Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond announced the arrest of 41 year old Nasir Azmat of Franklin on a number of charges relating to possessing 20 dogs used in dog fighting.  Sheriff DuMond commented at a press conference this morning at the Delaware Valley Humane Society in Sidney:

(Sheriff DuMond 2-14-20)

Shelter Director Erin Insinga talked about the conditions that the dogs were found in:

(Erin Insinga 2-14-20)

Sheriff DuMond said that Azmat was issued an appearance ticket for town of Franklin Court at 6:00 PM on February 27th.

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An additional $15 million is available to help eligible New Yorkers facing a home heating emergency this winter.  Starting Tuesday, February 18, households can apply for a 2nd emergency benefit through the HEAP if they are in danger of running out of fuel or having their utility service shut off and have already received assistance from HEAP once this winter.  The deadline to apply for both regular and emergency HEAP benefits has been extended until April 24.  Applications can be found at otda.ny.gov.

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Governor Cuomo today launched the campaign to eliminate the so-called “Pink Tax” in New York State this year; Cuomo mentioned the initiative during the State of the State Address January 8th:

(Cuomo 2-14-20)

Cuomo stated that in the early 1990s, several studies reported disparities between the costs of substantially similar goods and services depending on if they were marketed for men or for women; the Governor’s budget proposal includes legislation to prohibit gender-based pricing discrimination for substantially similar goods and services.

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Former State Assembly Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb announced that he will not seek re-election to the Assembly this year.  Kolb stepped down as the Minority leader after being arrested for DWI following a New Year’s Eve accident with his State Issued SUV, followed by comments to police blaming his wife for the incident.

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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a report today regarding his analysis of the Governor’s proposed 178 Billion Dollar Executive Budget.  DiNapoli said that there is significant fiscal challenges related to higher than expected spending in the Medicaid program, more than a third of the Executive’s proposed nearly $7 billion gap-closing plan remains to be identified by the Medicaid Redesign Team that just started their work this week.   The Comptroller’s report is located at osc.state.ny.us.

The State Health Department announced that for the week ending February 8th, seasonal flu activity continues to be widespread across the state for the 11th consecutive week.  There were 17,233 lab-confirmed flu cases, with a total of 106,824 cases reported this season, with 3 flu-associated pediatric deaths. Last week, 1,993 New Yorkers were hospitalized with lab-confirmed influenza. So far this season, there have been 15,541 flu-related hospitalizations.

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Governor Cuomo announced the first statewide free fishing weekend in New York for 2020 will take place on this weekend.  During the designated days, residents and visitors are permitted to fish for free without a fishing license.  More information is available at dec.ny.gov/outdoor.

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A fundraiser is being held in Sidney by Binghamton based Half Light Theater Company, for Operation Merry Christmas, Dorene Ireland from Operation Merry Christmas explains:

(Dorene Ireland 2-14-20)

The Alice in Wonderland Tea Party event will be held tomorrow at 11:30 am at the Sacred Heart Church, tickets are available at online at TeawithAlice.bpt.me or by phone at 607-201-5850.

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