Governor Cuomo & state leaders announced the awards for the Regional Economic Development Councils today in Albany. Cuomo talked about how the successes of the councils activities over the last 4 years have helped lead New York’s resurgence:
(Cuomo 12-11-14)
Locally, the Southern Tier Regional Council, which includes Chenango, Delaware & Broome Counties, came in 3rd by receiving $80.8 Million dollars for their plans for economic development.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office investigated a fatal 1-car motor vehicle accident on State Highway 10 in the Town of Hamden. 48 Year old Kelvin McKnight of Walton and a passenger, 23 year old James Spain of Walton were traveling north on State Highway 10 in the Town of Hamden near the intersection of County Highway 26 when the vehicle veered to the left and drove off the highway where the vehicle then struck a tree. McKnight was transported to O’Connor Hospital in Delhi where he later died from the injuries sustained in the accident. Spain was transported to Delaware Valley Hospital in Walton for evaluation and treatment. The accident remains under investigation.
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Johnson City police arrested 25-year-old Caleb Wearne of Afton after a fight with his ex-girlfriend on December 6th, while they were driving along Harry L Drive in Johnson City. Wearne is accused of making threats, punching the woman and pulling her hair & striking her with the rear-view mirror. Wearne was charged with 2nd degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arraigned in Union Town Court and sent to the Broome County jail.
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Starting Friday, State Police will conduct a Safety Without Borders operation in partnership with bordering U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies. The initiative is a highly visible traffic safety enforcement initiative that emphasizes the shared goal of safe roadways regardless of jurisdictions. Law enforcement will be concentrating on impaired driving, aggressive driving, distracted driving, Move-Over Law and improper seat belt use. In 2013, the New York State Police investigated 242 fatal crashes and 12,539 personal injury accidents. Participating agencies issued nearly 3,000 tickets during the campaigns in April and June of this year, there were no fatalities reported during those initiatives.
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State Police are investigating a bank robbery at the Peoples Security Bank in Conklin, police are looking for a white male subject, thin build, approximately 5 foot 10 inches tall, He was last seen wearing a brown or reddish knit hat with a single stripe at the bottom along with a tan and red plaid scarf wrapped around his face, wearing black framed glasses. The suspect was last seen in a Maroon Ford Taurus with a gold New York State license plate, the last 2 digits possibly being 66.
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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli stated that the cuts over the last decade to the DEC have significantly hindered the state’s ability to properly regulate polluters and enforce the environmental laws. DEC staff workloads have increased and that could increase should Hydraulic Fracturing is allowed in the state following a lengthy moratorium. A recent report found that the DEC has reduced inspections by 35%, water pollution inspections by 74%, and smokestack testing by 44%. DiNapoli recommends using the projected 5 billion dollar windfall to increase staffing at the DEC in next year’s budget.
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Governor Cuomo today announced that regulatory guidance has been issued to help ensure that transgender New Yorkers have equal access to commercial health insurance coverage. The Department of Financial Services sent industry guidance to all New York insurers stating that they may not deny medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria, a condition when a person’s gender at birth is contrary to the one with which they identify. An insurer retains the right to review gender dysphoria treatment for medical necessity purposes, as it may do with any benefit covered under a health insurance policy.