The State Assembly voted in favor of raising the Smoking age from 18 to 21 years old this week.  The bill would prohibit the sale of tobacco & E-cigarettes to anyone under 21.  The bill is expected to pass the state Senate later in the session & it has the support of Governor Cuomo.

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State Police reported that a section of State Route 79 in Windsor was closed to traffic after a trailer hauling a mobile home became detached, and flipped onto its side at about 9:45 AM today.  State DOT officials said that Route 79 was closed in both directions between Doolittle Road and Ouaquaga Road for the clean-up & Investigation.   No injuries were reported & no tickets have been issued.

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Mortgage foreclosure filings across New York dropped 46% from 2013 and 2018, from about 46,000 to 25,000, according to a report issued today by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.  DiNapoli last reported on mortgage foreclosures in 2016 when New York State was experiencing high levels of foreclosure activity nearly a decade after the housing bubble burst. DiNapoli’s new report highlights improvements since then, with most counties reporting foreclosure rates at about .5%.

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Binghamton City Police are investigating a Bank Robbery at Citizens Bank on Main Street.  Police are looking a suspect described as a 6’2″ white Male, who handed the teller a note and left on foot at about 10:20 this morning.    Anyone with information should call 911 or contact Binghamton Police at 772-7076.

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Anthony Pacherille Jr. of Cooperstown was released on parole from the Clinton Correctional Facility this week.  Pacherille had been sentenced to an 11-year prison term after shooting his classmate, Wesley Lippitt in the arm at the Cooperstown police Station in a racially motivated attack; he then turned the gun on himself, shooting himself in the chin in April of 2010.

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Oneida County STP DWI coordinator Thomas Giruzzi has been fired, after being stopped in Utica for driving while intoxicated & Criminal possession of a controlled substance.  Giruzzi was originally pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt 7 talking on his cell phone while driving, police also accused Giruzzi of possessing cocaine, and he failed a field sobriety test.

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Governor Cuomo today announced $128 million in new State funding for fixing State roadways impacted by this year’s harsh winter weather. Funding will support 91 paving projects and the renewal of approximately 1,000 miles of pavement across the state, with at least 1 project in every county.  The new funding complements $100 million previously committed earlier this year for local projects that renew approximately 3,700 miles of road across the State.  The current State Budget provides a record level of $743 million in direct state aid to local governments for road and bridge repair and modernization. 

State Police arrested 39 year old Robert Stutzer of Middletown for Driving While Intoxicated, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, & Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident.   Troopers were dispatched to the Kwik Fill Gas Station in the village of Unadilla, An investigation revealed that Stutzer was impaired and had also been involved in an accident on State Route 357, He was arrested and refused to submit to a breath sample, he was arraigned and remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $2,500 cash bail or $5,000 property bond. His next court date is March 14, 2019.

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The Jericho Arts Council has been able to reschedule “Storm Front, The Music of Bill Joel” for this Sunday at 4:00 PM at the Bainbridge Town hall Theater, spokesman Phil Wade explains:

(Phil Wade 3-7-19)

Ticket reservations can be made at 288-3882 for Sunday Afternoon’s show.

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The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours Will be held today from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at The Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center in the Atrium.  The event will celebrate 10 & 20 year member anniversaries.   More information is available at 432-4500 or karen@otsegocc.com.

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The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School will hold a Board of Education Meeting today in the Guilford Elementary School at 6:30 PM. The business portion of the meeting will start at 7:00 PM.

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