A bi-partisan effort is backing a package of bills that proposes statewide fire safety measures aimed at making things safer for residents and first responders. The legislation includes money for fire and building code enforcement; making some code violations that result in injuries felonies; and setting staffing levels for local government inspectors. At a press conference at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona on Friday, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said the bills will help save lives. Rockland Fire and Emergency Services Director Chris Kear was encouraged by the bi-partisan effort behind the proposed legislation.
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Negotiations Underway as NYS Senate and Assembly Release Budgets
The New York State Assembly and Senate came out with their budgets for the next fiscal year on Thursday last week. Now with just two weeks before the budget deadline, negotiations are underway between the lawmakers and the governor, who released her spending plan earlier this year. On the Senate floor last week, Rockland State Senator, Republican Bill Weber of the 38th District, called the Senate version unsustainable, and voted against it…
With just two weeks left to the budget deadline, Al Samuels, CEO of the Rockland Business Association, says he’d rather see a late budget than a rushed, bad budget…
Governor Kathy Hochul released her $233 billion budget proposal in January. The Senate and Assembly’s versions added about $13 billion each in spending.
Rockland County Jail Inmate Gets More Time After Conviction of Assault on Corrections Officers
An inmate at the Rockland County jail has been given another 14 years after being convicted last week of several assaults while behind bars. District Attorney Tom Walsh said Friday that 35 year-old Darius Williams of Spring Valley got two, consecutive seven-year terms in state prison for a total of 14 more years behind bars for two separate assaults on Rockland County Sheriff’s Corrections officers. Williams was found guilty in a non-jury trial last December. During one of the incidents Walsh says Williams punched a corrections officer in the face as he was being handcuffed and escorted to his cell. A similar incident occurred when officers responded to his cell to fix a broken door, when he lunged at the officers and punched another one. Williams was previously jailed after being convicted last year of an unprovoked attack on a stranger in the Village of Haverstraw.
Thousands Flock to Pearl River for 60th St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Thousands came out Sunday to Pearl River for the Rockland County Ancient Order of Hibernians’ 60th Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Pearl River. The parade featured Parade Commander Sergeant Nicholas Whalen of the Orangetown Police Department and the U-S Marine Corps, Grand Marshal Neil Cosgrove of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and many area bands and dance troupes, including the Pearl River High School Marching Band, the St. Raymond Academy for Girls Band, the Ridgewood Irish Dance Booster Club, the Pearl River School of Irish Music and many more. This year’s parade was dedicated to the late Walter Murray, Richard Cauntiz and Moira Reilly.
Proposed Group Home in West Nyack Gets Approval from Clarkstown Town Board
A proposed group home in West Nyack for teenage girls with eating disorders was approved by the town of Clarkstown. The Rockland County Business Journal said 200 people showed up Wednesday night for a public hearing. Supervisor George Hoehmann told “The Morning Show” Monday the for-profit group behind the group home is governed by state law…
The 7,500 square-foot home on Sickletown Road in West Nyack, is very close to the Orangetown border. Supervisor Teresa Kenny says many oppose the group home, but she doesn’t see why…
Residents reportedly were concerned about traffic, safety, and threats to the character of the neighborhood, but Kenny says she doesn’t expect much traffic at the inpatient facility or the other concerns to be a problem.