News
Refugees gather for Thanksgiving dinner in Binghamton
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“They leave the majority of their items: houses, cars, clothing, everything. They leave it behind, and they just come here.”
Health
Lack of affordable, accessible housing leaves some older residents with limited options
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“The housing situation is just so, so bad that people will live by the river rather than wait in the nursing home for an apartment to open up.”
News
Democrat Lea Webb declares victory over Republican Rich David in state Senate race
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Webb leads by less than two percentage points, or 1,500 votes over David.
Health
New York pediatricians see an early surge in cases of RSV
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“We have three consecutive years where the kids didn’t get RSV. And so all three years are susceptible now.”
New York judge hears arguments in contempt charge against Broome County sheriff
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The argument surrounds the county jail’s reduction in visitation hours, while a larger legal battle continues over visitation restrictions at the jail.
Air travel
New Yorkers will soon need REAL ID to board domestic flights
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Federal regulations, set to kick in on May 3, 2023, mean domestic travelers will need either a REAL ID or an enhanced driver’s license to fly.
App NEWS
New York’s DEC chief felt ‘pulled’ to volunteer in Ukraine
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Seggos took a leave of absence from his post at the DEC and drove ambulances across the border from Slovakia to Kyiv for the not-for-profit Ukraine Friends.
App NEWS
Hochul, Schumer maintain leads in new Marist poll
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul held a 10 percent lead over challenger, Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin. In New York’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer leads Republican Joe Pinion 54 percent to 34 percent.
abortion
Close proximity of 2 organizations, on opposing ends of abortion debate, can cause confusion
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Women’s Health Services is an abortion clinic in Vestal. Across the parking lot is Women’s Life Services, a crisis pregnancy center, which is opposed to abortion and provides alternatives to the procedure.
App NEWS
Amid ongoing legal battle, Broome County jail continues to restrict in-person visits
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“People have been without personal contact from a loved one for over two years now.”
Sneak peek at LUMA festival art installation: Inside Binghamton’s State Street parking garage
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The LUMA festival will run Friday and Saturday evening with projections and installations throughout Downtown Binghamton.
App NEWS
To reduce stigma, Oneonta recovery center uses vending machine to distribute overdose-reversal drug
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A month in, The Turning Point recovery and community center in Oneonta is distributing as much naloxone in a day as they used to in a week.
Broome County Land Bank unveils first renovated home of 2022
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“We’re taking these [properties] and viewing them as opportunities.”
988 hotline
Southern Tier health officials wait to see how 988 mental health hotline unfolds
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“Everyone takes 911 for granted, but it actually took 10 years to get 911 up and functioning across the United States.”
App NEWS
Black birth workers draw on ancestral knowledge to support their communities
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“Your clients are more than your clients, because you probably know them. They’re people in your community, and so they feel more like family.”
App NEWS
Community health center in Elmira hosts lead screenings for children
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The clinic is part of a larger effort to make access to preventative care easier in Elmira.
App NEWS
Binghamton residents hold vigil for victims of Buffalo shooting
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Over 100 people gathered in downtown Binghamton to light candles and ready supplies to send to Buffalo.
App NEWS
Broome County district attorney addresses previous investigation into Buffalo shooting suspect
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The district attorney insisted that law enforcement had followed proper procedure, and that nothing else could have been done to intervene, under current law.
App NEWS
Conklin, Binghamton residents react differently to racist attack in Buffalo
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Conklin residents say they are shocked one of their own is the suspect of the shooting in Buffalo. But some Black residents in nearby Binghamton are less surprised.
App NEWS
The Buffalo shooting shocks residents of the alleged gunman’s hometown
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Residents of Conklin, New York, are surprised the teen accused of a mass shooting was a neighbor. People of color in Binghamton have a different view.
App NEWS
In Conklin, residents shocked Buffalo suspect is from area: ‘It’s just not comprehensible’
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The small, mostly white town is just outside of Binghamton. Conklin residents are trying to make sense of the shooting.
Gillibrand: Some Supreme Court justices ‘lied’ about Roe v. Wade during confirmation hearings
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New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said some Supreme Court justices lied during confirmation hearings about whether they would overturn Roe v. Wade.
The decision protects the right to an abortion up to 24 weeks into pregnancy. A recently leaked draft of an opinion appears to throw out the landmark case.
But Gillibrand said several Supreme Court justices, including Justice Alito, who authored the draft opinion, stated during their confirmation hearings that they would not overturn Roe v. Wade. “Every single one of them said they would not undermine a settled precedent, every single one of them said under oath, that they would actually preserve Roe,” Gillibrand said. “So the fact that they all lied, is shocking.”
Gillibrand said the U.S. House of Representatives oversight committee should hold hearings on the issue, and review testimony made by justices. “I hope we have hearings, because I don’t know how you can accept Supreme Court justices who lied in order to be confirmed,” Gillibrand said.
After 4 years without an ambulance, Stamford residents push for more reliable service
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“We had one call, [the dispatcher called] 23 agencies, and no ambulance was available. To the point where the dispatcher called the house back and said, ‘We’ve got nothing. You have to find your own way to the hospital.’”
App NEWS
Some lawmakers argue $3 raise for home care workers is not enough
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“What was being asked for wasn’t the moon. It was what was needed.”
App NEWS
Broome County COVID-19 cases are rising again
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A month ago, the county was reporting 20 to 40 daily positive cases. Now, county officials say they’re seeing around 100 cases a day.
App NEWS
Ithaca Starbucks workers vote to unionize
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“Today, we unionize a store that is not even four months old. That really shows that the unions are in the future for Starbucks.”
App NEWS
Guthrie donates surgical supplies to be sent to Ukraine
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“You can fight in different ways. You can fight on the field, having the weapon in your hands. But you can also fight in the office.”
Antonio Delgado
Elected officials push support for NY dairy farms, hit hard by inflation
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“Making sure that our milk can go to our schools, milk can go to our hospitals, milk can go to our community centers. Wherever there’s more localized opportunities to grow and build from, that should be the focus.”
App NEWS
Otsego County Jail in poor condition, needs repairs, experts say
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“The conditions here, they’re not acceptable.”
App NEWS
Broome County Legislature approves contentious Willow Point contract
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“There is no transparency here, with this contract.”
App NEWS
Broome County Legislature to vote on controversial Willow Point contract this week
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Under the proposed contract, Centers for Care would be first in line to buy the Willow Point Nursing Home, if Broome County decides to sell it.
Fair Pay for Home Care
NY bill would raise pay for home care workers
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“Up to 100,000 people in the state that are actively seeking home health care cannot get it, because we do not have the supply of workforce in the state.”
App NEWS
Broome County moves forward with plan to connect underserved areas with broadband
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“What it would do is build a highway network through each small community, or large, and then individual service providers could tap into that network.”
Uncategorized
Broome County executive lays out plans for 2022
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“As we continue to come out of this pandemic, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not just get back to normal, but truly transform our county.”
App NEWS
Broome County Legislature to vote on consulting contract for Willow Point Nursing Home
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The proposed agreement between Broome County and Centers for Care, a large health care company, has some legislators concerned.
Anti-mask protest
Protestors rally against school mask mandates in Binghamton
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Protestors gathered in front of Binghamton’s state office building, calling for an end to mask mandates in schools.
Addiction Center of Broome County
Dozens of drug overdoses reported in Binghamton
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There have been nearly 50 overdoses since this year began, more than half in the past two weeks.
App NEWS
Local health care providers weigh in on changes to monoclonal antibody treatment guidelines
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The Food and Drug Administration recently limited certain monoclonal antibody drugs used to treat COVID patients, because they don’t seem to be effective against the omicron variant.
App NEWS
Drug overdoses spike in Broome County with 7 overdoses in 24-hour period
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Drug overdoses have increased in Broome County this week, with seven reported overdoses in one day.
App NEWS
Broome County COVID cases continue to decrease
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Broome County is still reporting hundreds of positive COVID-19 cases each week, but numbers have continued to fall.
App NEWS
Activists allege mistreatment of women, pregnant people in Broome County jail
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The activists say women and pregnant people at the jail are being denied access to medications, nutrition and medical care and subjected to voyeurism from the guards.
App NEWS
Southern Tier counties open online portals for reporting at-home COVID tests
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Residents can use their county’s online portal to report at-home COVID-19 test results, and access isolation order paperwork to provide to their employer.
App NEWS
NY county health departments no longer required to do COVID contact tracing
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“The big change for New Yorkers is that if you test positive, you should no longer expect a call from your health department.”
App NEWS
Despite high demand for snow plow drivers, NY officials say they’re equipped to handle winter
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There’s been a high demand for snow plow drivers this season, and the New York State Department of Transportation has had challenges finding enough of them.
App NEWS
Broome County has over 4,000 active COVID cases, but hospitalizations remain steady
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Broome County continues to see record numbers of COVID-19 cases, with 3,250 new cases in the past week. But County Executive Jason Garnar says for now, hospitalizations don’t seem to be increasing at the same rate.
Uncategorized
Air ambulance blood transfusion bill signed into law
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A New York bill allowing air ambulances to carry blood for emergency transfusion was signed into law last week. Local officials say the measure is a crucial step toward saving lives.
App NEWS
Broome County sees record number of active COVID-19 cases
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“The next month will likely be the most difficult month that we’ve ever seen in the pandemic.”
App NEWS
Broome County officials warn of rising COVID-19 cases, encourage limited holiday gatherings
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Given the spike in COVID-19 cases, county officials are advising residents to make sure they stay safe during holiday gatherings.
App NEWS
Hochul in Broome County promises more COVID-19 testing, mask enforcement, hospital staffing
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The governor gave updates on the current mask mandate, hospital capacity and testing, in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.
App NEWS
Broome County opens mass vaccination site in Johnson City
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“We are racing against the clock now. It’s important that when people want to get vaccinated or they want to get boosted, that they can do that immediately.”
App NEWS
County governments grapple with enforcing NY mask mandate
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Since the statewide mask mandate was announced last week, New York’s counties have grappled with how to implement it. Certain counties have embraced the mandate. Others have refused to carry it out.
Addiction
NY comptroller audit finds drug treatment programs overdue for recertification
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“Some of these programs will be going on for years without the kind of review that they should be having.”
App NEWS
First case of Omicron detected in Broome County
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A total of 12 cases have been detected in New York state so far. Nineteen states across the U.S. have reported cases of Omicron.
App NEWS
Report: Southern Tier hospitals placed hundreds of liens on patients’ homes
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“The first tenet in medicine is to do no harm. Suing people, filing liens on their homes, ruining their credit… that’s doing harm.”
binghamton
North Side Binghamton grocery store expands food benefits for shoppers
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“Forty-five percent of the people that shop here at the Greater Good grocery are on SNAP benefits. This will benefit a whole ton of people on the North Side of Binghamton.”
App NEWS
Southern Tier still without mass vaccination site
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Despite an increase in COVID-19 cases, fairly low vaccination rates and widespread booster rollout, the Southern Tier still has no state-run mass vaccination site.
App NEWS
Willow Point Nursing Home closes another unit due to staffing shortages
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Staffing shortages at Broome County’s Willow Point Nursing Home have forced officials to declare a state of emergency.
App NEWS
Broome County officials encourage booster shots as COVID-19 cases spike
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Broome County continues to see a spike in COVID-19 cases, with 138 new cases announced on Friday. The county currently has over 900 active cases, and a 7% positivity rate.
App NEWS
How one Steuben County family deals with the emotional aftermath of flooding
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“Now every time we see it rain, or flood warning, we get scared and we flee our house.”
911 Response Time
Otsego County ambulance service will help support volunteer emergency squads
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“It’s not because the volunteers aren’t trying, they’re doing the very best they can. But the number of volunteers are dwindling.”
App NEWS
Broome County sees spike in COVID-19 cases
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County officials attributed the rise in cases to residents socializing over Halloween weekend.
App NEWS
New community health clinic in Elmira will provide preventative care
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“We want to help offer these necessary health screenings to members of the community so that we can begin to address these various health and social needs, because they’re not separate, they’re actually connected.”
App NEWS
Steuben County adopts ‘Test to Stay’ policies in schools
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The measure would allow students to take a rapid test every day for a week, rather than quarantine, after potential exposure to COVID.
Health
Broome County officials prepare for federal vaccine mandate
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“You could probably assume that we have the same type of vaccination rate that the rest of Broome county does. So about a third of our sixteen to seventeen hundred employees are probably not vaccinated.”
News
GOP candidate declares victory in Cortland mayoral race
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Republican candidate Scott Steve declared victory in Cortland’s mayoral race over Tuesday night. He leads Democrat Bruce Tytler by just over 200 votes.
App NEWS
A third of Tompkins County hospitalizations were breakthrough cases
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“The data clearly shows that we have a vulnerable population in our seniors, even if they’re vaccinated. So the rest of us need to do everything possible to help protect them.”
App NEWS
Medicaid Home Health Program Allows People To Hire Their Own Aides
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“If you’re disabled, and you don’t get to speak for yourself, then you lose your voice.”
App NEWS
Broome Hospitalizations Increasing, County Officials Say
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“Your community, your neighbors, are working in those ERs around the clock, and they are tired, and they are getting really taxed.”
addiction treatment
New York Attorney General Announces Opioid Settlement Funds For Southern Tier
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“It’s important, again, that we use these funds to provide lifesaving drugs, and lifesaving treatment.”
App NEWS
Amid Staffing Shortages, Any Loss Of Healthcare Workers Can Have An Impact
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“People are tired, and we’ve seen a significant resurgence here. There’s a significant demand in our emergency rooms, in our COVID unit, in our ICU, and so, we need all hands on deck.”
App NEWS
Gillibrand Pushes For Investment In Home Health With Binghamton Advocates
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“More than 820,000 Americans are on the waitlist to receive care. Families may have to wait as long as five years, to get home care services that they need for their loved ones who are aging or disabled.”
Antigen Testing
Broome County Reopens Rapid Testing Site
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“Our numbers had gotten so low that we did not need to continue the rapid testing site. But the numbers are going up.”
App NEWS
As Cases Rise, Broome County Struggles To Find Staff For Contact Tracing
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“A lot of our staff is out doing their regulatory jobs, that need to happen, and it leaves us less infrastructure for doing the case investigation.”
1199 SEIU
Healthcare Workers At Ithaca Nursing Home Rally Over Contract
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“Our very important caregivers, our essential caregivers, you called them heroes a year ago, and now you’re expecting them to take cuts to their vital benefits.”
App NEWS
Hartwick College President Margaret Drugovich Plans To Retire
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“I feel confident that the College is poised for even greater success in the years to come.”
App NEWS
Steuben County Sees Uptick Of COVID-19 Cases Among Children
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“Last year, when everything really started way way back, there was this myth that kids can’t get it, and kids can’t spread it. And that’s obviously been proven way false.”
Uncategorized
Educators Say Pandemic Made Training Nursing Students More Difficult
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“A lot of the older adult care facilities completely shut us out, just for safety purposes, and kind of not bringing outsiders into their communities.”
Rural Health Desk
Residents Live With The Effects Of Chronic Water Damage
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“Not fixing something that you know needs to be fixed now, because the money just doesn’t allow for it at this moment.”
App NEWS
Broome County Officials Warn Of Potential Healthcare Staff Shortages
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“It’s going to be very, very difficult to provide the same level of healthcare if we are, all of a sudden, starting to see people walk off the job and leave the healthcare industry.”
Uncategorized
Vestal Central Schools Prepare For In-Person Learning
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“You have to be at a point where you have plans in place where you can adjust accordingly, and still maintain an education for our students.”
Antigen tests
Home COVID Tests Are Not Perfect, Health Officials Remind Residents
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“The PCR testing is the gold standard, it is the most sensitive and accurate to run to determine the results. The antigen testing is a little bit less reliable.”
App NEWS
Nursing Homes And The New Vaccine Requirement
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“I’m sure we stand to lose some staff, and we’d hate to see that happen.”
App NEWS
COVID Transmission “High” In Broome, Chenango And Delaware Counties
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“At the current rate, things have the potential to get out of control. And the last thing anybody wants to see is another shutdown.”
App NEWS
COVID-19 Cases Deemed “Substantial” In Broome, Delaware and Otsego Counties
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“We’re talking about one to two new cases, daily, sometimes zero cases daily, to about 30 new cases per day.”
Uncategorized
Uptick Of COVID-19 Cases In Tompkins And Chenango Counties
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Tompkins and Chenango Counties had “substantial” levels of transmission.
air pollution
Western Wildfires Cause Air Quality Hazards Across New York
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“The fires aren’t going to go away, and the jet stream isn’t going to change, so we could even see days like this in August, or in October.”
App NEWS
Recent CDC Numbers Fuel Push For Overdose Prevention Centers In NY
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“Especially with that surge of the overdose numbers, it’s not going away, so why not just try it?”
Addiction
Recovery Center Holds On To Remote Meetings
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“Our numbers in person dwindled down to zero because we weren’t even in the building. But the reach that we made tripled.”
Anaplasmosis
Tick-Borne Illness, Rarer Than Lyme, On The Rise In New York
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“Our impression is that probably, you can find five percent, maybe even up to ten percent in areas, it definitely seems to be increasing.”
App NEWS
Gov. Cuomo Enacts Opioid Settlement Fund
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“It’s important that these companies pay up, it’s also important that the money go to where it was intended.”
Addiction
A Look At A Lawsuit Filed By NY Municipalities Over Opioid Crisis
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“In my view, the county taxpayers shouldn’t foot a bill for a crisis that we didn’t create.”
Health
Unemployment Rates For New Yorkers With Disabilities Rose During The Pandemic
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“It was a cycle that individuals were kind of in the hamster wheel on, and some of them are just getting back to comfortable being in the stores now.”
App NEWS
Rural Broome DMV Reopens After Closing Amid Pandemic
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“We’re very happy to be back again, helping to serve the rural community here in the Harpursville area.”