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ICYMI: GOVERNOR HOCHUL’S OP-ED IN EMPIRE REPORT: KILLING JOBS WON’T POWER AMERICA

Right in the midst of the holiday season, we learned that President Trump is once again pulling the rug out from under New York workers. Without warning, his administration shut down Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind, along with offshore wind projects in other states. In one reckless move, he put thousands of good-paying jobs and New York’s energy future at risk.

Imagine working hard all year, only to find out  that your job is suddenly gone. That is reality for nearly 2,000 New Yorkers who woke up yesterday wondering if they will still have a paycheck. People who did everything right, worked hard, and showed up every day, are now being told their livelihoods do not matter. Not because these projects failed. Not because the permits were flawed. But because the President decided to pull the plug.

The jobs building these wind farms aren’t just good union jobs that keep families afloat — they are also jobs that will create clean energy and keep energy costs down. Just a few months ago, the New York State Independent System Operator warned that unless New York starts generating more power quickly, we could face blackouts as soon as this summer.

That is why New York is aggressively pursuing an all-of-the-above energy approach. We build. We plan. We use every tool available–solar, wind, nuclear, and gas–because keeping the lights on and costs down is not optional.

Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind are central to that effort. Together, these projects are expected to generate enough electricity to power roughly 10 percent of New York City. They strengthen reliability at a time of growing demand. They reduce pressure on energy prices for families already stretched thin. And they anchor a robust offshore wind supply chain, from ports and manufacturers to electricians, ironworkers, and longshoremen who depend on these projects to keep working.

President Trump’s vendetta against wind projects is obsessive and baffling. It is also not new. When President Trump issued a stop work order on Empire Wind 1 earlier this year, I convinced him to lift it. Alongside the Attorney General, I went to court to ensure he could not arbitrarily deny new offshore wind permits. Just as canceling Empire Wind 1 was unacceptable months ago, this new stoppage is unacceptable now.

The President is now hiding behind claims of national security, arguing that projects approved by the Department of Defense and fully permitted at the federal and state level, are suddenly a threat. New Yorkers know the truth. The real threat is not a carefully designed offshore wind project. It is a President undermining America’s ability to produce its own energy.

Mr. President, you and I agree: Energy independence matters. So let us build.

I have saved wind power in New York before. And now, in partnership with the other impacted states, I will do it again. This will not be the year that hardworking New Yorkers lose their paychecks during the holidays because their President turned his back on them. This will be the year that New Yorkers have the jobs they need and the power their economy requires, at a cost they can afford, because I will never stop fighting for New Yorkers.

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SHOCKER OF THE CENTURY

STATE THROWS OUT  GOV CUOMO GREENHOUSE GASES POLICY AFTER 6 YEARS

SHIFTS TO  MODULAR NUCLEAR POWER AND GREEN ENERGY  BALANCED APPROACH

TO EASE STRESS ON BUSINESSES, COMMUNITIES

ZERO EMISSIONS GOAL  2050 20 YEARS AWAY

WHERE’S THE MONEY TO PAY FOR IT?

6 INCHES OF SNOW!

NO PROBLEM FOR THE WHITE PLAINS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

PUBLIC HEALTH ENEMY NUMBER ONE

DR. KATELYN JETTELINA ON MASS SHOOTING EPIDEMIC

CONGESTION PRICING MONEY PAYS FOR BROOKLYN QUEENS SUBWAY IMPROVEMENTS

THOMPSON & BENDER  40 YEARS PROMOTING PROGRESS IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY

A PERSPECTIVE ON HOW ERIC SEVEREID MIGHT LOOK AT THE NEW NEW YORK STATE ENERGY POLICY

WITH JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS

EVERY WEEK ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK

FOR 24 YEARS

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WPCNR BUNKO DIVISION. From New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud. December 18, 2018

NEW YORK, NY — The New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud is highlighting the federal sentencing of a Long Island physician who admitted to taking illegal kickbacks for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans, resulting in nearly $900,000 in fraudulent insurance billings.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, 76, of East Setauket, New York, ordered hundreds of unnecessary transcranial doppler (TCD) scans between 2013 and 2019, using false diagnoses to bill Medicare and private insurers. He received about $100 per test in kickbacks. The scheme generated approximately $891,978 in fraudulent billings.

Dr. Fishberger was sentenced on December 9, 2025, to two years of supervised release, including one year of home confinement, and ordered to pay more than $440,000 in restitution, forfeiture, and fines.

Frank Sztuk, Chair of the Public Outreach Committee at the New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud, emphasized the broader impact on consumers and the insurance system:

“Health care fraud like this inflates insurance premiums, burdens taxpayers, and undermines confidence in the medical profession. Strong enforcement protects patients, honest providers, and the integrity of our health care system.”

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Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Enjoying this newsletter? Why not share it with a friend? Mass shootings outnumber annual days in U.S., children are missing school due to measles, Covid-19 is peeping around the corner, and some hope The Dose (December 15) Katelyn Jetelina Dec 15 REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION READ IN APP Holiday lights are up, and Hanukkah has begun, but man, it’s hard to hold onto cheer as the world delivers blow after blow. This week brings outbreaks of once-forgotten diseases, rising respiratory illness, and more mass shootings. All underscoring how fragile health and safety really are, and how much suffering can be prevented. Still, I deeply believe that connection, hope, and small, deliberate actions remain powerful ways—at times the only ways—to protect one another and keep one foot moving in front of the next. Here’s The Dose to start your week. Mass shootings continue to outnumber days in the U.S. I tried to put into words last night the evidence-based solutions to mass shootings. I was initially trained as a violence epidemiologist, am married to a police officer, and am a mom, and I know there are things we can do as a society. Then I deleted it. Then I rewrote it. Then I was just mad about the whole situation and stopped. It’s hard to put into words the toll this takes on our communities. And it makes it even harder when it happens over and over and over again. This time, tragedy struck Brown University during finals prep, a time meant for focus, hope, and growth. Students, faculty, first responders, and many of my friends—some who were working the emergency department or were on campus with students—are left in shock and grief, trying to make sense of yet another traumatic event. As of December 14, the U.S. has had 391 mass shootings—more than the number of days in the year—for the seventh consecutive year. Seventy-five of these occurred at schools. The frequency is high enough that epidemiologists can now identify patterns. The timing of the shooting at Brown follows a familiar one: school shootings often cluster around periods of transition to and from school breaks. Across the world, another mass shooting tragedy hit Australia, where people celebrating the first night of Hanukkah were likely violently targeted for their beliefs. The horror of losing loved ones at a gathering meant for reflection and celebration is unimaginable. Almost immediately, social media seized on the tragedy to argue that Australia’s strict gun laws don’t work. I’ll stop that right there. This isn’t a debate because the data are crystal clear: Mass shootings are extremely rare in Australia. Since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, strict firearm regulations (a buyback program and tight licensing) have kept mass shootings to zero or one per year on average in Australia. By contrast, the U.S. experiences roughly 400–650 mass shootings annually, with more than 46,000 deaths from gun violence each year. As the graph below shows, it’s not even close. A tragedy does not disprove the effectiveness of these laws. Data show that strict regulations reduce deaths. Beyond Australia, places like the U.K., Japan, and Canada have similarly strict gun laws and extremely low rates of mass shootings. We can also see variability within the United States. States with the most lax gun laws have the highest rates of gun violence. Firearm deaths are the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., whereas in Australia, child deaths from firearms are extremely rare, with suicide and road accidents being the top causes. While every loss of life is devastating and mourned, the scale of firearm deaths in the U.S. makes clear that the problem is far from isolated. It is systemic and ongoing. It doesn’t have to be this way. Public support for stronger gun laws is high. Polls consistently show that a large majority of Americans back measures such as universal background checks, restrictions on high-capacity magazines, and mandatory waiting periods. What this means for you: Please donate blood. For those looking for immediate resources for helping children and youth, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network developed the following fantastic resources: Talking to Children about the Shooting (En Español) Helping Youth After Community Trauma: Tips for Educators (En Español) Below are previous YLE posts that are as relevant today as they were before. I hope they help you feel empowered. There are solutions and paths forward. We can reduce gun violence in the U.S.—we’ve done hard public health things before. It’s hard to explain (and fix) evil—but it’s not mental illness. Focusing solely on it largely avoids confronting the real, more complicated causes. Firearms: What you can do right now—there’s a lot. Epidemiology of mass shootings—you’ll notice these tragedies follow some, but not all, patterns of previous school mass shootings. Infectious disease “weather” report It’s officially respiratory season: the percentage of physician visits chalked up to coughs, fevers, and sore throats—also called influenza-like illness (ILI)—has passed 3% and continues to rise quickly. Right now, rates are uneven across the country: some states remain green, reflecting minimal activity, while others are already lighting up red, signaling high levels. Before long, the entire map will be red and purple. Influenza-like illnesses (ILI). Source: CDC; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist For flu, specifically, we’re seeing this increase first among younger populations, especially school-aged children. Soon these illnesses will spread to older adults as well. CDC estimates there have already been at least 2.9 million illnesses this year and 30,000 hospitalizations. By the end of the season, we can expect roughly 15% of Americans to get the flu. Tragically, the first pediatric flu death was reported for the 2025-2026 season. I expect many more, given that flu vaccination rates are the lowest they’ve been in decades. Since 2004, we’ve seen an increase in the number of deaths year over year. Last year was a record year for pediatric deaths. Most children who died were not vaccinated. Covid-19 remains low nationally, but it doesn’t look like this will continue for long. Cases in the Northeast and Midwest are increasing quickly. The South is inching upwards as well. (See your local wastewater trends here.) Covid-19 wastewater trends by region. Source: CDC; Annotated by YLE We’ll see where this takes us, but given that we had a mild Covid-19 winter and summer, there are a lot of people out there susceptible to infection. Trends are still hard to predict, given this is a relatively new virus: we could see a large wave or smaller and smaller waves, with Covid-19 becoming the common cold. Time will tell. What this means for you:  All of these trends will only intensify with holiday gatherings, as mixing of households and social networks creates more pathways for viruses to travel. Wearing a mask in crowded indoor spaces helps reduce disruptions in your life. Testing is useful, though for mild illness, it rarely matters which virus you have—except for high-risk individuals, for whom results could guide antiviral treatment. Stay home until symptoms improve to protect others and prevent further spread. Measles outbreaks continue to march on with 1,926 cases this year. Word on the street is that the U.S. will also lose the WHO measles elimination status early next year. Two outbreaks continue to grow quickly: South Carolina: This outbreak is growing exponentially, with Spartanburg County remaining the epicenter with 126 cases. Fifteen new cases were reported last week, mostly household transmission. Currently, 254 children are in quarantine at 11 schools, missing 21 days of school for an easily preventable disease. Source: Yale School of Public Health Utah/Arizona: 291 cases with ongoing transmission spreading through Utah and Mohave County, Arizona. What this means for you: If you’re near a measles outbreak, follow guidance from your local public health department. Children under 12 months can get MMR as early as 6 months old, and families up to date on vaccinations are protected. Alright, I need some hope… and help. Simply making it through this year is an accomplishment. Still, even through the fog, there have been wins and moments of good news, and I truly believe we need to hold onto them to keep hope and joy alive. Every year, I collect public health victories to mark the close of the year, and I’m not stopping now. I’d love your help. What’s your favorite piece of public health good news or biggest win this year? It can be local, national, or global. Share it in the comments, and I’ll try to include some in the final 2025 accomplishments report. Bottom line This week, as respiratory illnesses rise and outbreaks continue, and as our communities are shaken by yet more mass shootings, taking small but meaningful actions—masking in crowds, staying home when sick, staying up to date on vaccines, and advocating for safer environments—can help protect the people we care about. Love, YLE Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife. YLE reaches more than 425,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribed Thanks for your financial support of Your Local Epidemiologist! We couldn’t do this without you. Share   Like Comment Restack © 2025 Your Local Epidemiologist 4140 Oceanside Blvd, Suite #159 – 1400 Oceanside, CA 92056 Unsubscribe

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WPCNR AIRPORT BLUES NEWS & COMMENT, By John F. Bailey. December 13, 2025:

I can now confirm helicopters fly over White Plains–LOTS OF THEM–  now that a person posting on www.citizenstobeheard.com wrote about on December 11

They fly over mine regularly.

Choppers routinely fly over Havilands Manor at varying altitudes and buzz loudly, very loudly on a southwesterly flight path.

The flight paths  so many choppers follow contribute to devaluation of neighborhood ambience and disregard for inhabitants’ lives and safety who are living in the cluster of neighborhoods below the choppers’ flight paths.

If a chopper loses controlled fligh, they drop straight down and  worse explode–it is a daily threat tolerated by the county and THE FAA.

I believe they should have higher altitudes dictated for helicopters and routes over parks westward or service roads on either side of 287.

Everybody who hears looks up  knows the helicopters are routine nuisances but in reality they are a threat to the homes they fly over . They drop when they stop in mid-air and have no glide control to pick a landing. Witness the crash of NYC traffic chopper reporter, Frank McDermott.

i remember vividly when WOR RADIO 710 traffic helicopter pilot Frank McDermott’s traffic copter he was piloting  crashed killing him on a day when he was flying in place of Fred Feldman, pioneer of traffic reporting from the air.

The daily helicopter flights over White Plains like clockwork are not wise flight paths. Airplanes can glide into emergency landings, helicopters are dead in the air when the rotoblade stops and down they go

This is how the New York Times reported the accident:

A helicopter operated by radio station WOR as a traffic spotter crashed into the roof of a garden apartment in Queens yesterday evening, killing its pilot, Frank McDermott, and touching off a raging fire. The accident that killed Mr. McDermott, the relief pilot for Fred Feldman, the radio station’s regular flying traffic reporter, apparently took place seconds after the 37-year-old pilot-broadcaster went on the air for a one-minute account of traffic conditions, at 5:27 P.M. It was reported that shortly before the crash Mr. McDermott had informed station personnel that he was having difficulty handling the helicopter in gusty winds.

Seconds before he went off the air, Mr. McDermott was reporting to John Scott on a program called Radio New York that traffic was heavy on the Van Wyck Expressway. Then he was heard to say, “You got it, John.” Apparently he started to say something else, but it was not clearly audible. Then there was silence. Informed of the death of Mr. McDermott, whom he had hired, Mr. Feldman said: “I wish to hell it had been me. He’s got a wife and two kids. I feel the way I did about some friends in the service who got it.”

At least 10 other pilots and broadcasters had died in previous crashes of helicopter traffic spotters.

Although ambulances and rescue units converged on the scene of the fuel-fed three alarm fire touched off by yesterday’s crash, only on relatively minor injury, to a 12 year-old boy, was reported in addition to the death of Mr. McDermott. The boy. Timothy White tripped, breaking an elbow as he ran from his apartment just after the Bell 47G2 helicopter plunged into 20-61 20th Street.

A teen-aged boy said he was on his way home when he saw the helicopter descending. said “It was flipping over,’ Nelson Castro, 14, of 20-41 18th Street, Astoria. Making circles with his hands, he said “The thing was going like this The propeller was broken.”

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: THE CAUSE WAS NOT PILOT ERROR BUT SERVICE MAINTENANCE ERROR ON ROTOR BLADE

Federal investigators studying the crash of the helicopter said that sparks were seen coming from the tail of the copter before it plunged into the building.   “But we have no indication at the moment that the helicopter began to break up in flight,” said George Van Epps, director of the Eastern Region office of the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB concluded that probable cause of the accident was that maintenance personnel having overtorqued (TIGHTENED) a delta hinge bolt in the tail rotor, changed the pitch change rod bearings controlling ascent and descent angles to fail.

WPCNR comment: This apparent error that cost McDermott his life indicates how sensitive to accident helicopters are due to the slightest mechanical malfunction.  When I hear a particularly obnoxiously loud helicopter overhead, I look up  because the aircraft is so low. And could malfunction  straightdown.

For this reason alone they  should not fly over heavy  populated residential housing areas, particularly at low altitude which leaves no margin for error. There is a long history of helicopter crashes in the New York Metropolitan area.

Westchester County in its management of the airport the last 6 years has talked a lot about airport noise, and yet has not listened to professional pilots who have advised after extensive examination of radar records of the approach and departure of flights over  a number of recenty years advised strongly that take-offs and landings if routed from the west in and out would  curtail flight noise of any aircraft taking off or landing from or into the West.

The county since the exhaustive study by two pilots who know something about aviation, the county has not approached the FAA for permission to even allow more flights into and out of Westchester County in the West to Easy or East to West direction.

This laissez fair attitude  County politicians paying lipservice to residents’ complaints about noise  and installing noise monitors and not doing anything positive is particularly typical of politicians.

But it is also negligent, continuing to allow recent increase in helicopter traffic over residential neighborhoods and of course cities.  The evidence is there that helicopters are flying too low. Do air traffic controllers after the choppers depart the airport continue to monitor them? It is a good question. They should. More to the point, new rules and flight tracks should route helicopters along major highways through forested areas…or service road areas or down the Hudson River not cross country.

The first helicopter crash in an any neighborhood of homes anywhere in the county, will find  the County Executive holding the usual “Our hearts go out to the families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy” message and the first question from a newsperson will be :

“Why was helicopter flying at the altitude over  that neighborhood with side to side houses?”

The answer is the County did not ask the FAA for a change in routing suggested by pilots years ago. Major negligence.

iF the county had pursued this with the FAA, and the FAA refused the county would not be to blame.

But the County has not done that.

In fact the county now wants to build a new Westchester County Airport Terminal. But they also need a longer wider runway to accommodate international jumbo aircraft which businesses want to be able to do. THEY SHOULD ALSO ASK FOR A HOTEL SITE ON THE SITE WITH UNDERGROUND PARKING.

Instead the county continues to appease Connecticut and Chappaqua residents adjacent the airport by not building a new runway, or not putting in new East West takeoff and landing patterns. Not adding flights.

Are helicopters prone to crash.? Yes. They are drones with a person in them.

NBC 4 LAST APRIL DID A REPORT ON HELICOPTER CRASHES  AROUND NEW YORK CITY HERE IS THE LIST

2021: A helicopter sustained significant damage during a hard landing at a Manhattan helipad. The pilot and a co-pilot were not hurt.

2019: A helicopter used for executive travel hits the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper in restricted airspace. The pilot is killed.

2019: A charter helicopter goes into the Hudson River and sinks while being maneuvered at a heliport. The pilot escapes.

2018: Five people drown when a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights crashes in the East River . The pilot survives.

2011: Three people die when a helicopter carrying a family outing plunges into the East River.

2009: A sightseeing helicopter carrying Italian tourists collides with a private plane over the Hudson River, killing nine.

2007: A sightseeing helicopter drops into the Hudson River after experiencing a mechanical problem after lifting off from a West Side heliport. Everyone makes it out safely.

2005: A corporate helicopter carrying MBNA Corp. executives falls into the East river after taking off from the East 34th Street heliport. The pilot is seriously injured but everyone survives.

2005: A sightseeing helicopter goes into the East River while trying to take off from the Wall Street heliport. A British tourist nearly drowns.

2004: A WNBC news helicopter hits a building in Brooklyn and disintegrates while covering a story. All occupants survive.

1997: One person is killed and a second is badly injured when a helicopter owned by the Colgate-Palmolive Company falls into the East River after taking off from the 60th Street heliport.

1990: One person dies after the pilot of an Island Helicopter air taxi misjudges the wind during a takeoff from the East 34th Street heliport and flies into the river.

1988: A passenger drowns when a sightseeing helicopter loses power and makes a forced landing in the East River.

1986: An NBC radio traffic reporter dies when the helicopter she is riding in loses lift, hits a fence and crashes into the Hudson.

1985: A passenger drowns when a sightseeing flight operated by New York Helicopters crashes into the East River after taking off from the East 34th Street heliport.