May 23rd, 2022 Daily Headlines

On Friday, New York State finalized its congressional and state senate maps. The final congressional map will place Tompkins into the new 19th Congressional district, a district that voted for Joe Biden by a little under 5 points. Ithaca and Syracuse were originally in the same district with several candidates from both communities mounting bids. The change in district lines has caused some candidates to change which seat they will run for. Ithaca resident Josh Riley has announced he will run in the 19th district while Francis Conole, Sarah Klee Hood, and Chol Majok have all announced they will run in the 22nd district. All of Schuyler county would remain in the 23rd congressional district, a heavily Republican district that voted for Donald Trump by over 27 points. In the state senate, Tompkins will be placed in the 52nd senate district along with Cortland county and Binghamton. This district will be heavily Democratic with Joe Biden winning the popular vote by a little over 20 points. Meanwhile, Schuyler county will be placed in the 58th senate district, a heavily Republican district where Donald Trump won by nearly 20 percent. 

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Also on Friday, Democratic leaders in New York’s 23rd congressional district announced Max Della Pia as their candidate in the upcoming special election. The district’s current representative Tom Reed stepped down a few weeks ago. The election will be held under the current congressional maps which will change at the next general election. Ithaca and Watkins Glen are currently in the 23rd district. Della Pia received support from all county chairs in the current 23rd district. Della Pia is a resident of Tioga county and narrowly lost a primary contest against 2018 nominee Tracy Mitrano. 

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The Tompkins County Health Department is alerting residents that the FDA has approved the Pfizer COVID vaccine booster for kids ages 5-11. The booster is recommended at least 5 months after the patient's second dose of the vaccine. County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa celebrated the announcement saying the boosters were “effective and safe.” A second booster shot has also been approved for people over 50 or those 12 and older who are immunocompromised.