New Yorkers went to the polls yesterday to decide who would be running for the state’s top spots in this November’s elections. The Associated Press has projected Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, had cruised to an easy victory over her challengers, New York City public advocate, Jumaane Williams and Long Island congressman Tom Suozzi. It was much closer on the Republican side, but last night AP projected Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin had edged out the win over second place finisher, former Trump administration aide, Andrew Giulilani. Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, and businessman Harry Wilson finished a distant third and fourth, respectively. For lieutenant governor, Democrats chose incumbent Antonio Delgado. The Republicans have former NYPD deputy inspector, Alison Esposito, as their nominee for L-G.
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Rockland’s Former Finance Director Dies at 77
Rockland’s former county finance director died Friday after a brief illness. Harold J. Peterson was involved in public service most of his life, including stints as Yonkers’ Commissioner of Fiscal Services and then as Rockland County’s Finance Commissioner under then-County Executive John Grant’s administration starting in 1986. He also worked with several non-profit organizations, including 25 years as chairman of ARC’s annual golf outing, and both the Nyack Hospital Board of Trustees and the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation Board. A wake will be held at Higgins Funeral Home in New City from 3 to 8pm tomorrow. A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Augustine’s in New City at 10am Thursday. Peterson is survived by his wife, Stella, his daughter and son and his grandchildren. He was 77 years old.
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade; NY Governor Promises State Will Keep Abortion Legal
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark case that legalized abortion in this country nearly half a century ago. 1973’s decision in Roe v. Wade was overturned Friday in another case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which the Court held that the U.S. Constitution does not provide any right to abortion. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said New York State, regardless of the ruling, will protect those whose rights are oppressed…
President Joe Biden called it a “sad day for the court and for the country.” The Associated Press noted that the ruling Friday is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
“Alyssa’s Law” Panic-Button Bill Signed as U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down NY’s Conceal Carry Law
New York’s governor yesterday signed “Alyssa’s Law,” a bill that had been backed for years by Jordan and Jayden Turner, both of Nyack. Their 14-year-old cousin, Alyssa Alhadeff, was among the 17 students killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, four years ago. At the ceremony yesterday, Governor Kathy Hochul said the bill encourages school districts to install silent panic alarms in their schools…
Rockland assemblyman Ken Zebrowski backed the bill in the lower house of the legislature, and said New York’s school safety plan had a gap, and the new bill fixes that…
Rockland’s New York State senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, whose hometown is Nyack, said he’s known the Turner family for years, and when Alyssa was killed, it hit him very hard…
The bill signing was overshadowed a bit because at the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s strict conceal-carry permits for pistols. Governor Hochul said the ruling was “frightful in its scope”…
Later in the day, the governor met with the mayors of the state’s six largest cities — New York City, Yonkers, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and, Syracuse, and — to determine the response and policy options they may have to counter the Supreme Court ruling.
East Ramapo Voters Reject Budget Again, District to Implement Contingency Budget for 2022-23
Residents of the East Ramapo Central School District have yet again turned their thumbs down to the next year’s proposed school budget. Unofficial results posted on the district’s website show Tuesday’s vote wasn’t even close, it was nearly two-to-one, with 2,102 voting against it and 1,097 voting for it. The $259 million budget proposal had been trimmed slightly after it was first rejected in May, leaving the tax levy increase down from about four percent to 1.6 percent. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Clarence Ellis says the Board of Ed will move to adopt their contingency budget. Dr. Ellis says it would preserve “as many core academic programs and supports as possible.”