Governor Cuomo will not change his mind on a new bail reform law signed earlier this year that goes into effect Wednesday.  Delaware County Sheriff Craig Dumond opposes the law:

(Dumond 12-30-19)

The new law blocks judges from jailing defendants on bail for misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies. those accused will instead be released and ordered to return for their next court date.

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Temporary lane closures for road and bridge construction projects on New York State highways will be suspended from 6:00 AM Tuesday, December 31, through 6:00 Thursday, January 2nd.  Some work may continue behind concrete barriers or for emergency repairs.

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NYSEG officials reported that a few hundred customers had power outages this afternoon due to the weather.  75 customers were without power in Broome County, 250 were without power in Otsego County, and over 1500 in Sullivan County, where the bulk of the icy precipitation is expected through midnight tonight.  NYSEG has crews ready for the expected power outages from the ice, in the eastern counties of the state.

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Several new laws go into effect this week on New Year’s Day.  Starting January 1st, farmworkers across New York have the right to unionize. The new law also requires farmers to set a 60-hour work week for workers and allow them at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week. Also, the state’s Minimum wage will increase; Workers across Upstate will get a new minimum wage to $11.80 an hour.  Also on January 1st, Health insurers must limit co-pays or co-insurance for outpatient mental health treatment and treatment for addiction.

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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is urging New Yorkers this holiday season to read the fine print on gift cards for details about fees and expiration dates. While some gift cards sellers have eliminated inactivity fees, consumers should still ask whether fees apply. DiNapoli also reminds recipients to spend their new gift cards in a timely manner, otherwise the money could eventually get turned over to the Office of Unclaimed Funds. DiNapoli’s office is currently holding more than $16 billion in unclaimed funds. This holiday season he urges New Yorkers to see if they are owed money and visit www.osc.state.ny.us.

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Governor Cuomo issued a joint statement with over 130 faith leaders from across the state condemning anti-Semitism in wake of attack where 5 people were stabbed during a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey Saturday night, mass stabbing is the latest in a disturbing rash of over 2 dozen anti-Semitic attacks throughout the state over the last year.  37 year old Grafton Thomas was arrested 2 hours after the attack in New York City, he was arraigned & bail was set at $5 Million Dollars.

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Governor Cuomo announced a proposal of his 2020 State of the State agenda: legislation banning all flavored nicotine vaping products including menthol flavors and vaping advertisements aimed at youth. The legislation would also authorize the State Department of Health to regulate the sale of chemicals used in vaping-related products and ban the sale of vaping product carrier oils deemed to be a public health risk. Finally, the legislation would prohibit the online, phone and mail order sale of e-cigarettes; only registered retailers would be allowed to purchase e-cigarettes using those methods.