Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Democratic senators in New York have introduced legislation to ban fracking waste from the state. They introduced four bills today that would keep the waste from being shipped into the state for treatment or disposal; eliminate the waste from being used to melt ice off of roads; and bar treatment facilities and landfills from accepting the byproduct. The state health department is currently reviewing whether fracking should be allowed in the state. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

(News Release) ALBANY, NY – The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) today issued the following statement on Governor Cuomo’s veto of a bill which would have legalized fireworks: “The Governor has made the right choice by vetoing this bill, which we feel was not in the best interest of public safety, especially as it relates to our youngest New Yorkers, said FASNY President James Burns. “Many of the fires and emergencies our first responders encounter each year are preventable tragedies caused by the possession and use of illegal fireworks, and we thank the Governor for ensuring this bill did not become law.” The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders have agreed to authorize four upstate New York casinos. They will be near Binghamton; in the Hudson Valley-Catskills area; and in the Albany area. The fourth is also likely to be in the Catskills, which has a tradition of resort development. Voters will have the final say this fall when they’re asked to pass a referendum that would allow up to seven non-Indian casinos across the state over the next several years. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

New York’s Assembly has voted to extend the moratorium on fracking in the state to 2015. Wednesday’s vote follows a bill introduced in the Senate which would put off the decision by Governor Andrew Cuomo on whether to allow the controversial drilling method in New York. Cuomo has said he will wait for recommendations from his health and environmental conservation departments, as well as the Geisinger health study from Pennsylvania, before making a decision. He has not set a deadline. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

ALBANY- Senator Catharine Young (R-C-I, Olean) joined Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos and members of the Senate Republican Conference today to unveil the Family Tax Relief Act, a package of tax relief and reform measures designed to provide a major economic boost to New York’s struggling middle-class families. The Senate Republican plan would increase tax breaks that have not kept pace with inflation, and, in some instances, haven’t been adjusted for more than 25 years. The plan also restores the STAR property tax rebate check program to provide real and direct relief to millions of New Yorkers who pay some of the highest property taxes in the country. Senator Young said: "Families struggle to keep up, pay the monthly bills, and have enough left over to save for college. Parents go out each day, work hard, pick the kids up from daycare or school, and feel stressed and overburdened from suffocating taxes. Moms and dads need the government to stop reaching into their walle...

The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Governor Andrew Cuomo today proposed a $137 billion state budget that would increase spending by about 2 percent, but would not increase taxes. The budget proposal provides 4.4 percent more aid to schools and would fund his proposal to improve instruction, including longer school days and school years. Cuomo also mentioned the $60 million deal the state made to keep the Buffalo Bills in New York. The state will contribute to renovating Ralph Wilson Stadium and to annual support for the operation. “All I can tell you is that for $60 million the Bills better win this year, my friends,” Cuomo said, smiling. “Talk about performance funding.” The proposal now goes to the Legislature, where hearings will be held on many of the items in the budget. Cuomo and Legislative leaders will then try to negotiate a final budget plan by the April 1 start of the fiscal year. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the members of the New York State Tax Reform and Fairness Commission, which is charged with addressing long term changes to the state tax system and helping create economic growth. The members of the New York State Tax Reform and Fairness Commission are: •H. Carl McCall (Co-Chair)- Chairman of the State University of New York Board of Trustees •Peter J. Solomon (Co-Chair)- Founder and Chairman of investment advisor Peter J. Solomon Company •J. Pat Barrett- Chairman of the Olympic Regional Development Authority •Dall W. Forsythe-Former Budget Director for the State of New York •Thomas H. Mattox- Commissioner of the Department of Taxation and Finance •James Parrott- Deputy Director and Chief Economist at the Fiscal Policy Institute •Alan D. Schwartz- Executive Chairman of Guggenheim Partners •James W. Wetzler- Deloitte Tax LLP, former New York State Tax Commissioner •Robert G. Wilmers- Chairman and CEO of M&T Bank •Deborah Wrig...

New York State Senate Republicans and the Independent Democratic Conference made a deal today to take control of the chamber in an unprecedented power sharing plan. The announcement by Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos and IDC leader Jeffrey Klein sunk the hopes of the traditional Democratic conference from taking the near absolute control of the majority, even though they won more seats than Republicans in the November elections. Senator Cathy Young said, “This coalition builds on a bipartisan partnership that was formed two years ago. Our Senate Republican Conference has worked well with Governor Cuomo and the members of the IDC to pass on-time budgets and move the state in the right direction." “We share a number of the same priorities, including economic revitalization and job growth. This agreement maintains regional balance and ensures that upstate is treated fairly and equitably, instead of being controlled by New York City-dominated political bosses," she conti...

Authorities in New York State have issued more than 20,000 tickets to motorists in the first year under a tougher law against using handheld electronic devices while driving. According to the governor's office, police issued four times as many tickets for texting while driving after it was made a primary traffic offense last July compared to the year before. In Cattaraugus County the number went from 10 to 45. It Chautauqua County it went from 23 to 130. Pennsylvania’s ban on texting while driving started in March. http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/7122012-texting-while-driving The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

ALBANY – Senator Catharine Young (R,C,I – 57th District) announced that the state Senate passed legislation to further protect students who are bullied or cyberbullied. The bill, which clarifies and expands existing law, creates guidelines for school districts to develop policies and procedures to address the problem of cyberbullying. “This legislation provides our schools with the necessary tools to address a terrible problem. Social media such as Facebook, and text messaging have escalated bullying to an extreme level, sometimes with tragic consequences. We need to ensure our schools are safe so our students can have a positive environment for learning and development,” Senator Young said. Reports indicate that more than 7 million students from ages 12-18 were bullied at school and with the onslaught of technological advances in recent decades, more than 1.5 million students say they were cyberbullied on or off school property. “Our students now communicate in a cyber wor...

ALBANY -- The state Senate on Monday passed three bills to help grow and expand the craft beer industry in New York State. The bills, which represent a three-way agreement among the Senate, Assembly and Governor Cuomo, will protect an important tax benefit for small breweries that produce beer in New York, create a Farm Brewery license that will allow craft brewers to expand their operations through opening restaurants or selling new products and will exempt breweries that produce small batches of beer from paying an annual State Liquor Authority fee. “New York’s craft breweries create fantastic beer, but just as important, they have a strong and growing impact on our economy because they create jobs, support agriculture and promote tourism,” Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos said. “Senator Zeldin and Senator Ritchie did an outstanding job working with the Governor and the Assembly to reach agreement on these bills that will help encourage a thriving industry to expand and create...

Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State lawmakers have agreed to several measures to strengthen domestic violence laws. The measures would establish a crime of “aggravated family offense” to crack down on repeat offenders, making it a felony. Also, judges would be allowed to consider risk factors before determining bail. The state would also establish a domestic violence death review team to take a closer look at domestic violence-related homicides. Also under the agreement, a person who is charged with killing his or her spouse could not control what happens to the person’s remains. A bill is expected to be voted into law before the end of the legislative session on June 21. For more on this story go to the governor's website . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

New York State has banned the sale of "synthetic marijuana" that's sold in convenience stores, smoke shops, and tobacco stores under brand names including Spice and K-2. Synthetic marijuana has been linked to deaths, and severe reactions including kidney failure. The plant material in the products is coated with chemicals that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Today’s order calls for sales and distribution to stop immediately. Local health officials are being ordered to check for compliance. Pennsylvania banned the sale of synthetic marijuana in June. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

New York may have an on-time budget for the second year in a row. Governor Andrew Cuomo and Legislative leaders met Monday and ironed out what they believe were major obstacles to passing the spending plan. The deadline to pass an on-time budget is midnight Saturday. The proposed budget of $132.5 billion will increase spending by 1.9 percent. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

ALBANY, NY – Senator Catharine Young (R,C,I – 57th District) is applauding the restoration of a long-awaited state sales tax exemption for all clothes and shoes less than $110. Sales tax varies by state with New York setting its state sales tax at four percent. Counties receive at least an additional three percent of sales tax. The state will now exempt its portion of the sales tax, which Senator Young said has been in place for far too long. “This tax hike on clothing was put in place by New York City politicians when they controlled all of state government and raised taxes and spending by $14 billion, hurting taxpayers and stifling economic growth. I voted against their outrageous tax-and-spend policies, including this sales tax increase. This exemption is a common sense approach to relieving our overburdened taxpayers ,” Senator Young said. The full exemption for purchases of shoes and clothes under $110 will go into effect April 1. It is an extension of the 2011 t...

Senate Democrats used parliamentary procedure to call for a public hearing by the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee on a wide list of bipartisan hydrofracking bills. The Committee chaired by Sen. Grisanti has not held one hearing on the issue of hydrofracking. Because of the maneuver by the Senate Democratic Conference, Sen Grisanti has been forced to accept the petition for public hearing on these bills and must now schedule a public hearing within 14 days. "For too long the Senate Republicans and Senator Grisanti have decided to brush the issue of hydrofracking under the rug. This issue is too important to ignore." stated Senate Democratic Spokesman Mike Murphy. Video of the hearing. http://www.nysenate.gov/event/2012/mar/06/environmental-conservation-meeting The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

ALBANY -- Abuse and misuse of prescription narcotics continues to rise, and the State Senate took action today by passing several bills to control it. Senator Cathy Young co-sponsored the group of bills which will implement greater controls on Hydrocodone and Tramadol, which are highly-addictive prescription pain medications, and will make it a crime in the first-degree to illegally sell a controlled substance to a minor under the age of 14. “The number of prescriptions for these painkillers, deaths from overdoses, and pharmacy robberies by addicts has increased significantly in recent years. Among the most abused drugs, prescription pain medications are second only to marijuana, and part of the new legislation toughens the existing penalties for those possessing a large quantity of these medications,” Senator Young said. “Further, we need to protect our youths who start experimenting with these dangerous drugs, even in their teens. The use of these addicting prescription drugs and opi...

Senator Cathy Young and Senator Joe Robach greet Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer and former NFL MVP running back Thurman Thomas during his visit to the Capitol on Monday. Thomas has been involved with many worthwhile charitable endeavors over the years, including former Bills' star quarterback Jim Kelly's Celebrity Auction that he held to raise funds for children with disabilities served by The ReHabilitation Center when the Bills held their training camp at St. Bonaventure University. Young, who worked with Jim Kelly on the auction, thanked Thomas for his generosity and kindness.

To help convict criminals and exonerate innocent people, the Senate passed the DNA Databank Expansion Bill on Tuesday, which is the largest expansion of the database since its creation in 1994. Since its inception, the DNA databank has been used successfully to identify perpetrators in about 10,000 crimes, including 900 murders and 3,500 sexual assaults. In 2006, the DNA databank was expanded to include 36 misdemeanors, which provides law enforcement agencies with the ability to convict 1,460 criminals. The new legislation, which mirrors the databank expansion plan in Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget, requires people convicted of all felonies, as well as misdemeanors in penal law to submit DNA samples. “Expansion of the DNA databank will provide law enforcement with a powerful tool to close thousands of unsolved cases, provide justice for victims, exonerate innocent people, and aid in the prevention of future crimes,” Senator Catharine Young said. “It will help protect our families and...