Regional Briefs – March 7, 2019

NYC Announces 4 New Statues Honoring Females

NEW YORK – New York City announced plans Wednesday to create four new statues of women in an effort to address the gender imbalance in public monuments. The statues will honor a jazz singer, a pioneering doctor, a lighthouse keeper and a teacher who helped desegregate public transit in 1854.

NY Rescinds Tax Breaks After Company Cuts Jobs

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – A Long Island development agency revoked tax breaks for a software company after it cut 170 jobs, Newsday reported. OpenLink Financial was allowed a 10-year payment in lieu of taxes in 2014 to assist in a $22.4 million renovation. But instead of adding five jobs, it cut from 390 employees to 220.

Thief Wrecks Buffalo Police Cruiser During Joyride

BUFFALO – A car thief was arrested Wednesday night after stealing a police cruiser and wrecking it, The Associated Press reported. The thief hit another vehicle and then a house, injuring one person.

Cuomo Travels to Florida For Union Convention

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a rare out-of-state trip to Florida Wednesday to attend a union convention for construction workers, The Associated Press reported. He has seldom left the state as governor but has taken more trips in recent years.

Highway Shuttered When Debris Falls From Overpass

CLIFTON, N.J. – Concrete falling from an overpass forced officials to close a stretch of a major highway for 12 hours, The Associated Press reported. Route 3 west was reopened Wednesday. No injuries or damages were reported.

Grocery Worker Sentenced For Food Stamp Fraud

NEWARK – A man who worked at a small grocery store his daughter owned was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison for a food stamps scheme that exchanged more than $885,000 in government benefits for cash, The Associated Press reported. Manuel Venegas, 54, must pay $573,199 in restitution.