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Politics
Capitol Hill Riots Spark Outrage From Hudson Valley County Executives, Other Political Leaders Capitol Hill Riots Spark Outrage From Hudson Valley County Executives, Other Political Leaders
Capitol Hill Riots Spark Outrage From Hudson Valley County Executives, Other Political Leaders Elected officials in the Hudson Valley condemned the chaos that reigned supreme this week as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building to contest the results of November's election. Following the riots in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, some of the Hudson Valley’s top officials spoke out against the riots, during which four people died and dozens were taken into custody by police. Related story - NY Sends National Guard Troops To Washington Following Chaotic Capitol Riots Westchester County Executive George Latimer said that there’s always going to be disagreements and …

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Cluster Area In Hudson Valley Changed To Yellow Zone COVID-19: Cluster Area In Hudson Valley Changed To Yellow Zone
Covid-19: Cluster Area In Hudson Valley Changed To Yellow Zone Some COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted in Rockland County’s “micro-cluster” despite the recent rash of new cases of the virus being reported throughout the Hudson Valley. On Friday, Nov. 13, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Rockland’s COVID-19 zone has been downgraded from orange to yellow, though the county had two new virus-related deaths as the number of active cases spiked to more than 1,100. With the orange zone going to yellow, the yellow buffer zone in the area has been lifted, Cuomo said. The seven-day rolling average in Rockland's “orange zone” dropped from 4.08 per…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Rockland's New Face Mask Order For Students, Education Workers Carries $2K Fine COVID-19: Rockland's New Face Mask Order For Students, Education Workers Carries $2K Fine
Covid-19: Rockland's New Face Mask Order For Students, Education Workers Carries $2K Fine After seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases in some Rockland County communities, the Department of Health is taking measures to ensure the virus stops spreading. In recent weeks, some areas in Rockland - largely in Orthodox Jewish communities - have failed to comply with the state’s COVID-19 mandates that have been issued by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the past seven months. Earlier story - COVID-19: Rockland Cluster Communities Cited For Lack Of Compliance, State May Withhold Funds In response to the lack of compliance, Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Health Commissioner Patricia Ruppe…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Rockland DOH Inspectors Join State Police In Enforcement At Cluster Zones COVID-19: Rockland DOH Inspectors Join State Police In Enforcement At Cluster Zones
Covid-19: Rockland DOH Inspectors Join State Police In Enforcement At Cluster Zones With COVID-19 clusters cropping up in parts of Rockland, the county’s Department of Health will be joining New York State Police in enforcing compliance. This week, Rockland County saw a spike in COVID-19 infection rates, which peaked near 5 percent, compared to the rest of the state, which has hovered around 1 percent for weeks. In response, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a new “cluster action initiative” to attack hotspots to stop the spread of the virus, including some new rules and regulations that will be in place for at least two weeks. The spike in cases largely centers around…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Clusters Increase In Orange, Rockland; New Breakdown By Towns COVID-19: Clusters Increase In Orange, Rockland; New Breakdown By Towns
Covid-19: Clusters Increase In Orange, Rockland; New Breakdown By Towns Some alarm bells are ringing for certain health officials in New York who are investigating new COVID-19 clusters that cropped up in Rockland and Orange counties. On Monday, Sept. 28, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that there has been a sharp uptick in new COVID-19 cases in Rockland, Orange, and in some parts of Brooklyn. Statewide, there were 52,936 COVID-19 tests administered yesterday, with 834 (1.5 percent) testing positive. There are currently 543 people hospitalized with the virus and there were 11 new fatalities. The 1.5 percent infection rate is up from 1.02 percent on Saturday, …

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Victims Of Fatal Hudson Valley Crash Were Beloved EMTs Victims Of Fatal Hudson Valley Crash Were Beloved EMTs
Victims Of Fatal Hudson Valley Crash Were Beloved EMTs The two men killed in a fiery, fatal crash overnight on the New York Thruway are being remembered as two popular volunteer paramedics who operated in the Hudson Valley. New York State Police troopers responded to a stretch of I-87 in Suffern at approximately 1:45 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, when a truck collided with a tractor-trailer, sending both off the roadway. The truck became fully engulfed in flames, killing its driver, Spring Valley resident Moshe Herzog, 18, and his passenger, David Schneebalg, 26, of Monsey. Earlier story - IDs Released For Two Killed In Fiery Crash I-87 Cra…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Here's Latest Breakdown By Town As Rockland Sees New Increase In Cases COVID-19: Here's Latest Breakdown By Town As Rockland Sees New Increase In Cases
Covid-19: Here's Latest Breakdown By Town As Rockland Sees New Increase In Cases There has been a slight uptick in COVID-19 cases in Rockland County in comparison to the rest of the mid-Hudson Valley region. In the latest numbers released by the state Health Department, there were 36 new cases out of 1,571 Rockland County residents tested, a 2.3 percent positive infection rate. Comparatively, the region as a whole had a 1.2 percent infection rate, and the statewide rate has remained under 1 percent for more than a month. Since the pandemic began, Rockland has a 9.7 percent infection rate, with 14,617 of 150,100 tests coming back positive for COVID-19 the highest in th…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Active Case Map Added To Rockland Dashboard, Here's New Rundown By Towns COVID-19: Active Case Map Added To Rockland Dashboard, Here's New Rundown By Towns
Covid-19: Active Case Map Added To Rockland Dashboard, Here's New Rundown By Towns Rockland County residents have a new tool as the battle against COVID-19 continues after more than six months. The county’s Department of Health added an active case map to its COVID-19 dashboard that will show the active cases that will include the number of confirmed positive results dated within the last two weeks that have been reported. The Active Case Map will be updated during the week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, County Executive Ed Day said. “Since the pandemic began, we have worked diligently to keep Rockland residents informed of our local situation,” Day added. …

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by Zak Failla
Business
New Hotel Opens In Rockland For First Time In Seven Years New Hotel Opens In Rockland For First Time In Seven Years
New Hotel Opens In Rockland For First Time In Seven Years The first new hotel in Rockland County for the last seven years opened on Wednesday, Sept. 9 after a three-year construction process. The Spring Valley location at 90 Spring Valley Marketplace off I-87 exit 14 is the 85th Element by Westin location worldwide, and features apartment-style rooms with kitchenettes, a gym, a heated indoor pool, a hot breakfast buffet and a sleek bar in its lobby.  “The new hotel offers another great reason for travelers to get off the NYS Thruway and stay in Rockland. This new Element will help energize the revamped Spring Valley Marketplace and Rockland’s…

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by Christina Coulter
Politics
Moody's Increases Rockland's Bond Rating To A1 Moody's Increases Rockland's Bond Rating To A1
Moody's Increases Rockland's Bond Rating To A1 Despite being in the midst of a global pandemic, Moody’s Investigators Service has increased Rockland County’s bond rating. This week, Moody’s announced that Rockland’s rating has been upped from A2 to A1. According to Moody’s, the upgrade of the rating to A1 reflects the county's recently improved financial position which is being challenged with sales tax and state aid losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We regard the coronavirus outbreak as a social risk under our ESG framework, given the substantial implications for public health and safety,” Moody’s evaluators stated. “The …

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by Zak Failla
News
First Group Of Mosquitoes In Rockland Test Positive This Season For West Nile Virus First Group Of Mosquitoes In Rockland Test Positive This Season For West Nile Virus
First Group Of Mosquitoes In Rockland Test Positive This Season For West Nile Virus The first pool, or group, of mosquitoes to test positive this year in Rockland County for West Nile Virus, has been confirmed by the New York State Department of Health.  The infected mosquitoes were collected from a trap in the Town of Orangetown during the week of Monday, Aug. 3 as part of the County's ongoing mosquito surveillance efforts, Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert announced Monday afternoon, Aug. 17.  No human cases have been reported this season. "We typically expect to see a rise in West Nile Virus activity…

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by Daily Voice
News
Isaias: Some Rockland Residents May Be Without Power A Week, Day Says, Comparing Storm To Sandy Isaias: Some Rockland Residents May Be Without Power A Week, Day Says, Comparing Storm To Sandy
Isaias: Some Rockland Residents May Be Without Power A Week, Day Says, Comparing Storm To Sandy Tropical Storm Isaias knocked out power to nearly half of Rockland County residents, some of whom may be without power for around a week in a weather event that's been compared to Superstorm Sandy. More than 100,000 of Orange & Rockland Utilities’ 301,917 customers were still in the dark as of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, as crews worked to repair 2,785 reported active outages. Rockland County Executive Ed Day said that the tropical storm took an unexpected turn, with it bringing damaging winds approaching 80 mph, not the heavy rain that had previously been forecast. Related story - I…

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by Zak Failla