Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on February 1, 2022
A winter storm watch is in effect from Wednesday at 10pm through Friday at 1pm because of heavy snows that the national weather service says will blanket nearly all of Western NY. 9 inches or more are expected. Travel could be very difficult to impossible.
A New York Appellate Court has granted a full stay to the mask mandate for schools and businesses in NY. This stay overturned the ruling of the State Supreme court which last week ruled that the mask mandate was unconstitutional. Governor Hochul celebrated this ruling by issuing a statement saying that “Mask regulations keep our schools and businesses safe and open, protect vulnerable New Yorkers, and are critical tools as we work to get through this winter surge.”
Help is coming to upstate hospitals, from the military. 2 units from the US Department of Defense Military Medical Teams are en route to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and SUNY Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse to help offset the staffing shortage in the wake of the healthcare workers vaccine mandate. Each team will have 20 members comprised of physicians, nurses, respiratory techs, and command staff. They will arrive early this month and be assigned there for 30 days.
Another upstate New York DA has refused to bring charges against former Governor Andrew Cuomo for sexual harassment. A woman in Oswego claimed Cuomo ran his hands across her chest at a public event and pressed charges. The Oswego County DA Gregory Oaks became the 4th prosecutor to publicly decline to pursue a criminal case against Cuomo saying there wasn’t a significant legal basis for charges.
The Buffalo Bills are apparently in the market for a new offensive line coach as Bobby Johnson is reported to be leaving to take the same position for the Giants. Johnson has been with the Bills as offensive line coach since 2019. He was assistant offensive line coach starting in 2010. The Bills are reportedly interviewing the Ravens wide receiver coach Tee Martin for the offensive coordinator position.
