February 18th, 2022 Daily Headlines
New York is pursuing a statewide study of broadband access. According to the Ithaca Voice, the new program has halted a similar study in Tompkins County. The study is part of the $1 Billion ConnectAll Initiative announced by Governor Kathy Hochul during the state of the state address earlier this year. The study is meant to analyze availability of broadband service throughout the state and identify the most under-served communities. The state is encouraging all residents to fill out an online survey as a part of the study. The survey is available at Empirestatebroadband.com
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Next week, the Tompkins Democratic Party is hosting two web forums with local state senate and congressional candidates. The first forum will be this Sunday at 7 P.M. and will feature State Senate Candidates Leslie Danks Burke, Lea Webb, and Ammitai Worob. The second will be this coming Monday at 7 P.M. and will feature 7 Democratic candidates for New York’s new 22nd Congressional District. Following recent redistricting, both seats have become heavily democratic.
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Yesterday, a New York Judge ruled that former President Donald Trump, and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, must provide depositions to New York State Attorney General Letitia James. According to the Washington Post, James has filed a civil inquiry into the Trump organization and previously deposed the former President's other son Eric Trump. One Trump lawyer said they planned to appeal the decision. Trump is also suing James in a Syracuse court claiming the inquiry is politically motivated and violates his constitutional rights.
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A report out of the New York State office of the comptroller, says that the Newfield Central School District is under “significant fiscal stress.” According to the Ithaca Voice, the state ranked school districts on a scale of fiscal stress with “significant” being the highest ranking. Only one other district in the state reached the “significant” classification. The report says the district has run a deficit for the last three years. The deficit in 2021 was over $430,000.