Regional Briefs – March 14, 2018

Assembly Seeks Surcharge For NYC Ride Hailing, Cabs

ALBANY – Assembly Democrats released their version of Manhattan congestion pricing that charged taxis and ride-hailing apps $2.75 to travel below 96th Street, The Associated Press reported. Overall, their $170 billion budget is $2 billion more than Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s.

Impostor Lawyer Arrested For Exploiting Convicts

BROOKLYN – A man pretending to be a lawyer specializing in wrongful convictions was arrested Tuesday for swindling convicts. Kenneth Moore, 53, ran a legal clinic that charged between $5,000 and $15,000. But as soon as he was paid he would ignore calls.

Record Amount of Water Pushed Out of Lake Ontario

MASSENA, N.Y. – Regulators are pushing a record amount of water out of Lake Ontario to avoid a repeat of last year’s flooding, The Associated Press reported. The board controlled by the U.S. and Canada says outflows from the lake in February were the highest in history.

School District Cancels Spring Break Due to Winter Storms

VERNON, N.J. – Vernon on Tuesday cancelled spring break due to a torrent of snow days from multiple winter storms, NJ.com reported. Students will be attending classes straight until the last week of June. The township cut classes for a 12th time Tuesday, cutting into the mandated 180 classroom days a year.

Survey Asks NY Residents About Deer Concerns

ALBANY – New York wildlife researchers are taking a new approach to hearing what residents feel about deer, The Associated Press reported. A third of state residents are getting a survey asking about deer-related interests and how they would like to see the deer population in their area change over the next few years.

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the March 15th, 2018 edition of Hamodia.