Lawmakers have been assigned to Budget Conference Committee work this week, as both houses of the legislature look to work out differences in spending plans. Area Assemblyman Bill Magee said that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in both houses are looking to get rid of the Gap Elimination Adjustments, that socked already economically challenged upstate school districts;

(Magee 3-16-15)

The State Senate Budget Plan passed last week calls for the wiping out of the last year of the Gap Elimination adjustment, which was implemented during the last year of the Paterson administration. The conference committees are made up of 5 members of each house who will work to develop a final spending plan before April 1st, the Committees can be viewed at nysenate.gov.
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The Broome County Sheriff’s Department arrested 43-year-old Brian Potter of Port Crane on a variety of drug related charges. Potter was wanted by the Binghamton Police Department for a felony drug warrant, he was located at the Kirkwood Motel with counterfeit cash, & drugs Saturday. Deputies accuse Potter of attempting to flee, they confiscated a shotgun, $14,000 in counterfeit bills, more than 60 grams of marijuana and a small amount of an undisclosed narcotic. Potter was arraigned for possession of a forged instrument, criminal possession of weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance & resisting arrest among other charges; he was remanded to the Broome County Jail without bail.
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Firefighters from Oxford, Norwich, Guilford, Preston, Brisben and McDonough responded to a fire early this morning on Wakefield Lane in Oxford. Firefighters found a fully involved barn fire, was collapsing with an exposure directly behind. Fire crews managed to extinguish the fire quickly & keep it from spreading to nearby structures; the cause of the fire has not yet been announced.
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Firefighters from East Meredith, Davenport, and Pindars Corners responded to a fire at Sheehan & Pumpkin Hollow Road in East Meredith at about 8:30 Saturday morning. The Roe family escaped uninjured, the fire is believed to have started with the wood stove.
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Firefighters responded to a fire at 32 Newland Street in Otego Saturday morning at about 9:00 AM. The unidentified family of 4 escaped without injury, the damage was minimal, the fire is believed to have started in clothes dryer.
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Governor Cuomo has signed a bill that delays for 1 year, the mandated electronic filing of Prescriptions to pharmacies, which was originally scheduled to go into effect on March 27th. Mandatory electronic prescribing was part of the “I-STOP” program, to keep people from getting prescriptions from a number of doctor & bring them to a number of different pharmacies, a practice known as doctor shopping.
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The state DEC is reminding area residents that all residential brush burning is prohibited in smaller communities starting today through May 14th. Open burning is the largest single cause of wildfires in New York State. Debris burning accounts for about 36% of wildfires in the state. Violators of the open burning state regulation are subject to both criminal and civil enforcement actions, with a minimum fine of $500 for a first offense. To report environmental law violations call 1-800-TIPP DEC or report online to the DEC’s website.
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