Opening statements are scheduled to begin tomorrow at 9:30 in Schoharie County Court, in the 3rd murder trial of Cal Harris. 12 jurors & 6 alternates are set for the trial, where Harris is once again charged for the murder of his wife Michelle, around September 11th 2001 in Tioga County. Harris had 2 previous convictions overturned on appeal, this third trial was moved to Schoharie County after Harris’s attorneys asked for & received a change of venue.
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Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie Was officially elected to the Speaker position Yesterday in Albany. He commented at a press conference after his election:

(Speaker Heastie 2-4-15)

Heastie replaces Sheldon Silver as Assembly Speaker; he is the first African American to hold that position.
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The trial of State Senator Tom Libous is scheduled to begin July 13th. Libous was indicted last year for allegedly making a false statement to the FBI, when he was questioned about using his political influence to get his son Matthew a job at a Westchester County Law firm. Matthew Libous was found guilty last week on 3 counts of falsifying federal tax returns & he faces sentencing at a later date.
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Governor Cuomo today announced a new record in 2014 for the amount of money returned to workers who originally were not paid the proper minimum wage, overtime pay or fringe benefits. In 2014, $30.2 million was disbursed to nearly 27,000 workers; the amount paid out was 35% higher than the year before. In the Southern Tier, 320 individuals received an average payout of $937.50Anyone with questions about minimum wage or other labor standards issues, or who would like to file a complaint, should call 888-469-7365.
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Local sales tax collections in 2014 suffered the slowest annual growth since the end of the 2008-09 recession, according to a report issued by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Collections across the state grew by 3%, in 2013; the growth rate was 5.2%. DiNapoli’s report found that nearly 70% of the total growth in local sales tax collections last year took place in New York City. Regionally, the strongest 2014 sales tax growth was in the North Country, weaker increases were found in Central New York & in Long Island, where their slow growth was attributed to effects of “Superstorm Sandy”
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Bainbridge officials reported that the Department of Public works will continue working on a water line problem on Crest Drive on Thursday. Crews will begin Thursday’s work at 7:00 AM; residents in the Crest Drive area may again have low water pressure or dirty water during the work period.
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Bainbridge-Guilford senior Megan Ferrara signed her national letter of intent today, to play Division 1 Soccer for Binghamton University, at a press conference at BG high school today, in front of coaches, teachers, fellow students & family. Ferrara joins another local player at BU, Nicole Hailey of Franklin who already plays with the Bearcats; Ferrara told WCDO Sports Director Nate Lull that she is excited to play for BU in the fall:

(Megan Ferrara 2-4-15)

The Full interview with Ferrara with WCDO’s Nate Lull is available at WCDOSPORTS.com.
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