State Police arrested 21-year-old Dustin Mangino for 4th degree Arson & Criminal Possession of Marihuana. The arrest follows a joint investigation by State Police and the Broome County Fire Investigation Unit into a house fire at 2705 Yale Street in Endwell. Investigators determined that the fire was recklessly caused by Mangino while cooking Butane Hash Oil in the kitchen, he sustained 2nd degree burns to his face and arms. A search warrant uncovered over 2 pounds of Marihuana. Mangino was arraigned in the Town of Union Court, he was released on bail, the investigation is continuing.
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State budget negotiations continue among state leaders and through conference committee work, with 8 more days to go before the end of the fiscal year. Assemblyman Cliff Crouch said that there are difficult issues still to be decided:
(Crouch 3-24-14)
Crouch said that thinks that the work will be completed by the April 1st deadline for the 4th year in a row.
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New York has added financial information from more than 500 state and local public authorities, on openbooknewyork.com to make government information available. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said the authorities responsible for billions of dollars of taxpayer assets and money, often do business outside of public view. The comptroller’s office added state payment data to the website at that includes about 10,000 new payments daily, listing the agency submitting the request, the amount and recipient. It also details revenue, spending, debt and property tax cap information for local governments, going back as far as 1999. Nearly 50,000 state contracts and amendments can also be searched, along with major spending categories for state agencies.
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State leaders agreed to enact a law that would award 6% of state contracts to businesses owned by disabled veterans. Governor Cuomo’s office said the initiative is more robust than the federal program, which pledges 3% of contracts to businesses of Disabled veterans. The state will create a Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development within the Office of General Services to facilitate the program.
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Governor Cuomo issued a warning to employers not complying with the state’s minimum wage laws, failure to comply can result in fines, charges and criminal punishment. Resources, including one-on-one support and a streamlined reporting process, are available to help businesses comply with the minimum $8.00 per hour now in effect. The minimum wage in the State will increase to $8.75 this December 31st, & $9.00 on December 31st 2015. The Department of Labor is offering additional resources at labor.ny.gov.
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A Siena College poll shows Gov. Cuomo has a big lead over the only Republican in the race, yet his job performance rating has declined since last fall. Cuomo leads Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino 61% to 26%, Cuomo’s job performance rating is 46% down from 2% since last month. the State Senate and Assembly each had a 39% favorability rating.
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Refunds, totaling almost $760 million, may be waiting for an estimated 900,000 taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2010. The IRS said to collect the money; a return for 2010 must be filed with the IRS no later than April 15th. The IRS estimates half the potential refunds, for 2010, are more than $571.
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The harsh winter weather froze housing sales across New York in February, according to the monthly housing report by the New York State Association of Realtors. Closed sales in New York dropped almost 6 percent this February compared to one year ago, falling from 5,681 to 5,346. But the statewide median sales price rose nearly 7 percent, from $217,000 to $232,000. For more information go to nysar.com.
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Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney will decide this week whether to go forward with a Republican primary challenge against Congressman Richard Hanna. Tenney’s supporters started circulating petitions recently, to pick up the 1,250 signatures needed to gain a spot on the June 24th primary ballot, and the petitions are due by April 10th.