Reed Votes Against Marijuana Changes

Congressman Tom Reed was a no vote on today’s house vote about marijuana.  The legislation is called House Resolution 3617, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement act, which among other things, will, remove marijuana from the controlled substance list and decriminalizes marijuana.  It also ends mandatory job drug testing for marijuana, and sets up a trust fund (though it doesn’t say what the trust fund is exactly for).  HR 3617 passed in the House today. 

Sheriff Lists The Investigations That Were Handled Last Month

For the month of March, 2022, Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard says the sheriff’s office investigated five deaths, three assaults, one burglary investigation, one animal abuse investigation, one stolen vehicle investigation, six larceny investigations, one drug investigations, one terroristic threat investigation, three fire investigations, six sex offense investigations, one forgery investigation and six violations of orders of protection investigations.

New Nursing Home Rules Started Today

The State Health Department’s new regulations for nursing home staffing went into effect today.  In late 2021, the Health Department announced, that there was going to be a new rule about how patients were supposed to get an equal amount of time and attention from nurses.  State Senator George Borrello says nursing homes, are facing possible fines, or will undergo penalties like, not having as many patients allowed or admitted into their facility, or their units might be closed down.   Borrello maintains, on top of this, nursing homes are also not getting enough Medicaid money.

Governor Kathy Hochul: We Will Appeal McAllister’s Ruling

In Steuben County Surrogate Court yesterday, Judge Pat McAllister ruled that the new district maps, approved by Governor Kathy Hochul, were unconstitutional, and the judge has ordered that new maps be drawn.  Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James issued the following joint statement in response to the New York Supreme Court’s rejection of the state’s current redistricting plans: quote “We intend to appeal this decision.”  Unquote - Republican Candidate For Governor Lee Zeldin stated quote: “Albany Democrats made it clear from the beginning they had no intention of allowing the constitutionally required independent commission to deliver a map that best serves New Yorkers, and a judge has recognized this…Albany must redraw the maps in good faith and put New Yorkers, not their partisan games, first.”