WCDO Radio News

New York had 19.65 million people in July, about 98,000 more than Florida, which ranked fourth in the nation. Florida is expected to pass New York as soon as next year, as out-migration is outpacing new residents.  1.2 million people left to other states between 2000 and 2009. Census figures released in March showed 35 upstate counties lost population between 2010 and 2012, full county figures are expected early next year.

The State Department of Taxation and Finance issued a final reminder to homeowners, that they must register for the Basic STAR property tax exemption today. The average homeowner saves $700 each year on their tax bill from the Basic STAR exemption, which is available on the primary residence of homeowners with incomes under $500,000. Registrations are available at  tax.ny.gov or 518-457-2036.

Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver wants to accelerate the state’s scheduled minimum wage increase to $9 by 2015 & tie it to the inflation rate. The Assembly passed a bill this year to raise New York’s minimum wage for most workers from $7.25 to $9 with inflation adjustments. A compromise approved by the Assembly, Senate and governor’s office raised the rate to $8 for 2014, $8.75 a year later and to $9 in 2016 without inflation adjustments.

The flu is starting to make its way across the Twin Tiers according to the CDC.  New York State has widespread flu activity, with the early cases associated with a strain that targets young and middle-aged adults. Flu shots and nasal sprays are the best way to protect against the flu, it's also important to wash your hands, eat well and get enough sleep.

State Police at Oneonta arrested 42-year-old Kathleen Duncan of Otego for 2nd degree felony Assault.  The arrest resulted from an incident on Marble Road in Oneonta, where Duncan is accused of hitting and kicking a subject and then striking him with a hammer.   Duncan was arraigned in the Oneonta Court and released on her own recognizance & will return to Oneonta court on September 26th.

Congressman Chris Gibson announced that he opposes the idea of military intervention in Syria.  Gibson says he wants Congress to oppose President Barack Obama’s plan to launch a missile attack on Syria in retaliation for the alleged chemical weapons massacre of civilians, however, House speaker John Boehner agrees with the president’s plans.  . Gibson served in Iraq during wartime and as part of a peace-enforcement mission in Kosovo, Gibson said a mediated settlement would be far better for the U.S. and its interests than launching missiles

State Troopers arrested 39-year-old Craig Vantassel of Morris for Driving While Intoxicated following a personal injury accident on State Route 51 in the town of Butternuts.   Vantassel was issued tickets returnable to the Town of Butternuts Court on September 12th.

Delaware County officials announced that a new and upgraded 911 system would be installed in the county. The new system is estimated to cost $15 million, although some of it will be offset by state and federal grants. It's not yet known what the local share of the cost will be. Throughout the county, older communication towers will be replaced with new ones. It will increase the range of the emergency calls and the amount of channels on which first responders can communicate. The number of towers will also double. The system is expected to be up and running by 2015.

Consumer confidence in New York State has dropped to a 20-month low. The monthly Index of Consumer Sentiment, conducted by Siena College, found buying plans were down on most products, including vehicles, electronics and homes. New York’s consumer index fell 2.1 points in August, while the nation’s index dropped 3 points. New York’s consumer sentiment was 73.3, which was 8.8 points below the nation’s index of 82.1. Consumer confidence was higher among New York City area residents, but lower among upstate residents.

A proposal would prohibit New York government officials from collecting frequent-flier benefits earned through travel paid by taxpayers. The bill is aimed at state officials who pocket free airfare and luxury hotel stays based on taking trips while on state business. The bill by assemblymen Steve McLaughlin, Jim Tedisco and Michael Fitzpatrick follows reports that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver may have earned more than 200,000 frequent-flier miles. The bill would need to be passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Cuomo in order to become law.

Governor Cuomo announced the State University of New York would launch four SUNY networks of excellence to support increased research collaborations between SUNY and industry partners to spur commercialization activities.  The SUNY 4E network will focus on societal challenges in energy, the environment, economics and education.  Each network will assemble scientists and scholars from SUNY campuses across the state to collaborate on joint research programs.  SUNY schools coordinating SUNY 4E networks include Binghamton University.  For more information go to governor.ny.gov

Governor Cuomo pushed back against sheriffs around upstate who have been suggesting they will not enforce some provisions of his SAFE Act gun control bill. Some upstate sheriffs have made public comments that they have no interest in enforcing what some believe to be an illegal piece of legislation. The governor said their job is to enforce the law, all of the laws, whether they agree with it or not.

State police, US Marshals, Binghamton Police, State Parole officers and Broome county sheriff’s deputies apprehended Michael Degnan yesterday, he was charged with 1st Degree rape and was additionally placed in custody on a Parole Violation warrant after being located at the Dell Motel in the Town of Kirkwood. Degnan was wanted for the June 8th rape of a 14-year-old female in Port Crane, he was arraigned in the Town of Kirkwood Court, and remanded to the Broome County Jail on no bail. The investigation is continuing.

The state Assembly passed all 10 point of Governor Cuomo’s women’s equality act Thursday, while the state senate was expected to vote on the individual pieces and possibly pass 9 of the 10 point.  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver challenged senate leadership to pass all 10 points.

(Silver 6-21-13)

Governor Cuomo’s office said that the issue would likely be cleared up with Senate leadership by the end of the today.

State Senator Jim Seward announced that community libraries throughout the 51st senatorial district have been awarded a total of nearly $350,000 in public library construction grant funds. The Sidney Memorial Public Library will receive $36,600, for a project will include upgrading ramp access to include handicapped access to the library Community Room entrance and adding automatic door openers to library front doors.

State Police at Oneonta arrested 34 year old Jessica Bartholomew, of Chino Hills, California for Driving While Intoxicated with a BAC result of .17%. The arrest resulted from an investigation into a suspicious vehicle in the Wendy’s Parking lot, on State Highway 23 in Oneonta, Bartholomew was issued tickets returnable in the Town of Oneonta Court on July 9th.

The State Labor Department reported that unemployment fell to 7.3% in April.  Locally, Chenango County’s rate dropped 1.1% to 7.6% in April, Delaware County dropped 1.2% to 8.2% and Otsego County’s rate dropped 1.1% to 7.1%.  The entire southern tier region dropped 4/10th to 7.8%.

State Police at Norwich arrested James Fox, Jr. of Greene for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a motor vehicle and on an active warrant from Binghamton for Criminal Contempt.   The arrest resulted from a traffic stop on State Route 12 in Greene, Fox was issued tickets, arraigned in the Town of Greene Court and was then turned over to the City of Binghamton Police Department.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver apologized for the mistakes that were made in the handling of sexual harassment charges against former Assemblyman Vito Lopez:

(Silver 5-21-13)

Silver announced a series of reforms that will be implemented as soon as the legislation is introduced this week for passage before the end of this session.

Officials at the State department of Motor Vehicles report that the crackdown on repeat drunk drivers since the implementation of new rules last September, has removed 3,164 dangerous motorists being kept of the state's highways.  The DMV reviewed 3,891 applications for relicensing from individuals with more than 2 alcohol or drug-related driving offenses on their record, 1,658 were permanently denied relicensing and about 1,500 others were denied relicensing for another 5 years, another 699 drivers were relicensed but required to use an ignition interlock.

State Troopers in Binghamton arrested 44-year-old Robert Snedeker of West Windsor for Felony DWI. The arrest resulted from a traffic stop on I-81 in Binghamton; Snedeker was arraigned in the Town of Conklin Court and remanded to the Broome County Jail without bail.

The Groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday on Delaware Avenue in Sidney, where Amphenol will build a new facility out of the flood zone.  Sidney Mayor Andy Matviak said that there were many partners in getting Amphenol to rebuild in Sidney:

(Andy Matviak 5-14-13)

State economic development director Ken Adams told the crowd yesterday that Governor Cuomo wanted Amphenol to remain in Sidney:

(Ken Adams 5-14-13)

State Senator Jim Seward applauded the efforts of all involved in keeping Amphenol & all of its jobs in the area:

(Seward 5-14-13)

Officials said that there are a few last minute details to attend to, and then the construction will begin.

Delaware County Sheriff's Investigators arrested 29 year old Lisa Regg of Walton following a joint investigation with Cooperstown Village Police, the State Department of Health Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, & CVS Pharmacy.  Regg was charged with 1 count each of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, & Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, for allegedly possessing and presenting a forged Prescription form from Bassett Hospital at the Walton CVS and illegally obtaining and possessing a quantity of Hydrocodone.  Regg was also charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance after a search of her purse revealed Vicodin tablets.  Regg was arraigned and was remanded to the Delaware County jail on $3,000 cash bail pending a felony hearing Friday & other court action in the Town of Delhi Court at a later date.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced the Farm workers Fair Labor Practices Act Monday, to improve the plight of the upstate farm worker:

(Silver 5-14-13)

The measure grants collective bargaining rights, workers’ compensation, disability and Unemployment benefits and other worker rights and protections to all farm workers, who were excluded from these protections as a result of a loophole in the New York State Labor Relations Act.

State Troopers in Sidney arrested 42-year-old James Bush of Otego for Driving While Intoxicated and Unlawful Possession of Marijuana. The arrest was the result of an investigation of an ATV accident on Lower Green Street in the Town of Otego.  Bush was treated at Fox Hospital for non-life threatening injuries; he was issued an Appearance Ticket for Town of Otego Court on May 30th.

The Chenango county sheriffs department arrested 31 year old Andrew Whitney of Norwich for driving while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle with .08, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, numerous equipment violations, and on arrest and bench warrants.  Whitney is accused of operating a motor vehicle in an intoxicated state; deputies also found that there was an active bench warrant from Town of Norwich Court for failure to appear for sentencing, and on an arrest warrant from City of Norwich for petty larceny and conspiracy.  Whitney was arraigned in the Town of Norwich Court and was remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility on  $11,000 total cash bail pending action in both courts.

The state Assembly will be voting on a package of bills shortly to expand voting access for all New Yorkers.  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver explains:

(Silver 5-1-13)

The measure follows low Voter participation in November 2012 election in New York which was a Presidential election, the bill is expected to pass the assembly & will be sent to the state senate for consideration.

Governor Cuomo today made millions of additional records from multiple government agencies available on Open.ny.gov (https://data.ny.gov/), which was launched earlier this year to provide access to data from the state, localities and the federal government. The new data published to Open.ny.gov today includes Campaign Contributions, Expenditures, and Committees, Lobbying data from the last six years, Attorney Registration & Budget Vetoes.

State police & Chenango county emergency crews responded to a tractor-trailer accident on state route 8 in south New Berlin, at around 6:20 this morning.  The road was closed off through the afternoon for the clean up & accident reconstruction, traffic was rerouted to Chenango county route 18.

Lawmakers in Albany are now working on campaign finance reform proposals, designed to open up the process to everyone who wants to run for public office.  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver comments:

(Silver 4-17-13)

The state assembly & state senate are both back to work this week, they are also expected to deal with tightening up ethics reforms after the recent string of arrests of 4 state lawmakers from New York City.

State officials are alerting residents to potential scams that purport to be for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday.  Officials remind new Yorkers to only Contribute to known and verifiable charities, who can be researched through the Department of State Division of Consumer Protection, the State Attorney General, the IRS and the Better Business Bureau. Legitimate charities are listed at oag.state.ny.us or through Guidestar (http://www.guidestar.org/), American Institute of Philanthropy (http://www.charitywatch.org/), and Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/).

Governor Cuomo today unveiled “The Public Trust Act” following the recent arrests of 3 state lawmakers:

(Cuomo 4-9-13)

Democratic State Senator Malcolm smith was arrested last week for trying to sway new York city republican party leaders for allowing him to run for mayor as a republican. 2 assemblyman were also arrested last week by undercover officers, others who have been arrested in recent years include former senate leaders Joe Bruno & Pedro Espada.

State Troopers arrested 20-year-old Christopher Bracci of Delhi for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Hypodermic Needle and Unlawful Possession of Marihuana. The arrest resulted from a traffic stop on State Route 10 in Delhi,  Bracci was issued Appearance Tickets returnable in the Town of Delhi Court on April 16th.

Published reports out of New York City suggested that Governor Cuomo was about to replace long time assembly speaker Sheldon Silver from that position.  Cuomo told reporters yesterday that he couldn’t make changes to the leadership in either house of the legislature  that can only be done by a vote by the rank & file membership.  Cuomo also told reporters that he has a fine working relationship with Silver as well as the senate leadership.

New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced today that he has reached agreement with five Fortune 500 companies, Southwest Airlines, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Plum Creek Timber Company, Harley-Davidson and Noble Energy, to disclose political spending made with corporate funds. All 5 agreements include commitments to make public all direct and indirect monetary and non-monetary political contributions, including contributions to trade associations that are used for political purposes.

State University of Oneonta officials announced that the college has set aside more than $600,000 to fund programs that will further enhance student learning.  The money will fund proposals ranging from a language immersion program to the acquisition of specialized equipment for several disciplines, SUNY Oneonta is beginning the third year of its five-year strategic plan.

State troopers  arrested 23-year-old Justin Yap of Binghamton, for DWI, Aggravated DWI,  Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, and Operating A Motor Vehicle Without Insurance. The arrest was the result of a vehicle stop in Binghamton,. Yap was issued an Appearance Ticket returnable to the City of Binghamton Court on April 19th.

Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Coalition Co-Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver outlined the agreement on the 2013-14 Budget AT A PRESS CONFERENCE IN Albany last night; the governor outlined some of the aspects of the plan

(Cuomo 3-21-13)

Senate Leader Dean Skelos agreed that the budget will work this year & into the next one:

(Dean Skelos 3-21-13)

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that the $350 tax rebate for middle-income families would be a boost in 2014:

(Sheldon Silver 3-21-13)

Budget votes by lawmakers will begin on Saturday, with the potential to be the earliest state budget since 1976 and the first time New York has had three consecutive, on-time budgets since 1984.

34-year-old Francisco Torres of Oneonta has been indicted by an Otsego County grand jury and has been arrested by the Otsego County Sheriff’s department for allegedly failing to register as a sexual offender.  Torres was charged with 2 counts of failure to register as a sexual offender, for allegedly moving to Oneonta from state route 7 in Colliersville in December, and failing to notify authorities within 10 days of the move.  Torres may face additional charges for allegedly living in Albany, Hartwick & the town of Maryland without reporting those addresses, as required of level 2 sex offenders, he was arraigned and was released pending future court action.

Motorists are advised that Interstate 81 southbound and State Route 17 eastbound between exits 3 & 4 will be reduced to 1 lane between 6:00 PM and 7:00 AM nightly beginning Tonight, through this Saturday morning.  I-81 southbound exit 4N ramp to State Route 7 northbound will be closed; Traffic will be detoured using exit 4S to State Route 7 northbound.  Crews will be working to remove concrete barrier for future lane shifts.

THE STATE ASSEMBLY PASSED A MINUMIM WAGE ACT AGAIN THIS YEAR calling for a minimum wage of $9 an hour.  Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver comments:

(Silver 3-6-13)

The bill has passed the assembly many times over the years but has always failed to gain sufficient support in the senate.

P.M. NEWS 2-13-13

Area Republican Congressmen Richard Hanna & Chris Gibson and 15 Republican Colleagues sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor urging that the House of Representatives reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.  The Violence Against Women Act was first signed into law in 1994 and subsequently reauthorized in 2000 and 2005.  During the 112th Congress, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed their own versions but no final legislation was presented for a vote in either chamber.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver proposed a state version of the Dream Act that would help make college more affordable for children of undocumented immigrants by allowing them to qualify for state financial aid programs:

(Silver 2-13-13)

The bill would also create a private, state-overseen scholarship fund, to be called the Dream Fund, to further assist children of parents who came to the U.S. illegally.  Silver’s proposal, projected to cost the state about $20 million per year, which may bring opposition from assembly members at a time of continued austerity.

State Troopers in Oneonta arrested 50-year-old Frederick Jenkins of New Berlin for Driving While Intoxicated Monday. The arrest resulted from a motor vehicle accident on County Highway 11 in Laurens,  Jenkins was issued tickets returnable to the Town of Laurens Court at a later date.

State DEC Commissioner Joe Martens Reported that his agency could approve shale gas permits before hydrofracking regulations are completed if a separate study determines the controversial drilling method will not threaten the public health.  Martens said that state Health Commissioner Nirav Shah indicated he needs a few more weeks to finish a health review  hydrofracking.  Dr. Shah’s statement means that the DEC would not get the final draft regulations in place by the February 27th deadline, which would then require a whole new round of public comments.  Hydrofracking was halted 4 ½ years ago in New York State, it was used in western counties of the state since 1979.

State Troopers arrested 19-year-old Ryan Vanfleet of Goshen for Unlawful Possession of Marihuana and 18-year-old Devin  Clark of Warwick for Criminal Possession of Marihuana.  The arrests were the result of a traffic stop on State Route 17 in Windsor, Vanfleet and  Clark were issued Appearance Tickets returnable to the Town of Windsor Court on February 26th.

Governor Cuomo discussed enacting gun control legislation, during his state of the state address Wednesday in Albany.  The governor said that he is a gun owner himself, and this bill will have nothing to do banning legitimate hunting rifles:

(Cuomo on Gun control)

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that he agrees with the governor’s proposal:

(Silver on Gun Control)

The gun control legislation follows the sandy creek elementary school massacre in neighboring Connecticut several weeks ago.

State senator Jim Seward will be at the Sidney central school district today.  Seward will speak with students in the particiption in government callas starting at 9:30 that will be followed by a tour of the facilities with school officials.

The joint landowners coalition of Central New York announced that they have submitted their last set of comments to the DEC on natural gas development in the state.  The comments were on the topics of protecting the environment, communities, and residents, and were compiled from input by environmental scientists, petroleum & civil engineers, chemists, toxicologists, organic & traditional farmers, medical doctors & attorneys, the complete comments are available at JLCNY.org.  The DEC has received thousand of comments both for and against hydrofracking, as they get ready to release the final draft regulation in the coming months.