News

About a dozen protesters came out to Palisades Center mall yesterday and lashed out at the county for declaring a state of emergency over the measles outbreak. Though the county executive insists the move was done strictly for health concerns, Rita Palmer came from Bayport, Long Island for the protest. Palmer’s been aggressively trying to get legislation passed in New York that would compel public schools to accept religious waivers to vaccines, and for her, it’s personal…

Stephanie MiHaras lives in the Hudson Valley and says her son has been recovering from effects of a bad vaccination dose for about a decade. MiHaras also thinks the county overstepped its authority…

Despite the outcry both online and at the mall, the county continues to operate under the state of emergency, and there are now 156 confirmed cases. If you think you have measles, or want or need the vaccine, contact your healthcare provider. For information on the measles, click here, or call the State Department of Health’s toll-free Measles Information line at 1-888-364-4837.

The future of development at the Letchworth Village site in Stony Point was the subject of a public hearing earlier this week. Supervisor Jim Monaghan says residents spoke about the various commercial and residential possibilities, and urged the town to preserve its history…

The area may need to be rezoned with new legislation in Albany necessary to put senior, assisted living, single or multi-family residential homes on the property.

A local state senator is optimistic the budget can get done on time, but it’s coming down to the wire. North Rockland State Senator James Skoufis says there’s some legislation that has yet to be decided…

The $175 billion proposed budget will likely include a plastic bag ban, require car passengers in the rear seat to wear safety belts, congestion pricing for the city and a permanent extension of the state’s property-tax cap. A vote could come Sunday, right before the deadline.

Rockland’s state senator wants to cut down on the annoying robocalls everyone gets. Senator David Carlucci says the national “Do Not Call Registry” can’t handle the load. Carlucci says the telephone companies have the technology to block many of these calls, and with the Robocall Prevention Act, they’d have to do it for free…

The National Consumer Law Center says last year, New Yorkers were hit with nearly 2 billion robocalls. The FCC estimates Americans get about 1,543 robocalls every second.

A day after the county declared a state of emergency to stem the measles outbreak, residents are concerned that the government is overreaching its authority and exerting its power to stoke fear. Several people who posted on the county’s Facebook page where a video of Tuesday’s emergency announcement is, one referred to the county’s reaction as “absolute insanity” and others were concerned they’d be asked for “medical papers.” Rockland Sheriff Lou Falco says they aren’t standing in public doorways checking for documentation waiting to round people up…

Confronted with the knowledge of potentially having been in a public place with his newborn that had recently been visited by a person infected with the measles, Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day says he’s getting together with frequent political nemesis, Ramapo Legislator Aron Wieder, to make a public service announcement urging Rocklanders to get immunized…

The two will record a message together in English and Yiddish, urging both of their communities to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, News 12 reports a group will be protesting the state of emergency declaration with an “unvaccinated civil disobedience” sit-in at 10 this morning at Palisades Center. If you think you have measles or need the vaccine, contact your healthcare provider. For information on the measles, click here, or call the State Department of Health’s toll-free Measles Information line at 1-888-364-4837.