Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 1, 2019

The Town of Palm Tree appears to have its first elected judges: two lawyers from outside the Hasidic community whose names were written in at the Nov. 5 election with the endorsement of the Anash political party.

Richard Croughan received 683 votes and Stephen Hunter 676, according to the Orange County Board of Elections unofficial results.

Neither lives in Palm Tree the town formed this year by separating the Village of Kiryas Joel from the Town of Monroe but were eligible to run because Palm Tree passed a law waiving the usual legal requirement that justices live in the towns that elect them to preside over municipal court. That law came too late for Croughan and Hunter to petition to get on the ballot, but Kiryas Joels main political faction put their names as write-in candidates on sample ballots that were distributed to voters outside polling stations on Nov. 5.

Town officials opened the field to non-residents because no one from Palm Tree petitioned last year or this year to be a judge, forcing the Orange County District Attorneys Office to distribute Palm Tree traffic tickets and other local court matters to neighboring towns and villages. State law requires towns to have two elected justices.

Croughan and Hunter will serve four-year terms. Palm Tree still has no courtroom for them, but town officials are considering building a small courthouse on land that Kiryas Joel owns off Larkin Drive in Monroe and uses for a park. They say it could take until next summer for Palm Tree Court to come to order if that plan comes to fruition.

Metzger bill shielding workers reproductive choices now law

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill sponsored by Sen. Jen Metzger that prohibits employers from discriminating against workers or prospective employees for their beliefs and decisions regarding contraception and abortion.

The Assembly had passed the Boss Bill in five previous years, but the Senate had taken no vote on it while Republicans controlled that chamber. That changed in January after Democrats won a large majority in the Senate: now sponsored by the newly elected Metzger, the proposal sailed through with most Republicans in support in a 56-6 vote in the opening weeks of the legislative session. The Assembly passed it again the same day.

No one should have to fear that they will lose their job or be demoted because of their own, private reproductive health decisions, Metzger, a Rosendale Democrat, said in a statement after the bill signing on Nov. 8. Choosing if and when to have children, what prescription drugs to take or medical services to access, are decisions for individuals and their families and not their employers. With threats to basic reproductive healthcare looming at the federal level, protecting New Yorkers with this legislation is more vital than ever.

Her statement noted that while employees medical records are confidential under federal law, employers can glean information from insurance summaries and other human resources documents.

The law prevents employers from looking at records about the employees or a dependents use of a drug, device or medical service without the workers prior written consent; from using that information to retaliate against the employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment; or from making a worker sign a waiver forsaking the right to make reproductive decisions.

A coalition of groups immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court to challenge the law as a violation of their religious rights, arguing it would force pro-life pregnancy centers, Catholic hospitals and religious schools to employ workers who dont share their opposition to abortion.

No government has the right to tell pro-life or religious organizations they must hire someone who doesnt agree with their core mission, said Ken Connelly, general counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, the group that brought the case on behalf of a Rochester pregnancy care center and other aggrieved parties.

Delgado: Ban campaign donations from opioid makers

Rep. Antonio Delgado announced a new bill in November to prohibit campaign contributions to federal candidates from the political arms of any pharmaceutical companies that make opioids.

The Rhinebeck Democrat said he was co-sponsoring the bill with Rep. Max Rose, a Staten Island Democrat, and argued it would blunt the influence of drug manufacturers as policymakers in Washington grapple with ways to combat an opioid addiction and overdose crisis.

Addressing the opioid crisis must also include rooting out the corrupting influences that perpetuate it, Delgado said in a statement. The opioid crisis is deeply prevalent in New York, especially in our rural communities, and yet pharmaceutical companies and special interests continue to have free rein to advance their agenda by lining the pockets of lawmakers in Washington.

Original post:

The Fray: Write-in count confirms election of first Palm Tree judges - Times Herald-Record

Category: Hasidic
Tags: