Morning News Brief
Written by Michael Baldwin on April 19, 2021
The Royalton-Hartland school district has come under scrutiny for its Information Technology Contingency Planning. According to a state audit summary, the board and district officials have not developed and adopted a comprehensive written information technology (IT) contingency plan. The district pays $10,500 for central site infrastructure support, which includes a disaster recovery plan template, a key component of an IT contingency plan. Although the district paid for a template, officials did not obtain it. Important financial and other data could be lost, or suffer a disruption to operations. The District serves the Towns of Hartland, Lockport and Royalton in Niagara County, the Town of Alabama in Genesee County, and the Towns of Ridgeway and Shelby in Orleans County. In response, the District said it generally agrees with the audit findings and will develop a comprehensive corrective action plan.
Court action is pending for an Akron man involved in a collision on West Main Street Road in Batavia. Sheriff’s deputies say they arrested 30-year-old Johnny Early Anthony of Knapp Road. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, moving from a lane unsafely and not having a license. No injuries were report. He’ll appear in Town of Batavia court May 24th.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos announced that spring turkey season opens May 1, in all parts of Upstate New York, north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary. In addition, DEC’s annual youth turkey hunting weekend will take place April 24 & 25. The youth turkey hunt for junior hunters aged 12 to 15 is open in all parts of Upstate New York and Suffolk County. Last year, turkey hunters took approximately 21,500 birds in New York during the spring season, an increase of about 25 percent from 2019.
Genesee County continued to be in a state of moderate drought. So are Wyoming and Orleans Counties. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 25% of New York is classified in moderate drought while more than 70% of the state is considered abnormally dry.
Tax collections for New York’s Fiscal Year 2020-21 totaled $82.4 billion — $3 billion higher than forecast by the state Division of the Budget. However, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said total tax collections were $513.3 million lower than the previous year. He says New York faces a long road to recovery, and the state’s economy still faces serious challenges, both in the short-term and long-term. DiNaploi noted that better-than-anticipated tax collections, federal resources and new revenues in the recently adopted budget allow for important investments in critical programs and services, but state policymakers must ensure that spending commitments are in line with recurring revenue sources.
New York will require Internet service providers to give high-speed Internet access to low-income households at an affordable cost. The new law requires all ISPs to offer high-speed Internet to low-income households at a cost of $15 per month. High-speed Internet will include the Internet access itself, as well as any equipment such as a modem and router.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo Sunday announced that the COVID-19 positivity rate dropped to 2.35%, the lowest since November 7. In the Finger Lakes Region, there are 199 people hospitalized with another 346 in Western New York.
