Sexual assault training

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a new sexual assault intervention training program that will be available to all State University of New York students, faculty and staff. The program is an extension of “Enough is Enough,” the governor’s sexual assault legislation signed into law in July.

Under the training program, faculty and staff will become certified to run other training events. The cost of the program will be covered by an existing federal grant for $496,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Rape Prevention and Education Program, according to the release.

 

Miner outlines voter participation strategy

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner addressed the New York State Legislature on Tuesday, along with four other New York state mayors. While many of them discussed funding issues, Miner brought up issues of voter participation and corruption.

Miner said she would like the close the “LLC loophole,” which allows limited liability companies to donate as individuals, which can be thousands of more dollars than a company is able to donate. She said she would also like to increase voter participation. To do so, she proposed permanent absentee ballots, universal registration and early voting.

 

Politicians support FitzPatrick plant

Republican legislators in New York state, along with Cuomo, are backing bills that would help keep a nuclear power plant in Oswego County open, according to Time Warner Cable News.

In November, the company that owns the plant — Entergy — announced they would be closing the plant for financial reasons. The close is expected to affect 600 jobs. In an effort to keep it open, Assemblyman Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) announced bills that would provide a tax credit for the company and make it eligible for payments solar and wind energy companies receive.

 

Howie Hawkins arrested

Former New York state gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins was arrested on Tuesday for disorderly conduct on Tuesday, according to a Jan. 26 Syracuse.com article. Hawkins was protesting with a group of activists at Seneca Lake, where Crestwood Mainstream has plans to store liquefied petroleum gas.

Twelve others were also charged with disorderly conduct. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the project, but the Department of Environmental Conservation is still considering the permits.

 

Merger proposed

Consensus, a powerful group of citizens and politicians, has proposed a merger between the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County. Their report, released on Tuesday, outlined what would be required of such a merger and the resulting benefits, according to a Jan. 26 Syracuse.com article.

Although they purposefully excluded the school system, the proposed merger would streamline the administration, the police department and the court system, among other sectors. The next step for the group is to take public opinion into consideration. For this, they have set up open meetings and established a Facebook account to promote discussion.

Published on January 29, 2016 at 2:05 pm

Contact Delaney: dovanwey@syr.edu