62-year-old Barry Renert was charged in a Virginia court yesterday on charges relating to his alleged menacing of a Cooperstown shopkeeper on Monday. Renert was captured Monday evening by police in Richmond, Virginia, while waiting to board a Greyhound bus. The black sedan he used to flee upstate New York after the incident was found nearby. Renert faces charges of menacing and 2nd degree burglary and is awaiting extradition back to Otsego County.
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A recent report from the Delaware county sheriff’s department showed a large increase in drug related arrests, on top of the nationwide trend of violence in schools. The sheriff’s department is in the process of implementing a program where deputies have substations in school buildings, Undersheriff Craig Dumond explains:
(Under sheriff Craig Dumond 12-27-13)
The program will provide an increased law enforcement presence in the Delaware county schools & may also cut down on travel time for deputies. 2 districts have already signed up for the program; others are planning to implement the program in 2014.
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Governor Cuomo announced Empire State Development has approved more than $14.5 million in New York State Broadband Grants to support 9 projects to expand access to broadband services for nearly 30,000 residents and more than 2,000 businesses across Upstate New York. The 9 projects will deliver broadband services to 29,117 households, 2,052 businesses, and 236 community anchor institutions, and will provide 614 miles of new fiber. More information is available at esd.ny.gov.
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The annual Broome County Stop DWI holiday Basketball classic begins this evening at the Broome County Arena. Tonight’s festivities include the slam-dunk and 3 point contests, then schools both locally, from around the state, Kentucky, Maryland, Toronto Canada will play through the weekend.
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The Elks National Hoop Shoot free-throw contest will be held at the Norwich YMCA tomorrow. The event starts at 10:00 AM for Chenango county residents, pre registrations can be taken at 334-3012, or at the time of the event. More information about the program is available at elks.org/hoopshoot.
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There are only 4 more days left to register for the Basic STAR property tax exemption. The state department of Taxation & Finance urges homeowners to register before the end of the day on December 31st, they can do so online at tax.ny.gov, or they can call 518-457-2036 from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM weekdays, and from 9:00 Am to 1:00 Pm Saturday’s & Sundays.
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New York’s population will soon fall behind Florida into 4th place according the US Census. When the Census Bureau releases its population estimates on Monday, demographers expect Florida and New York will be narrowly separated, perhaps by as little as a few thousand people. The figures underscore immigration trends, as foreign-born migrants continue to move to warm-weather states such as California, Texas and Florida. The newcomers also include New Yorkers who move or retire to Florida at a rate of over 50,000 a year.
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Tax receipts for the first 8 months of the fiscal year were $40.3 million below the latest Executive’s Financial Plan projections, according to the November cash report by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. DiNapoli said the shortfall is due to personal income and business taxes falling short of expectations in November.
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New York’s minimum wage will increase to $8 an hour at the end of this year. It’s the first of three incremental raises approved by the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo when they approved the state budget last March. The minimum for most workers will rise to $8.75 an hour a year later and to $9 an hour a year after that.
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