City workers and Students Return + India Battles Sore Loser Brown in Buffalo
No 235
Monday, September 13, 2021
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Local News
- De Blasio has mandated that all city workers return to the office full time without a telework option. 65% of city workers have received a COVID-19 vaccine, well below the 78% of NYC adults with at least one shot.
- The federal government has promised aid to New Yorkers who suffered damages from storms caused by Hurricane Ida.
- Self-harm has spiked in New York City jails since the beginning of the pandemic. City jails recorded 539 incidents of incarcerated people hurting themselves in April to June of this year, pushing the rate up to 95 such incidents per every thousand detainees — the highest in the last five years.
- Governor Hochul signed into law a bill that the state legislature had passed in April, requiring that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission models by 2035.
- Nearly a million students are expected to return to New York City’s public school buildings on Monday after a year and a half of remote and hybrid learning. Some parents unsatisfied with the planned Covid precautions, such as testing once every two weeks without consequences for opting out, are choosing to homeschool their children.
- Calls are growing for Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin to divest completely from NextPoint, an investor group that recently acquired LoanMe, a high-interest lending company that charges up to 500% interest on small personal loans. Lt. Gov. Benjamin stated that LoanMe does not do business in New York state, which considers interest rates above 25% to be criminal.
Elections
- DSA-endorsed Buffalo mayoral candidate India B. Walton and incumbent Byron Brown sparred in their first head-to-head debate, months after Brown lost to Walton in the Democratic primary. Brown is still currently slated to appear on the general election ballot despite missing the petition filing deadline to run on an independent line.
- After a rare round of state-wide public hearings, the State Senate elections committee will be holding its regular post-election oversight hearing to review the messy primaries earlier this year.