Dear Friends, For many of us across the state and nation, the past several weeks have been very challenging. As an eternal optimist, and one dedicated to speaking out when I feel it is necessary, I will keep standing up for my constituents in ways both big and small. I will continue to be openly critical of many of the actions in Washington that adversely impact New Yorkers and New York State.
Every day, I hear from many of you who are struggling with utility bills from Con Edison — often sharing bills that don’t match actual usage and your good faith efforts to keep costs down. Your words do not go unheard.
Recently, the Senate passed a utility affordability package, which includes two bills of mine that are dedicated to keeping your utility bills as low as possible. (They passed last year as well — this issue is not new to me!) I’m having a rally/press conference this Friday in White Plains to strongly oppose the next Con Ed rate increase application. More details below!
Last week, we commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As we confront the rise in antisemitism and other forms of hatred worldwide, it is important to reflect on the lessons of the Holocaust and ensure they are passed on to future generations. As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we honor the six million Jews and countless others who were murdered, as well as the survivors who inspire us with their strength and resilience. Let us renew our commitment to combating hatred in all forms and building a world defined by empathy and justice. You can view my remarks on the Senate floor commemorating this day.
Statement on Elon Musk’s Actions I am deeply alarmed by the actions of Elon Musk, which I believe are of questionable legality and lacking in appropriate oversight. Mr. Musk has obtained access to highly sensitive federal agencies and the personal information of millions of American citizens — without being elected to public office, or vetted and confirmed by Congress. President Trump’s support of Musk’s actions, including replacing officials who oppose him, is irresponsible and disregards American rights and democratic principles. I call upon everyone, specifically my Federal Republican colleagues, to do what is right and oppose these actions and stand up to safeguard American rights.
Statement on Federal Funding Freeze
Recently, we also faced the temporary freezing of federal funding by President Trump.
This “pause” was deeply disturbing and caused great stress, confusion, and havoc in New York State and across the country. Any freeze of federal funding, whether temporary or permanent, will cause great harm to our communities, impacting Medicaid, hospitals, Head Start programs, veterans programs and more.
I applaud New York State Attorney General Letitia James and other state Attorneys General, who promptly filed suit challenging this order. I am appreciative of everyone who spoke out, contacted their representatives, used social media to make their voices heard, or were outspoken in other ways, to ensure the Administration heard the outcry and withdrew the memorandum, although not the underlying Executive Order, that threatened NYS programs. The temporary freezing was stopped by a Federal Judge – hopefully there will be a permanent rejection of this order.
Know Your Rights In an Encounter with ICE
Finally, ICE agents have been present throughout the state, including in Westchester County. I urge everyone to familiarize themselves with the rights you have to protect yourself and your loved ones.
If there is anything my office can assist you with, please email me at [email protected] or call (914) 934-5250.
Warm regards,
Shelley B. Mayer State Senator
37th District
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Special Election for Westchester County Executive
If you haven’t voted yet, don’t forget to cast your ballot in today’s special election to fill the Westchester County Executive’s office through the end of the year. A full-term election will be held on November 4, 2025. Find Your Polling Place Here Absentee & Early Mail Ballots:
For more information, visit the Westchester County Board of Elections website: citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com/ Elección Especial para el Ejecutivo del Condado de Westchester Si aún no ha votado, no olvide emitir su voto en la elección especial de hoy para ocupar la oficina del Ejecutivo del Condado de Westchester hasta finales de año. Una elección para un mandato completo se llevará a cabo el 4 de Noviembre de 2025. Encuentre su centro de votación aquí. Boletas de Voto Ausente y Voto Anticipado por Correo:
Para más información, visite el sitio web de la Junta Electoral del Condado de Westchester: citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com/ |
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FEB 10—-WHITE PLAINS MAN CONVICTED OF 2022 MURDER IN CITY
SUSAN CACACE
WESTCHESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
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WHITE PLAINS MAN GUILTY OF MURDER IN 2022 FATAL BEATING
Jare Diaz, 27, punched and kicked the victim over 30 times in a savage assault that resulted in his death.WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace announced today that a jury has found Jare Diaz, 27, of White Plains, guilty of Murder in the Second Degree for fatally beating Otoniel Guzman-Desdicho in 2022. DA Cacace said: “I am grateful for the jury’s verdict and for the diligent work of our prosecutorial team, which brought about this just result. The merciless beating of Mr. Guzman-Desdicho left him mangled and unrecognizable on a cold November night. This kind of violence can never become a normal part of daily life in Westchester.” On Nov. 26, 2022, at 11:30 pm, Guzman-Desdicho, 38, was walking in White Plains when he encountered Diaz, whom he knew. After a brief conversation, Diaz launched an unprovoked attack on Guzman-Desdicho, punching and kicking him in the head over 30 times. This attack left Guzman-Desdicho lifeless and unrecognizable on the pavement, only a few blocks from the Westchester County Court. He was soon transported to Westchester Medical Center, where he was declared brain dead. Diaz is set to be sentenced March 27 by Westchester County Court Judge Maurice Dean Williams. The maximum potential sentence for Murder in the Second Degree is 25 years to life in state prison. The case was investigated by the White Plains Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Cold Case Bureau Chief Daniel Flecha and Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ciuffi, of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau. |
FEB 10—-OUTBREAK NORTHEAST REPORT. FLU,COVID RISING ON ALL FRONTS. DATA LIMITED. BIRD FLU INFECTING DAIRY COWS, POULTRY, WILD BIRDS, PET CATS (KEEP THEM INDOORS) MILLIONS OF BIRDS
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Welcome to the Northeast edition of Outbreak Outlook! It is only available to paid subscribers. If you wish to become a paid subscriber and access region-specific information, please click the Subscribe now button below. Thanks for reading! -Caitlin
Respiratory Diseases
ILI
Flu activity is up, up, up. Activity is widespread across the region, with no signs of slowing yet.
Massachusetts leads the Northeast region with outpatient ILI at 10.5% and ED visits at 8.6%, up from 7.7% last week. New Hampshire is also up there, with outpatient ILI at 10.4% with ED visits at 8.9%, up from 7.3% last week, and very high wastewater levels. New Jersey shows outpatient ILI at 10.3% with ED visits at 9.5%, maintaining high wastewater concentrations.
Northeast: Outpatient ILI (%)
Week ending Feb 1, 2025
Rhode Island reports outpatient ILI at 7.1% with ED visits at 5.3%, and high wastewater levels. Connecticut has outpatient ILI at 6.5% with ED visits at 8.4%, up from 7.5% last week, maintaining very high wastewater concentrations.
New York reports outpatient ILI at 6.1% with ED visits at 5.9%, showing high wastewater levels. However, New York City has super high outpatient ILI at nearly 13%.
The remaining Northeast states have varying activity levels. Maine reports outpatient ILI at 5.8% though ED visits are lower at 3.9%, showing high wastewater levels. Pennsylvania shows the region’s lowest outpatient ILI at 4.5% with ED visits at 7.0%, maintaining high wastewater concentrations. Vermont, while not reporting outpatient ILI, shows ED visits at 7.1% and very high wastewater levels.
Northeast Flu ED Visits
Change in percentage of emergency department patient visits
COVID-19
Unfortunately, Covid-19 also appears to be worsening in the Northeast. Wastewater activity is high and has spiked in the past week, nearly doubling. Concentration is back up to where it was at the beginning of January. The Northeast has now surpassed the Midwest as the region with the highest activity.
However, severe illness is stable or declining in most states in the region. I’ll be watching to see if that changes, since wastewater is typically a leading indicator.
Covid-19 Wastewater
Wastewater concentrations of Covid-19. Horizontal grid lines depict activity level: very high (above 8.0), high (4.5 to 8.0), moderate (3.0 to 4.5), low (1.5 to 3.0), and minimal (below 1.5).
At the state level, wastewater activity is high or very high across the region, with the sole exception of Pennsylvania, where activity is moderate.
Activity is very high in Connecticut, having nearly rebounded to the peak it reached at the beginning of this year. Similarly, activity is high and increasing in Vermont and New Jersey.
However, despite the high levels of activity, things appear to be improving in several states. Activity dropped from very high to high levels in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island. And in New Hampshire, following a very large spike at the beginning of January, activity has decreased in the past few weeks more than 5-fold.
Demonstrating just how high activity was, even with this dramatic decline, it is still at high levels, though activity remained stable this past week. Unfortunately, there was only limited data coverage of New York for this week, so it is hard to get a sense of what is going on there.
Northeast Flu Wastewater
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ED visits are low (<1.5%) across the Northeast. ED visits are stable in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut. ED visits have come down substantially in the past month in Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and they continued that downward trend this week as well.
Northeast Covid-19 ED Visits
Change in percentage of emergency department patient visits
Hospitalizations in most states are moderately elevated levels – between 3-6 hospitalizations per 100,000. In Connecticut, hospitalizations are increasing, and in Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, rates are holding steady. Hospitalizations are coming down in New Hampshire (3.4), Massachusetts (5.0), and Maine (3.3). The outlier is Pennsylvania – where hospitalizations are at a high 11.6 and increasing.
RSV
RSV activity is generally low across the region, with all states reporting less than 1% of visits to the emergency department for RSV.
New Hampshire and Vermont are outliers with comparatively high activity and stable or rising indicators. I assume this is a temporary blip, both because the rest of the states in the region look find and because we are moving out of the season. I will keep an eye on it.
Northeast RSV ED Visits
Change in percentage of emergency department patient visits
Stomach Bugs
The worst may be over, but norovirus isn’t going away anytime soon. Norovirus data are often quite jagged (rising and falling), but it looks like we may be on the other side of the peak. Nevertheless, rates remain very high: test positivity is 14.5%.
Norovirus rates tend to remain elevated for several months in the winter. As such, even if the peak is in fact behind us, I don’t expect rates to return to low levels any time soon.
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Source: CDC
Other Bugs
- Human coronaviruses (a common cause of colds) are peaking for a second time this winter. They had peaked at the beginning of January, and now are back up again to the same level.
- Human metapneumovirus is low, but seems to be ticking up.
- Other causes of cold- and flu-like symptoms, like adenovirus and rhinovirus/enterovirus, are fairy low right now.
Food recalls
The following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated. Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items:
New:
- Alfalfa sprouts sold under the Jack and the Green Sprouts brand name (more info)
- Aleppo Tahini Sesame Paste (more info)
- DJ’s Boudain sausage links (more info)
Previously reported:
- Blue Ridge Beef Natural Mix [for dogs] (more info). While not for human consumption, humans may be infected with Salmonella if they do not adequately wash their hands or contaminated surfaces after handling the product.
- Wegman’s fully cooked breaded chicken nuggets (more info)
- Casa Mamita frozen chicken and cheese taquitos (more info)
- If you have food allergies, you may wish to review these FDA safety alerts and USDA alerts for foods with undeclared allergens.
In other news
- Live bird markets in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County will close for a week following the detection of avian flu in seven poultry flocks at markets in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. The cases were identified during routine inspections, and all infected birds will be culled. The closure order requires markets to sell remaining inventory, undergo deep cleaning and disinfection, and stay closed for five days post-cleaning. Meanwhile, bird flu infections among animals, including dairy cows, poultry, wild birds, and pet cats, have been rising, with millions of birds affected in recent months.
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