Five were killed, including 2 children, in an early morning multi-family house fire in Spring Valley. The fire started at the 118 Lake Street home around 4a.m., and was declared under control at 4:40. The victims were not identified. A cause of the blaze is under investigation. One firefighter suffered a minor injury. Officials noted the water pressure was not an issue while fighting the fire.
Breaking News
Rockland Officials Appeal to Federal Government to Help with Surge of Migrants to the County
Local officials held a press conference in New City yesterday to ask the feds for financial help to deal with the influx of migrants to the county. Though Rockland County Executive Ed Day couldn’t put a dollar figure on the problem, he said that the rapid population growth is putting strains on local schools and food pantries…
Congressman Mike Lawler and his family are very familiar with the immigration system, and his assessment is that it’s broken…
Joan Silvestri heads up the Rockland Department of Social Services, and she said immigration policies need to work hand-in-hand with the social services safety net…
Not only are local food pantries running out of food, officials said the East Ramapo School District enrollment has gone up by more than 1,000 students, and there’s been a 35% increase in kids entering foster care. A handful of human rights activists protested outside the press conference at the county office building in New City.
Rockland Sheriff Disputes Analysis of Gun Violence Data Cited by NY Governor
New York’s governor is crowing about the latest data showing the state is improving when it comes to gun violence. Governor Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday there’s been significant progress in the state’s fight against gun violence, with New York City and other communities that are participating in the state’s “Gun Involved Violence Elimination” initiative reporting the fewest shooting incidents with injury this January since the first half of 2020. Hochul said gun violence has lasting impacts on the victims, their families, and the families of the shooters…
Rockland Sheriff Lou Falco says regardless of what Hochul says the numbers show, there are still too many illegal guns coming into the state, and too much damage is being done with them…
Hochul said her budget proposal includes $337 million – that’s a $100 million increase, for what she calls “violence disruption programs,” such as after-school, mental health and other programs.
Rockland Weathers Its First Winter Storm
Just a few inches of snow, some of which melted pretty quickly, a few downed tree limbs, and a handful of minor car accidents, but for the most part, Rockland weathered the first winter storm of the season pretty well. County Executive Ed Day says emergency services personnel pulled through when needed, and power outages were kept to a minimum…
Clarkstown supervisor George Hoehmann says his highway department got everything cleared pretty quickly, but mother nature did provide a few hiccups here and there…
This weekend could see a rain and snow mix, but no accumulations are expected.
Rockland Braces for First Winter Snowstorm of Season
Rockland highway departments have had it pretty good so far this winter, but that’s apparently about to change with a big storm coming our way later tonight. Rockland towns haven’t had many opportunities before this past weekend to use the tons of salt and brine they have for keeping the streets easier to navigate. Orangetown supervisor Teresa Kenny said last month she wasn’t ready to try to figure out what to do with the money the town’s been saving so far…
Clarkstown supervisor George Hoehmann said last month saving money is great, but the lack of snow has a downside…
With a snowstorm threatening the area tonight that could bring 2 to 4 inches of heavy, wet snow and wind gusts around 30 mph, Orange & Rockland says their emergency response workforce is prepared to fix any damage and restore power outages.