Hank Gross

GOSHEN – Proposals to allocate $1.2 million for public schools in Orange County provide an extra layer of security was tabled for a second time by a committee of the county legislature.

ALBANY – The League of Conservation Voters Scorecard for 2012 shows Democratic members of the Congress scored consistently higher on environmental issues that their Republican counterparts.

MIDDLETOWN – The Orange County Arts Council, the umbrella organization representing the arts in the county, has now created a film bureau.

The agency will actively promote the county and what it has to offer moviemakers, said its executive director, Dawn Ansbro.

“We are close enough to New York City that travel is not an issue”, Ansbro said.  “We have everything from historic architecture, riverfront property, farmland, street; I think we’ve got a lot to attract filmmakers here in addition to local film professionals that live here.”

NEW CITY – The Rockland County Legislature Tuesday night voted on three separate resolutions pressing both federal and state lawmakers in Albany to implement additional gun control and mental health legislation, including amendments to the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act.

POUGHKEEPSIE – Camilo Bunyi is the new Poughkeepsie city administrator, but only after Mayor John Tkazyik exercised a rare option to break a four-four City Council deadlock. 

The vote followed minimal council debate, but more than an hour of public comment during which about 20 people spoke on the city administrator appointment, mostly in favor of Bunyi, who has been the city finance commissioner.  The small citizen opposition came from mostly from CSEA members who accused Bunyi of having a hostile attitude toward the union.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D- Cold Spring) lobbied for federal funding for the new Tappan Zee Bridge during a hearing on infrastructure needs in the country held by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held in Washington on Wednesday.

Maloney is a member of that committee, who supports the bridge project and urged the Transportation Secretary to approve the federal loan guarantees.

ALBANY – The state has decided to hold off on issuing a decision on whether to allow hydrofracking, instead announcing that because of the complexities of the issues, they will require more time to study.

ALBANY – Over 500 people rallied in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Albany on Tuesday calling for the state to reverse its recently adopted state law imposing strict regulations on gun owners.

Hudson Valley Assemblyman Steven Katz (R-14) had an impassioned plea.

“Governor Cuomo, tear up this law,” Katz told the Second Amendment rally in West Capitol Park. Katz’s call was a clear reference to the late President Reagan’s famous demand in 1987 to then Soviet President Gorbachev concerning the Berlin Wall: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

NEW CITY – Starting today, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office and County Clerk’s Office will be distributing free firearms cable locks to county residents.

A total of 1,600 of the devices were donated to the county. Persons seeking the locks will be asked to complete a voluntary basic information form. If they chose not to, they must display visual proof of Rockland County residency.

ALBANY – Assembly woman Annie Rabbitt has posted an online petition seeking to repeal the new state gun control laws.

Rabbitt, who has family members in law enforcement, said the governor’s budget proposes $36 million to create a database of lawful gun owners in New York. “I believe there are a lot better uses for $36 million in taxpayer funds,” she said.