Regional Briefs – May 23, 2019

Woman Struck and Killed by Van at Pre-Memorial Day Parade

SCOTIA, N.Y. (AP) – A 69-year-old woman has died after being struck by a minivan as she was about to join a pre-Memorial Day parade with a group from a local senior center in upstate New York.

Scotia police said a Glenville Senior Center van driven by a 75-year-old man struck the woman in the road after the van moved forward quickly while following a group of marchers Wednesday evening.

Assembly Passes Bill Expanding Medical Marijuana Program

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Amid a stalled effort to legalize recreational marijuana, New Jersey’s Democrat-led Assembly passed a bill Thursday to expand the state’s medical marijuana program.

The Assembly voted 65-5 with six abstentions, sending the bill to the Democrat-led Senate, which has already passed a similar bill in committee.

NY Announces $585M To Combat Bethpage Groundwater Pollution

NEW YORK (AP) – New York State has unveiled a $585 million plan to combat the plume of groundwater pollution that has been spreading from the former Northrop and Grumman and Navy facilities in Bethpage, Long Island.

Newsday says the plan, which was announced Thursday, proposes 24 wells connected with miles of piping and five treatment plants.

The cleaned water would be recharged into the aquifer through four basins, including at Bethpage State Park and Massapequa Creek. The plan is to contain and treat the plume.