Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay

Last week, Governor Cuomo delivered his State of the State address which, contrary to protocol, he combined with his 2016-17 budget address. The speech lasted nearly two hours and set forth the Governor’s priorities for the 2016 legislative session. The following are some of the highlights of his speech.

The 2016 legislative session is under way in Albany. In years past, session usually began with the governor delivering his State of the State Address, which traditionally is followed, a few weeks later, by his budget address. The governor, in a departure from protocol, has again this year decided to combine his State of the State Address with his budget address.

It was recently reported that agricultural receipts in New York came in at $6.36 billion in 2014, a $1.7 billion increase over 2010 and a $667 million increase over 2013. According to the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Services, New York is home to 36,000 farms and roughly 7 million acres are dedicated to farming. Our agriculture industry is not only profitable but it is incredibly diverse.

There are few places in the world that can lay claim to the national and international history that has taken place at Fort Ontario. The historical events which have occurred at the fort over the last three centuries are varied, significant and numerous. Surprisingly, the fort’s history and the role it has played in our American story is not widely known.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. Of the 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer’s, an estimated 5.1 million people are age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals are under age 65. Research shows that almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Sadly, because it is a degenerative disease the symptoms usually worsen over time and it becomes harder for people to function independently.

At the beginning of the year, New York state’s minimum wage will increase to $9 an hour. Many, particularly left-leaning organizations from NYC, argue that $9 isn’t enough and NY should raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, a position with which Governor Cuomo agrees.

To understand the significance of this situation and how it happened, it’s important to remember that Sheldon Silver dominated the Assembly for more than 20 years and his power was not structurally limited. He solely controlled the way ethics investigations were run, he determined which bills made it to the floor of the house, and he determined what resources and staff individual Assembly members received.

Giving people can be found all around us, and especially during the holidays when many organizations pair their campaigns to raise awareness about the needs around us with the holiday season. Many rise to the call for help throughout our region and band together to make sure those around us have a happy holiday season.

The old cliché “there is no such thing as a free lunch” sadly rang true when it was announced that Health Republic of New York, one of the most popular insurance choices on NY’s health exchange, was being forced to shut down due to substantial financial losses.