Your Morning Edition for Friday, August 25th presented by DiSanto Propane!
Thruway Authority boosting fines, suspending licenses over unpaid tolls, housing gap analyzed in Seneca County, and officials in Cayuga Co., town improperly documented property tax exemptions.
Each day we bring you the biggest headlines and the stories that matter from the heart of the Finger Lakes. Our newsroom is locally owned-and-operated — keeping you informed and up-to-date every day of the year.
Thruway Authority cracks down on toll evaders: Fines boosted and suspensions increasing
The New York State Thruway Authority has intensified its clampdown on defaulting drivers, amassing $4.5 million since reviving its registration suspension initiative last summer.
This surge marks a nearly $2 million increase from May’s figures, with approximately 4,000 accounts, or around 100 weekly, referred to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for suspension.
The DMV has suspended 1,640 of these registrations, a figure that surpasses April’s total of 716. The majority of these delinquent accounts belong to drivers who accumulated three unpaid violations within five years or owe considerable sums.
Home prices have increased 17% in Seneca County: Report finds shortage of affordable housing, expanding affordability gap
Seneca County’s Department of Planning & Community Development unveiled its comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment during a public presentation on Wednesday, August 30.
Conducted by Erie County’s High Road Planning and Analytics, the 109-page report emphasized the need for housing policy to receive the same level of attention as economic development in Seneca County.
Notable findings revealed a 17% increase in single-family home prices since the pandemic began, a predicted continued rise in housing costs, a significant shortage of transitional and affordable housing, and an expanding affordability gap for renters.
News in View!
Cars stolen, driven through front of dealership in Syracuse-area
In a series of audacious burglaries, suspects smashed their way into Driver’s Village in Cicero early Tuesday morning, stealing vehicles and driving them straight through the showroom’s front doors.
Sempronius officials face scrutiny over property tax exemptions: $1M+ lacked essential documentation
A recent audit, dated August 18 revealed lapses in the Town of Sempronius’s real property tax exemptions administration.
According to the findings, the Town Assessor failed to consistently ensure proper documentation for granting exemptions. Of the 278 exemptions examined, totaling $6.2 million, 55 percent of a $2.7 million subset lacked essential documentation to confirm eligibility and exemption calculations.
These inaccuracies could introduce potential imbalances in the tax burden among local taxpayers.
More headlines for Friday, August 25th!
Bath standoff ends in attempted murder charges for local man
Brutus machete attack suspect seeks mental health evaluation
Syracuse man arrested for grand larceny after stealing car in Phelps
Cornell community holds vigil for missing Webster-native and Netflix engineer
Ithaca bolsters police recruiting efforts amid major officer shortage
What’s streaming now?
FLX MUSIC 247: Billsboro, Cayuga Shoreline, Brewery Ardennes
The final weekend of August is here, and Janelle Bradshaw has the music scene covered in this edition of FLX Music 247. The weekend starts on Thursday night at Billsboro, where the FAR Trio will play from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for Pizza on the Patio. Friday night in Interlaken at Cayuga Shoreline you can find The Destination from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. entertaining on the deck. Thursday night you can also find B3 with Neal Massa at Brewery Ardennes at 5:30 p.m.
Nothing like paying to drive on a road we all paid to build... taxes on taxes Not to mention is essentially a human checkpoint... big brother is everywhere