Morning News Brief
Written by Michael Baldwin on July 9, 2021
The Schenectady City School District Board of Education announced at a press conference that Anibal Soler, Jr. has been selected to serve as the Schenectady City School District Superintendent of Schools, effective July 19. Soler, who has 21 years of experience in the field of education, twelve as an administrator, is currently the superintendent of schools for the Batavia City School District. Soler called it a true privilege and honor. Soler was selected as the successful candidate after a 14-month process that was impacted by COVID-19.
New York no longer requires students to wear face masks in summer school. The Department of Health (DOH) released new guidance suggesting they would treat school programs like summer camps—encouraging face masks without mandating them. A spokesperson with the Department of Health (DOH) says the new guidance was included in three updates they sent to schools and educators this week. Districts also no longer need to report daily to the COVID-19 Report Card.
The number of people hospitalized in New York has dropped by seven, and now stands at 347. However, patients in Intensive Care ticked up by three to 80. Three more deaths were also reported, bringing the statewide total to more than 43,000.
South Main Street Road near the Wortendyke Road intersection in the Town of Batavia will be closed beginning Monday, July 12th for a culvert replacement project. The project will take approximately eight weeks to complete, and that portion of the road will not be passable to traffic or emergency vehicles during that time.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced a $4.5 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma – one of the largest in U.S. history – over the company’s role in falsely marketing its products to get more Americans hooked on opioids. The owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, will be required to pay $4.5 billion over the next nine years, with New York State expected to receive at least $200 million. Funding from the settlement will be used to fund prevention, treatment and recovery programs in communities across the country, and thousands of individual victims will also receive compensation as part of Purdue’s bankruptcy process. Additionally, the settlement requires the Sackler family to relinquish control of family foundations.
The Elba Betterment Committee is pleased to announce the first concert in their summer concert series — EBC Music and More 2.0 this Saturday, July 10 at the Elba Village Park. It is located in the center of the Village on east side of Main Street. Bring your own lawn chair and there will be plenty of food and drinks available for purchase.
Construction will soon begin to modernize service areas on the Thruway, bringing new restaurants, electric vehicle charging stations, updated buildings, and more. The $450 million project will begin on July 29 with ten service areas initially closing for construction. Fuel services will remain available. Empire State Thruway Partners was awarded the contract for the renovation and will rebuild 23 of the 27 service area restaurant buildings and provide significant upgrades to the remaining four. The project is funded through a public-private partnership, and no toll dollars or state tax dollars are being used.
