FINGER LAKES--In the biggest change to happen for making telephone calls in years, starting Oct. 24 Southern Tier and Finger Lakes residents who use a 607 area code will join dozens of other area codes in the nation that will be required to dial the full 10 digit phone number for local calls. This means instead of just being able to dial a seven-digit phone number for calls within the same area code, residents will now need in most instances to dial "1" and "607" before the seven-digit number is entered.

YATES COUNTY--The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation held two public comment hearings Wednesday, Oct. 13 regarding permit renewal applications for Greenidge Generation on Seneca Lake. The facility is a primarily natural gas-fired plant, with a generating capacity of approximately 107 megawatts. In 2020, Greenidge began using power created onsite to power cryptocurrency mining computers and has expanded that operation since then.

WATKINS GLEN--The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce and the Schuyler County Tourism Promotion Agency Board of Directors are pleased to announce the appointment of Nigar Hale as executive director, effective Nov. 1, 2021. Hale will succeed Michael Hardy, who is resigning at year-end. "Nigar is a positive and energetic leader with strong credentials," said Hardy. "I am thrilled to pass the baton to Nigar and to watch and support her as she makes strategic contributions to the positive momentum we're currently experiencing. Her expertise and collaborative spirit will help to further solidify the Chamber's commitment to advancing business and tourism and supporting our members."

SCHUYLER COUNTY--In a sign that not only does the economic recovery from the COVID pause continue but that Schuyler's goal to become a year-round tourist destination has resumed full steam, a number of winter events have been approved for this year. With the Holiday Fair, Village Christmas and Ringing in the New Year residents throughout the region will have plenty of reasons to visit this winter.

ALBANY (AP) -- New York is seeing a surge in revenues this year following a tax increase on the state's highest-earning people and businesses. New York ended September with a balance of about $20 billion in the main operating fund, which is where most state revenues go. That's up from $15 billion in September 2020, $9 billion in September 2019 and $6.4 billion in September 2018.

WATKINS GLEN--The Watkins Glen board of trustees decided to not oppose the sale of marijuana in the village during the Tuesday, Oct. 5 meeting, and will automatically be opted-in following the Dec. 31 state deadline. While no vote was taken, Mayor Luke Leszyk said the village has decided to automatically be opted-in and will limit where it can be sold through zoning. "So we had a consensus with the board and I asked every board member if they wanted to opt-out, that way we could have a vote (if even one of them did)," Leszyk said. "But no one on the board was interested in opting out. So this means the village is in."

NEW YORK STATE--When voters go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 2, in addition to the number of local and regional offices to be filled, are state-wide propositions on a number of issues. There will be five proposals for citizens to weigh in on.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Tuesday that New York must continue to allow health care workers to seek exemptions from a statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds as a lawsuit challenging the requirement proceeds. Judge David Hurd in Utica had issued a temporary restraining order a month ago after 17 doctors, nurses and other health professionals claimed in a lawsuit that their rights would be violated with a vaccine mandate that disallowed the exemptions.

STARKEY--The town of Starkey will be holding a public hearing on a proposed new wastewater treatment system law, Thursday, Nov. 4. The regulations, which are posted online in draft form, have 19 pages of definitions, regulations and remediates for septic systems under the jurisdiction of the town.

FINGER LAKES--In an effort to better inform the public about the Seneca-Keuka Watershed Nine Element Plan, the planning group held a Zoom meeting Thursday, Oct. 7 to detail what they are doing and why. The purpose of a Nine Element Plan is to engage key stakeholders within a watershed to engage in planning on how to identify restoration and protection strategies to address the water quality issues and concerns. One of the goals is to address non-point source pollution or runoff that can cause adverse conditions in the lake.

YATES COUNTY-The combined Penn Yan-Dundee varsity football team saw their game last Friday declared a no contest and their upcoming game this week was moved to Monday due to a lack of players as a result of quarantining related to COVID-19 protocols.

WATKINS GLEN--The Watkins Glen board of trustees voted to again extend the short-term rental moratorium, with the expectation of the new zoning regulations on the way, during the Tuesday, Sept. 21 meeting. While there was no specific end date for the moratorium, Mayor Luke Leszyk said once the new zoning regulations are adopted the moratorium will end.

YATES COUNTY--The office of U.S. Congressman Tom Reed announced Yates County will receive a $195,227 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant provided through the Great Lakes Commission. The grant has been designated for the Sediment and Nutrient Reduction in the Headwaters of the Oswego River Watershed, Yates County Soil and Water Conservation District.

DEWITT/ELMIRA--Community Bank, N.A. and Elmira Savings Bank have announced they will merge in the first quarter of 2022, pending customary regulatory and shareholder approval. The merger will expand Community Bank's footprint by adding branches across the Central New York and Southern Tier regions.

ALBANY (AP) -- Former New York City Health Commissioner Mary Bassett will become the top health official in the state as it seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. Bassett will replace outgoing state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, a key figure in former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pandemic response. Zucker has been criticized over his handling of pandemic, especially in relation to nursing homes.

MONTOUR FALLS--Despite the prospect of colder weather on the horizon, residents of Schuyler County will be able to celebrate the fall season at the Falls Harvest Festival in Montour Falls Saturday, Oct. 2. Like most events in the region, the Harvest Festival is coming back after a year off, and organizers are eager for visitors to return to Main Street.

FINGER LAKES--Towns and villages across the Finger Lakes have until Dec. 31 to grapple with the issue of whether or not they would like to allow the sale of marijuana within their municipality. To help make their decision some villages, like Penn Yan and Odessa, have held meetings to gauge what the public's opinion on the matter is.

FINGER LAKES--According to the office of New York Senator Charles Schumer, the long-held local suspicion that this has been one of the worst mosquito seasons in memory might in fact be accurate. Needing only a bottle cap full of water to complete their life cycle, mosquitoes have been busy taking advantage of the region's hot and wet summer.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Oct. 20 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Oct. 13 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Oct. 6 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Sept. 29 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Sept. 22 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Sept. 15 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the Sept. 8 newspapers.

WATKINS GLEN (AP) -- Kyle Larson took another step toward a regular-season NASCAR Cup title. Chase Elliott lamented a race that he let get away. Larson gained the lead from Martin Truex Jr. during green flag pit stops in the final stage Sunday, built a big lead and kept his hard-charging Hendrick Motorsports teammate at bay over the final laps to win at Watkins Glen International.

FINGER LAKES--The United Southern Tier Aquatics team have won a 2021 AAU National Champions after they beat out Team Florida and Team New England at the Junior Olympic Championships in Houston, Texas. The margin of victory was by less than 150 with the team consisting of swimmers from Watkins Glen to Syracuse.

WATKINS GLEN--After a regularly scheduled two-week break in the season schedule, NASCAR is now ready to take on the twists and turns of the road course at Watkins Glen International. The racing weekend will get underway on Friday, Aug. 6 and continue through Sunday, Aug. 8 with the running of the 90-lap Go Bowling at The Glen.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan and Hammondsport. These results appeared in the June 23 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the June 16 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the June 9 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Watkins Glen, Odessa-Montour, Penn Yan, Dundee and Hammondsport. These results appeared in the June 2 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the May 26 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Dundee, Penn Yan, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the May 19 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan, Dundee, Hammondsport, Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the May 12 newspapers.

FINGER LAKES--Please click the 'Read More...' link to see the weekly sports results for Penn Yan and Odessa-Montour. These results appeared in the May 5 newspapers.