Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

REED, SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE JAMESTOWN COMEDY CENTER IS OFFICIALLY  THE NATIONAL COMEDY CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES Reps: “National Comedy Center Is A Cultural Institution And Tourism Magnet: Connecting, Inspiring, And Educating Visitors From All Over The Country About America’s Rich History Of Comedy” National Comedy Center Also Builds On A Tradition Of Comedy History In Jamestown, NY, Birthplace Of Legend Lucille Ball Reed, Schumer, Gillibrand: Comedy Has Found Its Permanent Home In Jamestown WASHINGTON –  Representative Tom Reed, Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that their legislation designating Jamestown’s National Comedy Center as the official “National Comedy Center” of the United States has passed Congress and been signed into law as part of the 2019 Lands Package. The Comedy Center, located in downtown Jamestown and partially built to honor the vision of Jame...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) says in a new book that she has faced several sexist encounters with her male colleagues, being nicknamed everything from “Honey Badger” to “hottest member of the Senate.” “Good thing you’re working out because you wouldn’t want to get porky,” Gillibrand says one colleague told her in the congressional gym, according to an excerpt of her book Off The Sidelines published by People. After she lost weight following a pregnancy, Gillibrand writes that one male colleague squeezed her waist and implored: “Don’t lose too much weight now, I like my girls chubby.” And she says one southern congressman told her, “You know, Kirsten, you’re even pretty when you’re fat.” Read more at Time.com . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Pete Rahn of HNTB Corporation chats with Anne Holliday about a study from a transportation research group that found 27 percent of America’s roads are in substandard condition. Listen here . PA US Senator Bob Casey PA US Senator Pat Toomey PA Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson NY US Senator Chuck Schumer NY US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand NY Congressman Tom Reed The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has been elected to her first full six-year term as New York’s US Senator. Gillibrand was in the unusual position of being up for re-election twice in two years after being chosen in 2009 to replace Hilary Rodham Clinton, who stepped down to become Secretary of State. Her challenger during this election was Republican Wendy Long. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is asking that 34 New York counties be considered federal disaster areas because of the spring freeze that destroyed cropland. Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Allegany counties are among those Gillibrand says need help. She said in the Lake Erie Grape Belt alone, more than $13 million in market value has been lost. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Gillibrand pressed for the disaster declarations so New York farmers can access federal funds to help them recover losses and stay afloat this season. Read more here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today joined Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in introducing bipartisan legislation to prevent Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the Great Lakes and destroying the Lakes' ecosystem. The Stop Invasive Species Act would require the speedy creation of an action plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through a number of rivers and tributaries across the Great Lakes region. “We need to act now to prevent Asian Carp from infiltrating Lake Erie and threatening the fishing and boating industries that rely on a healthy lake,” said Senator Casey. “This bill would expedite the creation of an aggressive plan to stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes at 18 points of entry and protect the communities along Lake Erie that depend on the lake for recreation and commerce.” The Stop Invasive Species Act requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to submit to Congress an expedited actio...

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today launched a new website, “Share Your I-STOP Story,” that showcases personal stories from New Yorkers who have been impacted by the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse. As momentum builds for legislative action to address the problem, the site urges doctors, pharmacists, addiction sufferers and their families to put a human face on the issue, and help persuade state lawmakers to pass Schneiderman’s Internet System for Tracking Overprescribing (I-STOP) plan aimed at reining in prescription drug abuse. I-STOP connects doctors and pharmacists to a real time, online database that tracks the prescribing and dispensing of frequently abused narcotics. “Numbers and statistics are important, but at the end of the day, the prescription drug crisis is about people,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “The firsthand experiences of doctors, pharmacists, patients and family members prove that the status quo is not tenable. You can’t read these stories ...

Amid New York’s growing prescription drug epidemic, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today endorsed Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s legislation to create an online database to report and track certain controlled substances. Support from Senator Gillibrand follows the recent release of a report from the Attorney General detailing the growing prescription drug abuse crisis in every corner of New York State. Statewide, the number of prescriptions for all narcotic painkillers has increased by six million, from 16.6 million in 2007 to nearly 22.5 million in 2010. “Abuse of addictive painkillers has increased drastically in the last decade, but our state’s regulation and monitoring of these powerful drugs has not kept up,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “I strongly support Attorney General Schneiderman’s I-STOP bill, which would help to rein in doctor shopping, prevent the use of forged prescriptions, and identify patients in need of addiction treatment. It’s the right solution...

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is accusing federal agencies of dragging their feet on a decision over whether to tighten controls on hydrocodone. Gillibrand sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement and Food and Drug administrations, which have been studying since 1999 whether to move hydrocodone medicines like Vicodin into a more tightly controlled category of drugs. "I am concerned with the perceived lack of response to an emerging and concerning issue," Gillibrand wrote. "I am disappointed that neither agency has prioritized the completion of this study." Read more here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) joined a bipartisan group of senators to call on Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki to do more to stem the “unacceptable” level of suicides among veterans currently estimated to be 18 per day. The call came in a letter sent to the Administration. “After sending service members to war, we have the responsibility to care for our veterans,” Senator Casey said. “With an alarming veteran suicide rate of eighteen per day, and around one thousand attempts per month, the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to take account of the suicide prevention programs that currently exist and find ways improve them so that all of our returning veterans receive the care, training and support they need and deserve. We stand ready to give them the necessary assistance to do so.” The letter was also signed by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bob Corker (R-TN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS). A copy of the letter is be...

WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, called on the Obama Administration to aggressively stand up to ongoing Chinese attempts to gain an illegal trade advantage over Pennsylvania workers and companies. A letter signed by a bipartisan group of senators was sent to the Obama Administration ahead of today’s G-20 meeting in Washington. In the letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Casey called on the Obama Administration to confront China on its currency manipulation that artificially makes Chinese goods less expensive than similar American-made products. China's currency manipulation, a violation of international trade law, is a major contributor to America's $273 billion trade deficit with China and costs the United States thousands of jobs each year. In their letter, the senators say of China's illegal action on currency: "For too long, this issue has festered, harming not only American companies and workers, ...

Buffalo developer Carl Paladino beat Rick Lazio in the Republican gubernatorial primary to set up a November showdown with Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Paladino received Tea Party support in defeating Lazio, who had backing from the Republican Party. However, Lazio's running mate Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards won the Republican primary for lieutenant governor. Lazio and Edwards were able to keep the Conservative Party nomination for governor, meaning Edwards could run for lieutenant governor with Lazio as a Conservative and for lieutenant governor on the Republican line with Paladino. Edwards hasn't made a decision yet. US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand easily won a Democratic primary challenge from Gail Goode, a lawyer for New York City. Goode said she realized she was not considered a threat to Gillibrand, who was appointed last year to fill the unexpired term of Hillary Rodham Clinton, but ran to give voters a choice. Joseph DioGuardi won the three-way Republican primary an...

Washington, D.C. – President Barack Obama will travel to Buffalo on Thursday, May 13, for the next stop on his White House to Main Street Tour. Obama will discuss the latest efforts in Western New York to create good-paying jobs and rebuild the economy. “I’m proud President Obama is coming to Western New York. This shows his strong commitment to the region," said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "It is something I advocated for because I believe Western New York can play a leading role in America’s economic recovery." "When President Obama comes next week, he will meet families, workers, businesses and entire communities that stand ready to help lead America’s economic recovery," she continued. "From a world-class manufacturing tradition to cutting edge businesses and universities, to people who know the true meaning of hard work, Western New York can help lead America’s economic recovery.”

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is back from a trip to Haiti, where she got a first-hand look at the impact of January’s earthquake. Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and made the trip as a part of a congressional delegation. Gillibrand says she now plans to work with her Senate colleagues on new legislation to help bolster Haiti's child welfare system. http://gillibrand.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=7B9A10EC-4674-4224-9886-935282594643

The US Senate has unanimously passed a bill that could kill the Seneca Nation's mail-order cigarette business. The Senate's passage of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act mean the US Postal Service will be banned from mailing tobacco products. The House passed its version of the bill 397-11 last May. The unanimous vote obviously means that New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand voted for it. The Seneca Nation, which has said the bill could threaten as many as 1,000 jobs in Western New York, haven't commented yet on the passage of the bill.

WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today was joined by original cosponsors Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Carl Levin (D-MI) and Mark Begich (D-AK) in introducing legislation to create a job creation tax credit. “Over the last couple years the U.S. economy has steadily shed jobs and wages have largely been stagnant,” said Senator Casey. “We have made progress responding to the economic crisis, but more needs to be done to get people back to work. Times are still tough across the board and margins are slim. That is why I am introducing this job creation tax credit to help employers hire workers, put money back into local economies and spur economic growth.” “While some sectors of the economy are doing better, middle class families and small businesses across New York are struggling in this economic crisis,” Senator Gillibrand said. “We need to take aggressive action to help businesses create good-paying jobs and get New Yorkers back to work. The job creation tax cut ...

New York State will be receiving $151 million in federal stimulus money for railroad projects, and some of it is going to Buffalo. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says. “Building high-speed rail here will connect more commuters and businesses, create jobs immediately and help rebuild our economy for the long term. We’ve worked hard for a long time to bring high-speed rail to New York. This round of funding is just the first step in our efforts to secure what New York needs to achieve true high-speed rail connectivity. I will keep fighting to make sure New York gets more high speed rail funding in future rounds.” Part of the money will go toward rehabilitation of the Buffalo-Depew station facilities to a state of good repair and accessibility upgrades to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the media shield bill cleared an important hurdle in passing a key Senate Committee. The Free Flow of Information Act, sponsored U.S. Senators Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee 14 to 5. The revised version of the bill, unveiled October 30th, has received backing from the White House and over 70 media organizations. The bill includes provisions to protect national security interests while providing legal protection for journalists guarding the anonymity of their sources. “Today has been a long time coming. The bill creates a fair standard to protect the public interest, journalists, the news media, bloggers, prosecutors and litigants,” Specter said. “This marks a major improvement over current procedures where journalists have been threatened, fined and jailed for appropriately protecting sources. White House negotiators for President Obama played a decisive role in working out this compro...

Pennsylvania senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey work closely with New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand on many issues. But now they're on different teams – not inside the Capitol – but on the baseball diamond. If the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series, Specter and Casey will get cheesecakes from Junior's. If the New York Yankees win, Schumer and Gillibrand get Philly cheesesteaks. “I give Senators Specter and Casey credit for sticking with their team but I can already taste those delicious Philly cheesesteaks,” Schumer said. “And even though the Phillies won the World Series last year, there’s no comparing the Yankees’ 26 World Series victories to the Phillies two. When the dust settles, I am confident that the Yankees will be victorious and Senator Gillibrand and I will be enjoying our Philly cheesesteaks.” “It’s great to see the Bronx Bombers back in the World Series with so many familiar faces from their storied run in the 1990’s,” Specter said. ...