RADIO UNSCRIPTED!
by Jeff Lewis
North Rockland is in mourning after the death of a ninth grade student who dreamed of being a firefighter. Kenneth Bermudez Jr. died unexpectedly on Sunday, just five days after his 15th birthday. Haverstraw supervisor Howard Phillips says he knew his mother well…
Visiting hours are being held at George Holt Funeral Home at 50 New Main
Street in Haverstraw today and tomorrow from two to three, with funeral services Sunday morning at 10am.
by Jeff Lewis
The Rockland County Department of Health is warning residents that measles cases are on the rise, again, nationally and globally, but thankfully, to date there have been no new reported cases in the county. The CDC says as of late last week, 93 cases have been reported in New York City, New Jersey, Alaska, California, Georgia, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Texas. Rockland County Executive Ed Day says the old playbook was dusted off weeks ago, and it comes with the experience of having gone through that measles outbreak back in October 2018 that lasted nearly a year…
Children who don’t get vaccinated risk serious illness, particularly those under age five, who are at highest risk for severe complications including pneumonia, encephalitis and death. Measles can also put children at higher risk for other potentially fatal childhood diseases by causing their immune systems to break down. For more information, click the links below:
Rockland County Department of Health measles website
by Jeff Lewis
There may be even more money in the East Ramapo School District than had been previously thought. That’s according to MonseyScoop.com, which says the district’s budget surplus could be nearly $100 million, more than three times greater than the $30 million previously reported. That revelation came out during a budget review meeting Tuesday night. A significant portion of the surplus was reportedly linked to unfilled staff positions, inflated transportation costs, and other budgeting errors. State lawmakers have called for a review by the State comptroller to get to the bottom of the financial discrepancies. They’ve also called for taxpayers to get refunds after the State Education Department instituted a higher tax rate when it was believed the district was lacking in funding.
by Jeff Lewis
The Trump administration has set a deadline for the state to end congestion pricing. Reuters reported the Federal Highway Administration set it at March 21st, so that operations can be terminated in an orderly manner. Rockland’s Congressman Mike Lawler of the Hudson Valley’s 17th district says the MTA was desperate for money and came up with the plan as a way to scam area commuters…
The MTA has filed a lawsuit to block the administration’s action. The MTA announced Monday they’re projecting they would raise $500 million in net revenue in the first year of the program.
by Jeff Lewis
Mediation is underway between the state and state correction officers who have been striking against some prisons, citing poor working conditions and safety issues. That’s according to Spectrum Local News. The illegal strikes are designed to call attention to their request to also repeal the “Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement” Act, also known as HALT, which, among other things, gives inmates more time outside their cells. The mediation session is scheduled to run through the end of the day. Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul said she understood that correction officers do incredibly difficult work under challenging circumstances…
Hochul also called in the National Guard last week to assist in the prisons where staff are striking. Rockland Sheriff Lou Falco says sending in the National Guard isn’t the best of ideas, since they aren’t trained specifically to do the job of a correction officer…
Republican state lawmakers recently released statistics from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision that show that since the HALT Act was launched three years ago, inmate-on-inmate assaults have increased 169 percent, and inmate-on-staff assaults have gone up 76 percent.