A Stony Point man was arrested and faces attempted murder and other charges after an incident that started yesterday morning in Clarkstown and ended with a crash in Newburgh Monday afternoon. Clarkstown Police say they arrived at the Tappan Zee Hotel on Route 303 in West Nyack after getting reports of a woman screaming. Detective Norman Peters says the woman had cuts to her head, and she told them she had been attacked by her boyfriend with a hammer while she was in the shower. She was able to escape, and hotel staff called 911 around 5am. Police say 46 year-old Todd Humphrey of Stony Point left the scene, but he was tracked down around 1:30 Monday afternoon by the New York State Police in Putnam County, leading to a chase that ended with a crash on Route 84 in Newburgh. Humphrey and another driver suffered minor injuries. He was charged with Attempted Murder and Assault, with other charges possible from State Police. He was being held by the Clarkstown Police Detective Bureau while waiting to be arraigned. No other details were available.
Breaking News
Local Lawmakers Urge Governor to Sign Volunteers Tax Break Bill
Area state lawmakers held a press conference last week to encourage the governor to sign a bill that’s designed to help keep volunteer firefighters and EMS workers from leaving for greener pastures. Rockland state senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick told “The Morning Show” last week he’s confident the governor will eventually put pen to paper…
Rockland assemblyman Ken Zebrowski says the bill offers a ten percent reduction in property taxes for volunteers, and it’s another way of saying “thank you” to them…
Also attending the press conference last week was Michael Krummenacker, a member of the board of directors of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York…
Assemblyman Mike Lawler, Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann were also on hand to show support for the bill, which is being touted as a retention incentive for volunteers who are increasingly getting priced out of their communities and moving out-of-state. It’s also hoped it can serve as a recruitment tool for future volunteers.
Local Lawmaker: ‘Moore v. Harper’ Case Should Have Been “Laughed Out of Court”
A local state lawmaker says a case involving state legislatures and their powers over congressional redistricting never should have gotten as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. Republican legislators in North Carolina involved with Moore v. Harper are questioning whether a state Supreme Court has the right to throw out congressional redistricting maps. A similar situation arose in New York earlier this year. The so-called “independent state legislature theory” supports the idea that the U.S. Constitution gives broad power to state legislatures to oversee elections, regardless of the state constitution, and state courts can’t stop them. Rockland State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick says it could be interpreted to allow state legislators to pick winners of elections…
Senator Reichlin-Melnick hopes the Supreme Court doesn’t take the case seriously enough to rule in favor of it. The high court may consider this case this term, which began earlier this month.
Ramapo to Speak with State DOT on Future Improvements to Route 59
Traffic congestion on Route 59 particularly in the Town of Ramapo never seems to ease, and the state’s been studying what to do about it for years. Ramapo supervisor Michael Specht says they’ll be conferencing with state officials possibly this month to get an update on what they may have in store for the busy roadway…
For more information about what could possibly be done with Route 59, visit The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council’s website to see their Route 59 Area Transportation and Land Use Study, the site is Route59study.org.
Development Project for Western Ramapo on Town Agenda Later this Month
A major development project is on the agenda in Ramapo later this month and it could clear a major hurdle at that meeting. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society’s Media Center has been proposed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization for Sterling Mine Road in Sloatsburg. Ramapo supervisor Michael Specht says the board may vote on the zoning amendments the group is proposing for the project…
RCBizJournal.com editor Tina Traster says the project is enormous…
The next town board meeting where the project will be discussed is October 26th. For more information about the project, click here.