This week, Craig Ross Jr. will receive sentencing for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 9-year old girl from Moreau State Park in Saratoga County last fall. Ross faces 47 years to life in prison after pleading guilty back in February. Senator Jim Tedisco, R-Ballston Lake, and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, […]
Featured-Policy
Bill Banning CO2 Fracking Method Passes Assembly and Senate
A recent anti-fracking bill, S.8357/A.8866, has now passed in both the Senate and Assembly. The bill would add carbon dioxide fracking to the statewide high volume hydraulic fracking ban codified in the 2020-21 state budget. The proposed legislation adds two words to the original law that banned fracking, which defined […]
Legislation Would Provide Tax Benefits to Newspapers Employing Local Journalists
On Feb. 15, more than 100 local newspapers across New York state launched The Empire State News Coalition in an effort to approve a legislative package that several news organizations say would bring relief to the struggling local journalism field. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, S625B/A2958C, would provide tax credits […]
Legislators Join Labor-Religion Coalition to Demand Moral Budget
New York state legislators and members of the Labor Religion Coalition held a rally in the Capitol building’s War Room on March 4 to push for investments prioritizing low-income New Yorkers as the Legislature begins to turn their attention to finalizing the budget. Speakers at the event included Assembly members, […]
Legislative Package Aims To Reduce ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found In Many Household Products
On Tuesday Feb. 6 legislators and the PFAS-free New York coalition held a press conference at the Million Dollar Staircase advocating for a package of bills that work to eliminate and regulate the use and discharge of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in common consumer products and waterways. The package […]
Bill That Would Ban New Fracking Method Advances in Assembly
A new bill (S.8357/A.8866) that would ban the use of carbon dioxide for fracking and gas extraction has been introduced in the Legislature following reports that homeowners in New York’s Southern Tier are being asked to lease their land by a fracking company. Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions, or […]
Governor Hochul Signs Bill Expanding the Legal Definition of Rape
On Tuesday, Jan. 30, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law expanding the legal definition of rape to include a number of different types of nonconsensual sexual contact in New York state. Prior to the signing of Legislation S.3161/A.3340, the law described rape as only vaginal penetration by a […]
Company Exploring A Fracking Alternative In New York’s Southern Tier Is Raising Alarms
Despite a statewide ban on fracking, energy companies have not given up the pursuit of fossil fuels in New York. Now, a company called Southern Tier Solutions, a newly formed company that is seeking leases in New York’s Southern Tier to try an alternate method of extracting natural gas. In […]