Finger Lakes Today

New York lawmakers are considering a bill to broaden statewide outreach through local media. The Local Community and Ethnic Media Commitment Act would require state agencies to spend about 50% of their print and digital advertising budget in local community and ethnic news outlets. This issue hit home for State Senator Jessica Ramos, who introduced the bill, since she represents the multi-ethnic Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens. A 2022 Census report finds more than 6-million people in places like New York City speak a language other than English. Ramos feels this bill is an effective way to get important information to people of all backgrounds.

New York State's new 2024 budget provides some needed relief to hospitals.

Along with a Medicaid rate increase, the budget includes $1.4 billion for distressed hospitals. But, provisions ensuring hospitals can afford to provide certain levels of care were left out of the budget.

A 2022 report from the Healthcare Association of New York State finds 85% of hospitals reported negative or unsustainable operating margins, a 23% increase from 2019.

Along with $60 million to improve youth mental health services, the budget includes $1 billion to grow the state's capacity for inpatient psychiatric treatment. Additionally, the funding will expand outpatient services and boost insurance coverage.

With the Covid-19 public health emergency over, New York and the U.S. are dealing with a youth mental health crisis.

According to Mental Health America's 2023 State of Mental Health Report, the number of New York youth who had a major depressive episode increased drastically from 2022.

This week is National Women's Health Week, and New York is taking steps to improve women's health.

The New York state Legislature has passed numerous bills to strengthen reproductive health and eliminate maternal health care inequities.

Currently, ten states and Washington, D.C. have medical aid-in-dying laws. Corrine Carey - senior campaign director for Compassion & Choices in New York and New Jersey - described some of the challenges to getting this bill passed.

The new schoolyard at PS 184M Shuang Wen, a grade school in Manhattan’s Chinatown, features new play equipment, a yoga circle, a stage and basketball and tennis courts. The turf field sits atop infiltration basins, reservoirs capable of holding large volumes of stormwater. These basins, paired with a grass-roof gazebo, a student-run rain garden and a slew of new trees, can help New York City better absorb extreme precipitation, which is becoming more frequent and severe with climate change.

The state of New York has passed a first-in-the-nation law banning the use of natural gas and other fossil fuel-powered systems in new buildings.

New York State's Legislature is reviewing a bill to align the state's public utility law with its climate goals. The New York HEAT Act aims to get ratepayers off of gas by phasing out gas-line extension allowances. The bill would also provide the Public Service Commission with the authority to keep utility companies in line with the state's climate laws. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, methane gas was the second largest greenhouse gas to be emitted in 2021 behind carbon dioxide. The transition to more climate-conscious alternatives from gas will take some time.

How safe is it to eat fish caught in Seneca Lake? On its face that might seem like the simplest question one could ask. But the answer is complex. Far more complex than most who call the Finger Lakes home realize. Recent testing has confirmed that Seneca Lake fish are highly contaminated with PFAS 'forever chemicals'. Water Front Founder and Reporter Peter Mantius broke the latest reporting, which came at the culmination of state and SUNY-ESF data, showing the levels of contamination in certain fish.