Randy Gorbman

Goodwill of the Finger Lakes will be getting a major donation that officials say will help that organization serve the community for years to come.

Goodwill is getting a $10 million gift, the largest single donation in the organization’s more than 100-year  history.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state is expanding its deployment of community vaccination kits to strengthen fairness and equity in the distribution process for COVID-19 vaccines.

The governor made the announcement in Brooklyn on Saturday, noting that the state recently piloted the deployment kits to several senior housing developments in New York City.

There is some hope for area students and families who would like to see New York state again allow high schoolsports deemed ‘higher-risk’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as football, basketball, ice hockey, wrestling, volleyball and competitive cheer.

On Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration issued new guidance for sports and recreation activities in schools, and it says that as of February 1, participants in higher risk sports and recreation activities can take part in those sports “as permitted by the respective local health authorities.” 

Officials with the New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs confirm that three people died after a New York Army National Guard UH-60 medical evacuation helicopter crashed early Wednesday evening in the town of Mendon. It happened during a routine training mission.

The Blackhawk helicopter was assigned to C Company of the 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion, based at the Army Aviation Support Facility at Greater Rochester International Airport. The identities of the three National Guard soldiers have not been released yet.

A new survey from Siena College shows that only about a third of New Yorkers think that race relations in the state are either excellent or good. That compares to about two-thirds of them who say that race relations are either fair or poor.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  New York drivers who can't afford to pay the entirety of a traffic fine will be able to do so via installments and will no longer face the risk of their licenses being suspended for that debt, thanks to legislation signed by the governor.

The Driver's License Suspension Reform Act ends the practice of suspending the licenses of people who haven't been able to pay their fines in full, and will allow people who currently have suspended licenses because of traffic debt to get them back.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation into law last week.

The latest data released Saturday on COVID-19 numbers for New York state shows that the positivity rate for the Finger Lakes region has topped 10%.  The seven-day average of 10.03% was the highest of any region in the state. The Mohawk Valley and the Capital Region had the next highest rates.

Monroe County on Saturday reported 454 new cases of the coronavirus and no new deaths. The total number of deaths to date is 592.

The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 596 new cases per day. The seven-day rolling average positivity rate for Monroe County is 9.9%.

Ontario County health officials say they are investigating a cluster of 10 COVID-19 cases involving people who were at a funeral in Geneva in early December.

The funeral was held on Dec. 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the St. Paul’s Full Baptist Church, 76 East North Street, Geneva. Several individuals who attended the funeral have tested positive for COVID-19.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is concerned about the variation of the coronavirus that has been seen in the United Kingdom recently and whether it will be coming into New York City from regular daily flights.

During a Sunday news conference, Cuomo noted that a number of other countries have either required people flying from the UK to get a COVID test first before flying to their nations, or in some cases, issuing an outright ban on those travelers. The governor asked why the U.S. has not taken similar action.

A government watchdog agency has found no wrongdoing in the process that led up to the announcement of a proposed loan to Eastman Kodak in the summer. The loan did not come to fruition after concerns about how the loan details came together.