PJ Wendel

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel has declared a State of Emergency that bars housing additional immigrants in the county.

Wendel said the order is in response to New York City’s announced intentions to send migrants and asylum seekers to other counties in the state.

Declaration of State of Emergency

State of Emergency Order

State Senator George Borrello also sent out a statement opposing Governor Kathy Hochul‘s proposal to house migrants at SUNY Schools, saying, “I don’t believe her when the Governor says housing migrants at SUNY campuses is a temporary solution. Migrants processed into the U.S. as asylum seekers earlier this week were given immigration court dates more than a decade away. Once these migrants are brought to SUNY campuses, neither the Governor nor anyone else knows how long they will be there.”

Borrello went on to say that communities that never declared themselves as sanctuary communities shouldn’t be forced to accept migrants.

The County Executive said in a press release, “In December 2016, New York City declared itself a Sanctuary City dedicated to supporting undocumented individuals. Over the past several months, thousands of asylum seekers have been arriving in the City, which is now so overwhelmed that it is trying to move these individuals to other counties that do not have the infrastructure to care for them, especially since social services funding is not available to undocumented individuals. While we support the families who have already migrated to our County, we lack the services and funding required to assist additional individuals.”

The state of emergency was issued Thursday, May 18 and remains in effect for 30 days, at which time it may be extended.

The order prohibits other municipalities from bringing and housing people in the County, prohibits hotels and motels from housing immigrants without a license, and requires any municipalities that might bring migrating or asylum-seeking people into Chautauqua County to ensure they will be fully cared for and paid for.

Chautauqua County joins other counties in New York State with issuing these emergency orders including most of Western New York, excluding Erie County, as well as Broome, Nassau, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Oswego, Rockland, and Suffolk counties.

Governor Kathy Hochul signs legislation expanding access to reproductive health care (May 2, 2023)

Birth control is now available over the counter in New York State.

Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation to expand access to hormonal contraception by making it available over the counter, particularly assisting marginalized populations who may not have a primary care provider, but do have access to a local pharmacy.

Hochul also signed legislation that requires every SUNY and CUNY campus to provide access to abortion medication to their student body either by employing or contracting with authorized individuals who may prescribe abortion prescription drugs, or by providing students with information and referrals to providers authorized to prescribe abortion medication.

JCCs Neil Flory joined WRFAs Anthony Merchant in studio to discuss upcoming spring events at SUNY Jamestown Community College including a residency from artist A.I the Anomaly and the 2023 Jazz Fest featuring Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Rivera.

www.sunyjcc.edu

A Second Chance Pell Experiment grant through the the U.S. Department of Education is making the program possible.

The expansion of the grant program brought the number of schools participating in the project nationally to 200, with an ultimate goal of enhancing public safety, strengthening communities and the economy, by preparing incarcerated individuals to be more resilient upon their return into the community.

Studies show providing education in prison reduces the likelihood an individual will become a repeat offender. A 2018 study by the Rand Corporation found that for every dollar spent in correctional education programs, four to five dollars are saved on three-year reincarceration costs.

JCC will offer three programs initially that include the Language, Literature & Writing degree, the Social Sciences degree, and the Healthcare Studies certificate.

The program was officially launched for the current spring 2023 semester. According to JCC Prison Education Coordinator Robin Gabel, nearly 50 potential students were initially interested in the program.

The program is supported by SUNY and is aligned with SUNY’s vision to work with all 64 member campuses, the New York state prison education community, and the New York State government to ensure equitable access to higher education in all of New York’s state prisons and support justice-involved individuals in their academic and professional endeavors during their incarceration and after release.

Siena College Poll released polling results which show Hochul’s job approval is at 56%, up from 49% in December. Her favorability rating is 48%, up a little from 45% last month.

The poll of registered New York State voters released Monday reports six of Hochul’s State of the State proposals have strong to overwhelming support – four of them bipartisan – while her proposal to allow SUNY to increase tuition is strongly opposed.

While a majority of voters think Hochul will make progress this year on her goal of creating more jobs and opportunities, a larger majority think she will not make progress on making New York more affordable, and pluralities think she will not be successful making the state safer or fixing its mental health system.

Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said the jump in approval ratings from last month is largely thanks to independent and downstate voters.

He said, “When it comes to not raising state income taxes this year, voters overwhelmingly agree with Hochul, with no difference among Democrats, Republicans and independents. And strong majorities of voters of every partisan persuasion support three of her other proposals: guaranteeing state employees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave, basing the minimum wage on the inflation rate, and giving judges more discretion to set bail for offenders accused of serious crimes.”

Jamestown Community College

Governor Kathy Hochul announced $10.8 million to address child care deserts across SUNY campuses. This is the second phase of a broader initiative to ensure that students, faculty and staff on all SUNY campuses have access to high-quality child care centers.

JCC is one of six campuses that are included in $7.6 million of funding for expanded on-site child care services. At some State University of New York campuses, about 80 percent of students with dependents reported that they had trouble meeting their child care needs.

During the 2021-2022 academic year, the State University of New York served 650 student-parents with about 4,500 child care spots across the 46 SUNY campuses that have an onsite child care center. With the additional centers, another 350 child care spots will become available. The centers also serve faculty, staff and state employees, as well as the neighboring community — each utilizing about a third of total child care spots.

Governor Kathy Hochul announces expansion of NYS’ Tuition Assistance Program

New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program is getting a $150 million expansion that is estimated to provide assistance to 75,000 additional students.

Governor Kathy Hochul said students of color, immigrant students, and female students were often the ones who did not qualify for TAP in the past, “So, that was bad, didn’t work, and it didn’t help us prepare the workforce for the jobs that are waiting today and tomorrow. So, we’re eliminating all those requirements, expanding part-time TAP so it covers part-time students and those taking as few as six credits a semester at a SUNY or CUNY school or a not-profit college are now eligible for TAP.”

Hochul said the new program starts immediately.

Full-time TAP awards can be up to $5,665 annually for a full-time student; part-time TAP will be available on a pro-rated basis to eligible students taking six to 11 credits per semester with no full-time prerequisite.

Students enrolling in the Fall 2022 semester may apply for part-time TAP by filling out the federal FAFSA application. Once submitted, New York State residents attending NYS campuses can link directly to the TAP application. For students who have already enrolled and submitted their FAFSA for the 2022-2023 academic year, TAP awards will automatically be adjusted based on the number of enrolled credits.

Eligibility for part-time TAP is consistent with full-time TAP awards, which includes residency and income requirements. TAP awards do not need to be repaid by any recipient.

New York State TAP is one of the nation’s largest need-based college financial aid grant programs.

Overall, more than 6 million New Yorkers were awarded nearly $30 billion in tuition assistance awards through TAP. During the 2020-2021 academic year, 250,000 New Yorkers were awarded more than $700 million in tuition assistance awards.

As a result of state and federal financial support, more than 190,000 New York residents attend CUNY or SUNY tuition-free.

George Borrello

State Senator George Borrello has introduced a bill to refund tuition to SUNY and CUNY students who had to leave school due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Borrello said SUNY gave students 35 days to get vaccinated or file for an exemption, “So in 35 days, it basically blindsided these students. They had to make a decision. And about 1,500 of them were kicked out of school. And now, here’s the part that the law deals with, SUNY kept their money. They said, ‘You paid for your tuition and we’re not giving you your money back even though we kicked you out of school.’ So, my bill is pretty simple – give them their money back.”

Borrello said other private schools gave several months for students to comply a vaccination requirement. He added there is a companion bill on the issue in the State Assembly as well.

“We cannot plan the future of our State University on yesterday’s dollars,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature have said they want education to be a priority. By supporting our request in its entirety – establishing a SUNY Investment Fund, extending NYSUNY 2020, and supporting our community colleges – New York can give SUNY the tools it needs to educate more of its residents and prepare them for success in college and career.”

Presidents and representatives from seven SUNY campuses – including president Cory Duckworth from Jamestown Community College –  will meet with the press on Thursday starting at 10:30 a.m. in the lobby of Buffalo State’s new Technology Building.

State University of New York at Fredonia President Virginia Horvath will also attend.

Dr. Cory L. Duckworth was installed as JCC President during an inauguration ceremony in the Robert Lee Scharmann Theatre on JCC’s Jamestown Campus.

Representatives from several area and State University of New York (SUNY) colleges and universities as well as area elected officials joined JCC’s regional board of trustees on the stage. The audience included Gregory T. DeCinque, who retired from JCC’s presidency earlier this year and Wally Huckno, Sr., chair of the JCC board of trustees.

Dr. Duckworth thanked the board of trustees for the opportunity to lead the college, the first locally sponsored community college in New York state, in new directions.

Prior to his appointment at JCC, Dr. Duckworth served as vice president of student affairs and strategic planning at Utah Valley University (UVU) and vice president for university advancement and marketing at Ferris State University.