Morning News Briefing
Written by WBTA STAFF on March 7, 2019
State lawmakers are pushing through a new bill to raise the age for tobacco purchases.
A new bill has passed through the State Assembly and is now heading to the Senate that would increase the age restriction for those making tobacco and e-cigarette purchases.
The law would raise the minimum age from 18 to 21.
The proposal is in-line Governor Cuomo’s continued push to cut the number of smokers in New York State.
Cuomo says if it passes in the Senate he’ll sign it into law.
GO ART is growing under leadership of their latest director.
Since starting the job in July of 2017 GOART! Director Gregory Hallock has pulled the organization back into the black.
Members of the Human Services Committee appeared to be satisfied with the job Hallock has done at their latest meeting.
Hallock has started a number of new programs and profitable fundraisers, expanded gallery shows, acquired a liquor license for beer and wine sales at Seymore Place since his promotion.
GO ART! has taken in more money than it has spent in previous years however depreciation on their headquarters at Seymore Place ended in a financial loss for the organization at least until last year, when GO ART! reported to be $40,000 in the black.
For more on the story check the article by our news partner The Batavian.
Rally to fairly fund Upstate roads and bridges joined by Hawley.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley of Batavia joined legislators, highway superintendents and members of road repair crews from across the state yesterday to call for a $150 million increase to the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program also known as CHIPS.
They also want restoration of $65 million in Extreme Winter Recovery funds that Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to axe from this year’s budget.
Wegmans has found itself on top of a national list.
The supermarket chain was ranked number one for having the best corporate reputation in the Harris Poll Reputation Quotient Study.
Wegmans scored 83 out of 100 points, which was slightly higher than runner-up Amazon.
Companies were evaluated on factors like trust and business trajectory.
Patagonia, L.L. Bean and Walt Disney rounded out the top five.
Democrats in the state Senate say they’re still moving forward with plans to increase education spending in this year’s budget.
The news comes after Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a revenue projection lower than what some lawmakers were expecting.
If the Legislature wants schools to get more funding using DiNapoli’s estimate, they’d need to take money from other areas or raise taxes.
Education is one of the biggest spending areas in the state budget.
