This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the county will be distributing flu shots at the National Guard Armory on Hanshaw Road (map). The county will be screening people to make sure they live in Tompkins County, for medical reasons not to get the vaccine, and to ensure that they are members of one of the Centers for Disease Control's priority groups, listed in the article. Tompkins County has been given 350 doses by the state; it's not clear if those are the doses being administered here.
The county is reconsidering funding for an expanded jail after finding that the design costs alone would be $600,000 next year, roughly double the price for this year. The county had approved moving forward with the design in large part to soothe the New York State Board of Corrections, which continually insists on a larger jail than even the jail's local supporters seem to want. County Legislator Martha Robertson is quoted as saying "This is not good public policy and this is a waste of money... Just because we once had a jail with 107 people, it is not worth building a jail with 136 beds." Sheriff Peter Meskill said that if the county doesn't want to build the jail, they should stop the project in the next ten days and budget for more boarding out of prisoners.
The Journal also notes that the county budget is available for comment. (This year I'm sticking with analyzing the Dryden budget.)
There's also a piece on the state legislature considering more standardized salaries. While I'm happy to see the end of stipends, or 'lulus', I'm not thrilled by the prospect of a general raise for a body whose members don't even have to be present to vote.
Posted by simonstl at November 5, 2004 08:33 AM