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Last week Governor Kathy Hochul granted clemency to 10 individuals who showed remorse and exemplified rehabilitation. Individuals selected for clemency have shown a commitment to bettering their communities and themselves, and were carefully selected after a thorough review process. The Governor also announced several steps to reform the Executive clemency program, including announcing that she has directed the Counsel to the Governor to select an advisory panel to assist in advising the Governor on clemency applications. The panel will consist of impartial experts from the fields of law enforcement, public defense, the judiciary, and clergy, as well as formerly incarcerated people. "As Governor, I have a unique and solemn responsibility to carefully use the power of clemency to address individuals in the criminal justice system who have made mistakes and have taken extraordinary steps to rehabilitate themselves," Governor Hochul said. "I am granting clemency to these deserving individuals who have exemplified rehabilitation, and I am committed to increased transparency and accountability in this process going forward. No one should be defined by their worst mistake, and these individuals have worked tirelessly to atone for theirs." Governor Hochul also announced an overhaul of the clemency process to increase transparency and improve the review process. First, the Governor committed to dedicating additional staff resources to reviewing applications in order to be able to grant clemency on an ongoing basis throughout the year, rather than granting clemency only once. Additional resources will help ensure this ongoing process can occur in a meaningful way, and that every application can receive the thorough and timely attention it deserves. To improve transparency in the clemency application and review process, the Governor also announced that whenever she acts on clemency, her office will release numbers detailing how many clemency applications have been delivered year-to-date, and how many have been granted or denied. Twice a year, applicants whose cases remain open and under review will receive letters confirming their case status and providing information about how the applicant may submit supplemental information in support of their application. The Governor’s office will also work with the Executive Clemency Bureau within the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to provide improved guidance to clemency applicants about what information they should include in their applications and how they should make the Governor’s office aware of changes in their circumstances that may impact their case. Pardons Ana Sanchez Ventura, 64, has lived a crime free life for 19 years, and is an active member of her local community, including a local senior center where she has organized trips and helped sew and donate hundreds of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Sanchez has three children and several grandchildren, and has lived in the United States for more than 45 years. She was convicted of Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree in 2002. A pardon will help her remain here with her family and community. Juan Vinas, 56, has lived a crime free life for 30 years, and has been gainfully employed at a garage management company in New York City for close to 25 years. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years, is married to a U.S. citizen, and is the father of five U.S. citizen children, one of whom is a U.S. Army veteran. He was convicted of two counts of Criminal Facilitation in the Second Degree in 1991. A pardon will help Mr. Vinas obtain a green card so that he can remain in the United States with his family. Faustino Reyes, 60, has been crime free for nine years, has lived in the United States for more than 35 years, and has been married to a U.S. citizen for more than three decades. Mr. Reyes was convicted of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree in 2012. A pardon will help ensure Mr. Reyes can remain in the United States with his wife and safely travel outside the country to visit family abroad without fear of being denied re-entry. Sandra Williams, 65, has lived a crime free life for 25 years and has worked as a home health aide since 1999. She has lived in the United States for more than 50 years and has two children and several grandchildren. She was convicted of Prostitution, Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Fourth Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, Attempted Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree, and Loitering Unlawful Use of a Controlled Substance between 1974 and 1996. A pardon will help ensure she can remain in the United States with her family. Francisco Vargas, 53, has lived a crime free life for 18 years. Mr. Vargas has maintained employment as a parking attendant and is an active member of his local church. He has lived in the United States for more than 35 years. He was convicted of Attempted Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and Attempted Offering a False Instrument to File in the Second Degree. A pardon will help Mr. Vargas seek U.S. citizenship and remain in the United States with his other U.S. citizen family members, including his children, partner, mother, and siblings. Orlando Fernandez Taveras, 46, has lived crime free for 12 years. Mr. Fernandez Taveras came to the United States when he was approximately 16 months old and lived here for more than 30 years before being deported in 2014 due to his convictions. He is married to a U.S. citizen and has a U.S. citizen child, both of whom left the country with him to keep the family together following his deportation. He was convicted of Petit Larceny, Attempted Petit Larceny, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree, Attempted Resisting Arrest, Trespass, and Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle in the Third Degree between 1998 and 2008. A pardon will help Mr. Fernandez Taveras return to the United States with his family, where they would rejoin a large network of U.S. citizen and Lawful Permanent Resident family members. Hanley Gomez, 41, has been crime free for seven years. Mr. Gomez has lived in the United States since he was eight years old, and currently works for a New York City-based meal delivery company. He also volunteers at a local food pantry. Mr. Gomez is also the primary caretaker and provider for his 10-year-old child. He was convicted of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, Resisting Arrest, DWAI, and Attempted Criminal Mischief between 1998 and 2011. A pardon will help ensure Mr. Gomez can remain in the United States with his son and extended family. Juan Suazo, 54, has lived a crime free life for 34 years. Mr. Suazo is an active member of his local church and works as a carpenter with a roofing and waterproofing company. He is married to a U.S. citizen, has two U.S. citizen children, and has lived in the United States since 1984. He was convicted of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree in 1986. A pardon will help Mr. Suazo obtain a green card and remain in the United States with his family. Edilberta Reyes Canales, 56, has lived a crime free life for 12 years and has worked as a home health aide for several years, including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a survivor of domestic abuse. Ms. Reyes has lived in the United States since fleeing conflict in her home country in 1988. She is the primary caretaker and provider for her son, who is a U.S. citizen. Ms. Reyes was convicted of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree, Resisting Arrest, Assault in the Third Degree, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Falsely Reporting an Incident to Law Enforcement in the Third Degree, and Petit Larceny between 2007 and 2009, and Attempted Petit Larceny in 1993. Her convictions between 2007 and 2009 occurred during a period in her life when she was actively trying to escape an abusive relationship. A pardon will help Ms. Reyes avoid deportation, for which she is facing an upcoming hearing, and remain in the United States with her son. Commutations Roger Cole, 55, was originally sentenced to one hundred and twenty-five years to life in prison, having been put on trial during the Rockefeller Drug Law era during which extremely lengthy prison sentences were handed down for drug-related convictions. In 1989 and 1992, he was convicted of five counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree and one count each of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree. His sentence was subsequently reduced on appeal to eighty-five to one hundred years, of which Mr. Cole has now served more than thirty years. If he were sentenced today, he likely would not have faced such a lengthy sentence. While incarcerated, Mr. Cole has earned his GED and an Associate Degree, and has completed numerous vocational training and certification programs, including legal research and law library management. He also earned a certificate for completing a three-year business course while incarcerated. Upon his release, Mr. Cole will be reunited with his mother and other family members in his home country of Jamaica who will provide housing and help him find employment.

Here's the entire lease agreement for anyone who wants to go through it.

Fruitcakes are known for their legendary shelf life. CSA-Printstock via Getty Images by Jeffrey Miller, Colorado State University Nothing says Christmas quite like a fruitcake – or, at the very least, a fruitcake joke. A quip attributed to former “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson has it that “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” It’s certainly earned its reputation for longevity. Two friends from Iowa have been exchanging the same fruitcake since the late 1950s. Even older is the fruitcake left behind in Antarctica by the explorer Robert Falcon Scott in 1910. But the honor for the oldest known existing fruitcake goes to one that was baked in 1878 when Rutherford B. Hayes was president of the United States. What’s amazing about these old fruitcakes is that people have tasted them and lived, meaning they are still edible after all these years. The trifecta of sugar, low moisture ingredients and some high-proof spirits make fruitcakes some of the longest-lasting foods in the world. The original energy bar Fruitcake is an ancient goody, with the oldest versions a sort of energy bar made by the Romans to sustain their soldiers in battle. The Roman fruitcake was a mash of barley, honey, wine and dried fruit, often pomegranate seeds. What you might recognize as a modern-style fruitcake – a moist, leavened dessert studded with fruits and nuts – was probably first baked in the early Middle Ages in Europe. Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg were symbols of culinary sophistication, and these sweet spices started appearing alongside fruit in many savory dishes – especially breads, but also main courses. Before long, most cuisines had some sort of fruited breads or cakes that were early versions of the modern fruitcake. Fruitcakes are different in Europe than they are in America. European fruitcakes are more like the medieval fruited bread than the versions made in Great Britain and the United States. The two most common styles of fruitcake in Europe are the stollen and panettone. Panettone is one of the most popular fruitcakes in Europe. Mairo Cinquetti/NurPhoto via Getty Images British and American versions are much more cakelike. For over-the-top extravagance, honors have to go to a British version that crowns a rich fruitcake with a layer of marzipan icing. Sweetening the pot Fruitcakes came to America with the European colonists, and the rising tide of emigration from Britain to New England closely mirrored an influx of cheap sugar from the Caribbean. Sugar was the key to preserving fruit for use across the seasons. One of the favorite methods of preserving fruit was to “candy” it. Candied fruit – sometimes known as crystallized fruit – is fruit that’s been cut into small pieces, boiled in sugar syrup, tossed in granulated sugar and allowed to dry. Thanks to this technique, colonists were able to keep fruit from the summer harvest to use in their Christmas confections, and fruitcakes became one of the most popular seasonal desserts. A dessert with staying power Fruitcakes were also popular due to their legendary shelf life, which, in an era before mechanical refrigeration, was extremely desirable. Fruitcake aficionados will tell you that the best fruit cakes are matured – or “seasoned” in fruitcake lingo – for at least three months before they are cut. Seasoning not only improves the flavor of the fruitcake, but it makes it easier to slice. Seasoning a fruitcake involves brushing your fruitcake periodically with your preferred distilled spirit before wrapping it tightly and letting it sit in a cool, dark place for up to two months. The traditional spirit of choice is brandy, but rum is also popular. In the American South, where fruitcake is extremely popular, bourbon is preferred. A well-seasoned fruitcake will get several spirit baths over the maturation period. Credit for the fruitcake’s popularity in America should at least partially go to the U.S. Post Office. The institution of Rural Free Delivery in 1896 and the addition of the Parcel Post service in 1913 caused an explosion of mail-order foods in America. Overnight, once rare delicacies were a mere mail-order envelope away for people anywhere who could afford them. Some people (and animals) are more enthused by fruitcakes than others. Touring Club Italiano/Marka/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Given fruitcake’s long shelf life and dense texture, it was a natural for a mail-order food business. America’s two most famous fruitcake companies, Claxton’s of Claxton, Georgia, and Collin Street of Corsicana, Texas, got their start in this heyday of mail-order food. By the early 1900s, U.S. mailrooms were full of the now ubiquitous fruitcake tins. [Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today.] As late as the 1950s, fruitcakes were a widely esteemed part of the American holiday tradition. A 1953 Los Angeles Times article called fruitcake a “holiday must,” and in 1958, the Christian Science Monitor asked, “What Could Be a Better Gift Than Fruitcake?” But by 1989, a survey by Mastercard found that fruitcake was the least favorite gift of 75% of those polled. Haters and disrespect aside, fruitcake is still a robust American tradition: The website Serious Eats reports that over 2 million fruitcakes are still sold each year. Jeffrey Miller is Associate Professor of Hospitality Management at Colorado State University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

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The Emergency Nurses Association has released the following statement in regards to those identifying themselves and nurses and disseminating misleading information pertaining to COVID-19:

Yesterday, Steuben County issued the following response to the mask mandate:

Last night the Legislature voted to override Moss’s veto.

Here is a FAQ Page released by the state.

CORNING, NY - Last week, Tom Reed announced that due to the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, New York State will receive nearly $175 million in funding for a network of electric vehicle chargers. "Thanks to funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, electric vehicle charging stations will be a reality for our communities. This will have a positive impact on our region's amazing tourist destinations that will now be more easily accessible to electric vehicle drivers." said Reed. "By providing convenient charging for long-distance traveling, as well as for daily use, the investments from this bill will see an increase of electric vehicles into our area." According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will spur the creation of a nation-wide network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030 including a special program for smaller and underserved communities. On top of the nearly $175 million for the expansion of an electric vehicle charging network, New York will also have the opportunity to apply for grants out of the $2.5 billion available for electric vehicle charging.

See the rest here. What do you think? Did they choose correctly?

Wegmans and Tops have both announced mask mandates in their stores, regardless of vaccination status.

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced masks will be required to be worn in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. This a major action to address the winter surge comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise statewide to be in alignment with the CDC's recommendations for communities with substantial and high transmission. The State Health Commissioner issued a determination solidifying the requirement. This determination is based on the State's weekly seven-day case rate as well as increasing hospitalizations. The new business and venue requirements extend to both patrons and staff. This measure is effective Dec. 13, 2021 until Jan. 15, 2022, after which the State will re-evaluate based on current conditions. The new measure brings added layers of mitigation during the holidays when more time is spent indoors shopping, gathering, and visiting holiday-themed destinations. "As Governor, my two top priorities are to protect the health of New Yorkers and to protect the health of our economy. The temporary measures I am taking today will help accomplish this through the holiday season. We shouldn't have reached the point where we are confronted with a winter surge, especially with the vaccine at our disposal, and I share many New Yorkers' frustration that we are not past this pandemic yet," Governor Hochul said. "I want to thank the more than 80 percent of New Yorkers who have done the right thing to get fully vaccinated. If others will follow suit, these measures will no longer be necessary." "I have warned for weeks that additional steps could be necessary, and now we are at that point based upon three metrics: Increasing cases, reduced hospital capacity, and insufficient vaccination rates in certain areas," Governor Hochul added. Since Thanksgiving, the statewide seven-day average case rate has increased by 43% and hospitalizations have increased by 29%. While the percentage of New Yorkers fully vaccinated continues to increase—gaining 2% from Thanksgiving weekend to now—the uptick is not fast enough to completely curb the spread of the virus, particularly among communities with low vaccination coverage. Business/Venue Proof of Full-Course Vaccination Requirement Businesses and venues who implement a proof of vaccination requirement can accept Excelsior Pass, Excelsior Pass Plus, SMART Health Cards issued outside of New York State, or a CDC Vaccination Card. In accordance with CDC's definition of fully vaccinated, full-course vaccination is defined as 14 days past an individual's last vaccination dose in their initial vaccine series (14 days past the second shot of a two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine; 14 days past the one-shot Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine). The State also accepts WHO-approved vaccines for these purposes. Parents and guardians can retrieve and store an Excelsior Pass and/or Excelsior Pass Plus for children or minors under legal guardianship. Business/Venue Mask-Wearing Requirement Businesses and venues that implement a mask requirement must ensure all patrons two years and older wear a mask at all times while indoors. Continued Masking Requirements Unvaccinated individuals continue to be responsible for wearing masks, in accordance with federal CDC guidance. Further, the State's masking requirements continue to be in effect for pre-K to grade 12 schools, public transit, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and health care settings per CDC guidelines. New York State and the State's Department of Health continue to strongly recommend mask-wearing in all public indoor settings as an added layer of protection, even when not required. Children 2 - 5 who remain ineligible for vaccination must wear a proper-fitting mask.

Yesterday afternoon Chemung County Executive Christopher Moss vetoed multiple amendments made by the Legislature to the 2022 Executive Budget. A letter detailing the vetoes as well as the county executives reasoning can be found in the attached PDF file. Vetoes to 2022 Budget Objections.pdf

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See the list here!

What do you think? Is the old music better or has it gotten stale? And what's your favorite?

Every person, every family, every culture, has their own holiday traditions. The Twin Tiers is no different. From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, there's a never ending list of things to do and ways to celebrate the holidays. And with that comes traditions and memories unique to the Twin Tiers. The Arctic League is arguably the best example. So, when you think of the holiday season in our region, what comes to mind? What do you look forward to doing or seeing? What's your favorite event to attend? What memories come rushing back as you sip a hot toddy and reminisce about growing up here in the area?

Place your bets!

In a press release today, the Chemung County Industrial Agency announced that the county has reached an agreement with a new tenant for First Arena. The release reads as follows: "Chemung County Industrial Development Agency Approves First Arena Lease with Tadross Donner Sports and Entertainment, LLC The Chemung County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) has approved a lease with (TDSE), a sports and entertainment company, to operate First Arena effective immediately upon formal execution of the lease. The CCIDA and TDSE have agreed on a vision for the arena to transition to a multi-event arena featuring sports, concerts, comedy acts, family shows, and community events. The principals of TDSE and its management team will be introduced in conjunction with the CCIDA at a formal press conference at First Arena on Wednesday, December 1st, 2021, at 1pm. TDSE will lay out the timeline of the arena re-opening and its plan to bring back pro hockey along with their sports and entertainment vision for the arena and Southern Tier Region. Both parties have agreed to no further comments or interviews until the formal press conference on December 1st at First Arena." A Google search for the LLC results in nothing, however an investigation by WETM revealed Rochester native Steve Donner is a Sports Business Consultant and former president, CEO and owner of several sports teams. Donner confirmed with WETM that he is one of the principals of the corporation, and that the company was created specifically for the purposes of the lease agreement for First Arena.

The second half is on starting today:

See the rest here. You weigh in: Should Kitching step down?

See the rest here. Do you agree with the decision to exclude her from this event? Or, what are your thoughts otherwise?

An interesting Sopranos related story: Source