P.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 3-30-22

The State Legislature is working to complete the annual State Budget plan, with the April 1st Deadline looming. Governor Hochul submitted a 216.3 Billion Dollar budget proposal in January, both the Assembly & State Senate Budgets called for more spending than that.

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Hospice & Palliative Care of Chenango County is holding their Annual Spring Plant Sale through the month of April, Spokesperson Sarah Greene explains:

(Sarah Greene 3-30-22)

Greene said that the plant sale is a fundraiser, that help enable Hospice & Palliative care of Chenango County serve about 200 County residents with a variety of programs.

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U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced the reintroduction of her Postal Banking Act, legislation that would re-establish postal banking to provide financial security to millions of Americans in low-income and rural communities.

(Gillibrand 3-30-22)

Gillibrand said that the Postal Service has offered money orders for decades, and served as a banking facility in many communities for over 50 years, More information is available at gillibrand.senate.gov.

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State Attorney General Letitia James sent letters to the biggest credit card companies and debt collectors operating in the state, warning them of new state regulations that prohibit lawsuits for old debts. The Consumer Credit Fairness act of 2021 will go into effect next month and will reduce the statute of limitations for consumer debt collections from six years to just three years. Also, Debt collectors may not call consumers more than seven times in any seven-day period. After talking on the phone with a consumer, collectors must wait seven days before calling again. Debt collectors cannot call between 9 pm. and 8 am. local time. Debt collectors may not contact consumers at their workplace, or through work email address, public social media postings, or through third parties.

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Hartwick College has received approval from the State Department of Education to offer 2 new graduate programs: a Master’s in Nursing Education and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Nursing Education. The new offerings will begin in May, & are designed to be taken online, with support from experienced faculty mentors. More information is available at hartwick.edu/graduatenursing or by calling (607) 431-4287.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 3-30-22

COVID 19 testing positivity rates are increasing again, back up to 3.15% after more than 76,000 people were tested Monday with 2400 testing positive. Hospitalizations increased to 845, Patients in ICU were still at 127, Patients on ventilators went up slightly to 59, and 9 New deaths were reported by healthcare facilities.

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Otsego County Sheriff’s Office announced Modified visitation procedures for inmate visitation will begin on Saturday, April 2 by appointment only. Visits can be scheduled by calling 607-547-4252. The deadline for scheduling a visit for the weekend will be Friday’s at 2300hrs. Visitation will be on Saturdays and Sundays ONLY. One (1) visitor allowed per inmate. Visitation will be 1 hour in duration. Visitation will be non-contact. ll visitors and inmates will be required to wear a face mask at all times while in the facility, and during the entire visit.

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