WCDO Radio News

New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a coalition of 36 other attorneys general and the U.S. Department of Justice in securing $36.5 million from CVS Pharmacy, for fraudulently over-billing Medicaid for insulin prescriptions. From 2010 to 2020, CVS knowingly dispensed more insulin to customers than they needed while maintaining that they were reporting the correct amount of insulin in their prescriptions. The fraudulent claims allowed the company to rake in millions in extra reimbursements from Medicaid for insulin distribution. CVS will pay more than $25 million to state Medicaid programs across the country, including $2.25 million to New York.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies report that the Town of Hancock Highway Department recovered the heavy duty York rake that was stolen earlier this month in the Town of Hancock. The rake was discovered by a Town of Hancock Highway Department crew approximately 10 miles away, it was not damaged, Sheriff’s Deputies are continuing their investigation, they continue to encourage the public to contact the Delaware County Sheriff's Office at 832-5555, or 287-4759, or by email; eric.alexander@co.delaware.ny.us.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies are currently investigating the theft of heavy duty York rake owned by the Town of Hancock Highway Department. The orange, heavy duty tow behind York brand rake was stolen from a highway pull off near the intersection of Charles Medlar Road and Bert Medlar Road in the Town of Hancock between Tuesday, July 3, and Monday, July 10. The rake has wheels and is 8 feet in width. Deputies are asking the public to contact the Delaware County Sheriff's Office 832-5555, or 287-4759.

The web site New York created to help uninsured state residents find coverage, under the Affordable (/l%20)Care Act, is still operating without significant problems, in contrast to the trouble-plagued federal web site. The New York web site allows applicants to enroll in 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the complexity of their personal finances, according to the Community Service Society of New York. The New York site recorded 30 million hits during its first week, and state officials moved quickly to increase its capacity.  Go to nystateofhealth.ny.gov

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced that the FDA has heeded his call and approved regulations to make it harder to access painkillers that contain Hydrocodone.  The FDA has reclassified Hydrocodone as a Schedule II controlled substance, which will impose greater restrictions in how doctors can prescribe the drug and the quantity that can be prescribed.  Hydrocodone is among the most widely prescribed drug in New York State.

The leaf pickup program for this year in the village of Sidney is now underway.  The village will utilize its vacuum leaf loader the collection of leaves.  Village residents should rake leaves to the curb for pickup.  People are asked to not park vehicles on the street where they could conflict with the pickup.

The Alzheimer’s association will hold a program in Sidney later this month, to discuss the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease and what the latest research indicates about the disease.  Ann Thayer of the Northeast New York chapter of the association will conduct the program:

(Ann Thayer 3-12-13)

The program will be held on Thursday March 28th at the Realty USA office on Main Street in Sidney at 5:30, pre-registration is requested at 547-1650.

State Attorney General Eric  Schneiderman today joined 37 states in announcing a settlement with Google over its unauthorized collection of data from unsecured wireless networks nationwide. Between 2008 and March 2010, Google took photographs for its Street View service & they illegally collected and stored emails, text messages, passwords, and web histories transmitted over unsecured wireless networks without consumer consent.  Google has agreed to destroy the information, launch an employee training program to protect consumers and they will pay a $7 million fine to the states involved.  New York’s share of the settlement is approximately $192,000.

State Police in Binghamton arrested 22-year-old Sean Rake of Binghamton for Driving While Intoxicated with a BAC result of .15% and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. The arrest resulted from a traffic stop on Airport Road in Dickinson; Rake was issued an Appearance Ticket returnable to the Town of Dickinson Court on March 19th.