January 28, 2022 Daily Headlines

Yesterday, the Tompkins County Health Department announced changes to its COVID-19 data reporting. The county will no longer report the number of “active cases” in the county, or the number of patients released from isolation. In a statement to the media the county explained this was because the state government is now leading case investigations. The county will continue to report the number of COVID deaths, covid hospitalizations in the Cayuga Medical Center and the county’s vaccination rate. 

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Ithaca College will merge two of its programs to form a new School of Music, Theatre and Dance. According to the Ithaca Voice, the school will merge the School of Music and the Department of Theatre Arts in July. This will be the first new school formed at IC since the college formed the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance in 1988.

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On Wednesday Governor Kathy Hochul met with law enforcement officials from 9 Northeastern states in the first meeting of the new Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns. According to News10, the task force's goal is to share “intelligence, tools, and strategies” to combat the flow of illegal arms in the region. The NYPD has reported nearly 4,500 guns entering New York from outside the state. Most of these come from southern states like Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.

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Last week, New York state regulators gave National Grid, a utilities company, permission to raise eclectic and natural gas rates over the next three years. According to the Albany Times Union, rates would increase by about 2 percent every year. The rate increase will remain below the level of inflation which is currently at 7 percent. 

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There’s a chance for snow showers today before clearing up this evening. Temperatures should see a high of 23 today and a low of 0 tonight.