WRCR AM 1700

RADIO UNSCRIPTED!

Studio Hotline : 845-429-1700

Jeff Lewis

NY Governor Seeks to Make State’s School Bus Fleet Go Electric

by

New York’s Governor wants school bus fleets across the state to run clean in the next decade. Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed that new school bus purchases be zero-emission vehicles by 2027, and all school buses be emission-free by 2035…

Deb Peck Kelleher with the Alliance for Clean Energy New York suggests in inner cities, high asthma rates may be caused by diesel emissions, and she thinks moving to electric school buses can help lower those numbers…

Kelleher says operating electric vehicles is more affordable than their diesel-powered counterparts. There are more than 50-thousand school buses operating in New York state.

County Executive Confident Rockland Will be Ready for Spring Valley Building Department Takeover Despite Delayed Legislature Vote

by

Despite a delay in a vote last week by the Rockland legislature, the county stands ready to take over the duties of the Spring Valley Building Department as directed by the state. Rockland County Executive Ed Day says he spoke with legislature chairman Jay Hood, and believes the delay won’t have an impact on the county’s ability to take over the village’s code enforcement responsibilities…

On “Who Wants to be a Volunteer” on Friday, former Director of Fire and Emergency Services and activist with CUPON Rockland, Gordon Wren, said some legislators appear to be concerned about the takeover…

Spring Valley’s building code procedures have been under the microscope since last year’s fatal fire at the Evergreen Court Home For Adults in which a resident and volunteer firefighter Jared Lloyd were killed. The legislature is slated to vote on the law February 1st, with the county officially taking over on February 14th. We reached out to legislature chairman Jay Hood, but have not gotten comment.

Area State Lawmaker Unveils Legislation to Help Volunteer First Responders with Property Taxes

by

An area state lawmaker is looking to make it easier for volunteer first responders to afford living here in Rockland. Assemblyman Mike Lawler unveiled new legislation at a press conference at the Orangeburg Volunteer Fire Department on Friday. Lawler says while some counties across the state offer their first responders a ten percent discount on their property taxes, if they live in Rockland they’re only entitled to get $200 off…

Lawler’s bill would give volunteer first responders a 100 percent property tax reduction, another, one more likely to pass, Lawler says, would provide ten percent, similar to a bill that was just signed by the governor for Monroe County. Rockland’s Director of Fire and Emergency Services Chris Kear likes the plans and is hopeful they’ll be passed and signed by the governor…

Lawler is hoping to amass broad support for the bills in both in the Assembly and the Senate.

Rockland COVID Deaths Up Again, Hospitalizations and Cases Down; State Opens Vax Site in Spring Valley for Kids

by

The county’s latest COVID-19 update shows the death count has spiked yet again, but the number of hospitalizations and total cases continue their downward trend. Friday’s update from the health department shows seven more fatalities due to COVID, for a total of 1,082. The number of active COVID cases is down almost 3,000 to 12,708, and the number of residents hospitalized with confirmed cases of coronavirus is down nine for a total of 100.

Meanwhile, the state Saturday announced 17 new #VaxForKids pop-up vaccination sites, including one in Spring Valley, to increase vaccination rates among children five and older. One of the sites is at the Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center on Bethune Boulevard, which opens starting today from 3-7pm and offers the Pfizer vaccine. To register click here, and for more information call 845-238-1956.

Suffern Chamber of Commerce Launches GoFundMe to Help Fire Victims, Restaurant Week Continues

by

The Suffern Chamber of Commerce has launched a GoFundMe page to help several small businesses that were affected by a fire earlier this month. Over $5,300 has been raised so far.

Meanwhile, the second week of the Suffern Chamber’s Restaurant Week is underway. Participating restaurants are offering three- and four-course dinners for less than 29 bucks. Nicole Russodivito is with the Suffern Chamber of Commerce and says all COVID health measures are being taken…

Suffern’s Restaurant Week runs through Thursday the 27th. For a list of participating restaurants, menus, and to make reservations, click here.