Local News for Monday, January 16, 2023

Early Morning Blaze Stifled by IPD

The Ithaca Fire Department battled a home fire yesterday on Aurora St at around 7:45 AM. Fire Department spokesperson Jim Wheal reported that there was “a significant amount of fire,” and several walls and ceiling had to be broken through to open space within the home and control the blaze’s spread. Residents were quickly evacuated and sustained no injuries, while two firefighters sustained only minor injuries. The Ithaca Times reports that the cause of the fire remains unknown at this time. 

Former Justices Defend Hochul’s Controversial Nominee

Nine former appellate division justices sent a letter to top Democrats, Friday, defending Governor Hochul’s nominee for New York’s most powerful judge. Hector D. would be the first Latino to rise to the seat of chief judge on New York’s Court of Appeals. His confirmation has been held up in Albany by a mostly progressive group of Senate Democrats. According to the Times Union, LaSalle’s critics have cast him as anti-abortion, anti-union and anti-due process. The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman, and lambasts what the nine former justices called a “woke” misinterpretation of LaSalle's judicial record. So far, 14 Democratic in the Senate oppose LaSalle's nomination; He would need Republican votes to be confirmed.