Midday News Brief
Written by Dan Fischer on August 18, 2021
Governor Cuomo has officially filed his retirement paperwork.
While the governor is planning to step down next week, his retirement won’t go into effect until September 1st.
That’s because due to a state pension requirement, any retirement application must be on file for at least 15 days before it can actually occur. Cuomo’s pension could be worth around $50,000 a year.
Lawmen are gearing up for Labor Day Holiday traveling. with another “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign
State Troopers and local law enforcement will be increasing patrols to target impaired driving from this Friday through September 6.
There were 378 fatal impaired driving crashes in 2019, compared to 408 fatal impaired crashes in 2020.
The NYS COVID positivity rate is now 3.94%. 91 more people have been admitted to hospitals and seven others have been admitted to intensive care.
18 new deaths from COVID have also been reported in the state.
The Finger Lakes positivity rate – which includes Genesee County – has declined slightly to 4.20%.
For Genesee County alone, its positivity rate stands at 3.6%.
For the first time in the history of the New York State Fair, smoking marijuana will be legal on some fairground property. That’s because earlier this year, Governor Cuomo and lawmakers struck a deal to legalize the drug for adult use. Marijuana can be used wherever tobacco smoking is allowed. The State Fair gets underway Friday and runs through Labor Day.