Akshar joined local law enforcement officials Friday to discuss cracking down on impaired driving across the State. Last year, the 2 legislators were successful in securing $1.6 million in state funding for STOP-DWI programs that became available for use to local programs at the beginning of 2018. Additionally, Lupardo and Akshar are also working on legislation that would allow for fines from impaired driving offenses to be collected ahead of other fees and surcharges collected by the state.
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After a bounce in January, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s favorability & job performance ratings all fell by double digits this month, according to a new Siena College poll of New York State registered voters. Cuomo’s favorability rating is 53%, down from 62% last month, and his job performance rating went down to 45% from 50% in January.
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Delaware County Emergency Services Department announced that the early Friday morning structure fire at 478 Dehning Road in the Town of Davenport involved the death of 2 small children. Officials said that the apartment building was fully involved, a 1-year-old male and a 3-year-old female died, an adult male was transported with burns to Upstate Medical Center Burn Unit in Syracuse. The names of the victims are being withheld at this time. The investigation is currently ongoing by State Police, plus the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Emergency Services, Fire Investigation Team and the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.
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State Police arrested 27-year-old Chase Degraw from Deposit for Menacing, after troopers responded to a dispute in Deposit. Degraw allegedly displayed a handgun at the female victim, he was arraigned, posted bail, & was released on his own recognizance with an order of protection was issued. Later that day Degraw was arrested again, for Criminal Contempt, to the same home and violated the order of protection by attempting to communicate with the victim inside. DeGraw was arraigned and was remanded to the Broome County Jail on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond.
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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued an audit that Reveals Issues Behind Broome County’s Fiscal Stress. From 2014 through 2016, Broome County depleted its fund balance to dangerously low levels jeopardizing public services and long-term infrastructure investments, DiNapoli recommended that the county stop using the fund balance to finance recurring expenditures; Develop a fund balance policy that establishes a reasonable amount of fund balance, reduce or eliminate reliance on short-term borrowing; & Adopt balanced budgets. The final audit can be read at osc.state.ny.us.
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Republican Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb dropped his bid for the Republican nomination for governor on Friday; the GOP field is now down to 2 announced candidates, State Senator John DeFrancisco & Joel Giambra, the former Erie County executive.
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