It appears less likely that a Special Session of the Legislature will be called before the end of the year, as Governor Cuomo & Senate leaders have differing agendas as the year closes. Governor Cuomo said that he wants to appropriate up to one billion more dollars to help the homeless, and expand of the state’s hate crimes law, lawmakers wants a pay raise for the first time in 17 years, & neither side is budging. Lawmakers will wind up back in Albany for a brand new session in January.
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Attorney General Schneiderman urged all New Yorkers to take immediate steps to protect their personal information online, in the wake of Yahoo’s recent disclosure that a third party had breached its servers and accessed the personal data of over 1 billion users. The data compromised includes email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (using MD5) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The investigation indicates that the stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card data, or bank account information. The Attorney General urges anyone with a Yahoo account to change their passwords and security questions — not only with Yahoo accounts, but for any other accounts which you use the same or similar information.
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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli reminded New Yorkers that contributions to a New York State 529 College Savings Program account are tax deductible. Contributions made by December 31st can provide up to $10,000 in state tax deductions on 2016 income tax filings. New Yorkers can open an account and if they already have one can contribute and deduct up to $5,000 from their New York State taxable income. Married couples filing jointly can deduct up to $10,000 each year.
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A Sidney native has entered into the world of publishing, when he published his first science fiction novel earlier this month through Amazon.com. Scott Scavo told WCDO News is a 1995 Sidney High School Graduate who started his story as bedtime stories for his children, and wound up with so much material it became a book:

(Scott Scavo 12-16-16)

Scavo is the son of retired Sidney Principal Gary Scavo, who was recently inducted into the Sidney Alumni Association hall of fame as a coach; Scott Scavo resides in Connecticut where he works as a hedge fund manager. His second book is about 80% complete & he hopes to publish that soon.
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Delhi University police announced that they are searching for 21 year old Steven Sutliff, who told his roommates on Saturday afternoon that he was heading to Oneonta, and would return on Monday. Sutliff was reported missing on Tuesday evening. Sutliff is described as a 5’9″ white male, weighing about 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on Sutliff’s whereabouts are asked to contact SUNY Delhi University Police at 607-746-4700, or New York State Police at 607-561-7400.
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Governor Cuomo today announced that New York State will participate in the national “Drive Sober or get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign to crackdown on impaired driving this holiday season. Drivers can expect sobriety checkpoints and an increased number of Troopers patrolling New York roadways, starting today through Sunday, January 1st, 2017.
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The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office and the Village of Sidney Police Department arrested 46 year old Chanin Ives on an Arrest Warrant issued out of the Town of Guilford. Ives was arrested on an Arrest Warrant for 2nd degree Aggravated Harassment, Ives was arraigned in the Town of Guilford court & was remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility on $500 cash bail.
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The Chenango Arts council presents a Christmas show with an Irish flavor Saturday night at the Martin W. Kappel Theater in Norwich, spokesperson Alecia O’Neill comments:

(Alecia O’Neill 12-16-16)

More information about this or other shows can be found at 336-arts or chenangoarts.org.
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The Sidney American Legion is having its 21st annual children’s Christmas party on Saturday, from 12:00 NOON to 1:30 P.M. Spokesman Larry Halbert explains:

(Larry Halbert 12-16-16)

The Sidney American legion is located at 22 Union Street; more information is available at 237-4762.
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In November 2016, the State’s private sector job count increased by 4,800, or 0.1%, to 7,950,000, according to preliminary figures by the State Department of Labor. In November, New York’s statewide unemployment rate decreased from 5.2% to 5.1%.
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