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ALBANY — State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) today reminded area residents that the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) will conduct its annual “RecruitNY” campaign this weekend. “Recruit NY” is an annual public awareness initiative sponsored by FASNY to encourage the recruitment and retention of local volunteer firefighters and EMTs. This year’s RecruitNY campaign is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14. Throughout the weekend volunteer fire departments across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, and statewide, will conduct Open Houses and invite the public to learn more about becoming a volunteer firefighter. For a county-by-county list of fire departments locally and statewide currently scheduled to hold a RecruitNY Open House, visit FASNY’s website at https://www.recruitny.org/participants/. O’Mara said, "The challenge of recruiting volunteer firefighters and EMTs, especially in our rural, upstate communities, deserves all of the attention it gets. Keeping our corps of emergency services volunteers strong must be a statewide priority. Our volunteer fire departments have long been the foundation of public safety and security, and the center of community service and civic pride, and we can’t risk their decline. It’s a challenge that we need to keep working on and raising awareness about because in addition to the safety and well-being of our communities, the economic impact of volunteer emergency services is enormous. RecruitNY sounds the alarm and accomplishes these goals very effectively.” According to FASNY, the number of volunteer firefighters statewide declined from 140,000 in the early 1990s to less than 90,000 just a few years ago. Volunteer emergency medical technicians (EMTs) experienced a decline from more than 50,000 to 35,000 during the same period, with some rural counties experiencing as much as a 50-percent depletion of their EMT ranks. FASNY recently noted that they have lost 4,100 volunteers over the past two years and, this year, are calling on state legislators to increase the state’s income tax credit for volunteers from the current $200, which was set in 2006, to $800. O’Mara, together with local state Assemblymen Phil Palmesano (R, C,I-Corning) and Chris Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) have long sponsored legislation known as the “Omnibus Emergency Services Volunteer Incentive Act,” to provide a series of tax and other incentives to help address the recruitment and retention challenge. They point to their legislation as part of ongoing state-level efforts by FASNY and others to keep drawing attention to a challenge that many believe poses a property tax crisis in waiting and other crises for many rural, upstate communities. A FASNY study, “Tax Savings and Economic Value of Volunteer Firefighters in New York,” found that the state’s 100,000 volunteer firefighters save taxpayers nearly $4 billion annually. Other specific findings included that: an additional 31,000 career firefighters would be necessary to convert to an all-paid service statewide; the annual cost of an all-career service would be $4.7 billion; there would be a one-time cost of $8.2 billion to acquire existing stations/structures, vehicles, and equipment -- approximately 1,300 stations would have to be built new or reconstructed; and property taxes statewide would rise an average of 28.4% statewide. The FASNY report noted, “New York State as a whole relies heavily on volunteer fire departments. Of its 1,795 municipal fire departments, 89% are volunteer. Volunteer firefighters are most prevalent in smaller, suburban, and rural communities that have a lesser tax base than larger towns and cities. That these communities rely on volunteers testifies to cost savings from volunteer departments, and conversion to paid departments would be a particular burden for these localities.”

The track management team has been busy preparing for the 2024 season since the last checkered flag flew back in September. Ray and Ellen Hodge, promoters of the 3/8-mile paved oval, have made some exciting changes for the upcoming season. “First and foremost, we’ve had a solid relationship with Jim Bronson and his nearby business. He’s stepped up in a big way, so we’re now Chemung Speedrome Presented by Jim Bronson and Ferrario Auto Team of Sayre, PA,” Ray stated. Hodge is pleased with the level of support from area businesses. Three businesses are returning to sponsor divisions (Buckley’s Automotive Modifieds, Blauvelt Funeral Home Super Stocks, and Marion Decker Agency Hobby Stocks). This year they’ll be joined by a new sponsor for the Bandolero division, JRC Cleaning from Athens, PA. Many other businesses provide support in the form of billboard signage and/or sponsorship of race nights or products throughout the year. Race teams can get ready for the season with single car open practice on Friday, April 19 th from 1 PM until dark, or during a regular test and tune for all divisions on Saturday, April 20 th from 3 PM until 7 PM. Pit passes for each day are $10, with a $25 per car fee each day. Grandstand viewing is free to the public during those practice times. That all sets the stage for the season opener on Saturday, May 4 th . The opener, sponsored by Buckley’s Automotive, includes Modifieds, Super Stocks, Hobby Stocks, 4 Cylinders and Bandoleros. The grandstand opens at 1 PM, with racing beginning at 2 PM. Admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors ages 65 and older, $5 for kids ages 6 to 12, and free for kids ages 5 and under. A year ago, TJ Potrzebowski won his second consecutive season opener over eventual 2-time track champion, Lee Sharpsteen in the Buckley’s Automotive Modifieds. The following weekend Chemung will also run on Saturday afternoon, with the first of four appearances by various divisions operating under the Race of Champions banner. This one, the first of two for the Modifieds, has the same 2 PM start and is $25 for adults, $22 for seniors 65+, $10 for ages 6-12 and free Austin Beers won the 75-lap event last year, in a race that became the first half of his ROC sweep at Chemung. Zane Zeiner finished second to Beers a year ago in this one. Racing switches back to Chemung’s regular Friday night schedule on May 17 th , with a regular show presented by returning sponsor Firehouse Subs. Another longtime supporter, Sam’s Bar & Grill presents Fan Appreciation Night with a Meet & Greet and regular show on Friday, May 24 th . Regular Friday shows will begin at 7 PM. “We’re looking forward to kicking off the season, and this year we reverted back to building in an off week each month for the racers,” Hodge explained. Those off nights are May31 st , June 21st , July 12 th , and August 16th also looking forward to 2 ROC Modified shows and 2 for their Sportsman division this year.” Once again, the track expects newcomers in each class. The Bandolero division continues to serve as a launching point for many drivers. Over the winter the Sinsabaugh and Gullo families were busy preparing a Modified for former champ Chase, and a Hobby Stock for last year’s champ Devin. Several others are moving on up, something the fans appreciate seeing as well. Anyone seeking more information on operations or track sponsorship can contact Ray Hodge (607-483- 3468). or Jerry Sinsabaugh (607-738-8829. Current information is always on the track’s official Facebook page (Chemung Speedrome – Racing at the Drome) or website (www.chemung-speedrome.com). This report was submitted to us by Carol Houssock

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Two men were arrested after a complaint that they were threatening people in the neighborhood with weapons. On Tuesday at approximately 6:48pm Elmira Police responded to the area of the 1000 block of N Main St for a report of a man threatening people with a firearm, while in the company of another male who was threatening people with a knife. Upon arrival, Elmira Police Officers located a male who matched the description of the suspect with the knife standing outside of a residence and he was taken into custody without incident. Officers quickly were able to ascertain the identity of the other male who was reported to be in possession of the firearms. At this time, the second suspect was observed in an open window of the second floor of a residence in the area. Due to the weapons concerns, Elmira Police Officers closed traffic in the surrounding areas and were able to verbally contact the suspect, who ultimately surrendered to police after approximately after approximately forty minutes. Elmira Police Department executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered multiple firearms and large quantities of ammunition. The firearms described to responding officers that the suspect had pointed at neighbors, prompting the original call to police were among the firearms recovered. As a result of the investigation, the Elmira Police Department has charged 45 year old Benjamin J Luisi of Elmira, with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd degree, a Class C Felony. Additionally, Elmira Police charged 33 year old David P Haynes of Elmira with Menacing in the 2nd degree, a class A Misdemeanor. Both men were held at the Elmira Police Department pending arraignment in Elmira City Court today. This investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending related to this incident. The Elmira Police Department would like to thank the New York State Police, Chemung County Sheriffs Office and West Elmira Police Department for their assistance in this matter.

Source Take note: This was published in 2022. Do you think it's an accurate assessment, or perhaps even more accurate now than it was in 2022?

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Traffic entering and leaving midtown Manhattan via the Queensboro Bridge over the East River. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews by John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County New York City is poised to launch the first congestion pricing plan to reduce traffic in a major U.S. metropolitan area. Like many journeys in the Big Apple, this one has been punctuated by delays. Once the system starts up, however, it’s expected to significantly reduce gridlock in Manhattan and generate billions of dollars to improve public transit citywide. The basic idea is simple. To enter the Congestion Relief Zone, which covers Manhattan south of 60th Street, large trucks will pay $36, small trucks $24, passenger vehicles $15 and motorcycles $7.50. Ride-share vehicles and taxis will pay $2.50 and $1.25, respectively. Peak hours run from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends; overnight tolls are discounted by 75%. Evidence from cities around the world shows that charging motorists fees for driving into city centers during busy periods is a rarity in urban public policy: a measure that works and is cost-effective. Congestion pricing has succeeded in cities including London, Singapore and Stockholm, where it has eased traffic, sped up travel times, reduced pollution and provided funds for public transportation and infrastructure investments. As an urban policy scholar, I’m looking forward to seeing New York’s plan go into effect. There may well be surprises and adjustments as officials see how it works in practice. But given the heavy costs that traffic imposes on public health and productivity, I’m encouraged to see a major U.S. city finally test this approach. Congestion pricing in New York City has traveled a long and winding road to adoption. Nudging drivers Congestion pricing is a response to externalities – costs or benefits that are generated by one party but incurred by another. Clogged city streets and air pollution are externalities created by urban car users, many of whom live outside the city. This concept has been around for some time. British economist Arthur Pigou discussed it as early as 1920 as part of his attempt to remedy the suboptimal workings of the market system. In Pigou’s view, taxing harmful activities would discourage people from engaging in them. Other thinkers took up this idea. In 1963, Canadian economist William Vickrey, a future Nobel laureate, argued that roads were scarce resources that needed to be valued by imposing costs on users. This approach is behind behavioral economics, the policy strategy of using “nudges” that preserve choice but encourage certain actions. Congestion pricing assumes that increased prices will make people heading into New York think more carefully about their travel patterns, and about alternatives to driving. New York’s Congestion Relief Zone covers all of Manhattan below 60th Street, except for the highways around its perimeter and the Carey Tunnel from Battery Park to Brooklyn. Metropolitan Transit Authority, CC BY-ND Public transit receives priority Congestion pricing in a city a big as New York is no small step. The New York plan was presented to the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority in November 2023 after years of study and a detailed environmental impact assessment, required by federal law. Project sponsors, which include several city agencies and the state transportation department, stated in the impact assessment that on an average weekday, an estimated 1.86 million people entered lower Manhattan by motor vehicle. Travel speeds in Manhattan’s central business district, below 60th Street, declined by 23% between 2010 and 2019, from 9.1 to 7.1 mph. The traffic was generating air and noise pollution, wasting travelers’ time, increasing business costs and preventing emergency vehicles from responding quickly to accidents. The agencies estimated that the proposed toll system would reduce traffic in the Congestion Relief Zone by 17%, with an associated decline in air pollution. It also would generate US$15 billion for capital improvements to the city’s public transit system, including making stations accessible for passengers with disabilities and buying new electric buses and commuter rail and subway cars. More than 75% of all trips into the central business district are made by public transit. The system has been plagued by breakdowns over the past decade. The Metropolitan Transit Authority recently adopted a $52 billion capital improvement program to update its network, some parts of which are more than 100 years old. About 90% of the people who work in lower and midtown Manhattan get there by public transit, which will receive significant investments funded by congestion tolls. NY Traffic Mobility Review Board, CC BY-ND Over several months of public hearings, the MTA heard both broad support for congestion pricing and thousands of requests for credits, discounts and exemptions, most of which were denied. The limited number of exemptions includes private commuter buses, school buses and city-owned vehicles, including emergency vehicles. In addition, drivers who travel via Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive on Manhattan’s eastern edge, the West Side Highway on its western edge, or the Carey Tunnel between Brooklyn and Battery Park will not be charged if they do not enter any street in the Congestion Relief Zone. Drivers from the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island will be eligible for rebates and discounts on certain bridge tolls. There were widespread complaints from New Yorkers in the outer boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, and from car commuters who live outside of the city. New Jersey is suing the MTA, arguing among other things that the plan is unconstitutional because it burdens interstate commerce. This suit could delay the start of congestion pricing. Nonetheless, the board adopted the plan with just one dissenting vote, from a representative of Nassau County on Long Island. Transit advocates demonstrate in Brooklyn for better service in July 2017 during a period of mounting delays and breakdowns in New York’s subway system. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer Starting the journey Many questions will only be answered once the system starts up in June 2024, or later if it is delayed by lawsuits. Will toll prices be high enough to spur people to switch to another mode of transportation or combine trips, while still generating enough revenue for the MTA’s ambitious capital improvement program? How will toll revenue be spent? And how will commuters respond when they find that trains and subways initially are more crowded, before capital upgrades improve the system? Some low-income and minority communities that already experience heavy traffic, such as the Bronx, could see increased congestion as drivers detour around the toll zone. To help mitigate some of these effects, the transit authority is planning to invest millions of dollars to reduce pollution in these environmental justice areas through steps such as installing air filters in schools, planting more trees and electrifying trucks at the massive Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in the Bronx. No one likes to pay for something that was previously free. But freedom for car users has imposed health and economic costs on millions of New Yorkers for many years. Congestion charges do raise equity issues, but only 5% percent of people who commute into the central business district travel by car, and most of those drivers have relatively high incomes. The MTA may need to adjust tolls, the zone’s borders or other aspects of the plan. But if New York’s experiment succeeds, it could provide a model and valuable insights for other traffic-clogged U.S. cities. John Rennie Short is Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced a new online resource both for new hunters and organizations offering mentored hunting opportunities. This tool will connect novices with experienced hunters who will help them develop the skills needed to be safe and successful when afield. Mentored hunts allow hunters with little or no hunting experience to learn additional firearm safety and hunting skills while building confidence under the guidance of more experienced hunters. First-time hunters can now find mentored hunt events in New York and register for those learn-to-hunt opportunities on the new Mentored Hunt Program registration webpage. DEC’s Mentored Hunt Program registration page also provides a platform for those hosting a mentored hunt to advertise their event statewide. Partnering organizations can fill out an application to have their event posted on the registration page and amplified to the public on DEC’s platforms. DEC invites groups and organizations to register their mentored hunt events for turkey, deer, waterfowl, pheasants, and other small game. Interested groups should visit the Application to Host a Mentored Hunt site to register. By using DEC’s Mentored Hunt program registration, users will: Make your event more visible to new hunters statewide; Ease registration for participants; Track registered participants to better plan your event; and Promote your event to a wider audience of potential participants. New hunters are encouraged to check the DEC Mentored Hunt Program registration page regularly for upcoming events. Listed opportunities will vary based on time of year and upcoming hunting seasons. Attendance is often limited, and each event requires registration to attend. Hunts may or may not be a DEC-organized event, so please read individual event details for more information. All hunters taking part in a mentored hunt must successfully complete a hunter education course and purchase a NYS hunting license prior to their participation. For more information, check out DEC’s Learn to Hunt Opportunities webpage on DEC’s website.

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John Fetterman: "I am not woke." On squatters: On soft-on-crime policies: Source: https://nypost.com/2024/04/06/us-news/fetterman-blasts-squatters-violent-crime-i-am-not-woke/

Gene Simmons in his interview with Dan Rather on AXS-TV in 2021

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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the launch of New York’s inaugural first responder mental health needs assessment to better understand the mental health-related challenges facing the public safety community and strengthen programs and services for these professionals. Stemming from a partnership between the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and SUNY New Paltz’s Institute for Disaster Mental Health and Benjamin Center, the assessment will include results from a voluntary anonymous survey and input from a series of focus groups for first responders. “As we continue to make historic investments in mental health care, it is critical that we engage with communities of first responders, who suffer disproportionately from mental health related challenges,” Governor Hochul said.“Our state is only as strong as the network of individuals who keep us safe, and this comprehensive needs assessment will help us provide them with the care and resources they deserve.” The needs assessment will gather input from law enforcement, the fire service, EMTs, 911 dispatchers and emergency managers. Officials from DHSES and SUNY New Paltz will deliver the results of the assessment at the 19th Annual Institute for Disaster Mental Health Conference at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park on May 14 and May 15. In addition to these initiatives, the State Office of Mental Health is partnering with the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the Institute for Disaster Mental Health to develop a disaster mental health response statewide. Disaster mental health responders may be activated to support disaster response operations and provide a compassionate presence, immediate psychological first aid and additional support as needed to address the early and expected stress reactions to disasters. OMH is leveraging federal funding to further develop and train the disaster mental health team, with plans underway to help develop and support local and regional teams. Likewise, DHSES has been working with OMH and the institute to identify additional first responder mental health-related training opportunities, including peer-to-peer courses offered at the State Preparedness Training Center. Peer support teams include individuals with lived experience to provide emotional, social, and practical support when needed. Peer support teams are often used within public safety organizations to help individuals deal with job-related stress and following critical incidents. Last week, the training center hosted two peer support team training sessions – Assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention – in Oriskany. Both sessions reached capacity and additional trainings will be offered later this year.