Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

SEACOMM WARNS OF LATEST SCAM COMING FROM 315 AREA CODE

Some members have alerted us that they are receiving text messages from 315-225-5584 asking you to call and give your credit card/debit card information. Even though this is from the 315 area code, this is NOT coming from SeaComm. Do not respond to the message via text or call the number provided. Never give out your card number, expiration date, or PIN by phone, text, or email. This scam might also be coming from multiple numbers including from the 858 area code. As a reminder, SeaComm will never call your home phone, cell phone, send a text or email you to confirm or retrieve personal information. Hang up and call SeaComm or local police. Please contact us with any questions.

HARPER GOVERNMENT BILL TARGETS CONTRABAND TOBACCO

OTTAWA, March 5, 2013 –Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, and Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, today announced increased efforts to keep contraband tobacco off Canadian markets. These changes will advance efforts to combat the trafficking and cross border smuggling of contraband tobacco by establishing a 50-officer RCMP Anti-Contraband Tobacco Force and by creating a new Criminal Code offence with mandatory penalties of imprisonment for repeat offenders.

The goal of the RCMP Anti-Contraband Tobacco Force is to have a measurable impact on reducing the contraband tobacco market and on combating organized criminal networks. The new 50-officer Anti-Contraband Tobacco Force will target organized crime groups engaged in the production and distribution of contraband tobacco, to reduce the contraband tobacco market, and combat organized criminal networks.

This Bill targets individuals whose activities involve the sale, offer of sale, possession for the purpose of sale, transportation, distribution or delivery of contraband tobacco including high volume amounts of contraband tobacco. The maximum penalty for a first offence would be 6 months imprisonment on summary conviction and 5 years imprisonment if prosecuted on indictment.

This Bill also proposes mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment for repeat offenders where a high volume of tobacco products is involved. The threshold to be considered “high volume” would be 10,000 cigarettes or 10 kilograms of other tobacco products.

The mandatory minimum penalties on indictment would be as follows:

90 days incarceration on a second conviction;

180 days incarceration on third conviction; and

2 years less a day on subsequent convictions.

SPEAKER SILVER ANNOUNCES ASSEMBLY EXPECTED TO PASS $9 MINIMUM WAGE, INDEXING WILL PROTECT LOW WAGE EARNERS FROM FUTURE WAGE EROSION

Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright joined with Labor Committee Chair Carl E. Heastie and members of the Assembly Majority to announce plans to pass legislation (A.38a) today to raise the minimum wage in New York to $9 an hour. The legislation includes indexing, which will tie future increases to inflation.

The minimum wage in New York State has increased only ten cents in the last six years. It has remained stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009. At this rate, a full-time worker is earning just over $15,000 a year. This salary is so low that most full-time employees supporting a family on minimum wage are eligible for taxpayer-funded public assistance programs.

Through the course of 2012, several public opinion polls showed increasing support to raise the minimum wage. In January, a Quinnipiac University poll showed that more than 80 percent of New Yorkers support an increase.

The legislation calls for the minimum wage to increase to $9 an hour in January of 2014. Beginning in 2015, the minimum wage will be indexed, requiring an increase each year to adjust for inflation according to the Consumer Price Index. The measure will also set wages for food service workers who receive tips at $6.21.

DEC ANNOUNCES FALCONRY, WILDLIFEREHABILITATOR AND LEASHED TRACKING DOG EXAMINATIONS

Examinations for individuals seeking an apprentice license to practice the sport of falconry, to become a licensed volunteer wildlife rehabilitator or those interested in obtaining a license to use leashed tracking dogs to find wounded or injured big game animals are scheduled for Friday, April 19. The exams will run from 10:00 a.m. to noon at DEC Regional offices across the state (exams will be offered from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Avon Office, Region 8). The list of Regional Offices can be found on the DEC website. The deadline for registering to take any of these exams is April 5.

To apply for any of these exams, contact DEC’s Special Licenses Unit by calling 518-402-8985 or by Website: http://www.dec.ny.gov.