Andy Goodell

ALBANY – Chautauqua County’s representative in the State Assembly is joining the chorus of criticism against Governor Andrew Cuomo as he continues to be scrutinized and investigated for his handling of nursing home residents during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The Post-Journal reported over the weekend that Assemblyman Andy Goodell (R-Ellicott) wants the chair of the Democratic-controlled Assembly’s Health Committee to look into why the state chose to send some patients recovering from COVID-19 back into nursing homes.

Goodell last week sent a letter to Richard Gottfried asking him to look into the reasons for the order. Gottfried was one of several Democrats involved with a private conference call with the governor’s top aid, Melissa DeRosa, earlier this month, when she acknowledged the governor’s office was delaying the release of data involving nursing home deaths caused by COVID-19.

The call has since gone public and a wave of elected officials on both sides of the aisle have called for an investigation into the matter, with some even saying the governor should be impeached and also criminally charged for obstruction of justice.

Goodell said the information being requested by legislators should have been available months ago, but the greatest concern is the need for the state Legislature to understand how an estimated 15,000 nursing home deaths were allowed to happen, so that it doesn’t occur again in the future.

The New York State Assembly Chambers

ALBANY – The Democratic-controlled New York State Assembly has voted 81-46 on a gender non-discrimination bill. The bill, however, has gone nowhere in the Republican-led Senate, a fact that some of the Assembly Republicans alluded to in the debate prior to voting against the measure.

According to the Albany Times-Union, prior to the Assembly vote Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) debated with Republicans who expressed fears that such a measure would give free rein to men who, claiming to be transgender, might work their way into women’s locker rooms or other spots where they could launch a sexual assault. Gottfried and others say there’s been relatively little evidence of that and he noted that a man could simply dress as a woman in order to gain access to locker or rest rooms.

Monday’s discussion was notable for if no other reason than the legal battle between the federal government and the state of North Carolina related to the same issue.

According to an article in the Albany Times-Union, officials in the state capitol say if marijuana was legal in New york, it would cost about $4500 a pound. That’s compared to the average cost of $3500 a pound that is currently charged in Colorado.

The reason for the $1000 difference is due to taxes, housing and some of the nation’s highest energy costs.

According to the report, power is a major expense for medical marijuana producers who raise their crops in “grow houses,” explained Megan Sanders, CEO of Gaia Plant Based Medicine, a Colorado firm that produces medical varieties of pot.

Sander testified Wednesday during a state Senate hearing on the medical marijuana industry. The hearing was conducted by Sen. Diane Savino, who’s been a leading voice on legislation to allow the use of medical marijuana.

Savino’s measure, co-sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, is included in the Democratic-led Assembly’s budget resolution, which passed Wednesday afternoon.