Category: Local News

March 27, 2025

Congressman Nick Langworthy (NY-23) introduced the bipartisan Safer Skies Act, aimed at closing critical security loopholes in airport security. The bill, co-led by Congressman Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Marc Veasey (D-TX), seeks to enhance safety standards for certain air operators that currently operate without the rigorous screening requirements of commercial airlines.

“Due to the reforms following the September 11th attacks, Americans have come to expect a high level of safety and security when they board a plane on American soil,” said Congressman Langworthy. “As the chair of the Aviation Safety Caucus, I’ve worked closely with partners and experts in the federal government and aviation industry to identify existing security gaps and maintain our high safety standards. The Safer Skies Act will close a loophole that has allowed certain operators, like ticketed charter flights, to bypass the rigorous screening requirements that ensure the safety of all passengers. It is vital for protecting our skies and the lives of passengers and crew alike.”

March 27, 2025

The Steuben County Veterans Service Agency is proud to announce the launch of a brand-new seasonal newsletter designed exclusively for the veterans of Steuben County. This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring that our veterans receive timely, essential information about the benefits, resources, and opportunities available to them.
Each issue of the newsletter will include:
• Important reminders about veterans’ benefits and services
• Upcoming events and community gatherings
• Veteran property tax exemption updates
• Job opportunities and workforce resources
• Recent news and legislative updates affecting veterans
“Our veterans have given so much in service to our country, and we want to ensure they have every tool and resource available to them,” said Gary Smith, Director of the Steuben County Veterans Service Agency. “This newsletter is another way we are working to keep our veterans informed, connected, and supported.”

Click here for more info.

March 27, 2025

From Congressman Nick Langworthy: “There has been a lot of misinformation regarding the Horseheads, NY Social Security field office. I confirmed with the Social Security Administration that this office will NOT be closed, nor will there be any layoffs. They are simply terminating a lease on a space that was once used for hearings.”

March 27, 2025

Governor Kathy Hochul has asked Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard to take the Emilee’s Challenge trailer to Oswego in October. The Trailer has inside it, parts from a fatal accident and videos running about the dangers of distracted and impaired driving. It’s usedd to discourage student aged youth, from engaging in bad driving habits.

Btw, Sheriff Allard notes that he will be on WETM at 8:00 tonight, on a roundtable tv discussion with other sheriff’s from the region.

March 27, 2025

FROM SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER:

• Monday, it was reported that classified war plans were leaked by the Secretary of Defense over unsecured text messages.
• Today, I wrote a letter, with top Senate Democrats, to President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, demanding they release the full, unredacted transcript of all texts in their signal chats.
• For the Defense Secretary to coordinate war plans in such a haphazard and dangerous way puts our national security, our troops, and every single American at risk. They intentionally put highly classified information on an unclassified device.
• I am calling for a bipartisan investigation in the Senate of this mishandling. I am also calling for the Defense I.G. to fully investigate. This is too serious not to know exactly what happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it from ever happening again.
• It is alarming – alarming – that Director Gabbard refused to answer repeated questioning on whether or not she was using her personal phone.
• When Pete Hegseth came before the Senate as a nominee, Democrats warned that something like this could happen.
• These people, Secretary Hegseth, and so many others, are clearly not up for the job. We warned that confirming them was dangerous, that they would behave recklessly.
• Pete Hegseth should be fired.

March 27, 2025

Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is asking President Trump to rethink the policy of having all federal workers go into the office or be fired. The senator says, federal employees who work as psychiatrists and therapists for the VA, often do telehealth video visits, and Gillibrand says those federal employees should not be subject to this rule.

From Sen. Gillibrand’s Office: “On his first day in office, President Trump issued a memo demanding that federal employees return to in-person work. The order included VA mental health professionals, who often worked remotely as a way to reach patients in isolated rural areas. As a result, many VA psychiatrists and therapists are now forced to conduct sensitive telehealth appointments from crowded offices, compromising patient privacy and potentially violating ethics regulations and professional mental health care standards. Trump has additionally paused hiring for critical positions that support veteran mental health, including suicide crisis hotline responders, and plans to fire 80,000 VA staff by the end of the year. Gillibrand is calling on President Trump to reevaluate return to office policies and ensure that veterans’ needs are being met”.

March 27, 2025

FROM SENATOR TOM O’MARA: State Senator Tom O’Mara (R-C, Big Flats) joined his Senate Republican colleagues, and other stakeholders and business organizations, to call on Governor Kathy Hochul and the Legislature’s Democrat majorities to remove discussions over the “New York HEAT Act” from this year’s negotiations over a new state budget.
O’Mara, a member on the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, said, “The New York Heat Act is a disaster in the making for the great majority of middle-class ratepayers throughout this state. New York is already one of the least affordable and highest taxed states in America. Our state leads the nation in population loss. The Heat Act will only make it all worse. The Albany Democrats continue to impose unaffordable and unrealistic energy mandates with no concern for their feasibility or reliability. They keep reaching deeper and deeper into the pockets of middle-class taxpayers, destroying family budgets, killing local jobs, and weakening local economies with the promise of very minimal or realistic benefits for most New Yorkers.”
Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said, “The HEAT Act is a direct attack on affordable energy and consumer choice. Albany Democrats believe they have the right to tell New Yorkers how to heat your home. The Senate Republican conference knows that one- size-fits-all mandates just don’t work, and we will continue to advocate for a diverse energy portfolio that ensures clean and affordable energy options are available for consumers. I want to thank the stakeholders and businesses who are joining us to speak out against this dangerous proposal, and we urge the Governor and Legislature to remove the HEAT Act from consideration in the final budget.”
Senate GOP members, business leaders, and other opponents of the HEAT Act over the past few years have repeatedly called for a cost-benefit analysis of New York’s ongoing imposition of far-reaching energy mandates since the approval in 2019 of the “Community Leadership and Climate Protection Act” (CLCPA). They charge that the HEAT Act (S.2016) is a radical energy policy that would effectively ban the use of natural gas as an energy source for homes and businesses. If enacted, the HEAT Act would have disastrous implications, opponents said, including:
> further driving up already high utility costs;
> forcing homeowners to spend thousands of dollars to retrofit their homes to eliminate natural gas;
> removing consumer choice on how to heat their homes; and
> further driving up the costs of building homes and homeownership.
Since the approval of the CLCPA, Senate and Assembly Republicans have consistently demanded answers about what the far-reaching agenda will cost ratepayers and local economies, expressed concerns about the broad mandates being enacted and the unrealistic timelines to implement them set by Governor Kathy Hochul and the Democrat-controlled state Legislature, and questioned if its goals are achievable.
Further, the Senate Republican Conference has unanimously opposed new energy costs and mandates such as the HEAT Act. These policies will raise rates for at least 75 percent of New Yorkers, eliminate thousands of good-paying local jobs, and slap up to $50,000 in costs on homeowners who may be forced to transition from natural gas to electric heat.
New Yorkers are already struggling to pay high utility bills, according to Senate Republicans, largely driven by policies enacted by Albany Democrats. Even before the CLCPA’s approval, 25 percent of the delivery charges on utility bills were made up of New York State taxes and fees. Since then, things have only gotten worse. According to an analysis by the Empire Center for Public Policy of the first CLCPA report published by the Department of Public Service, rates had already risen by as much as 9.8 percent.

Enacting the NY Heat Act into law would be another hard hit for most ratepayers, O’Mara said. While the measure caps utility costs for 25 percent of New Yorkers according to its sponsors, the funding needed to continue to operate the grid will come out of the pockets of the 75 percent of the ratepayers who don’t receive any assistance under the legislation. Republicans call it a classic political bait-and-switch plan, where a small group benefits while hard-working, middle-class families bear the burden of the cost. Further, the HEAT Act would eliminate the current requirement that utilities provide free gas hookups to new customers within 100 feet of an existing line, commonly known as the “100-foot rule,” a move that would lead to thousands of utility workers losing their jobs.

March 27, 2025

Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning) joined Assemblyman Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C-Pulaski), Assemblyman Brian Maher (R,C-Walden), Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R,C-Ballston), his Assembly Republican colleagues as well as law enforcement and survivors of human trafficking to unveil the report and findings from the Assembly Minority Task Force on Human Trafficking, which can be found here. The task force held 8 regional forums, special meetings and written testimony across the state where the members met with and listened to survivors, law enforcement and other stakeholders who helped create the plan. The report laid out 63 recommendations seeking to prevent human trafficking and strengthen support for survivors. These include:

• Evaluate existing funding structures to identify barriers making victims’ services reimbursement requests unsustainable for anti-trafficking and domestic violence nonprofits (bill number pending, Maher);
• Reclassify all criminal acts outlined in sex trafficking statute section 230.34 as class B violent felonies. Regardless of the non-violent or violent nature of the act, the resulting sex trafficking is itself violent (A.6946, Morinello);
• Eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for sex trafficking and sex trafficking a child, both class B violent felonies. Extend the criminal statute of limitations for sex trafficking felonies designated as non-violent (A.7003, Walsh);
• Make promoting prostitution in the fourth degree and patronizing a person for prostitution in the third degree (victim under 17) bail-eligible offenses (A.6622, Giglio);
• Prohibit the use of language in the law so as not to legitimize prostitution, which is a form of sex trafficking (A.7008, Maher);
• Allow for an exception in sex trafficking cases to authorize law enforcement officers to provide hearsay testimony to the grand jury (A.7018, Tannousis);
• Require migrants to register with the state to assist in conducting background checks and maintaining community safety (A.2046, Slater);
• Ensure the ITF’s vacancies are filled by the speaker of the Assembly and the temporary president of the Senate, ensure nonprofits are represented, subject the ITF to open meetings laws and include the Department of Education as a member agency; and
• Advance programs to educate state residents and professionals on how to identify and prevent human trafficking.

“I want to thank Assemblymembers Maher and Walsh for their leadership and important work heading up this task force. Human trafficking is a scourge on society and should never be tolerated. We, as legislators, need to use every tool at our disposal to help eradicate it from the state; that includes listening to all relevant stakeholders and including them in the policy-making process. I am proud to say this task force was able to do that. The common-sense proposals put forth today should have widespread bi-partisan support, and I hope my Democrat colleagues will join us,” said Palmesano.

Palmesano also reiterated his support for survivors of human trafficking and law enforcement. He argued that since 2019 and one-party control in Albany, the state has not done enough to help support public safety and crime victims.

“I want to thank all survivors and law enforcement, including those who shared their powerful stories to help effectuate change. Please know our entire Assembly Republican Conference stands with you and that we will continue to be a strong voice, ally and advocate in support of public safety and crime victims in Albany,” concluded Palmesano.

March 26, 2025

Corning Incorporated has an interesting new product out called Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic. The company says, it makes it so mobile device’s display covers, don’t crack as much when they’re dropped on rough surfaces. “In Corning lab tests, Gorilla Glass Ceramic survived 10 repeated drops from one meter on surfaces replicating asphalt. An alternative aluminosilicate glass typically failed on the first drop,” the company noted in their announcement this morning.

See full statement below: Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced the introduction of Corning® Gorilla® Glass Ceramic, an innovative, transparent, and strengthenable glass ceramic material to help bring advanced toughness to more mobile devices. Gorilla Glass Ceramic significantly improves drop performance on rough surfaces compared to competitive aluminosilicate glasses. The new material expands Corning’s portfolio of durable cover materials for OEMs.

“Gorilla Glass has built a reputation of strength and resilience, and our new glass ceramic material continues this tradition. Designed to offer enhanced toughness, Gorilla Glass Ceramic reinforces our commitment to innovating and engineering high-quality, durable materials for display covers and enclosures,” said David Velasquez, Vice President & General Manager, Corning® Gorilla® Glass.

In Corning lab tests, Gorilla Glass Ceramic survived 10 repeated drops from one meter on surfaces replicating asphalt. An alternative aluminosilicate glass typically failed on the first drop.

Gorilla Glass Ceramic is the latest offering in Corning’s renowned Gorilla Glass portfolio. It will be available within the market on a Motorola device in the coming months.

Corning has been one of the world’s leading innovators in glass and glass ceramic materials for more than 170 years. The company invented the world’s first transparent, color-free, and highly strengthenable glass ceramic material for use in consumer electronics products. Corning continually develops new glass and glass ceramic materials that advance durability for mobile devices and meet the evolving needs of global customers.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained in this release and related comments by management that are not historical facts or information and contain words such as “will,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “see,” “would,” “target,” “estimate,” “forecast” or similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and include estimates and assumptions related to economic, competitive and legislative developments. Such statements relate to future events that by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the company’s future operating performance, the company’s share of new and existing markets, the company’s revenue and earnings growth rates, the company’s ability to innovate and commercialize new products, the company’s expected capital expenditure and the company’s implementation of cost-reduction initiatives and measures to improve pricing, including the optimization of the company’s manufacturing capacity.

Although the company believes that these forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions regarding, among other things, current estimates and forecasts, general economic conditions, its knowledge of its business and key performance indicators that impact the company, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws.

Some of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: global economic trends, competition and geopolitical risks, or an escalation of sanctions, tariffs or other trade tensions between the U.S. and China or other countries, and related impacts on our businesses’ global supply chains and strategies; changes in macroeconomic and market conditions and market volatility, including developments and volatility arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, interest rates, the value of securities and other financial assets, precious metals, oil, natural gas and other commodity prices and exchange rates (particularly between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, new Taiwan dollar, euro, Chinese yuan and South Korean won), the availability of government incentives, decreases or sudden increases of consumer demand, and the impact of such changes and volatility on our financial position and businesses; the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact across our businesses on demand, personnel, operations, our global supply chains and stock price; possible disruption in commercial activities or our supply chain due to terrorist activity, cyber-attack, armed conflict, political or financial instability, natural disasters, international trade disputes or major health concerns; loss of intellectual property due to theft, cyber-attack, or disruption to our information technology infrastructure; ability to enforce patents and protect intellectual property and trade secrets; unanticipated disruption to Corning’s, our suppliers’ and manufacturers’ supply chain, equipment, facilities, IT systems or operations; product demand and industry capacity; competitive products and pricing; availability and costs of critical components, materials, equipment, natural resources and utilities; new product development and commercialization; order activity and demand from major customers; the amount and timing of our cash flows and earnings and other conditions, which may affect our ability to pay our quarterly dividend at the planned level or to repurchase shares at planned levels; the amount and timing of any future dividends; the effects of acquisitions, dispositions and other similar transactions; the effect of regulatory and legal developments; ability to pace capital spending to anticipated levels of customer demand; our ability to increase margins through implementation of operational changes, pricing actions and cost reduction measures; rate of technology change; adverse litigation; product and component performance issues; retention of key personnel; customer ability to maintain profitable operations and obtain financing to fund ongoing operations and manufacturing expansions and pay receivables when due; loss of significant customers; changes in tax laws, regulations and international tax standards; the impacts of audits by taxing authorities; the potential impact of legislation, government regulations, and other government action and investigations; and other risks detailed in Corning’s SEC filings.

For a complete listing of risks and other factors, please reference the risk factors and forward-looking statements described in our annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

March 26, 2025

March 26, 2025

FROM SENATOR SCHUMER: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor to address Elon Musk’s comments about the need to eliminate Social Security and Medicare, which is critical to tens of millions of seniors, all in service of funding tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.

* Yesterday, Elon Musk confirmed what many of us have warned about for a long time: Republicans are preparing to gut Social Security and Medicare.
* Musk openly admitted it on Fox Business: “That’s the big one to eliminate,” referring to Social Security.
* Republicans are using Musk’s lie as a cover, falsely claiming the program is riddled with fraud to justify slashing benefits
* Government audits show that less than 1% of Social Security payments from 2015-2022 were made in error
* The Trump Administration already started attacking Social Security:
* 7,000 workers have been fired, leading to longer wait times and delayed benefits for seniors
* DOGE now has access to private Social Security data, putting millions at risk
* Trump, Musk and Republicans know their billionaire tax cuts won’t add up unless they take from seniors, retirees, and hardworking Americans
* Americans support cutting waste, but they DO NOT want to see their Social Security taken away.
* I ask my Republican colleagues: are you all fine with this? Fine with Musk calling Social Security one giant scam?
* Let’s find a single person on the Republican side who starts rebutting Elon Musk once and for all, when they know he’s doing what the American people hate, and is not telling the truth.