TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalNew York warns Canada over dairy regulations
ALBANY -- New York’s dairy industry could be facing a $50 million market loss if proposed provincial standards are enforced across Canada, state officials are warning.
In a letter dated Oct. 25 to Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked the Canadian government to develop an national agreement that would benefit both sides of the Canadian-American border, allowing New York to continue exporting dairy to its northern neighbors.
“New York's dairy sector is an essential part of our agricultural industry, and these regulations could have devastating effects on our dairy farmers and their families," Cuomo said Monday in a statement.
Whatever policy decisions are made in Canada would have a profound impact on New York.
Read more: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/blogs/vote-up/2016/11/01/ny-warns-canada-over-dairy-regulations/93111510/
New York makes it illegal to speed past garbage trucks
ALBANY -- As of Tuesday, it will be illegal to speed past sanitation vehicles.
By classifying garbage trucks and waste collection vehicles as “hazard vehicles,” New York is now the 12th state to enact a ”Slow Down to Get Around” law, which builds off of the preexisting “Move Over” law.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law in August, and it takes effect Tuesday. The state Legislature passed the measure in June.
Motorists must now reduce their speed when passing waste and recycling collection vehicles with flashing lights.
Read more: http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/ny-makes-it-illegal-to-speed-past-garbage-trucks/345138056
College Of New Rochelle Financial Probe Reveals $20M In Unpaid Taxes
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The very existence of the College of New Rochelle is in jeopardy after a financial probe found that the school hadn’t paid upwards of $20 million in payroll taxes dating back to 2014.
Last month, CNR President Judith Huntington abruptly resigned due to “significant unmet financial obligations,” prompting the school’s Board of Trustees to launch a full investigation into the misappropriations and to restructure CNR’s finances.
On Tuesday, the Board announced that approximately $20 million in payroll taxes were not paid for eight quarters. The review is ongoing, but the Trustees have cautioned that it will require significant cost-cutting and outside funding for CNR to remain a stand-alone institution.
“The goal of the investigation is to determine how and why the payroll taxes went unpaid, who was responsible for the non-payment, if any funds were diverted from CNR and if there were any other undiscovered related issues,” they said in a statement. “The investigation is not complete, but the Special Committee did not want to delay any longer sharing preliminary findings with the CNR community.”
Read more: http://yonkers.dailyvoice.com/schools/college-of-new-rochelle-financial-probe-reveals-20m-in-unpaid-taxes/687966/
School leaders seek state aid, labor law changes
The state Council of Superintendents is out with a survey of their ranks, whose members say they continue to worry about their finances.
They say they are looking for continued help from the state’s general fund and would like to see mandate relief, including changes to the Triborough Amendment which basically locks in longevity raises for teachers and other school employees regardless of a district’s financial circumstances.
They also note that the Tax Cap, which is tied to inflation, has been coming in at under 2 percent, making it difficult to raise local property taxes beyond that point.
Read more: http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/268908/school-leaders-seek-state-aid-labor-law-changes/
IG looks, discovers Food Stamp abuse at state facility
Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott has issued an eye-opening report on how workers at a residence that is part of the Hutchings psychiatric center in Central New York helped themselves to the Food Stamp cards and PINs of residents they were supposed to be caring for.
One employee in particular, Alphonso Bradshaw, spread the benefits around, giving and selling them and to friends and family, even helping a Syracuse-area pizza parlor use the benefits to stock their shelves.
The state Office of Mental Health says they have since instituted controls to prevent this kind of abuse, which netted almost $18,000 in government-funded food between 2012 and 2014.
Read more: http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/268919/ig-looks-discovers-food-stamp-abuse-at-state-facility/
Albany pastor, wife understated income by more than $100,000, records show
Albany -- The longtime pastor of a historic Albany church listed his and his wife's annual income at $5,000 to qualify for Medicaid benefits, but records indicate the couple controlled numerous bank accounts from multiple charity and nonprofit organizations — including their church — that paid them more than $150,000 a year, according to information compiled during a criminal investigation of their personal finances.
The Rev. Edward B. Smart and his wife, Marion, were arrested last week on felony charges accusing them of improperly receiving $12,350 in Medicaid benefits from the Albany County Department of Social Services between January 2015 and June 2016, when Albany County opened its investigation after receiving a complaint about the pastor's alleged misuse of funds.
The ensuing examination of the couple's personal finances, including a review of bank and real estate records, found they may have concealed or improperly paid themselves tens of thousands of dollars from charity organizations they controlled. They also received a $450 monthly reimbursement from their church for health insurance although they were receiving Medicaid benefits, according to the county's investigation.
In addition, records obtained by the Times Union indicate that Edward Smart held the checkbooks for his church, First Israel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Hamilton Street, as well as for multiple charity organizations he and his wife control. The pastor's personal use of the checking accounts, including writing checks to himself for thousands of dollars, was unusual. At many churches and charity organizations, treasurers normally control the finances and banking accounts, according to former board members who served on some of the charity organizations run by Smart.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Albany-pastor-wife-understated-income-by-more-10426369.php
Hutchinson backs $10M boost for higher education
LITTLE ROCK—Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday proposed keeping higher education funding flat next fiscal year but vowed to back a $10 million increase in 2018 if lawmakers support a plan to tie money for colleges and universities to factors such as degree completion.
The Republican governor said he'll call for increasing higher education funding in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2018 if the Legislature approves the plan to move away funding from a model based on enrollment to "productivity." The state's colleges and universities received about $733 million in the $5.3 billion state budget that was approved earlier this year, and that funding would not change in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2017 under Hutchinson's proposal.
The state Higher Education Coordinating Board in July approved the framework, which calls for linking schools' funding to factors such as number of students completing degrees, how many graduates get a job or another degree, and how long it takes a student to graduate. The model is aimed at increasing the number of Arkansas residents with degrees.
"The current funding formula for higher education is outdated, it is not really being followed at all in terms of the allocation of funds in our state and it rewards numbers and enrollment versus attainment, goals and efficiencies," Hutchinson said. "It is time for that to change."
Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2016/nov/01/hutchinson-backs-10m-boost-higher-education/647026/
Ex-Gregg County DA gets deferred adjudication for cocaine possession
A former Gregg County district attorney was fingerprinted Friday in the 188th District Court in Longview after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and revealing he was struggling with addiction when he was arrested in February 2015.
Longview attorney Rob Foster, 71, will not see the inside of a prison if he adheres to conditions of a 10-year probation.
He also can prevent a finding of guilt from ever being declared by a judge — and escape the lifelong label of “felon” — after defense attorneys David Moore and Kent Phillips persuaded Visiting Judge Paul Banner to sentence Foster under a deferred adjudication model.
The deferred sentence, however, works both ways. Failing to follow terms of the conditions would expose Foster to the full range of punishment for the first-degree felony to which he pleaded guilty, which is up to life in prison.
Read more: https://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/oct/28/ex-gregg-county-da-gets-deferred-adjudication-drug/
Green Party congressional candidate accused of stealing nearly $74,000
RAYMONDVILLE -- Green Party congressional candidate Vanessa S. Tijerina is set to be charged with theft for allegedly stealing nearly $74,000 from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
The charge stems from an investigation which uncovered that Tijerina allegedly falsified information when applying for and receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid funds. She is accused of lying about her living situation, among other things, several times from March 2012 through August 2016, indictment documents state.
Tijerina, 38, is running for the U.S. Representative District 15 seat against Democrat attorney Vicente Gonzalez and Republican pastor Tim Westley.
The candidate was arrested Friday in her hometown of Raymondville and released on a $10,000 bond that same day. Since then, the mother of four has posted on her personal Facebook page about corruption perpetrated by Willacy County District Attorney Bernard W. Ammerman. During a phone call with The Monitor, Tijerina accused Ammerman of orchestrating her arrest.
Read more: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/valley/article_b13fed84-9fdd-11e6-91c0-937f8b2c7c2d.html
[font color=330099]It's odd that she is running for District 15 since Raymondville is in District 34.[/font] 
MALDEF Sues Bexar County Over Outdated Voter ID Signs And Rules At Polling Locations
The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund has filed a lawsuit challenging Bexar County’s use of outdated Voter ID signs in polling locations and use of election officials turning away eligible voters.
MALDEF alleges that Bexar County has posted and announced false and unauthorized voter ID requirements in early voting polling places throughout the county. The group’s Nina Perales says they are asking a state judge to remove all illegal voter ID materials from polling locations as well as from the county’s website and voter hotline.
Earlier this summer a federal appeals court struck down Texas’ 2011 Voter ID law, saying that the provisions violated the US Voting Rights Act. The federal order required that Texas expand its list of acceptable IDs, include a provision that allows for voting without a photo ID and create new signs for polling places to inform voters of the new requirements.
http://tpr.org/post/maldef-sues-bexar-county-over-outdated-voter-id-signs-and-rules-polling-locations
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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