If The Chronicle-Express wants to make some much needed advertising income, I suggest they start charging Senator O’Mara instead of giving him a free full half page+ for his political rants every single week. No other politicians get such favorable treatment, least of all Democrats, so they can tell their side of the story. Getting rid of his tirades was the only positive thing I could see about the Chronicle going out of business.
Steven Holden, the Democratic Candidate to represent the NY-24 Congressional district, grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Oklahoma. After College he joined the National Guard, and then the Army. In his 20 years in the Army, Steven was deployed to Iraq twice and Afghanistan twice. He was on the team that captured Saddam Hussain. After Steven retired from the military, he started a business that guides Veterans through the process of receiving government contracts.
As this region’s representatives in the State Legislature, we have a responsibility to stand up when New York government falls down on its responsibility to the citizens and communities we serve. If state government fails to respond to even one of our communities, our deepest concern is that New York’s powers-thatbe will become emboldened to ignore other small, rural Upstate, Southern Tier and Finger Lakes communities in the future.
PENN YAN -- The Yates County Republican Committee (YCRC) held its Annual Dinner/ Meeting on Thursday Oct. 6 at Seasons at Hampton Inn. The key speakers were U.S. Congresswoman Claudia Tenney,N.Y.StateAssemblyman Phil Palmesano, and Yates County GOP Committee Chair John Prendergast.
ALBANY -- Last week, the N.Y. State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) announced a minimum wage increase for home care aides. Effective Oct. 1 through Public Health Law § 3614-f, the minimum wage for home care aides has been increased to $15.20 per hour for Upstate N.Y. and $17 per hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County. This follows an order by the Commissioner and State Budget Director raising the general minimum wage to $14.20 for Upstate N.Y. counties beginning Dec. 31, leading to an additional $1 increase an hour for Home Care Aides in those locations.
It wasn’t long ago in this column -- in early September in fact – that I asked the question, “Will Governor Hochul turn her back on farmers?” I asked it after a New York State Wage Board, established under a 2019 law known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” finalized its recommendation to lower the mandatory overtime pay threshold for farm workers from the current 60 hours to 40 hours. Following the Wage Board’s action, Governor Hochul was given 45 days to send down the final word.
FINGER LAKES -- The Cayuga County Deputy Sheriff’s Police Association have endorsed Judge Jason Cook in this year’s election for New York State Supreme Court in the 7th Judicial District. In the letter of endorsement, President Michael Baim remarked to Cook, “We are confident that your experience, knowledge and integrity will serve our community well as a Supreme Court Justice.
It is predicted that we are facing a long, cold, hard winter across the Northeast and New York’s energy consumers are bombarded with the warning: Expect your heating bills to skyrocket. Across the upstate region, average residential heating costs are expected to increase up to 50% this winter.
The Sportsmen’s club has been located on State Route 54, just four miles south of Penn Yan since 1955. They have a long history with the people of Yates and surrounding counties, even with some folks who don’t live in New York but still choose to spend their summers in the Finger Lakes. In years past, they hosted turkey shoots and .22 silhouette events. Members of the Yates County Sheriff’s Office have done their firearm qualifications there in the past. The Penn Yan Police Department still does. All are welcome.
Three significant developments worthy of comment occurred in Yates County recently. First, is the sale of The Chronicle-Express to CherryRoad Media, breathing new life into this 198-year-old newspaper. The community response is encouraging, and hopefully an indication of the kind of support that can be expected in the future.