Goshen: Man Accused of Police Vendetta
An Orange County grand jury on May 18 indicted a Middletown man on charges he set fire to the home of a New York State trooper’s father.
Tyler Williams, 26, was charged with attempted murder and arson. He allegedly had sought revenge on a state trooper who ticketed him on Dec. 20.
According to Mid Hudson News, investigators determined that Williams had searched online for the trooper’s home address but could only find the address of the trooper’s father.
Kingston: City Approves Dwelling Design
The Building Department has approved a code-compliant design that Kingston residents can use to build accessory dwelling units.
The design, by DEMO Architecture, won a city-sponsored competition called Yes to ADUs! Property owners can download the construction documents at no charge.
Mayor Steve Noble noted in a statement that a revised zoning code allows ADUs citywide, which will add “much-needed affordable housing, creating density and diversifying housing type.” The city said it hoped the plans would reduce the costs of constructing the units.
Albany: Corruption Law Not Enforced
According to the USA Today Network New York, the state Public Integrity Reform Act enacted in 2011 and a constitutional amendment approved in 2017 contain a glaring defect: “Corrupt officials were supposed to be at risk of losing all or part of their pensions. Instead, their pensions have largely been kept whole.”
The investigation could find no cases in which convicted officials had lost their pensions. The 2011 law, it noted, was passed six months after Vincent Leibell, who had been elected as Putnam County executive, resigned before taking office while facing federal charges that he extorted lawyers in Putnam County. Leibell later pleaded guilty to grand jury obstruction and tax evasion. He receives $63,683 annually because of his earlier service as a state senator.
The report noted that pension forfeiture is not automatic: a prosecutor must go to court. The laws also exempt police officers, teachers and rank-and-file municipal employees.
Albany: State Proposes School Sports Rules
The state Board of Regents has proposed revisions to its regulations regarding school sports that would make teams gender-neutral.
In its proposal, the state notes that girls who want to participate on a boys’ team, such as football or ice hockey, must be approved by a review panel. It cites the case of a female student who wanted to play football but had to pass a fitness test and undergo a health exam that included a measurement of her “sexuality maturity.”
The revisions would eliminate the puberty exam, which the board called “intrusive and demeaning,” and place more emphasis on tryouts. Districts would be required to have the same criteria to judge every student who wants to participate in a sport, regardless of gender. A 60-day comment period ends in July and the board will vote on the proposal in September. Comments can be sent to [email protected].
