Joseph E. Robach's Press releases

Here are a list of some of the events taking place on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 to celebrate National Night Out Against Crime.

5:00-8:00 p.m.

2011 National Night Out Against Crime at the Dewey Avenue Family Festival, Parking lots behind the Barnard Fire Department and Bethany Presbyterian Church at 3000 Dewey Avenue (near Stone Road). Food, music, and fun for families!

5:00-8:00 p.m.

17th Annual Southwest Sector 4 National Night Out Against Crime Motorcade. The motorcade starts at Wilson High School and contiues to Genesee Valley Park / Canalside Shelter.

5:30-8:00 p.m.

Here is this week's Community Connection. In this issue: welcoming home members of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team, details regarding the 4th Annual Women's Wellness Fair coming up in August, and events taking place around the district.

Click the link at the bottom for a full-screen view.

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks today announced that the hours for public swimming at Ontario Beach Park will be extended on Wednesday, July 20th, Thursday, July 21st and Friday, July 22nd, due to forecasted high temperatures.   On Wednesday, July 20th, Thursday, July 21st and Friday, July 22nd, Monroe County lifeguards will remain on duty and public swimming will be allowed to continue at Ontario Beach Park for one extra hour, until 8:00 p.m., so long as conditions and water quality are favorable. Normal hours of public swimming are from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., daily through Labor Day. Swimming is only allowed at Ontario Beach Park when lifeguards are on duty.   

I hope you are enjoying all that summer has to offer in our community. Because of the tremendous response from the community to my “Coats for Kids Clothes Drive” last December,  I am proud to announce my “Back to School Backpacks and Supplies Drive”. From now until August 5th, I will be collecting backpacks and school supplies and will be donating them to the Greece Ecumenical Clothes Closet, who is in “great need” for these items.

Supplies needed are:

Backpacks
Pens – Blue and Black
Pencils – Standard and Colored
Rulers and protractors
Lined paper and pads, composition paper
Folders
Post-It-Notes
Basic calculators
Glue sticks
Highlighters

SENATE PASSES HISTORIC PROPERTY TAX CAP LEGISLATION Bill Also Provides for Mandate Relief The New York State Senate today passed historic property tax relief legislation that enacts a cap on the growth of local property taxes. The bill (S.5856), sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos, will cap school and local government taxes to less than two percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower. Mandate relief is also included, with $127 million in savings to local governments, in addition to the creation of a Mandate Relief Council to identify and repeal unsound, unduly burdensome laws and regulations.

You might have seen this story on NBC's Today Show Wednesday morning, June 22nd regarding Nik Wallenda and his attempt to tightrope walk across the Niagara Gorge at Niagara Falls. The Legislature gave final approval earlier this afternoon.

New York lawmakers have voted to allow a member of the daredevil Wallenda family to attempt a tightrope walk across the Niagara Gorge at Niagara Falls.

The state Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill directing parks officials to write regulations allowing Nik Wallenda to traverse the gorge. The Senate already approved the measure.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn't said yet whether he'll sign it.

Newsweek magazine recently ranked the top 500 high schools in America. Two high schools in Senator Robach's district made the list. Brighton High School ranked #147 and Greece Odyssey Academy ranked #175. You can see the entire list of Newsweek's 2011 Best High Schools by clicking on the link below.

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2011/americas-best-high-schools.html

    The New York State Senate passed a bill to potentially save chemotherapy patients thousands of dollars in pharmaceutical costs by ensuring  that chemotherapy treatment, no matter how administered, is covered equally by insurance companies. The bill (S.3988), sponsored by Senator Andrew Lanza (R-C, Staten Island), would help patients by enabling oral chemotherapy – a treatment in pill form - to be covered by insurance as a chemotherapy treatment. “There is absolutely no reason why life-saving medicines should be covered differently simply because of the way they are administered,” said Senator Lanza. “This bill is about keeping up with the times and the changing face of medicine.”

New York State Senate Passes Legislation, Sponsored by Senator Robach,

To Reduce Amount of Paper Used in the Legislature

                - S.357 Passes Overwhemingly in Senate, Sent to New York State Assembly –

Today, the Senate passed S.357, sponsored by Senator Robach, which would reduce the amount of paper wasted in the New York State Legislature. Specifically, this bill would provide members of the Legislature with electronic versions of bills, instead of paper. The benefits would be especially pronounced when voting on budget bills since they are voluminous by nature.