Politics

With kids starting a new school year, many will be encouraged to think about the future and set goals for themselves. For many kids, goals will include pursuing a college education. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 19.9 million students will attend American colleges and universities this fall.

As students and teachers begin a new school year, I thought it would be a good time to update constituents on the Common Core standards, now known as the Next Generation Learning Standards, and where things stands with standardized testing. As many will recall, in 2013 the New York State Board of Regents adopted the Common Core learning standards. Almost immediately following their adoption, it was realized that the standards were flawed and that the quick implementation of Common Core would create unnecessary hardship on students, parents, teachers and administrators.

Earlier this month, more than 100 people were hospitalized within a short time period for synthetic drug overdose in New Haven, Connecticut. Health officials there issued a public health alert, warning people of the dangers of the drugs after several people convulsed and collapsed at a public park. This was not an isolated incident and our region is no stranger to the impact of synthetics drugs.

Earlier this year, the state comptroller’s office issued a report about consumers’ credit card debt in New York state. The information, which is largely based on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s data, shows how people are managing their households within their local economies and serves as a basis for comparison when it comes to household finances.

New York State has thousands of lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and millions of acres of forest. The geographic diversity of our state, and its great natural resources, not only makes New York a beautiful state to live in but a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors.