Month: October 2014

October 26, 2014

New York, NY  – The New York Times is reporting that Governor Andrew Cuomo and NJ Governor Chris Christie are refusing pressure from the White House to drop their Ebola quarantine orders.

This does not have White House officials sounding very pleased.  “Federal officials made it clear that they do not agree with the governors about the need or effectiveness of a total quarantine for health care workers, though they were careful not to directly criticize the governors themselves,” wrote Marc Santora and Michael D. Shear, in the NY Times online edition, on Sunday.  “A senior administration official, who did not want to be identified in order to discuss private conversations with state officials on the issue, called the decision by the governors ‘uncoordinated, very hurried, an immediate reaction to the New York City case that doesn’t comport with science.'”

Click here to read full story from the NY Times.

October 25, 2014

HOWARD, NY – The Steuben County Sheriff’s Department reports that there was a chase in the Town of Howard on Saturday morning. The sheriff’s office reports that they tried to stop a vehicle for a routine traffic stop, and a chase ensued, with the suspects reportedly going over 80 miles an hour on the back roads of Howard.

Officials say that eventually the driver went off the road, through a field for 200 feet, and over an embankment. According to the sheriff’s office, the suspects got out of the vehicle and ran away, and that one climbed a tree, reportedly staying in the tree for four hours. That suspect, officials say, appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance. While the investigation is going on, the names of the suspects, both of whom have been apprehended, have been withheld.

October 25 2014

FOX 28 in northern New York State reports that a SUNY Canton student is being held by U.S. Marshalls. The student, who is reportedly a male mechanical technology student from Brooklyn, is accused of making a threat against the SUNY Canton campus on yikyak dot com (that’s a social media website.)

The threat was noticed online, on Thursday, and the campus went into lockdown mode that day.  The student was charged on saturday afternoon.  He could get, if he’s convicted, 5 years in a federal prison.

Click here to read more. 

October 25, 2014

Fox News is reporting that the Federal Elections Commission is considering regulating political videos.  According to Fox, Drudge and others, this may affect political speech online.

“I have been warning that my Democratic colleagues were moving to regulate media generally and the Internet specifically for almost a year now,” Chairman Lee Goodman told FoxNews.com. “And today’s statement from Vice Chair Ravel confirms my warnings.”

Click here to read more.

October 24, 2014 Below is a copy of the letter being sent to acting state health commisioner Dr. Howard Zucker, regarding St. James Hospital.:

October 24,2014
The Honorable Howard Zucker
Acting Commissioner
New York State Department of Health
Corning Tower Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12237

Dear Acting Commissioner Zucker,

We write to express ou r united support for the delivery of quality health care for the Hornell area and its su rroundi n g communities. As you consider the most recent proposal concerning the new vision for Hornell’s St. James Mercy Hospital (SJMH) serious concerns have been identified regarding the application. In particular, the need to ensure adequate inpatient and maternity care for Hornell area
citizens must be fully addressed.

We applaud the efforts New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) to improve healthcare across New York State and in particular appreciate your consideration of the challenges of providing adequate healthcare in rural regions. Previous financial support from NYS DOH has been cr i tical in maintaining the SJM H ‘s current operations and you r collaboration with local stakeholders will be needed going forward. A ba l anced approach must be taken so that residents have access to all areas of health care services.

The most recent proposal fails to provide adequate inpatient and maternity care for the region. This is a serious shortcom ing that will literally place lives at risk. Without the inpatient and maternity care in Hornell, the time and distance needed to travel to an appropriate facility will significantly increase. It is critical Hornell be able to provide inpatient and maternity care not only to ensure access to care for the region ‘s demands, but also to maintain quality of life as the community aims to attract new business and grow.  Inpatient and maternity care services are a critical component of healthcare services, the failure of which to provide would negatively impact the potential for investments in this area. In addition, as
Hornell employs full time fire and pol ice departments which must be supported by access to inpatient care
while they are in the line of duty.

As the NYS DOH-will be meeting on Monday, October 27 with a ll stakeholders including City of Hornell Mayor Shawn Hogan, who we have spoken with extensively on this issue, we feel it is important that you hear our united support for maintaining inpatient and maternity services in Hornell prior to the meeting. We have discussed our support for these services with the officials at SJMH as wel l.

Please know we all stand willing to work with you and all the stakeholders to ensure this significant change in the regions health care services is completed in the most successful way possible. Thank you for your consideration of this matter and for the work ofNYS DOH with SJMH and area stakeholders previousl y and going forward.

Sincerely,

Tom Reed
Member of Congress

Phil Palmesano
Assemblyman

Tom O’Mara
State Senator

Bill Nojay
Assemblyman

CC:

The Honorable Shawn Hogan, Mayor of City of HomeII
The Honorable Andrew Cuomo, Governor ofNew York State
The Honorable Charles Schumer, United States Senator
The Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand, United States Senator
The Honorable Courtney Burke, Deputy Secretary for Health
The Honorable Jim Clancy, Assistant Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health
Jennifer Sullivan, President and CEO of St. James Mercy Hospital
Judith M. Persichilli, President of Catholic Health East
Dr. Mark B. Taubman, CEO and Senior Vice President for Health Services at University of Rochester
Medical Center
Amy Pollard, President and CEO of Noyes Memorial Hospital
James L. Cummings, CEO of Oak Orchard Health
Eva Benedict, CEO of Jones Memorial Hospital

October 24, 2014

HORNELL, NY – Robert Wiggins has written a book with Gene Mastin.

The book is about Hornell Football.

The book release party will be December 21, at the Main Place on Main Street, in Hornell.

(Photo of book cover taken from HPG’s Facebook Page)

October 24 2014
HORNELL, NY – Hornell Partners for Growth is announcing that there is going to be a music concert at Hornell High School, on October 28th at 7pm.

Performing will be Pietro Tagliaferri and Francesco Attesti.                  It’s a free will donation and all proceeds will go to St. James hospital.

October 23, 2014

Republican candidate for governor Rob Astorino has issued the following statement:

Dear Editors:

I hope you were able to see at least a few minutes of last night’s four-candidate debate in Buffalo. It was informative — and inadequate.

A single, 56-minute debate featuring four candidates — we each got 12 minutes to speak — as the sole televised forum in a New York gubernatorial election is an insult to this state and its voters. Neighboring Connecticut, a state with one-fifth our population, is featuring seven televised debates this year between the two major party candidates.

When did it become acceptable in New York to duck debates and call it a “campaign tactic?” When did we stop demanding — I mean really demanding — that our candidates fulfill their elemental civic responsibility to debate when running for office?

Editorial boards across the state lament the influence of big money in New York elections, yet remain relatively mute when a statewide candidate chooses to hide from debate forums. Debates are the only way voters can get unfiltered access to candidates, if only for a few minutes, to size them up before Election Day. Without an adequate number of available debates, voters have little on which to base their decisions other than the big-money negative advertisements blaring day and night on television and radio.

When I ran for re-election in Westchester last year I debated my challenger five times. Many said I should not have, but I considered it my civic duty. I think Governor Cuomo has that same duty today.

I have accepted five one-on-one televised debate offers in this election. Governor Cuomo refuses to accept any of those offers. If he is allowed to get away with it, democracy in New York will take yet another hit. It will become normal, as it almost seems today, to avoid America’s time-honored tradition of publicly answering questions at open forums before votes are cast. That would be a civic tragedy.

Many of you have already written on this issue, imploring Governor Cuomo to fulfill his public responsibility to debate. I ask that you consider redoubling that effort now. Your words carry weight. They are badly needed, and now.

Sincerely,

Rob Astorino

October 23, 2014

Lt. Governor candidate Sheriff Chris Moss has issued the following statement on Governor Cuomo’s statement on race, during the Wednesday night debate: 

“I just watched the video of last night’s debate and like so many New Yorkers I believe Rob Astorino proved why he is the best choice for governor. And for Andrew Cuomo to repeatedly insinuate racist claims last night against a good and decent man like Rob is an absolute disgrace.

“Rob Astorino is a Republican who has always campaigned heavily in minority communities. He has an empowerment and opportunity plan to lift lower-income New Yorkers into the middle class. He won a record amount of the minority vote last year and has previously been endorsed by the President of the United Black Clergy, the Chairman of the National Action Network and presidents of two local NAACP chapters, among many other black and Hispanic community leaders in Westchester. The people who know Rob best know he cares about all people equally.

“Andrew Cuomo is panicking. There is little reason for minorities to come out and support him this year. The black unemployment rate is double the rate of whites. The Hispanic rate isn’t much better. Inner cities throughout this state suffer some of the highest poverty rates in the country. And in many of these neighborhoods where Rob and I often campaign, they say they’ve never seen Andrew Cuomo.

“But instead of proposing empowering solutions to these problems like Rob and I have done; Instead of campaigning in the inner cities like Rob and I have done; Andrew Cuomo is taking the coward’s way out and making reckless, ugly and false racism charges. He should be ashamed of himself.”