N.Y. Corrections Department Issues Ultimatum to Striking Officers
In exchange for the officers' returning to work, the state would place a 90-day pause on some provisions of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, known as HALT, which limits the use of solitary confinement for inmates, Daniel F. Martuscello III, commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said in a news conference Thursday night.
The department will also create a committee to study the law, which many corrections officers say has made their jobs more dangerous and difficult.
Striking officers have also complained about staffing shortages and forced overtime, with some being required to work 24-hour shifts. The shifts of workers who return to duty on Friday will be limited to 12 hours, Mr. Martuscello said. When all workers are back in place and the prisons return to normal operations, he said, workers will not be forced to work shifts longer than eight hours.
Dozens of corrections officers and sergeants have been fired for participating in the illegal strikes, Jackie Bray, commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said Thursday evening. Others who refuse to return to work on Friday will also be fired, and will face possible disciplinary action, civil contempt charges or criminal prosecution, Ms. Bray said.
Those who return to work on Friday can avoid all of that, Ms. Bray said. Striking corrections officers and sergeants who already quit, who were fired, or who face contempt charges or other disciplinary actions will have their records swept clean and their jobs reinstated, but only if they accept the terms offered Thursday night.
'This deal will not be offered again,' Ms. Bray said. 'We want you back. We need you back. You need to come back to work tomorrow.'
The state's offer was authorized by Gov. Kathy Hochul, said Avi Small, a spokesman for the governor.
The deal offered Thursday did not include the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents prison guards. The schism between the union's leaders and members dates at least to Feb. 17, when corrections officers at two prisons declared a strike that was not authorized by their union. After the work action spread to nearly all the state's prisons, the union negotiated an agreement with the corrections department that would have ended the strikes on March 1.
Most officers ignored the agreement and continued to strike. In response, Mr. Martuscello said, he spent much of the last week traveling the state, speaking with strikers over the phone. He also ordered his deputies to go the picket lines and speak with workers directly. Those conversations informed the compromise offer, which Mr. Martuscello announced on Thursday.
Because that process excluded the union, union leaders said they would not sign on to the deal. That appeared to raise questions about whether the deal would be legally binding, even if striking officers did return to work on Friday.
'This agreement was not negotiated with NYSCOPBA — the legally recognized entity through which all negotiations must be conducted,' James Miller, a spokesman for the union, said in an email.
Governor Hochul deployed National Guard troops to staff the prisons and maintain order. At least nine prisoners have died during the strikes, including two men at Auburn Correctional Facility in central New York who did not receive needed medical treatment in time. At Sing Sing Correctional Facility, in the Hudson Valley, no one intervened as a man hanged himself in his cell.
Eleven corrections staff members were placed on administrative leave after the death on March 1 of Messiah Nantwi, 22, an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Marcy, N.Y. Nine prisoners interviewed by The New York Times said Mr. Nantwi had been brutally beaten by corrections officers. Their accounts could not be independently confirmed, and Thomas Mailey, a prisons spokesman, said the death was under investigation.
In some prisons, inmates went without hot food and showers because of the strikes. In others, they have missed court dates or have been confined in housing areas for more than a week.
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CBS News
29-07-2025
- CBS News
Delays in anti-drunken driving auto tech frustrate Illinois mom who lost son in crash
The mother of a McHenry, Illinois man who was killed by a drunken driver in 2018 is pushing for a technology in new cars that she said would have saved her son's life — and she is frustrated by delays in its implementation. Sheila Lockwood lost her 23-year-old son, Austin, to a drunken driver on June 10, 2018. Every single day since, Lockwood has been teaming up with stakeholders trying to make it harder for drunken drivers to get behind the wheel. "We know that there's technology that could stop this from happening," said Lockwood. In 2021, Lockwood was instrumental in helping get the HALT Act signed into law. The acronym stands for "Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving," and is named for Issam and Rima Abbas of the Detroit area and their three children — Ali, 13; Isabelle, 12; and Giselle, 7 — who were struck and killed by a wrong-way drunken driver on I-75 near Lexington, Kentucky, while returning from a Florida vacation in January 2019. The law requires a new federal regulation for anti-drunken driving technology to be installed in new cars. The technology can passively detect a drunk driver by the air he or she breathes out. It measures the ratio of carbon dioxide and alcohol to determine what a would-be driver's blood alcohol must be. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was joined by members of the auto insurance industry and the alcohol industry in advocating for the tech in new vehicles. "Anheuser-Busch is a huge supporter," said Lockwood. The target rollout year for the tech was 2026. But nearly four years later, the finish line has been pushed back — in part thanks to pushback from some lawmakers trying to repeal the requirement using another piece of legislation, the No Kill Switches in Cars Act. One lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) claimed the anti-DUI technology can be used to "restrict your travel or to track you without a warrant." "There's been a lot of false information out there," Lockwood said. "Nobody has the right to drive impaired." The new goal for implementation is 2030, and Lockwood said she is pushing to make sure that is the end of the delays. "We have been waiting now for four years," Lockwood said. "That's 40,000 lives we could have saved." CBS News Chicago reached out to several lawmakers trying to repeal the HALT Act for comment for this story, but had not heard back late Monday. Lockwood will be back in Washington, D.C., this September, pushing for the requirement finally to be implemented.
Indianapolis Star
28-07-2025
- Indianapolis Star
New Indiana IREAD law sparks parent concern as student retention set to rise
Parents are stressed, and kids are coming home crying. These are the emotions more families say they're experiencing this summer because of a new law that will likely mean more third graders are kept from progressing to the fourth grade. The law that is affecting this year's rising fourth graders will hold back students who do not pass the state's standardized early literacy test, or IREAD, by the end of the third grade and don't meet one of the mandated exemptions. Some parents were left confused this summer as their second- or third-graders were told they have to go to summer school to improve their reading due to the new law; others think holding them back will do more harm than good. One parent who spoke to IndyStar said that their rising third grader is dealing with stress and anxiety over passing the test, especially while trying to get the proper help for their severe dyslexia. 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Educational experts often cite third grade as a pivotal point in a student's life, where, if foundational reading skills aren't mastered, it could lead them to be academically behind for the rest of their lives. Final scores for this year's IREAD results won't be released until August, but schools are already anticipating the need to adjust staffing and classroom sizes as more students are held back. Indiana schools have historically had the authority to hold students back if they don't feel that they're ready to advance, but the state has been increasingly promoting students over the past decade, according to state data. According to the Indiana Department of Education's third-grade literacy data, in 2012, the state promoted just 4.7% of its third graders who didn't pass IREAD, but in 2023, that had grown to 17% being promoted. This trend also follows national data, where from 2000-2016, retention rates have been dropping. Wayne Township schools for the 2023-24 school year saw about 65% of its third graders pass IREAD, the third-worst proficiency rate among Marion County's 11 school districts. However, in the 2022-23 school year, they allowed 29% of third graders who didn't pass IREAD to continue to the fourth grade. Under the law passed last year, if a student meets one of these exemptions, they can move on to fourth grade: Some English language learning students will also get an exemption from being retained, at least for the next two school years. This year, House Bill 1499 was passed, which allows schools whose third-grade population is comprised of at least 50% English language learners can register those students as exempt from retention if they are unable to pass IREAD. However, this exemption will only last until the start of the 2027-28 school year. This could impact an estimated 550 third-grade English language learners across 25 public schools in Indiana, according to the bill's fiscal note. 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Hamilton Spectator
30-06-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Thousands march in Toronto Pride Parade to celebrate in the face of growing anti-diversity
Tens of thousands lined the streets for Toronto's Pride Parade on Sunday to feel represented in a celebration of love, identity and community — and to support an event reeling from the loss of corporate sponsors amid a global resurgence in anti-diversity politics. While some noted how this year's parade felt smaller, many spectators emphasized the healthy turnout was a statement in itself, highlighting the community's resilience in an echo of pride's origins as a protest movement. Confetti rained, whistles blew and rainbow flags rippled as a colourful mix of 2SLGBTQ+ community organizations, stilt-walkers and politicians — including Mayor Olivia Chow in a bright yellow dress — moved to the beat of pop anthems along Yonge Street. It was the first parade since the second election of U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump, who signed an executive order recognizing only two genders as one of the first actions after his January inauguration, continues to target transgender rights, in particular, while Canadians are also seeing new threats to gender-affirming care at home — including the growing court battle in Alberta over a law restricting care for trans youth . Pride balloons being marched down Yonge St ahead of the city's paramedics and ambulances. Asked if this year's parade felt especially meaningful, 28-year-old American Tatyanna Bray grew emotional, saying she grew up in a conservative environment where she had to hide her identity. Over the past year, Bray said, she's felt scared as rights have been stripped in her country. 'Being here with the people I chose as my chosen family makes me feel like I'm at home,' Bray said. Dressed in a black mini skirt and rainbow-coloured bandages, Bray chose to skip the local pride parade in New York State and instead flew to Canada on Friday. 'I love coming out here because the people are great, and everybody's so much nicer than like New York City Pride or Buffalo,' said Bray. As anti-diversity sentiment spreads across North America, corporations have been reducing Pride Toronto is grappling with a $900,000 funding shortfall after major sponsors like Nissan Canada, Adidas and Google pulled support just weeks before the event. Last year, Pride Toronto brought in $8 million in revenue, a majority of which came from corporations ; the organizations executive director Kojo Modeste has linked the pullout to the corporate backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the U.S. since Trump's election. Onlookers sitting on second-floor windows along Yonge Street catching a souvenir ball from below. Pamela Larocque, from Orangeville, said she felt the funding cuts and noticed how the parade was 'smaller.' Despite this, Larocque said she could still feel the community and togetherness. The 'loud' hate toward queer communities can feel 'very overwhelming' said Samantha Gisser, 22, donned in a striking red-fringed leotard and a matching cowboy hat. 'But then you come to a community event like this and you can see with your own eyes that there's also so much love.' Pride doesn't need sponsors to exist, added Marissa Adamou, 22, expressing her frustration at how 'corporate activism' is abandoning Pride. 'You see how they capitalize on it and when it can make them money, and then when it's no longer profitable, they turn away,' Adamou said. Last year, the parade was ended prematurely by a protest demonstration blocking the way. On Sunday, a group of about two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters instead marched along the parade route, chanting with megaphones, 'Free, free Palestine.' The demonstrators held up banners at Wellesley and Yonge Street, reading: 'Boycott corporate pride, cut ties with genocide and rebuild the people's pride.' (Larocque, who witnessed last year's disruption, said she was pleased the parade was able to continue — calling it 'a step forward.') A brief interruption to the parade by pro-Palestinian protestors. As in past years, this year's Pride Parade also drew many first-timers, with the crowd opening its arms to welcome them into an inclusive community. Half an hour before the parade began, 13-year-old Zach Andrews and his mother, Elizabeth Andrews, had already staked out a front-row spot near Bloor Street. Elizabeth told the Star that Zach, who uses they/them pronouns, came out as non-binary last year but has faced bullying at school; she said she hopes to show support here for them as well as for her other friends in the community. 'I wanted to find more people who are part of the community,' said Zach. 'Because I usually feel alone.' A person shows off their butterfly headdress. Zach, draped in a rainbow flag, added they felt a little nervous at their first parade but were looking forward to drawing inspiration from the costumes to express themselves better. Although the streets were packed shoulder to shoulder with people, four-year-old Charlie — dressed in a sparkly, colourful dress with wings — had a better view from the safety of her father Mathieu Osborne's arms. When Mathieu from Edmonton said this is the first Pride Parade he and his husband had brought their daughter to, Charlie chimed in to point out that she had seen a drag performance a few weeks earlier. Mathieu said some companies pulling support from this year's Pride Parade revealed who the 'fairweather friends' really are, adding that the more important issue is the growing threat to health care rights for trans people. Bubbles at the parade. 'I hope that Pride is gonna just continue going on as it always has, which is really, at the end of the day, a protest and visibility for people who are maybe not always able to feel like they're allowed to be themselves,' he said. Mathieu added that even if the parade grows smaller next year because of the lack of funding, it won't change its purpose — or the existence of 2SLGBTQ+ people. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
