House calls have new meaning for Healthcare Association of NYS
Healthcare Association of New York State is planning a long-term hybrid work plan for its 180 employees, the Albany Business Journal says. The company says much of its work is not hands-on, but can be done by making calls and advocating for its membership. This change comes, as has been for many companies, forced by employees who want the flexibility and encourage by technology that allows this to happen, the story says.
Charles Evans Hughes, champion of anti-lynching legislation
The Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in Congress now gave the Post-Star a reason to look back at the life of Charles Evans Hughes, native son, Supreme Court Justice, politician and anti-lyching crusader. “Lynching is murder of the foulest sort. We condemn this crime, in particular, as a crime,” the story quotes him from a New York Sun article. And from the Post-Star at the time: “We can never appear as the exemplar of justice to the world as long as the Black man, because he is a Black man, is denied justice within the United States.” [We at FoothillsBusinessDaily.com have a warm spot in our hearts for Hughes as he was also a champion of First Amendment rights.]
Sports Complex vote set
The Clifton Park Town Board will decide whether a sportsplex can be built near Eagle Crest Golf Club on Monday, the Times Union is reporting. If approved, an enclosed field would replace an ice cream stand and mini-golf course in the town. The plan has made its way through the approval process since November. The main issue for neighbors is that the area is more rural than other parts of the county.
Judging bail
State Sen. James Tedisco and sheriffs are urging the legislature to pull back the changes the state made to under “bail reform” in 2020 and let judges again decide who can make bail and who must wait for a court date in jail, the Times Union says. The debate surrounds the "catch and release" argument that has dogged the reforms for the past two years. When judges cannot keep dangerous people in jail, they are released to create more crime, which has been driving a crime epidemic in the state, the argument for change goes. Other states, with stronger bail regulations, are also seeing a spike in crime, most likely driven by the pandemic, the other side says. According to a Times Union study, they found 3,460 cases in which adults were rearrested on violent felony charges after release on charges that no longer carry the chance of bail.
NYRA-the-spendthrift
The New York Racing Association’s oversight of spending is too weak, and the nonprofit that runs horse racing in the state has broken state regulations, an audit reported in the Times Union says. The auditors found more than $30.5 million in over 300 noncompetitive bids. Those bids often had not explanation for the lack of competition.