Finger Lakes Today

Metabolic Fitness is coming to the region. The company, founded by CEO Matt Phelps, is expanding from Central New York and the Capital Region to the Finger Lakes. They will open two new studios in the Rochester area this spring with the goal to open more locations in the months that follow. This week we caught up with Matt to talk about the Metabolic Fitness process, what those workouts look like, and how the strength training program is a good fit for anyone at any fitness level.

During Earth Week, several projects in New York to boost energy efficiency have been completed.
These projects, which consist of wind, solar and hydroelectric developments will provide clean electricity to more than 150,000 homes across the state.
But, these are just a few of the numerous projects helping New York reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 70% by 2030.
Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, described what lies ahead for the state's climate future.
"More and more, New Yorkers will be seeing solar projects and wind projects under construction," said Reynolds. "There's only one offshore wind project under construction now, but there's five others that have contracts. So, New Yorkers are going to start to see or hear about offshore wind construction."
Along with this, she added that electrifying buildings through heat pumps and electrifying transportation need to be done as well.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the transportation sector accounted for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. Light-duty vehicles made up more than half of all emissions in 2020.
Although numerous projects are coming to fruition, there are several challenges along the way.
Along with the traffic jam of projects in the permitting process, Reynolds noted that there is new stress on the state's transmission grid.
She said investing in the transmission grid will be essential for ensuring the state moves to cleaner energies.
"So we need to reconductor some lines to provide more capacity to connect wind and solar projects," said Reynolds. "That's the main thing that needs to happen."
One of the current transmission line projects will connect the proposed 924-megawatt offshore Sunrise Wind Farm.
Upon completion in 2025, the project will provide wind-generated electricity to more than 600,000 homes.
As 2030 nears, Reynolds said she finds New York is on track to meet its climate goals. But, she said the pace at which these projects are being constructed must stay on track.
"The projects need to get built," said Reynolds. "They need to reach construction, which means they need to solve issues about it being difficult to get solar panels because of so much construction, solve issues relating to inflation, and get all of these projects over the finish line."
Currently, more than $29 billion in public and private investment has resulted in almost 100 solar, wind and hydroelectric projects being built throughout New York state.

More New York seniors will be eligible for Medicare Savings Programs starting this year. New guidelines increase the amount of income seniors can have to be eligible for the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary or Qualified Individual Programs. Individuals and couples with up to 138% of the federal poverty level are eligible for a Medicare Savings Program.
Valerie Bogart, director of the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program at the New York Legal Assistance Group, said these expansions have been needed for years, and would make up for some of the deficiencies of the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program.
"The EPIC program is a great program, but it still costs a senior money and it discriminates against younger people with disabilities," she said. "That's an expansion that's still needed."
Since the EPIC program is only available for people ages 65 and older, people with chronic disabilities are struggling to pay for their medications. Along with these expansions, the asset limit for Medicaid doubled. In 2022, the limits were $16,800 for individuals and $24,600 dollars for couples. Now they're $30,182 for individuals and $40,821 dollars for couples.
Now that seniors have expanded Medicare coverage, Bogart added there are other health-care shortcomings that need to be addressed. Specifically, all immigrants need to have health-care coverage, she said. Given how the COVID-19 pandemic put the need for health care in the spotlight, this is the last big gap in coverage needing to be filled.
"If nothing else, COVID was just an object lesson in the importance of public health. So, what is public health if you have a whole segment of the population who is not covered," she explained.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 25% of lawfully present immigrants and almost half of undocumented immigrants were uninsured in 2021. But, recently, the Biden Administration announced a plan to expand access to the Affordable Care Act to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

From Buffalo to Montauk, New York State is in the midst of an affordable-housing crisis.
The National Low-Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach report found someone working at the current minimum wage would need to work 99 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom rental. Along with stagnant wages, rising inflation has also led to higher housing costs.
Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator for the group Housing Justice for All, said legislative action must be taken, so people can afford to have a place to call home.
"The most important thing New York needs to do right now is pass good-cause eviction tenant protections, which would require landlords to have a good reason to pursue an eviction, and to raise the rents more than 1.5 times the rate of inflation," Weaver outlined. "Right now, that would be around 10%."

The Moms for Liberty Wayne County New York chapter and the Frederick Douglass Foundation Finger Lakes are joining forces to host the inaugural Liberty Conference of Wayne County, a groundbreaking event aimed at inspiring and empowering local residents to actively participate in their government. The conference will take place at East Palmyra Christian School, located at 2023 Palmyra-Port Gibson Rd, Palmyra, NY 14522 on April 21, 2023, beginning at 5 PM.

The night promises to be memorable, featuring keynote speaker Steve Deace, the host of The Steve Deace Show on BlazeTV, known for his political analysis rooted in a Biblical worldview. Deace, also an accomplished author, recently published "The Fourth Reich-Confronting COVID Fascism with a New Nuremberg Trial, So This Never Happens Again," co-authored with Daniel Horowitz. His film, "Nefarious," inspired by his book "A Nefarious Plot," hit theaters on April 14.

Following Deace's address, a dynamic discussion panel will commence, featuring Steve Deace, Joe Pinion from Newsmax and former candidate for NY Senate, Brian Manktelow, Assemblyman District 130, and Rev. Dean Nelson, National Chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation.

Attendees will have the opportunity to explore food trucks and connect with numerous vendors offering information on community leadership and involvement from 5 PM to 6:30 PM. Participating organizations include Moms for Liberty Wayne County NY, Frederick Douglass Foundation Finger Lakes NY, The Constitutional Coalition of NYS, Turning Point USA, Young Republicans of NYS, Help not Harm (Canandaigua), Feed My Sheep Foundation (Canandaigua), and many more. The main event is slated to begin at 6:30 PM.

Tickets for the conference are available at a cost of $20 each and can be purchased online at momsforliberty.org/events/register/1320/?submit=Register. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for interested parties and can be found at momsforliberty.org/forms/wayne-ny-liberty-conference-sponsorship/. For more information, please email [email protected] or visit momsforliberty.org/chapters/wayne-county-ny/.

A new report found Community Health Centers in New York are closing gaps left in many communities by a nationwide shortage of primary-care physicians.
The findings from the National Association of Community Health Centers showed more than 4.2 million people in New York State are considered "medically disenfranchised," and another 5.2 million are "medically underserved."
Joe Dunn, senior vice president of public policy and research for the association, said Community Health Centers expand access to primary care in part by not turning anyone away, no matter their ability to pay.
"Trying to provide these wraparound services to individuals, I think, provides healthier lives for the individuals," Dunn pointed out. "A lot of data has supported that the care teams that are at a health center also reduce long-term spending and health care costs."
He added the centers focus on prevention and types of care to reduce hospitalizations for chronic or challenging conditions. But Dunn noted the system relies on federal funding, meaning it is at the whims of Congress. With more funding, he said health centers could extend their services to more people.
In the last few years, the pandemic increased the need for access to primary care. Dunn pointed out Community Health Centers often stepped up when other options were not available.
"COVID definitely exposed some of the gaps in the health care system as a whole," Dunn asserted. "I think Community Health Centers really occupy a unique position within the broader health care ecosystem, by providing such care to racial and ethnic minorities and in communities that, again, oftentimes have few other options."
He added the centers are dealing with the same issues as hospitals and other primary-care facilities, including a workforce shortage and rising medical inflation.

Housing is a challenge in the Finger Lakes. That's why an upcoming fair presented by Seneca Housing will tackle housing access for people of all circumstances. This week we caught up with Melissa Nesbitt and Joe McGrath to discuss the specifics of housing issues in Seneca County, as well as the plan.

Today we're talking with Angela Sullivan, who serves as the Executive Director of the Alcohol & Drug Council of Tompkins County. They're in the process of opening a $14.5 million facility, which will be a brand-new, open access, 40-bed medically supervised withdrawal stabilization program in Tompkins County. The facility is the first of its kind in the region with a number of funding sources making it possible.

There's high-probability that the town of Marion has new leadership at the end of 2023. Summer Johnson is currently running unopposed for town supervisor, and with the support of current elected officials there, she entered the race. "I want to bring a fair, ethical approach to governance," Johnson recently said of her campaign. "I'm going to put in the work because the Town of Marion needs that effort."