The Peru Gazette

Source: 9 dead after coronavirus outbreak at Liverpool memory care facility – syracuse.com

Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, and Vermont, is pleased to once again partner with JDRF (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) as they embark on their 50^th year to find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Now more than ever the onset of T1D can happen suddenly, impacting people of any age, affecting them every moment of every day, and it lasts a lifetime.  That’s why Tops is proud to join them in the fight as it launches its 27^th annual JDRF Campaign.  Since 1993 Tops has raised more than $13 million dollars for the cause with Tops fund-raising efforts putting the company in the top 10 fund-raisers in the country for many years.

This year Tops Annual JDRF Sneaker Campaign will begin Sunday, August 2 and run through Saturday, August 22, 2020.  The goal is to raise money to help fund research to help find a cure for T1D.  The paper sneaker, which was designed by a Tops associate back in 1993 and is now widely used nationally as well as internally in JDRF fundraising campaigns, will be sold at Tops registers for a $1.00 donation.

Based on the latest reporting from the CDC, approximately 1.6 million people are affected by T1D in the United States.  That is an increase of 30% in just two years, with medical expenses for those with T1D being three times higher than for people without diabetes.

“Over the years in working closely with our partners at JDRF we have seen first-hand the important role this organization plays in nearly every major advancement for diabetes.  Whether it be in the form of drug, device, or cell therapy, made in T1D in the last 50 years, JDRF is the leading nonprofit fighting to find cures for T1D and improve the lives of those living with the disease today” said Frank Curci, chairman of the board and chief executive officer for Tops Friendly Markets.

Tops Friendly Markets fully believes that advocacy for those with T1D is paramount to help drive advances to both cure the disease and help keep them healthy until cures are found.  There are over 80 autoimmune diseases and zero have been cured. Let’s make T1D the first.

Source: City & State Coronavirus Update

Source: Saratoga County reports ‘troubling increase’ in coronavirus cases among young adults

Important Census Update: The Census Bureau will begin emailing households in low-responding areas to encourage them to respond to the 2020 Census. Millions of emails will be sent this week and then grow in numbers and continue into September. These emails supplement a final campaign reminding people to respond to the 2020 Census on their own, as census takers begin asking households to respond to the census. The email messages will come from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov. Read more here.

If you have not already, be sure to fill out your 2020 Census. The census determines how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into our communities, including NY-21, which will directly fund our police departments, firefighters, schools and more. In mid-April, the Census Bureau began mailing the paper questionnaire to homes that have not yet responded online or by phone. If you receive mail through a P.O. Box, the Census Bureau will not be able to send you a response form, as they require your physical address to count you at the place where you live. Only a complete street address will help the Bureau accurately count you in the right place. If you cannot receive mail at your home, a Census Bureau worker may deliver a questionnaire, leave information about responding, or interview you. You can complete the census online at my2020census.gov. You can also call the Census Bureau at (844)-330-2020. The U.S. Census Bureau is bound by law to keep all of your reported information confidential. Visit my website here for more information.

Source: String of racist acts across the North Country prompts hard questions for communities | NCPR News

Source: Essex County DA says she never saw final police report on Elizabethtown incident | NCPR News

Source: North Syracuse school district releases fall reopening plan: How will it work? – syracuse.com

Source: The Plan for Imperial Dam – Mountain Lake PBS

Source: Dan Berggren’s live performance reflects on Adirondack life. – Mountain Lake PBS

* New York’s budget crisis means funding consequences for schools, local governments and hospitals, and now that list is growing. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that the state will postpone a $3 billion environmental bond act that was set to appear on the ballot this November for at least one year. If passed, the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act would have funded a number of environmental projects aimed at goals like improving the quality of drinking water.

Source: City & State Coronavirus Update

Source: New York spent millions on medical equipment that was never used

Here are today’s Clinton County COVID-19 case counts.

CCHD: As many of us are using hand sanitizer more frequently, we want to make you aware of a recent FDA warning on hand sanitizer. The FDA is warning consumers and health care providers that the agency has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination. Methanol, or wood alcohol, is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested.

Source: GDP Drops At 32.9% Rate, The Worst U.S. Contraction Ever : Coronavirus Live Updates : NPR

Source: Catholic, private schools in Central NY expect to bring all students back into classrooms every day – syracuse.com

Source: Prison visits to resume | Coronavirus | pressrepublican.com

Source: Backcountry magic – – The Adirondack Almanack

     Pew Ranks Fund as Nation’s Second Best Funded

Fiduciary Review Gives Fund Management High Marks

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) had a -2.68 percent return on investments in the state fiscal year (SFY) that ended on March 31, 2020, reflecting a slight decrease as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fund ended its fiscal year during the early outbreak of the pandemic in the United States with a value of $194.3 billion. Globally, assets swiftly recovered in the second quarter of 2020.

“Despite very solid returns through February, the coronavirus sent markets into a tailspin just as we were closing the books on our fiscal year,” DiNapoli said. “The Fund has already recovered much of those losses, but volatility and uncertainty will persist until our public health crisis is resolved. Fortunately, the state’s pension fund entered this crisis as one of the strongest in the nation, and remains well-positioned to weather these challenging times and provide retirement security for our members for years to come.”

In June, the Fund was ranked by Pew Charitable Trusts as the second best-funded pension fund in the nation with a funding ratio of 98 percent, based on 2018 data. An excellent funding ratio means the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) has the funds on hand to provide retirement security to its more than one million active state and local government employees, retirees and their beneficiaries. The Fund’s value reflects retirement and death benefits of $13.25 billion paid out during the fiscal year.

Employer contribution rates are determined by investment results over a multi-year period along with numerous other actuarial assumptions, including wage growth, inflation, age of retirement and mortality. Contribution rates are determined based on recommendations from the Actuary in September. Integral to the Fund’s strength have been state and local governments, who consistently pay their contributions in good times and bad.

Every three years the Fund is required to undergo an independent Fiduciary and Conflict of Interest Review. The Review, most recently performed by Duff & Phelps, examines the Fund to ensure it is well-governed and ethically and efficiently managed for the sole benefit of its members and beneficiaries.

The latest Review found that the Fund “has a strong governance framework with sound internal controls and is managed efficiently and effectively.” The report, which involved interviews with more than 30 staff, including Comptroller DiNapoli and the Fund’s Chief Investment Officer Anastasia Titarchuk, concluded that “The Fund is demonstrating a high level of operational transparency and in many cases appears to be in the vanguard of industry standards in this area.” Additionally, the report found “the Comptroller and the CRF Staff manage the Fund to the highest level of ethical standards.”

As of March 31, 2020, the Fund had 49.07 percent of its assets invested in publicly traded equities. The remaining Fund assets by allocation are invested in cash, bonds and mortgages (26.23 percent), private equity (11.19 percent), real estate and real assets (9.66 percent) and absolute return strategies and opportunistic alternatives (3.85 percent).

The Fund’s long-term expected rate of return is 6.8 percent. The Fund’s value and rate of return in prior years is available online: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/sites/default/files/press/documents/pdf/2020-07/nyscrf-values-chart-2020.pdf

Learn More

Review

Fiduciary and Conflict of Interest Review

Chart

New York state pension fund’s historical annual returns and value

About the New York State Common Retirement Fund 

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is the third largest public pension fund in the United States. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. The Fund has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation. The Fund’s fiscal year ends March 31.

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Find out how your government money is spent at Open Book New York. Track municipal spending, the state’s 170,000 contracts, billions in state payments and public authority data. Visit the Reading Room for contract FOIL requests, bid protest decisions and commonly requested data.

Source: Remaining furloughed Plattsburgh city employees will head back to work this week

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