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PA’s postal problems, and more

NY gun regulations remain in place

ALBANY, NY — On October 6, a judge with the United States District Court Northern Division of New York issued a temporary restraining order against parts of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), the gun control regulations passed by New York State earlier this year. The court issued the restraining order while it deliberated as to whether those parts held up. The court gave New York State three business days to file an appeal.

New York State Attorney General Letita James filed a motion in the second circuit court of appeals on October 10, requesting a stay against the restraining order. On October 12, that stay was granted; according to a press release from James’ office, “the full CCIA is in effect until a three-judge panel on the Second Circuit decides on the motion to stay.”

UDC grants benefit Tusten zoning

NARROWSBURG, NY — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) awarded an $8,622.50 fiscal year 2023 technical assistance grant to the Town of Tusten on October 6 to integrate all its recent zoning law updates into an online document.

Town of Tusten deputy supervisor Jane Luchsinger submitted the proposal to integrate disparate sections of the Tusten Zoning Law into one complete online document. That document will be indexed and easily accessible to the code enforcement officer, planning board, zoning board of appeals, prospective businesses or homeowners. It will also be available to the public, posted on the town’s website and in the eCode360 program. The entire project is expected to cost $17,245. The deadline for its completion will be August 18, 2023, with a midterm progress report due by February 17, 2023.

Upper Delaware drought watch

UPPER DELAWARE RIVER VALLEY — The New York State drought management task force updated the drought status to “Normal” from “Drought Watch” for multiple regions, including Sullivan County, Delaware County and most of upstate New York, due to recent rainfall and higher levels of ground and surface water. Orange County remains on drought watch. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force that drought watch has been lifted for 16 counties including Wayne and Pike, and remains for 20 counties.

Minimum wage increase for home care aides

ALBANY, NY — The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) announced a minimum wage increase for home care aides. Effective October 1 through Public Health Law § 3614-f, the minimum wage for home care aides has been increased to $17 per hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, and $15.20 per hour in the remainder of New York State.

To learn more about minimum wage rates, visit dol.ny.gov/minimum-wage-0; visit on.ny.gov/3EJhxHY to learn more about the minimum wage increase for home care aides.

Letter calls for fracking wastewater ban

UPPER DELAWARE RIVER VALLEY —  One hundred and seventy-five organizations, representing a total of almost a million members, and 6,751 individuals signed a letter to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voting members calling for a ban on the import of fracking waste into the Delaware River watershed.  The letter was delivered by the Delaware River Frack Ban Coalition on October 14 to the commissioners, the voting members of the DRBC, which will decide on the final regulations governing these activities.

The letter reads, in part, “We, the undersigned, ask you, the voting members of the DRBC, to revise the draft regulations to completely ban imports of fracking wastewater and exports of water for fracking, to protect the public, water supplies, the watershed’s ecosystems and to help alleviate the climate crisis.” The full letter can be found at bit.ly/3etKHA7.

Emergency crews can seek funding

HARRISBURG, PA — Local volunteer fire and ambulance services can now apply online for state grants to help fund their operations, according to a press release from Sen. Lisa Baker (R-20).  “As the costs for equipment and training continues [sic] to rise, it is imperative that we provide support to those who help serve our communities,” Baker said.

The program is in place to help fire and EMS cover the rising costs of training, equipment, recruitment, retention and more. Grants range from a minimum of $2,500 to a maximum of $15,000 for volunteer fire companies and rescue companies, or $10,000 for volunteer ambulance companies. The online application for the grants is available through Friday, October 21 at osfc.pa.gov.

Act proposed for for extreme weather disasters

LUZERNE COUNTY, PA — Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-08) held a press conference at the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority’s new headquarters in Forty Fort to announce The PREPARE Act, (H.R. 4177), legislation he’s introducing this week to improve government readiness for extreme weather disasters.The PREPARE Act (Preparedness and Risk management for Extreme weather Patterns Assuring Resilience) serves, according to a press release, as a milestone in Cartwright’s service as a U.S. legislator, marking the 150th bipartisan bill he’s introduced, the most of any Democratic member of Congress during his tenure.

Building off existing mitigation and resilience efforts, The PREPARE Act would create an interagency council charged with developing recommendations for federal agencies to strengthen their planning and preparation for extreme weather incidents. The bill also highlights the responsibilities of state and local governments in resilience planning and directs federal agencies to make the best available extreme weather data available to assist them.

Baiting bears with donuts

FORESTBURGH, NY — On October 2, environmental conservation officers Glen Parker and Christopher Doroski completed a bear-baiting investigation in the Town of Forestburgh. Using intelligence gathered by investigators with DEC’s Bureau of Environmental Crime Investigations, the officers identified an area of state land potentially being baited for bears. After hiking many miles over several days, the officers located two hunting locations on the ridge that appeared to be baited, as the earth near the hunting stands and blinds was freshly disturbed. The officers set out just as daylight broke, and located an individual bowhunting for bear over bait in one of the suspected stands.

The bait consisted of donuts placed in trees, smeared on tree bark, and placed in tree knots. The hunter initially claimed the donuts, including the large package of donuts in his backpack, were for his own consumption and that he had simply dropped the others.

The officers ticketed the hunter for hunting bear with the aid of bait, failure to display a backtag, injuring trees on state land, littering on state land, failing to label stands/blinds with a name/address, and several other state land offenses. The officers were assisted by Lt. Michael Buckley, who helped process the individual and evidence.