Binghamton NY Local News

UPDATE: Missing 24-year-old woman, located

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 05:22:26 +0000

Columbia Twp., PA (WBNG Binghamton) Pennsylvania State Police have located the missing 24-year-old woman.

Binghamton budget proposal void of layoffs

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 04:49:09 +0000

Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) The Binghamton City School District is taking its first steps in bringing next year's budget proposal to the public.

PennDOT releases plans for Gibson Interchange reconstruction

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 04:27:28 +0000

New Milford, PA (WBNG Binghamton) Changes are coming to a highly traveled exit on Interstate 81. PennDOT held an open house to explain the construction to New Milford residents Wednesday night.

County Will Hold Property Auction Saturday

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:48:33 +0000

50 properties owned by Broome County will be auctioned off this Saturday starting at 10:00 AM at the Holiday Inn in Binghamton. The properties were taken over by the county from residents who were behind in their 2012 taxes. All of the properties are within the city of Binghamton and include single family homes, warehouses, commercial buildings, and vacant lots. "We're concerned about blight and we have the vacant properties inspected for code violations. This not only alerts the successful bidder but it also alerts the code people that these properties have problems," said David Hamlin, the director of the Real Property office in Broome County. Last year the county sold 52 properties and made a 1.3 million dollar profit.

Color Blind Musical Opens Thursday at the Tri-Cities Opera Center

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:48:30 +0000

How would feel if someone put you in a box? That's the story behind "Color Blind: A Musical", written by local playwright Laura Cunningham. The play tells the story of six African Americans whose lives collide when a young man refuses to check the box marked "black" on his college application. David Melendez plays Jackie Whittaker in the musical. "No one wants to be put in a box, no one wants to be categorized or just told, 'oh, you're a woman so you can't do this; you're African American, you're Jewish so you can't do this," Melendez said. "That's really what the play is about - just getting out of the box and understanding that you can do more than what the color of your skin says, what somebody else says you can do," he added. The show opens toThursday at the Tri-Cities Opera Center in Binghamton. Anyone who mentions "Fox 40" at the door Thursday can get two-for-one tickets. More information is available at www.colorblindthemusical.com.

Schumer May Rescuse Himself From Cable Deal

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:48:26 +0000

There were reports Thursday that Senator Charles Schumer will recuse himself from any Congressional action involving Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable--because his brother is representing Time Warber in the deal. Although the Senator expressed support for the merger in a statement last week, his office says he had no knowledge of his brother Robert's role as a lead attorney for Time Warner until it surfaced in a legal publication on Friday. Schumer says he wants to avoid even the appearance of a possible conflict of possible conflict of interest, so he won't be voting on the matter.

Drone Morality

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:48:22 +0000

They kill by remote control--and there's a base from which they are controlled not far from Binghamton. But do predator drones really make America safer? The answer was a resound no Wednesay evening in Johnson City, where the St. James Peach and Justice Committee discussed the morality of drone warfare. Among those attending were area protestors who were arrested at Hancock Field near Syracuse--where, they say, there is a control center for drones flying over Afghanistan and elsewhere. "It's going to lead to more proliteration, already dozens of countries are starting to get drones, importing them, developing their own; this is not making the world safer at all. It also creates many enemies for the US, because the US around the world is seen as the villain when using drones and it could lead to survivors of drone attacks or their offspring trying to get back at the us for these crimes, said Drone Protestor Ed Kinane. Kinane is from Syracuse. He was arrested outside the gates of Hancock Field.

Local Activists Join Movement Against Proposed Tax Breaks

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:48:18 +0000

Less than a month after Governor Cuomo unveiled his proposed budget for the year, local groups have joined a statewide movement speaking out against Cuomo's proposed tax breaks. Area activists say the tax breaks only benefit wealthy New York residents and that the proposed bank tax and property tax freeze would give the largest relief to wealthy homeowners and deprive resources for schools and local governments. They say New York ranks first in the nation when it comes to income inequality and it's time for a change. "You have about 700,000 households with incomes below $100,000 a year paying more than 10% of their income in property taxes. you've got 250,000 households with incomes below 50,000 that pay over 20% of their income in property taxes," said Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of New Yorkers For Fiscal Fairness. "Those are the people that need help, not the wealthy homeowner in a $2 million home," he said. Activists are calling for property tax relief through a circuit breaker system which would cap how much residents owe in property taxes based on income and if your property tax bill exceeds the cap, you would get a rebate from the senate. For more information on the movement, visit ny-inequality.org.

Legislators To Vote Thursday on Airport Study

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 02:29:07 +0000

The Broome County Legislature will vote Thursday on whether to approve funding for a study on increasing flights out of the Binghamton airport. Legislator Rob Keibel says they study would look at how the Binghamton area could benefit by having flights to more locations like Charlotte or Atlanta. He says they would also like to see if Binghamton could benefit from having Allegiant flights which he says are cheaper and offered in Elmira. "A Friday, Saturday flight out of Elmira, but you might have a Sunday Monday flight out of Broome so your not competing with each other," said Ronald Keibel, Broome County Legislator, Majority Leader. The study would cost 66-thousand dollars and be conducted by the private consulting firm, Sixel.

Johnson City Man Arrested for Criminal Impersonation

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 01:24:42 +0000

What started out as an investigation into a dispute on Main Street in Johnson City resulted in the arrest of 42-year-old Ramon Vargas of Johnson City for criminal possession of a forged instrument, resisting arrest, and criminal impersonation. Vargas allegedly gave police a false name and false I.D. and had several warrants out against him for his arrest. Police say he resisted arrest, and both Vargas and an officer were injured. After being treated and released from Wilson Hospital along with the officer, Vargas was sent to the Broome County Jail.