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Recently posted to Reddit: This is a good topic for discussion, as it pertains to both the region and the state as a whole. What are your thoughts on this?

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Governor Kathy Hochul today launched a nation-leading initiative to offer fully paid parental leave benefits to New York State employees. The Governor announced in a policy bulletin that more than 10,000 unrepresented State employees will be eligible to receive 12 weeks of fully paid leave to use for bonding with a newborn, fostered, or adopted child. The majority of employees will be able to take leave starting today. “The dedicated New Yorkers who keep our state moving should not be forced to choose between a paycheck and caring for their child, and this policy will establish New York State as a model for helping working families,” Governor Hochul said. “My administration is committed to giving our public servants the support they need because it's not only good for their families, it's good policy.” Despite the well-documented positive benefits of paid parental leave to maternal and infant health, as well as family economic security and workforce retention, the United States is the only developed country in the world without a national paid parental leave policy. New parents and caregivers depend on a patchwork of various federal, state, and local leave policies, in addition to any employer-sponsored benefits. Governor Hochul first announced this initiative as part of her 2023 State of the State. The Office of Employee Relations (OER) and the Department of Civil Service have since worked to establish the program and make it available for unrepresented State workers. Under the policy issued today, all unrepresented executive branch employees who work full-time or who work at least 50 percent part-time are eligible for this benefit, with eligibility beginning on their first day of service. OER will continue to engage State unions on extending this benefit to their employees through collective bargaining.

David Jude Jolicoeur, known widely as Trugoy the Dove and one of the founding members of the Long Island hip hop trio De La Soul, has died. He was 54. His representative Tony Ferguson confirmed the reports Sunday. No other information was immediately available.

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the first of the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licenses in the Southern Tier will open in Binghamton. The opening of the store advances New York State's Seeding Opportunity Initiative and the state's goals of equity in cannabis licensing, which prioritizes providing licenses to justice-involved individuals who are people with a cannabis conviction or a close relative of someone with one, and non-profits that serve justice-involved individuals. The planning board in Binghamton gave its final approval yesterday evening, clearing the way for the store to open February 10. "With the opening of new dispensaries like Just Breathe in Binghamton, we continue to expand the nation's most equitable and inclusive cannabis industry here in New York," Governor Hochul said. "New York remains committed to supporting independent business dispensary owners, New York farmers who poured their heart into their harvest, and every adult who wants to enjoy legally purchased cannabis in and from the Empire State." The dispensary opening in Binghamton - Just Breathe at 75 Court Street - will be owned and operated by a partnership between an experienced local entrepreneur, Damien Cornwell, and the Non-Profit Broome County Urban League. Cornwell has helped to spearhead initiatives with the BCUL, providing justice-involved individuals with resources, education and pathways to careers over the past two decades. The store will open in the same location as a currently licensed cannabinoid hemp retailer, which has successfully been introducing cannabis-derived products, such as CBD oil and flower, to the community since 2020. A first in the Southern Tier, the licensed dispensary will open for customers in the heart of a revitalized Binghamton downtown with products sourced from farmers in the area and across New York State.

Follow up: According to a release sent out by the city of Elmira, interim Chief Thorne will be officially sworn in as Chief on Friday, Feb. 10 at 2pm During his tenure, Thorne has worked as a Patrol Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and Deputy Chief of Police. His supervisory roles have included the Detective Bureau, Drug Enforcement Unit and Patrol. In addition, Thorne was the Elmira SWAT Team Commander. Thorne and his family reside in Erin.

This pic was on Facebook over the weekend:

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The Professional Box Lacrosse Association has put a stop to the current season. According to Steve Donner:

The West Elmira Police Department is investigating a fatal car vs. pedestrian motor vehicle accident that happened in the Town of Elmira yesterday. On Thursday, January 26th at about 1:21 PM, West Elmira Police and Fire Departments were dispatched to the intersection of Glen Avenue and West Water Streets for a report of a person struck by a vehicle. Police say that a 72 year old Pine City woman was walking her dog across Glen Avenue and within the crosswalk. A GMC pick up truck driven by a 37 year old man turned left from West Water Street on to Glen Avenue and struck the woman. The victim was taken to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre in critical condition, and later died of her injuries. Police say the investigation is still ongoing and the driver of the pickup truck is cooperating fully with police. The West Elmira Police Department asks that anyone with information about this incident call (607) 735-8600.

Calculating the cost of living in the country. Ariel Skelley/Getty Images Stephan Weiler, Colorado State University and Tessa Conroy, University of Wisconsin-Madison When the Federal Reserve convenes at the end of January 2023 to set interest rates, it will be guided by one key bit of data: the U.S. inflation rate. The problem is, that stat ignores a sizable chunk of the country – rural America. Currently sitting at 6.5%, the rate of inflation is still high, even though it has fallen back slightly from the end of 2022. The overall inflation rate, along with core inflation – which strips out highly volatile food and energy costs – is seen as key to knowing whether the economy is heating up too fast, and guided the Fed as it imposed several large 0.75 percentage point interest rate increases in 2022. The hope is that raising the benchmark rate, which in turn increases the costs of taking out a bank loan or mortgage, for example, will help reduce inflation back to the Fed target of around 2%. But the main indicator of inflation, the consumer price index, is compiled by looking at the changes in price specifically urban Americans pay for a set basket of goods. Those living in rural America are not surveyed. As economists who study rural America, we believe this poses a problem: People living outside America’s cities represent 14% of the U.S. population, or around 46 million people. They are likely to face different financial pressures and have different consumption habits than urbanites. The fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys only urban populations for the consumer price index makes assessing rural inflation much more difficult – it may even be masking a rural-urban inflation gap. To assess if such a gap exists, one needs to turn to other pricing data and qualitative analyses to build a picture of price growth in nonurban areas. We did this by focusing on four critical goods and services in which rural and urban price effects may be significantly different. What we found was rural areas may indeed be suffering more from inflation than urban areas, creating an underappreciated gap. 1. The cost of running a car in the country Higher costs related to cars and gas can contribute to a urban-rural inflation gap, severely eating into any discretionary income for families outside urban areas, a 2022 report found. This is likely related to there being considerable differences in vehicle purchases, ownership and lengths of commutes between urban and rural Americans. Car ownership is integral to rural life, essential for getting from place to place, whereas urban residents can more easily choose cheaper options like public transit, walking or bicycling. This has several implications for expenses in rural areas. Rural residents spend more on car purchases out of necessity. They are also more likely to own a used car. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a huge increase in used car prices as a result of a lack of new vehicles due to supply chain constraints. These price increases likely affected remote areas disproportionately. Rural Americans tend to drive farther as part of their day-to-day activities. Because of greater levels of isolation, rural workers are often required to make longer commutes and drive farther for child care, with the proportion of those traveling 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more for work having increased over the past few years. In upper Midwest states as of 2018, nearly 25% of workers in the most remote rural counties commute 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more, compared with just over 10% or workers in urban counties. Longer journeys mean cars and trucks will wear out more quickly. As a result, rural residents have to devote more money to repairing and replacing cars and trucks – so any jump in automotive inflation will hit them harder. Though fuel costs can be volatile, periods of high energy prices – such as the one the U.S. experienced through much of 2022 – are likely to disproportionately affect rural residents given the necessity and greater distances of driving. Anecdotal evidence also suggests gas prices can be higher in rural communities than in urban areas. 2. Rising cost of eating at home – and traveling for groceries As eating away from home becomes more expensive, many households may choose to eat in more often to cut costs. But rural residents already spend a larger amount on eating at home – likely due in part to the slimmer choices available for eating out. This means they have less flexibility as food costs rise, particularly when it comes to essential grocery items for home preparation. And with the annual inflation of the price of groceries outpacing the cost eating out – 11.8% versus 8.3% – dining at home becomes comparably more expensive. Rural Americans also do more driving to get groceries – the median rural household travels 3.11 miles (5 kilometers) to go to the nearest grocery store, compared with 0.69 miles (1.1 kilometers) for city dwellers. This creates higher costs to feed a rural family and again more vehicle depreciation. Rural grocery stores are also dwindling in number, with dollar stores taking their place. As a result, fresh food in particular can be scarce and expensive, which leads to a more limited and unhealthy diet. And with food-at-home prices rising faster than prices at restaurants, the tendency of rural residents to eat more at home will see their costs rising faster. 3. The cost of growing old and ill outside cities Demographically, rural counties trend older – part of the effect of younger residents migrating to cities and college towns for either work or educational reasons. And older people spend more on health insurance and medical services. Medical services overall have been rising in cost too, so those older populations will be spending more for vital doctors visits. Again with health, any increase in gas prices will disproportionately hit rural communities more because of the extra travel needed to get even primary care. On average, rural Americans travel 5 more miles (8 kilometers) to get to the nearest hospital than those living in cities. And specialists may be hundreds of miles away. 4. Cheaper home costs, but heating and cooling can be expensive Rural Americans aren’t always the losers when it comes to the inflation gap. One item in rural areas that favors them is housing. Outside cities, housing costs are generally lower, because of more limited demand. More rural Americans own their homes than city dwellers. Since owning a home is generally cheaper than renting during a time of rising housing costs, this helps insulate homeowners from inflation, especially as housing prices soared in 2021. But even renters in rural America spend proportionately less. With housing making up around a third of the consumer price index, these cost advantages work in favor of rural residents. However, poorer-quality housing leaves rural homeowners and renters vulnerable to rising heating and cooling costs, as well as additional maintenance costs. Inflation – a disproportionate burden While there is no conclusive official quantitative data that shows an urban-rural inflation gap, a review of rural life and consumption habits suggests that rural Americans suffer more as the cost of living goes up. Indeed, rural inflation may be more pernicious than urban inflation, with price increases likely lingering longer than in cities. Stephan Weiler, Professor of Economics, Colorado State University and Tessa Conroy, Economic Development Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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ALBANY, NY – Senator Tom O’Mara and Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay, along with Senator Alexis Weik, Assemblyman Robert Smullen, members of law enforcement, victims’ advocates, and members of the Senate and Assembly Republican Conferences today unveiled a legislative package to Create a Safer New York. In contrast with Albany One Party Rule’s disastrous pro-criminal “reforms,” these comprehensive policy solutions would support our brave members of law enforcement, fix the state’s broken criminal justice system, crack down on illegal gun crime, and protect victims and innocent New Yorkers. “From misguided bail, prison discipline and parole reform stemming from the ‘defund the police’ movement, we have seen over the past several years this Legislature move in directions that many of us believe pose a serious danger to public safety and security throughout New York State. This state has become less safe and we need to keep working against the extreme Albany Democrats’ criminal coddling law enforcement policies, stand behind our police officers, and resist radical efforts that threaten the safety and stability of our communities and neighborhoods,” said Senator Tom O’Mara, of the 58th District. “Every day we hear of another blanket release mandate for even the most violent of criminals. We hear how they are deserving of the second chance at life they robbed our families of," said Jennifer Harrison, Founder of Victims’ Rights NY. "But I have yet to hear how those that are being released back into society have been rehabilitated. Instead of issuing these blanket release mandates Governor Kathy Hochul and her majority should be focusing on investing in the rehabilitation of the nonviolent offenders to prevent victimization in the first place, before it is too late for families like ours and the offenders themselves. The current revolving door system they have created clearly is not working." To provide much-needed support to law enforcement, fix the state’s broken criminal justice system, crack down on illegal gun crime, and protect victims and innocent New Yorkers, Republicans proposed: Support Law Enforcement Creating the SAFER Communities Grant Program to invest in critical investigatory and prosecutorial resources designed to increase case clearance rates for homicide and gun crimes; Repealing HALT to protect our corrections officers; and Allowing the use of familial DNA to give law enforcement more investigatory tools. Fix the Broken Criminal Justice System Rolling back disastrous bail and discovery laws, and providing for judicial discretion to stop the revolving door in our criminal justice system; Opposing soft-on-crime policies being advanced by the Democratic Majorities, including the so-called “Clean Slate” Act, “Elder Parole,” and others; and Increasing penalties for habitual repeat offenders who commit crimes that harm New Yorkers’ quality of life. Crack Down on Illegal Gun Crime Reducing the use of illegal firearms with increased funding for gun interdiction efforts; Increasing penalties for crimes committed with stolen firearms, and mandatory consecutive sentencing for crimes involving illegal firearms; and Making any misdemeanor or felony offense involving an illegal firearm bail eligible, and amending Raise the Age to ensure 16- and 17-year-olds charged with certain gun or gang-related crimes are prosecuted as adults. Protect Victims and Innocent New Yorkers Restricting the release of identifying information in certain cases, and putting in place policies to protect victims’ rights during parole process; Increasing the caps on Office of Victim Services reimbursements for crime victims, and investing in victim support programs; and Authorizing judges to set lifetime orders of protection for certain crimes, such as violent and domestic violence felonies. The package outlined today is the first in a series of comprehensive proposals that will be put forth by the Republican Conferences this session in order to reduce crime, strengthen public safety, and protect victims and innocent, law-abiding New Yorkers.

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A new vaccine promises better protection against a virulent honeybee infection. AP Photo/Elise AmendolaJennie L. Durant, University of California, Davis Honeybees, which pollinate one-third of the crops Americans eat, face many threats, including infectious diseases. On Jan. 4, 2023, a Georgia biotechnology company called Dalan Animal Health announced that it had received a conditional license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a vaccine designed to protect honeybees against American foulbrood, a highly destructive infection. To receive a conditional license, which usually lasts for one year and is subject to further evaluation by the USDA, veterinary biological products must be shown to be pure, safe and reasonably likely to be effective. Dr. Jennie Durant, an agriculture researcher at the University of California, Davis, who specializes in honeybee health, explains why this vaccine is potentially an important step in ongoing efforts to protect pollinators. 1. What threat does this vaccine address? The new bee vaccine, Paenibacillus Larvae Bacterin, aims to protect honeybees from American foulbrood. This highly destructive bacterial disease gets its name from the foul scent honeybee larvae exude when infected. An outbreak of American foulbrood is effectively a death sentence for a bee colony and can economically devastate a beekeeping operation. The spores from the bacteria, Paenibacillus larvae, are highly transmissible and can remain virulent for decades after infection. How American foulbrood affects honeybee colonies. Once an outbreak occurs, beekeepers typically have to destroy any bee colonies that they know were infected to avoid spreading the disease. They also have to destroy the hive boxes the colonies were stored in and any equipment that may have touched infected colonies. Beekeepers have used antibiotics preventively for decades to keep foulbrood in check and treat infected colonies. Often they mix the antibiotics with powdered sugar and sprinkle it inside the colony box. As often happens when antibiotics are overused, scientists and beekeepers are seeing antibiotic resistance and negative impacts on hive health, such as disruption of the helpful microbes that live in bees’ guts. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring a veterinarian’s prescription or feed directive to use antibiotics for foulbrood. While this regulatory change sought to address antibiotic resistance, it limited beekeepers’ access to antibiotics and their ability to treat foulbrood preventively. The vaccine would ideally provide a more sustainable solution. 2. How effectively does the vaccine prevent infection? Studies are still analyzing its effectiveness. One published study demonstrated a 30% to 50% increase in resistance to American foulbrood in a vaccinated queen’s offspring. While this might seem low, it’s important to put the results in context. Given how deadly and contagious American foulbrood is, researchers did not want to directly expose an outdoor hive to foulbrood with an unproven vaccine. Instead, they conducted lab studies where they exposed test hives to around 1,000 times the number of American foulbrood spores a colony would typically be exposed to in the field. Dalan, the manufacturer, has field trials planned for 2023. 3. How do you vaccinate honeybees? It’s not done with tiny needles – beekeepers mix the vaccine into bee food. This approach exposes queen bees to inactive Paenibacillus larvae bacteria, which helps larvae hatched in the hive to resist infection. This is not a mRNA vaccine, like the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines. It’s a more traditional inactive vaccine like the one we use against polio. To understand how the vaccine works, it’s helpful to know what queen bees eat: a protein-rich substance called “royal jelly” that is secreted from glands on the heads of young worker bees. When queen bees are shipped to a beekeeper, they are typically placed in a small cage with 50 to 200 worker bees that have been fed something called queen candy. This substance is often made with powdered sugar and corn syrup and has the consistency of sugar cookie dough or modeling clay. Worker bees consume the candy, produce royal jelly and feed it to the queen. The vaccine’s delivery method uses this unique system. A beekeeper can mix the vaccine with the queen candy, which is then digested by worker bees. They produce royal jelly and feed it to the queen, who digests it and then transfers the vaccine to her ovaries. Once she is transferred to the hive and begins laying eggs, the larvae that hatch from those eggs have a heightened immunity to American foulbrood. The new vaccine takes advantage of the queen’s central role in the hive. 4. Who will use the vaccine? According to representatives at Dalan, limited quantities of the vaccine should be available starting in spring 2023 to commercial beekeepers and bee producers, with the aim of supplying smaller-scale beekeepers and hobbyists in the future. 5. How long will a dose last? Dalan is still researching the specifics. Its current understanding is that it will last as long as the queen bee can lay eggs. If she dies, is killed or is replaced, the beekeeper will have to purchase a new vaccinated queen. 6. Is this a big scientific advance? Yes – it is the first vaccine for any insect in the U.S. and could help pave the way for new vaccines to treat other issues that have plagued the beekeeping industry for decades. Honeybees face many urgent threats, including Varroa mites, climate change and poor nutrition, which makes this vaccine an exciting new development. Dalan is also working on a vaccine to protect bees against European foulbrood. This disease is less fatal than American foulbrood, but is still highly infectious. Beekeepers have been able to treat it with antibiotics but, as with American foulbrood, they are seeing signs of resistance. Jennie L. Durant, Research Affiliate in Human Ecology, University of California, Davis This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

UPDATE 1-24-23 Police have identified the victim as 34 year old Jeremy J. Shazer of Elmira.

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