Gyms roll with the punches as new mask order takes
Some gym owners objected to the state's latest mask mandate on Monday, but others said they would do their best to adapt so they could remain open and serve customers throughout the holidays. Gym members tried to adapt, too. “I mean really it’s not fun,” said gymgoer Rachel Rodriguez. “I will say that.” New York’s reinstated…
Should a governor-appointed board choose SUNY chancellor?
With the resignation of Jim Malatras, questions are being raised about why he was appointed SUNY chancellor without a national search. State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, told Capital Tonight that she wasn’t happy when Malatras was first appointed for that very reason. Glick said it was the SUNY Board of…
Build Back Better provision would cap drug costs for Medicare
As U.S. Air Force Veteran Bob Browning was leaving home to go to a press conference about prescription drug costs Monday morning, his wife was locked in a price battle. “She was on the phone with an insurance provider, who were saying they were going to refuse to pay for her drugs,” he said. Browning…
Ithaca to test guaranteed income pilot program
Ithaca wants to be a model for the nation with a new guaranteed income program. Starting Friday, and running until Dec. 17, caregivers living in the city can apply for a $450 monthly cash stipend. Only 110 families will be chosen for this privately funded pilot program and will continue to get the payments for…
Indoor mask-wearing mandate begins Monday in New York
Beginning Monday, people in all indoor public spaces across New York state that currently do not require proof of vaccination for entry will have to wear masks. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the mandate Friday. The decision follows the worst COVID-19 surge the state has seen in more than half a year. The governor says the initiative…
West Hill kids learn to fix and ride bicycles
A new program in the West Hill area for kids is about a lot more than learning to fix bicycles. Michael Rozdolski knows how far a set of wheels can take you. “I started riding bikes when I was very little,” says Rozdolski. “My only means of transportation was a bicycle to and from college.”…
Black Civil War Vet gets headstone 150 years after death
To some, it may look like a simple veteran grave marker in an old cemetery, but Levi Tanner is much more than a name on a headstone. On October 6, 1864, he enlisted in the 86th Colored Regiment in Florida, fighting for the north in the Civil War. “These were poor African-Americans, some who escaped…
Why environmental groups want a moratorium on cryptomining
For the last decade, the expansion of digital currencies like bitcoin have taken hold with some investors. But environmental advocates like Liz Moran of Earthjustice have concerns about the massive amount of energy used by some cryptocurrencies through continuously operating computers. Environmental groups are saying a moratorium is needed for the digital mining of bitcoin —…
Cornell cancels all in-person student gatherings
A rise in COVID-19 cases at Cornell University is prompting administrators to implement new restrictions. So far, the university says nearly 300 student cases have been identified on its Ithaca campus since Friday. The university says it also discovered its first case of the omicron variant. Administrators say most of the new cases are linked…
How an upstate-downstate fight kept a museum out of Albany
In 1923, the city of Albany almost became the home to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Museum. You'd be forgiven if you didn't recognize the name, though surely you'd recognize the museum. All that was needed was a spot in Albany for it to be built. That site was the former home to Landslide Park, and…