Education and Training
SUNY Adirondack is getting $8.5 million in federal stimulus funding, but they are awaiting guidance before deciding just what to do with it, the Post-Star reported over the weekend. At least half the funds must be used for student tuition, housing, food and health care, the story says. The college is looking to use the rest for facilities and equipment upgrades and to make up lost revenue used in fighting the pandemic.
Government, Law and Legal Services
The state legislature has come together to legalize recreational use of marijuana, the Times-Union is reporting. A new Office of Cannabis Management will run the roll-out and regulations. The plan is to push some of the retail toward minority- and women-owned businesses, especially since minorities often were more heavily targeted when using the drug illegally, the story says. A vote on the final bill may come this week.
Travel, Tourism and Recreation
The Saranac Waterfront Lodge plans to reopen in about a month, after a fire in an air conditioning/heating unit caught fire and burned a portion of the building in January, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise is reporting. The building had been open only 50 days when the fire broke out.
Environment, Energy and Sustainability
Over the weekend, the WashingtonPost.com ran a story about an entrepreneur in Brooklyn who has created a company, with $60 million invested behind it, to upgrade the heating and cooling systems of low-income housing. The plan is to create microgrids of power and help the people living there become owners in their own, tiny electric companies.
Transportation, Mobility and Commuting
An appellate court forced the release of some documents regarding broken bolts on the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge (the former Tappan-Zee Bridge). The documents were part of a trial concerning Tappan-Zee Constructors, the consortium of companies that built the bridge, the Times-Union is reporting. A whistleblower lawsuit from 2017 brought the broken bolts to light. The appellate court ruled 4-0 against the company, which wanted to keep the documents sealed forever. The whistleblower said the company purposefully falsified reports. The state maintains that the bolts--500 of 1,000,000--did not hurt the strength of the bridge.