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Area Lawmaker Pushes for Increased Road and Infrastructure Funding

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Speaking of the state budget, an area lawmaker is pushing for increased funding for local road and infrastructure projects in the state budget. In his executive budget for next year, the governor proposed investing $306 billion, for the so-called “largest infrastructure plan in New York history.” The budget also, however, does not fund what are known as “Extreme Winter Recovery” projects, a cut of $65 million. Rockland assemblyman Mike Lawler says those funds should be restored…

The state budget is due April first.

Report: Questions Persist Over Whether State Covered up Questions About New TZ Bridge’s Structural Integrity

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An extensive inquiry by an upstate newspaper is leading to questions over the new Tappan Zee bridge and whether the state covered up questions about the structural integrity of the bridge. The Albany Times Union reported yesterday they’ve been investigating a whistleblower’s concerns over bolt failures for the past eight months. The paper suggested the attorney general’s office over the years has sought to downplay the severity of the allegations and any potential structural threat. Tappan Zee Constructors and their attorney declined to be interviewed for the Times Union’s article, but have denied concealing bolt failures, accused a former safety manager of inflating the severity of the situation, and stand by the safety of the bridge.

Reports: Nanuet Man Dies Following Stabbing-Shooting Incident in Blauvelt Saturday Night

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A Nanuet man has reportedly died after a large fight Saturday night at a Blauvelt restaurant. Orangetown Police are investigating the incident, in which shots were fired and two ending up at area hospitals with stab wounds. Published reports said it all happened at Oiso Restaurant on Route 303 just before 11pm Saturday night. 30 year-old Caneggio Grant was reportedly fatally stabbed during the melee. There were no other reported injuries. Anyone who may have seen what happened or has additional information is asked to call the Orangetown Police at 845-359-3700.

Lawyer Fees Could Go Higher in East Ramapo-NAACP Case

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There could be more financial pain for the East Ramapo school district. The Journal News says a federal judge Friday said she’s waiting for NAACP attorneys to calculate their hourly fees before coming up with a final number. The total currently stands at $4.3 million, but that could go up to $5.5 million. East Ramapo lost a voting rights challenge by the NAACP.

Area State Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Get State-Run Vaccination Sites in Rockland and Orange Counties

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Rockland still has no vaccination site of its own, despite having some of the highest COVID rates in the state in some categories. Earlier this week, several new State and FEMA mass vaccination sites opened in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Yonkers. Rockland state senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick has introduced legislation in the Senate that would require the Department of Health to open vaccine clinics in Rockland and Orange counties where they are desperately needed…

Rockland Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski introduced the bill in the Assembly, and says it shouldn’t be so difficult for Rocklanders to get vaccinated…

Rockland and Orange are the only counties with populations over 300,000 that do not have state-run vaccination centers.

The Cuomo administration under-counted the number of COVID nursing home deaths in an official state Department of Health report last July. That’s according to The New York Times, which reported that the department indicated there were 6,200 nursing-home deaths, much less than the actual count of nearly 10,000 at the time. Cuomo, you may recall, went on to publish a book detailing how well New York handled the COVID crisis.

COVID-19 by the numbers now, here in Rockland, we lost four more to COVID, the total is 895. We’ve got 42 hospitalized confirmed with coronavirus, and 1,458 active cases. Our total case count is 39,149, that’s 194 more than Thursday.