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State Assemblyman Billy Jones speaks about road salt legislation signed by the governor earlier this week at Berkeley Green in Saranac Lake December 4.
(Enterprise photo â Aaron Cerbone) The full details of New York’s 2021-22 budget are not yet fully known, but it includes new funding for environmental protection, including overuse in the Adirondacks. According to Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, the budget sets aside $1.55 million to address overuse in the Catskill and Adirondack parks. The budget also includes $300 million for the state Environmental Protection Fund and, if voters approve, $3 billion for the “Restore Mother Nature” Environmental Bond Act to fund environmental restoration projects. This bond act will be on the ballot in the November 2022 general election.
After 25 Years, North Country State Senator Betty Little Retires from Legislature, Moves on to ORDA By Susan Arbetter North Country PUBLISHED 7:02 PM ET Dec. 18, 2020 PUBLISHED 7:02 PM EST Dec. 18, 2020
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It’s the end of an era.
A former teacher and mother of six, Betty Little came to Albany from Queensbury in 1996 to serve in the Assembly when there were very few elected female lawmakers at the state capitol. Seven years later, she was elected to the Senate and served in that house for 18 years, rising to the rank of assistant minority leader for policy and administration.
Little became the go-to power-broker from the North Country, making a name for herself by spearheading efforts to lower property taxes and enabling businesses within the Blue Line of the Adirondack Park to balance the highs and lows of a tourism e