Senator Seward Wants to Change College Affordability

Seward Introduces College Affordability Plan

State senator James Seward has introduced the senate’s 2012 College Affordability Plan, which will help middle class families and students afford the rapidly increasing cost of a college education.

The plan would also allow tuition prepayment at SUNY schools, which would allow families to prepay tuition at the lower rate. Finally, the Department of Financial Services would create a special “truth in lending” clearing house with information on all aspects of borrowing for college.

Listen Now

Cumo Proposes State Contractor Salary Cap

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a new regulation that would limit the income of state contractor bosses to $199,000 a year.

The rule would cover those organizations that provide social services, or other needs the state has.

Executives can make more than the $199,000 limit if some of the contractor’s income is from non-taxpayer sources, as long as those salaries are below the top 25 percent of earners in their field.

The administration is in the comment-gathering stage at the moment.

If approved, the regulations would take effect next year.

Delhi Woman Charged with Animal Cruelty

A Delaware county woman who takes care of abandoned and injured animals has been charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty herself.

The charges against Susan Marino of Delhi claim she has animals that are being denied the basics of comfort and pain relief.

PETA claims to have done an undercover investigation of the farm Marino runs, called “Angels Gate”, which passed its information on to prosecutors.

According to peta, there are about 300 animals under Marino’s care, mostly dogs and cats.

She will have to appear in court in august. A special prosecutor from Broome County will work on the case.

USPS Delays Closing Binghamton Facility

The US Postal Service has already announced it will shelve plans to close a number of post offices around the central New York region. This, after residents complained about a lack of service and inconvenience the cost-cutting measures would cause.

Now the post office says it will stall on plans to close the regional mail processing center in Binghamton.

The center employs about 200 people to sort the mail. It was one of 225 facilities on a list of closures.

US senator Charles Schumer claims the decision was made after he had a personal conversation with postmaster general Patrick Donahue.

The postal service had planned on sending all mail from Binghamton’s service center to Syracuse and back, even if the letters were just going to a nearby address.

The postal service closures were supposed to take effect last Tuesday.