Good morning. Happy 2nd Day of Spring!
And no, I’m not sure when I’m going to stop counting the days of Spring. So far it isn’t getting old for me, but it’s more of a hopeful exercise – like if I acknowledge Spring enough, it will actually hurry up and act like it’s here.
I mean, things are looking up in the weather department. It will be in the low 50s today and even perhaps hit 60 degrees tomorrow. But when I look into the future I see…SNOW? WTF. Let’s not discuss, shall we?
Let’s focus on happier topics, like dogs. ( I see you, colleague of mine who is reading this and shaking his head over my weakness for all things cute and furry. Yes, I am ruining my hard-ass reputation, I know).
Anyway, if you’ve been here for a hot second you know that I am a most devoted dog mom. Maybe a little too devoted, if you ask my other half.
Dogs, if you’ve had one, are notorious for eating things they shouldn’t – like socks and toys and chocolate and other dogs’ poop.
And then they either puke it all up or don’t, in which case you have to rush them off to the emergency vet, where just entering the door starts starts a running tally that upon departure results in a bill the size of a small island nation’s annual budget.
Worth every penny, in my opinion.
If you’ve been here for more than a hot second, you’ll no doubt recall that when my second dog, Mannix (AKA Manny the Moo, and Monster Man, and Mr. Moo and Moochie…well, you get the idea), was cannabis poisoned as a puppy. It was one of the scariest days I can remember as a dog owner.
Of course, I rushed him to the vet, convinced he was having a seizure, and I got a lecture upon arrival for being irresponsible with my stash, which I most certainly was not. I prefer my THC in edible form, thanks, and I keep that locked away in a very high cabinet. Manny ate a roach that someone carelessly flicked onto the ground for some unsuspecting vacuum cleaner of a puppy to find.
To be fair, the vet was understandably frustrated because my wobbling, puking, and stoned-out-of-his-gourd dog wasn’t the first he had seen that week, or maybe even that day.
In fact, more and more dogs are getting sick from consuming weed now that it’s legal for recreational use (for consumption and in very limited cases for sale, though you wouldn’t know it from all the illicit dispensaries around…but that’s a post for another day).
As per this Feb. 13, 2023 report in The New York Times:
In the past six years, there’s been a more than 400 percent increase in calls about marijuana poisoning to the Pet Poison Helpline, a 24-hour animal poison control center — with most reported in New York and California. Last year, the A.S.P.C.A.’s Animal Poison Control hotline fielded nearly 7,000 calls for marijuana toxicity, an 11 percent increase from the previous year.
Here’s where I get up on my soapbox. As I’ve said before, and will say many more times than I can count, I DO NOT CARE if you are smoking cannabis, or where you’re smoking cannabis, as long as you’re of legal age to do so and are not bothering or endangering anyone else with your habits.
But I DO take issue with folks who do not responsibly and appropriately dispose of their roaches – or other cannabis-related paraphernalia to make sure that unsuspecting doggos, or children, or other innocents don’t accidentally happen upon it.
Sadly, though, the world being what it is, the responsibility for keeping the furbabies safe falls mostly to the owner. The best you can do it educate yourself about what is and isn’t dangerous for pups (or other animal friends, or human babies (?!)), and also what to do if something harmful does get ingested.
For 46 years, the third week in March (the 20th through the 26th in 2023) has been designated as National Poison Prevention Week by U.S. Public Law 87-319.
It’s also National Animal Poison Prevention Week, because awareness can – and SHOULD – extend to substances dangerous to pets. That can include something as seemingly innocuous as a single grape or raisin, as well as hand sanitizer (accounting for a 413% increase in pet poisonings from March 2020 to February 2021, according to the Pet Poison Helpline), yeast (222%), and coffee (207%).
The best favor you can do for your furry friend is to NOT give them people food, as a rule of thumb, no matter how much they might beg for it and how harmless a potato chip here or there might seem. Keep them safe, healthy, and slim (pet obesity, as we’ve discussed here before, is a particular problem), and they’ll stick around a lot longer.
Because the real tragedy of having a dog and getting used to the unconditional love and support they offer is the fact that they are with us for such a short period of time. I’m not sure whose decision that was, but I’m mad at them. Very mad.
We already dispensed with the weather, so on to the main attraction…
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden issued his first veto on a resolution to overturn a retirement investment rule allowing managers of retirement funds to consider the impact of climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors when picking investments.
The veto was expected, after the Biden administration fought GOP-led efforts to pass the rollback three weeks ago. Three Democratic voted “yes,” including Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who are up for reelection in 2024.
Biden argued the bill was overly influenced by “MAGA Republicans.” GOP lawmakers argue environmental and social corporate governance (ESG) is a measure of a corporation’s loyalty to “woke” cultural movements and should not be taken into account.
Biden signed a bill that requires declassification of information related to the origins of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, which was unanimously passed by the House and Senate earlier this month, the White House said.
The push to make public classified information on the origins of the pandemic comes after the Energy Department concluded with “low confidence” that the virus is likely the result of an accidental lab leak in China.
“We need to get to the bottom of Covid-19’s origins … including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Biden said in a statement. “In implementing this legislation, my administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible.
In his statement, the president noted that in 2021 he directed the Intelligence Community to “use every tool at its disposal” to figure out where the virus that sparked the global pandemic originated from, and he said that that work is “ongoing.”
Biden will honor actors, artists, authors, musicians and scholars today with the federal government’s highest awards for contributions to the arts and humanities.
Conservative South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham bet former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) $20 that former President Donald Trump will beat Biden in the 2024 presidential election last night during an interview on “The Daily Show.”
The percentage of Iowans who approve of Biden’s job performance has fallen slightly since last year, a new Des Moines Register Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s stated reluctance to consider the political ramifications of his office’s decisions has not quelled the storm brewing around him: He now appears poised to become the first prosecutor to indict a former president.
Progressive policies pushed by Bragg have made him a convenient target for Trump, who has a history of claiming bias by those investigating him.
The Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s role in a hush-money payment to a porn star heard yesterday from what is likely to be its last witness, while law-enforcement officials planned for a potential indictment of the former president as soon as this week.
Republicans’ defense of Trump has taken a surprising twist: They’re threatening to defund the prosecutor.
Breaking his silence on Trump’s legal troubles, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Bragg, who is pursuing charges against the former president and vowed his office would not be involved if the matter trickles into Trump’s adopted home state.
The Florida governor, who had refrained for days from weighing in on the potential indictment of his likely 2024 rival, accused the Manhattan district attorney of political motivations.
The NYPD is stepping up security and scouring social media for threats as the city braces for protests over Trump’s potential criminal indictment — including an expected “car caravan” of Trump supporters who plan to come in from Long Island today.
Trump’s calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Atlanta-area prosecutors are considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
In a 483-page filing, Trump’s attorney Drew Findling urged a state court in Georgia to prohibit an Atlanta-area district attorney there from filing charges related to Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.
Americans took fewer steps during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and they still haven’t gotten their mojo back, a new study found.
The magnitude and quality of a key immune cell’s response to vaccination with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were considerably lower in people with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to people without prior infection, a study has found.
For three years, the New York governor’s compiled and released daily updates on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, deaths and, later on, vaccinations. That reporting is set to be scaled back this month.
The General Budget Conference Committee, known colloquially as “The Mothership” in Albany parlance, held its first meeting yesterday, officially kicking off budget negotiations for the fiscal year that starts April 1.
A debate over the extent to which New York’s criminal justice laws should be changed — balanced against concerns over crime and public safety — is once again dominating the budget negotiations in Albany.
Lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are at odds over whether to raise taxes on the wealthy in this year’s budget.
Both houses of the New York state Legislature are rejecting a proposal from Hochul that would require hospitals be paid within days of ordering a treatment or test for a patient.
Dozens of groups are urging New York lawmakers to back a provision in Hochul’s $227 billion budget plan meant to expand prescription drug price transparency measures.
New York lawmakers are backing a plan that would boost funding for an oversight program of the state’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities as budget negotiations enter their final two weeks before the April 1 deadline.
School meals should be free to all New York students regardless of their family’s income, lawmakers, educators and advocates insist.
Here’s how a socialist organizer, public defenders, union leaders and abortion rights activists worked together to oppose Hochul’s chief judge nominee, Hector LaSalle.
Close observers of the chief judge nomination process expect the Commission on Judicial Nomination to release a “shortlist” of seven potential nominees before the end of the month.
A lobbying group with apparent, but nondescript ties to the Democratic Governors Association is pushing a campaign to back key proposals made by Hochul in the final weeks of the state budget negotiations.
Splitting with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says embattled Queens Democratic Assemblyman Juan Ardila needs to step down following accusations of sexual assault from two women.
New York’s more than 81,000 volunteer firefighters save taxpayers an estimated $3.8 billion a year in wages and benefits at a time when their ranks are dwindling, according to a study released by the Firefighters Association of the State of New York.
New York is eager to move away from fossil fuels. Customers, though, will feel the switch in their wallets.
State Democratic leaders do not agree on bail, charter schools, or housing ahead of the April 1 state budget deadline — but they appear to be on board with spending another $1 billion in taxpayer money on questionable economic development programs.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on a handful of lawsuits that argue the Concealed Carry Improvement Act violates New Yorkers’ 2nd Amendment rights.
So far, not a single one of the individuals awarded a “Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary” (CAURD) license to sell adult-use cannabis who want to open on their own have done so.
Cannabis insiders are reacting to a new lawsuit that claims New York’s social equity program for fledgling retailers is unconstitutional and is allowing the illicit market to thrive.
Mayor Eric Adams kicked off a new “We Love New York City” campaign in hopes of fostering and embracing the city’s bounce back from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which killed nearly 80,000 New Yorkers.
The privately funded $20 million, privately-funded “We ♥ NYC” ad campaign is aimed at boosting tourism and civic engagement to bring the city back to its pre-COVID vibe.
“This ‘We Love NYC’ campaign will help to capture that energy and preserve the city’s spirit by encouraging New Yorkers of every background to come together, get involved and make a positive change in their community,” Hochul said in a statement.
This being New York City, the initial reaction to the new campaign was marked more by disdain and ridicule.
Adams wants to build a half million homes over the next decade, but that will be impossible without new tax incentives meant to spur housing development—and maybe even changes to current building codes to allow for single-room occupancy units.
The New York City’s public library systems may be forced to freeze programs, make cuts, and restrict hours if Adams moves ahead with his push to cut their budgets by more than $36 million this year, according to damning City Council testimony.
New York City’s six major public defender groups are in such dire financial straits they fear they’ll collapse if they don’t see a $425 million funding increase in the next municipal budget.
Biden’s “porous” border policies are expected to cost New York taxpayers nearly $10 billion in 2023, a new watchdog report claims.
Four years after a prison closure in West Harlem, the state appears ready to move forward with redeveloping the site with affordable housing.
High turnover and the hiring of so-called traveling nurses at Jacobi Medical Center is likely costing the city tens of millions of dollars a year in additional costs, according to sources in the New York State Nurses Association, which represents staff at the hospital.
One of the Big Apple’s most recognizable pizza joints is jacking up the price of its famous $1 slice to $1.50 — breaking the hearts of poor college students everywhere.
St. Francis College’s athletic department is suddenly no more, after its board of trustees approved a strategic realignment plan that included the elimination of the college’s entire Division I athletics program after the conclusion of the 2023 spring semester.
The Empire State ranked at the very bottom in terms of affordability fore retirees, and 46th overall when factoring in quality of life and healthcare, according to a report by WalletHub comparing all 50 states.
Westchester County officials have released more details about the car crash that killed five children Sunday morning on the Hutchinson River Parkway — including the names of the deceased and that the 16-year-old driver did not have a license or permit.
The assault charge against University at Albany men’s basketball coach Dwayne Killings will be dismissed in one year pending his completion of a ‘corrective thinking’ program.
When the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany filed for Chapter 11, it noted that its outstanding litigation with state AG Letitia James and others over the collapse of the St. Clare’s Hospital pension plan is not the reason why it sought bankruptcy protection.
James announced a settlement with the owner of a Schenectady-based medical transport company that was found to have billed Medicaid at least $400,000 for transportation services that were not provided.
FBI agents began asking questions last year about the town of Wallkill’s financial practices, which are also the subject of a state audit delving into years of apparent fiscal irregularities in this small Orange County community.
After a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is bringing back its micro-grant program for the Mt. Ida neighborhood.
Law enforcement and public health officials are warning of the potential for an incoming wave of xylazine in Albany, as the often-lethal additive spreads from drug supply markets in major Northeast cities to regions in upstate New York.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that cases of Candida auris, or C. auris — a potentially deadly and drug-resistant fungal infection — are on the rise at U.S. health care facilities.
New CDC data published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine showed that the number of infections has grown since it was first detected in the U.S. in 2013. The rate has increased rapidly in recent years, however.
Climate Armageddon is just around the corner, the United Nations said in its starkest warning yet about environmental destruction — but it’s not too late to stave it off, the body added.
Amazon said it would cut 9,000 more corporate jobs across units that include its profitable cloud-computing and ad businesses, a sign the company’s cost-cutting is extending into all aspects of its operations as technology giants continue to slash spending.
