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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a multi-agency plan to address the school bus driver shortage affecting schools across the state. The plan includes short-term steps to remove barriers and recruit traditional and non-traditional Commercial Driver's License holders, expand CDL testing opportunities, and enhance processes all designed to get more drivers into school buses. Additionally, New York State is launching outreach to more than 550,000 CDL license holders in New York State. The longer term steps include changes to address the training and licensing of drivers, as well as broader recruitment into the bus driver profession. "Our schools and public health officials have moved mountains to ensure our children receive an in-person education this year, and we are leaving no stone unturned to make sure schools have adequate bus service to bring students to school and back," Governor Hochul said. "While the shortage of school bus drivers is not unique to New York State, I have directed state agencies to utilize creative approaches and use every tool at their disposal to help districts affected by the bus driver shortage, so we can bring in as many qualified bus drivers as possible as quickly as possible." Governor Hochul directed state agencies to utilize a multi-organizational recruitment effort to persuade CDL drivers to become school bus drivers. Interested drivers will be surveyed and their information then shared with local school districts who are seeking drivers. The schools can work through these lists to recruit interested drivers in their area. In addition, the state will target currently unemployed drivers through the Department of Labor. The state will also work with partners in law enforcement, firefighters, military and other organizations that have trained drivers in order to find more individuals interested in becoming school bus drivers. Those who are interested in obtaining a Commercial Driver's License can find information here. Additionally, DMV is enhancing and expediting the process for CDL completion by removing the 14-day waiting period between the permit test and the road tests. Through enhanced cooperation with county-run DMVs the state will also help to increase capacity to administer written exams and road tests. The State is opening up new CDL Driver Testing sites by partnering with SUNY, the Thruway Authority, New York Racing Association, and the Office of General Services to use large lots on their various sites for the road test. For school staff who currently hold a CDL, the State will set up expedited testing to obtain a permit to drive vans and buses temporarily. The State is continuing conversations with stakeholders to identify longer term strategies that will help to recruit and retain school bus drivers. This includes looking at alternative licensing entities and expanded partnerships with other state agencies to help train and recruit drivers. The State encourages schools to pursue creative and innovative ways to offer a wide array of benefits for school bus drivers that were previously not considered. This includes signing and retention bonuses, expansion of benefits to the drivers, and other options to recruit drivers in a nationally competitive market. Schools can use federal funds to provide these benefits. Many school districts receive a significant percentage of these funds in reimbursement from the state and are in a position to offer more competitive pay without absorbing the full cost at the local level.

Our region is full of seriously talented musicians, many that have made the experience of living here unique. Think about some of them a moment: "Mr. Polka", Joe Cavallaro, Pat Kane and so many more. They've provided the soundtrack to life in the Twin Tiers over the decades. So let's take a listen to some of the areas best musicians, past and present. Who would you recommend someone going to see live or listening to?

You know what you were doing when the 9/11 attacks happened. People remember where they were when Kennedy was assassinated. Everyone can tell you where they were when something big happened in our nation's history. And more often than not, those events were tragic and traumatic. But what about the big events that happened to you, in your life? You know, those personal events that, while perhaps not noteworthy of the world history books, are things you will never forget and remember fondly? Your first pet. Your first car. Your first concert. You get the picture. Let's hear your own personal, "I remember when..."

Watching the news most nights, especially on the weekends, viewers will notice a trend. A local story, maybe two, followed by a quick preview of the weather forecast, commercial. Then return, state or national news story ( mostly national ), weather, sports, weather wrap up, done. Opening a newspaper, there will be perhaps a local story or two, a few reprinted press releases, and then national news from a larger news organization such as USA Today. Comics, a couple obits, and done. Barely enough to line a bird cage with, and across the board various city newspapers are barely distinguishable from the other. It's easy enough to blame the internet, particularly social media. But there's still enough going on in the region for some investigative journalism and news stories that aren't entirely time sensitive. It's difficult to distinguish which has driven the model over the past decade, consumer demands or the never ending search for ways to cut increase revenue ( at the cost of community identity, investigation, and quality of news stories). Why is there no "Letters To The Editor"? Because social media comments, often some of the most repugnant, drive online presence which drives ad clicks and revenue. Why no more "Candidate Profiles" each election cycle? This is perhaps the laziest of cuts, as the candidates themselves do the brunt of the work by providing the content in the form of their responses. Why so much national news on the local evening news, especially when the national news, the very same stories sometimes, is coming up right after? What happened to journalism? What effect does the lack of it have on the community? Will we ever see a return of in-depth local news reporting in some form or another?

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As reported by NBC news, a New York hospital has announced they will put a "pause" on delivering babies in their facility due to a large number of staff resigning rather than get vaccinated for COVID. Meanwhile, a group of seventeen healthcare workers plan to challenge the mandate on grounds of religious exemption. In 2009, an attempt to make the H1N1 vaccine mandatory for health care workers was halted on the grounds there wasn't enough vaccine, ( the legal challenge by a group of nurses doesn't appear to have been resolved after. ) This opens up a lot of questions. What are your thoughts on not only vaccinations being mandated by the state, but also the potential for a mass resignation by health care workers across the country? Does this mandate differ from mandatory TB testing for example? Do healthcare workers who resign guilty of abandoning their patients and their needs? What do you think?

Since New York State legalized marijuana, it seems like everywhere you go the smell of someone toking is wafting on the air. And apparently it was an issue at this year's New York State Fair. Some believe that the legalization was too hastily rolled out without thought to the ramifications of allowing smoking marijuana as common as a Marlboro, including how to determine if someone is under the influence while driving, work related issues and more. What do you think? Could it be problematic or is it already an issue?

For a long time now I've been trying to come up with ways to be a competitive part of bringing you the news on a daily basis. However despite my belief there's a serious lack of real journalism in our area, I know that it's more than one person can handle. So going forward, rather than relying heavily on re-printing press releases from area agencies ( like every one else does ) the focus will shift to more thoughtful discussion about topics in a broader sense. It occurred to me that the "Covid" thread on the previous site worked really well for continued conversation as things progressed in the early months of 2020. I think we can do that more, with better and more interesting results. Additionally, we'll continue to collaborate with websites that allow opinion pieces and other writing to be shared. Again, these seem to generate more interest and make this site standout. We'll continue to feature writing from local writers, perhaps the only place you can find that! And we'll continue to offer a glimpse into our area's rich history in the galleries section. As always, this site is about more than one person, so anyone with ideas should feel free to contact me. I can't promise everything will work, but we'll give it a shot if able! Thanks, Chris

This morning at approximately 2:40 AM, officers from the Elmira Police Department responded to the 800 block of Walnut St. for a report of shots fired. Witnesses reported hearing several gunshots. When officer arrived, they began to interview witnesses and look for evidence. Officers located a residence that had numerous bullet holes. Contact was made at the residence and officers found that nobody was injured as a result of the shots. Numerous shell casings were recovered at the scene The investigation revealed that more than one shooter approached the residence and multiple shots were fired. The shooters then fled the area on foot. It is believed that this house was intentionally targeted. The investigation into this shooting is ongoing. If anyone was present in the area and witnessed this shooting, or has any information related to this shooting, they are encouraged to contact the Elmira Police Department at (607)737-5626, or the tip line at (607)271-HALT.

Early this morning, at approximately 3:10 AM, officers from the Elmira Police Department responded to the 400 block of Linden Place for a report of shots fired. Witnesses reported hearing several gunshots. When police arrived, they began to interview witnesses and look for evidence. Officers located a residence that had numerous bullet holes. Contact was made at the residence and officers found that one person had sustained a gunshot wound and had been transported to a local hospital for treatment. This person was interviewed and was able to provide police with a description of at least one of the suspects. Police believe that this residence was specifically targeted. The investigation revealed that a vehicle dropped off two individuals who approached the residence. One went onto the porch and the other stayed in the yard. Soon after several shots were fired towards the residence. The vehicle pulled up and both subjects ran back to the vehicle. The vehicle, which had been reported stolen, was found abandoned a short time in the 200 block of Harmon Street. The investigation into this shooting is ongoing. If anyone was present in the area and witnessed this shooting, or has any information related to this shooting, they are encouraged to contact the Elmira Police Department at (607)737-5626, or the tip line at (607)271-HALT.

Elmira Police are asking for the public's help as they investigate an explosion that occurred early this morning. Police say around 1:20 this morning, the Chemung County Communications Center received several 911 calls from various location reporting hearing loud bangs, others reported hearing multiple gun shots. The source of these noises were being reported generally in the area of the Southside of Elmira. An Elmira Police Officer also reported hearing these loud “bangs”. Officers were then called to an address in the 500 block of Herrick Street where a subject approached officers reporting a backpack had been “blown up” near his residence. The investigation lead officers to a backpack located in a front yard which clearly had damage consistent with an explosion with items scattered about the yard. Several homemade type pipe bombs were seen inside this bag. Officers immediately evacuated nearby residents and a perimeter was established. A New York State Trooper and Bomb detection K9 unit was summoned to the scene. Upon his arrival the backpack was checked by this K9 and handler which revealed more suspicious packaging, materials and substances inside the backpack. These suspicious items and materials were collected by the bomb technician as they were deemed hazardous. According to Elmira Police no one was injured as a result of the explosion and it is believed the intended target was known to the subjects responsible. At this time it is not believed this is a random act and the public is not in immediate danger. The Elmira Police Department is asking anyone with information or that may have witnessed this incident to call 607-737-5626 or anonymously to 607-271- HALT. The Elmira Police Department was assisted by the NY State Police.

Early this morning, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a new moratorium on COVID-related residential and commercial evictions for New York State which is in effect until January 15, 2022. Under the new law, all protections of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act for residential tenants who are suffering financial hardship as a result of the pandemic will remain in place, along with new protections on commercial evictions. "The pandemic has created unimaginable anxiety for families and business owners who have lost income and are struggling to pay the rent every month," Governor Hochul said. "To help remedy the Supreme Court's heartless decisions striking down the New York and the Biden administration's moratoriums on evictions, we are enacting a new moratorium on residential and commercial evictions and extending the protections of New York's Safe Harbor Act to January 15. These steps will alleviate the crisis facing vulnerable New Yorkers who are suffering through no fault of their own." Governor Hochul urges New Yorkers who are struggling to pay their rent to apply for assistance through the state's Emergency Rental Assistance Program, or ERAP. Applicants to this program are automatically protected from eviction while their application is pending and will receive a year of eviction protections if they qualify for assistance. The application is available here. As of August 31, more than $1.2 billion in funding has either been obligated or distributed through ERAP, including more than $300 million in direct payments to more than 23,000 landlords. The new law will permit anyone who resides in a locality that opted out of the state's program to administer their own rental assistance program, to apply to the state program when local funds are exhausted. People applying directly to their local programs will now also automatically benefit from the state's more expansive eviction protections. The law also creates a $25 million fund to provide legal services to tenants facing eviction proceedings and to help them maintain housing stability in areas of the state where access to free legal assistance for such services is not available. The law establishes a new $250 million Supplemental Emergency Rental Assistance program to serve additional households and to better support landlords. Through this program, $125 million will be made available to provide assistance to households with income that exceeds 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), and up to 120% of AMI. Additionally, $125 million will be made available for assistance to landlords whose tenants refuse to participate or have vacated the residence with arrears. Under New York's enacted moratorium, tenants must submit a hardship declaration, or a document explaining the source of the hardship, to prevent an eviction proceeding from moving forward. Landlords who believe that their tenant has not suffered a financial hardship will now be permitted to request a hearing in court. Landlords can also evict tenants that are creating safety or health hazards for other tenants, intentionally damaging property, and where a tenant did not submit a hardship declaration. The legislation places a moratorium on residential foreclosure proceedings so that homeowners and small landlords who own 10 or fewer residential dwellings can file hardship declarations with their mortgage lender, other foreclosing party, or a court that would prevent a foreclosure. The legislation's moratorium on commercial evictions and commercial foreclosure proceedings apply to small businesses with 100 or fewer employees that demonstrate a financial hardship. Tenants must submit a hardship declaration, or a document explaining the source of the hardship, to prevent evictions.

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Jason Brown was the highest-paid Center in NFL history, but he walked away from a 35 million dollar contract with the St. Louis Rams. Why? He felt God's call to become a farmer. This story explores his journey of learning to farm, finding the land and growing & harvesting over 100,000 pounds of vegetables - as well as the many extraordinary events which made it all possible.

This is an excellent article well worth your time. Click here to read the rest.

On her first day in office, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new, comprehensive plan to help ensure a safe, productive return to schools this fall in the midst of rising COVID-19 numbers fueled by the Delta variant. As part of this plan, Governor Hochul has directed the New York State Department of Health to institute a universal mask requirement in all schools, public and private, as determined necessary at the discretion of the Commissioner. The Department of Health will issue the requirement through regulatory action established by the Public Health and Health Planning Council. Governor Hochul will also pursue options to mandate vaccines for school employees or require weekly testing in the absence of vaccines, and will continue to work with the Department of Health, education stakeholders and the Legislature on establishing the mandate. "As Governor, my priorities are now the priorities of the people of New York - and right now that means fighting the Delta variant," Governor Kathy Hochul said. "My number one priority is getting children back to school and protecting the environment so they can learn safely. I am immediately directing the Department of Health to institute universal masking for anyone entering our schools, and we are launching a Back to School COVID-19 testing program to make testing for students and staff widely available and convenient. We are also working to require vaccinations for all school personnel with an option to test out weekly, and we are going to accomplish all of this by working in partnership with all levels of government." To help ensure testing is available to students as they return to school, Governor Hochul is using $335 million in federal funds to launch a new COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program in partnership with local health departments and BOCES in New York State outside of New York City. In addition, New York City has received $225 million directly to initiate a COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program there, for a total of $585 million in federal funding in New York State to support these programs. Governor Hochul also launched an additional back-to-school COVID-19 testing program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rite Aid and BioReference to make testing more widely available for New York State public school students before the start of the 2021-2022 school year. Testing appointments will be available to New York students in grades K-12 at the 115 Rite Aid drive-through locations. Students are required to pre-register online and schedule a time slot for testing. Students aged 17 and under must have parental or legal guardian consent and be accompanied by a guardian at time of testing in the drive- through. Digital results will be delivered to parents for students to bring to school. COVID-19 testing is voluntary and will be provided at no cost to the student's family nor to the school district. In addition to these new testing programs, New York State has available more than 4.3 million child-sized clothed face masks, about 10 million adult-sized clothed face masks and almost 55 million non-surgical face masks to provide to students and teachers in schools across the state.

On Monday at approximately 3:50 PM, officers from the Elmira Police Department responded to area of W. Hudson St. and Fulton St. for a report of shots fired. Witnesses reported hearing several gunshots and reported seeing a light blue or gray colored vehicle fleeing the area. Witnesses reported to officers that two males were standing near a residence on the southwest corner of the intersection when a light blue vehicle exited the roadway and drove onto the grass. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and the two males fled the area. The vehicle struck a street sign and a fence before fleeing south on Harmon St. It has not been determined whom may have been firing a weapon. The vehicle involved sustained significant damage. The vehicle was found parked near the intersection of Broadway and Balsam St. and three males were observed near the vehicle. When they observed officers in the area, all fled on foot. Three separate foot pursuits ensued and all subjects were taken into custody after several minutes. A quantity of narcotics and two loaded handguns were recovered. As a result of this investigation, two people have been charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd, a class C violent felony offense. One is a 17-year-old male and the other is 19 year old Shavrice A Brooks. Both are Elmira residents. The driver of the vehicle has been identified as 21 year old Rahmel N McKnight from Elmira. McKnight was released. The 17-year-old and Shavrice Brooks have both been arraigned and held. Brooks The Elmira Police Department was assisted by the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Police. The investigation into this shooting is ongoing. If anyone was present in the area and witnessed this shooting, or has any information related to this shooting, they are encouraged to contact the Elmira Police Department at (607)737-5626, or the tip line at (607)271-HALT.

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Starting with a defiant tone as he addressed the people of New York state this morning at 11:45 am, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he will resign in fourteen days. Cuomo continues to say his intentions were misunderstood, and that his instinct is to stay and fight. However, citing the potential for a prolonged process and political rancor, he said his resignation is what's best for the state. "This situation by its current trajectory will generate months of political and legal controversy. That is what is going to happen. That is how the political wind is blowing. It will consume government. It will cost taxpayers millions of dollars," he said. "New York tough means New York loving, and I love New York, and I love you. I would never want to be unhelpful in any way." Cuomo went on to list his accomplishments as governor, and praised the people of New York for their response to the pandemic. He also apologized to his own daughters saying, "...your Dad made a mistake." Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will take over as acting governor of New York State. Hochul, 62, will be the state's first female governor.

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Cuomo continues to deny the allegations are true: Source