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Colin Kinniburgh

@colinreports.bsky.social
3.5K followers 391 following 911 posts

Reporter covering climate and environment for New York Focus. Tips: colin@nysfocus.com, @colin.36 on Signal or DM for cell

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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 08/10/2026
Lobbying firm Brown & Weinraub’s committee allows its clients to route unlimited sums to support candidates who back their agendas.
nysfocus.com
Albany’s Top Lobbying Firm Starts Its Own Super PAC
Brown & Weinraub’s super PAC lets clients route unlimited sums to support New York candidates who back their agendas in Albany.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
In the span of 10 days this summer, there were two separate fuel truck crashes within ~15 miles of each other in Nassau County. One spilled 2,000 gallons of gasoline into a creek that flows into the Jamaica Bay. Is there any way this kind of thing could be avoided? (asking for a friend)
[Article screenshot]

12,000-gallon gasoline tanker overturns in Garden City, Long Island
[video still]
Officials say the leak was believed to be stopped with only 200 gallons of gasoline having spilled.
By Eyewitness News [WABC logo]
Monday, August 10, 2026

GARDEN CITY, Long Island (WABC) -- A 12,000-gallon gasoline tanker overturned during an accident on Long Island Monday night.

The Westbury Fire Department responded to a motor vehicle accident involving an overturned 12,000-gallon gasoline tanker at Old Country Road and Clinton Road in Garden City just after 8 p.m.Tanker spills about 2,000 gallons of fuel after overturning in Queens

[video still]
John Del Giorno has the latest from NewsCopter 7.
[WABC logo]
Wednesday, August 19, 2026

ROSEDALE, Queens (WABC) -- Crews had to clean up thousands of gallons of spilled gasoline after a tanker truck overturned on a Queens road on Wednesday morning.

The accident happened on Rockaway Boulevard in Rosedale just after 11 a.m.

Officials said the 18-wheeler was leaking about 2,000 gallons of fuel into the roadway, storm drains, and the canal, which leads to other channels.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 06/10/2026
BREAKING: For the first time in 10 months, the U.S. admitted a refugee who is not a white South African. In September, the U.S. admitted 3,386 white South Africans and two Afghans (in D.C.) In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 16,287 white South Africans, five Afghans, and nobody else.
rpc.state.gov
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 05/10/2026
"A series of deadly heat waves from May to August overwhelmed Germany’s healthcare and emergency response systems and led to an estimated 16,000 heat-related deaths during the summer, the most heat mortalities ever recorded in the highly developed country."
insideclimatenews.org
Mass Heat Wave Deaths in Europe Show Climate Extremes Are Outpacing Adaptation Efforts - Inside Climate News
As preparedness lags, many regions around the world could be overwhelmed by rising temperatures, climate experts warn.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"Gasoline-only cars fell below 50% of global new vehicle sales for the first time, as the Hormuz crisis and record fuel prices accelerated the shift toward EVs."
oilprice.com
Fuel Price Shock Pushes Global Gas Car Sales Below 50% for First Time | OilPrice.com
The share of gasoline cars in global vehicle sales fell below 50% for the first time ever as the Hormuz shock and the resulting record-high fuel prices accelerated the previously sluggish shift toward...
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
ICYMI: National Grid is pitching a “rate freeze” for its downstate customers. But critics say it’s a backdoor rate hike. Here’s what I found in the filings: nysfocus.com/2026/10/01/n...
nysfocus.com
How National Grid’s Gas Rate Freeze May Raise Bills
National Grid calls its plan a gas rate freeze, but critics say NYC and Long Island-area customers could pay more later.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Sliwa getting a flu shot: This could be very embarrassing. I’m supposed to be a tough guy, right? Mamdani: I can hold your hand. Sliwa: What happens if I faint? Mamdani: I got you. Doctor: You’re in great hands, literally. New Yorkers can find free flu shots and locations at nyc.gov/healthmap
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Global fuel subsidies may top $1 trillion this year — amid $100 crude, elevated borrowing costs and strained budgets. “.. we don’t see a very clear pathway out of the three-pronged crisis,” he said. @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
National Grid says they remain “confident in the merits of our rate stabilization proposal and welcome the Public Service Commission’s independent and comprehensive review.” A vote could well come this fall, even this month, so we’ll see where it all lands. For now, catch up here:
nysfocus.com
How National Grid’s Gas Rate Freeze May Raise Bills
National Grid calls its plan a gas rate freeze, but critics say NYC and Long Island-area customers could pay more later.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
There are signs that Governor Kathy Hochul’s Department of Public Service may have negotiated the deal in advance with National Grid, aiming to secure a speedy approval by the Public Service Commission. Hochul herself said her agency worked with the utility to do so.
There are signs that Hochul’s Department of Public Service privately negotiated the proposal in advance with National Grid, aiming to secure a speedy approval by the Public Service Commission. (The seven-member commission votes independently, but its chair is a member of Hochul’s administration and all members consult closely with agency staff.) In an initial statement on the proposal, Hochul herself said that National Grid worked with the agency to craft it. 
In a statement to New York Focus, a Department of Public Service spokesperson noted that it’s common for utilities to meet with agency staff before filing a proposal. “In this instance, as with other utilities, the Department engaged with National Grid to consider options to stabilize rates, including options that could defer the need to file a rate case,” the spokesperson wrote.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
One of the biggest concerns is about *how* National Grid has put this forward: not as a traditional rate case, which would take over a year and produce mountains of evidence, cross examination, etc, but as a much narrower proceeding that could be wrapped up in a few months, with much less scrutiny
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Jamie Van Nostrand, a longtime former utility lawyer and regulator, calls the plan a “scam.” “It just takes advantage of all this concern about energy affordability, and [they’re] pretending, ‘Oh, we’re going to do our part…. The ratepayers are still bearing all the pain.”
“The more I dug into the filing, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe they’re doing this,’” said Jamie Van Nostrand, policy director at the national nonprofit Future of Heat Initiative. A longtime former utility lawyer and regulator, Van Nostrand called National Grid’s plan a “scam” in a scathing July blog post. 
“It just takes advantage of all this concern about energy affordability, and [they’re] pretending, ‘Oh, we’re going to do our part,’” he told New York Focus. “The ratepayers are still bearing all the pain.”
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Mamdani initially called the proposal “an important step toward delivering much-needed relief” for gas customers. But his climate office now says it “will harm ratepayers and elevate utility costs over the medium and long term,” leaving “few controls on National Grid to keep costs low.”
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
ICYMI: National Grid is pitching a “rate freeze” for its downstate customers. But critics say it’s a backdoor rate hike. Here’s what I found in the filings: nysfocus.com/2026/10/01/n...
nysfocus.com
How National Grid’s Gas Rate Freeze May Raise Bills
National Grid calls its plan a gas rate freeze, but critics say NYC and Long Island-area customers could pay more later.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
NY landscapers and municipalities will be getting help going electric under a law Hochul signed the other day. buffalonews.com/news/local/a... It’s narrower than an earlier version of the bill she vetoed in 2022, which would have given rebates to everybody (throwback: nysfocus.com/2023/01/03/k...)
buffalonews.com
Landscapers could get help going electric under new state law
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law this week that will offer state incentives for commercial landscapers to purchase electric mowers and lawn tools instead of gasoline-powered equipment.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Seem to remember hearing about this idea somewhere… nysfocus.com/2025/03/10/n... Now California is doing it!
nysfocus.com
Utilities Spend Billions Replacing Gas Pipes. Is There a Better Way?
In many cases, electrifying homes is cheaper, according to one new study.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
California bill Newsom just signed: “any time the gas service line for an individual home needs to be replaced, the utility will ask that customer whether they’d like a bunch of money — likely between $10,000 and $15,000 in incentives — to electrify instead”
climatecoloredgoggles.com
Breaking: Newsom green-lights balcony solar
The governor finished strong on clean energy — with one big exception.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 01/10/2026
The utility says it wants to keep rates steady for an extra year. But critics see the proposal as a backdoor rate hike.
nysfocus.com
How National Grid’s Gas Rate Freeze May Raise Bills
National Grid calls its plan a gas rate freeze, but critics say NYC and Long Island-area customers could pay more later.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Another good piece on Fasulo, fresh from the indefatigable Marie French www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
An unlikely power player in the fight over solar on farmland
Alexandra Fasulo's attacks on New York solar have reached Washington and the governor's race. The state has struggled to counter her claims, even when they don't hold up.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Still catching up after being mostly tuned out of energy news this summer… This is a really well done profile by @alexhannaford.com heated.world/p/the-influe...
heated.world
The influencer teaching millions to fear solar
Alexandra Fasulo says she’s protecting farms and wildlife. How much of her rhetoric is actually true?
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵
Selfie taken by ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap and an orange T-shirt.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
chat is this good?
all construction dropping massively.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
👀
canarymedia.com
Dig Energy completes first project with novel geothermal drilling tech
The firm just wrapped work on a heating and cooling system for a Boston office. It says its rig makes drilling cheaper, quieter, and less water-intensive.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Ocean Parkway bout to get a whole lot of greener coops (potentially)
[screenshot]
Nearly 2,000 Co-ops Subject to Local Law 97 Likely Qualify for Renewed J-51 Program

Over 260,000 units will benefit from the expanded program, which now covers 100% of "reasonable costs" of renovations.

A map of New York City showing co-ops subject to Local Law 97 that are likely eligible for the expanded J-51 tax abatement.

[Map zoomed in on central/southern Brooklyn, showing cluster of green dots along Ocean Parkway]

Source: Green Co-op Council
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Worth noting also: NYC Council just today passed its own J-51 bill, formalizing the extension of the tax break for coop and condo upgrades legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationD...
legistar.council.nyc.gov
The New York City Council - File #: Int 1015-2026
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to abatement of taxation for alterations and improvements to certain multiple dwellings
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Great reporting here by Benjy
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 24/09/2026
A “grassroots” homeowners group leading the charge against Local Law 97 has deep ties to a powerful real estate industry association.
nysfocus.com
Who’s Behind the Push to Weaken NYC’s Climate Law?
A “grassroots” homeowners group leading the charge against Local Law 97 has deep ties to a powerful real estate industry association.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“Climate is treated … almost as if it’s a concern that some can afford to have while others have to deal with more immediate crises. The reality is that climate is an immediate crisis. And so our challenge is: how do we ensure that we are explaining that?” We’ll see if this continues
Hayes: What do you think it will take to convince more people to care about climate, especially in the voting booth? [...]

Mamdani: You know, it was maybe about five or six years ago there was an article that I read which was arguing that we need to reframe the climate crisis through the lens of PM2.5. We need to think about the climate crisis in terms of its impact on quality of life.

And to me, when you ask the question of what will it take, for too long it has felt like the way that climate is treated in public discourse is almost as if it's a concern that some can afford to have while others have to deal with more immediate crises. The reality is that climate is an immediate crisis. And so our challenge is: how do we ensure that we are explaining that? That when we're talking about this level of rainfall, it's not just a bad storm, it's not just a wet summer; this is the climate crisis.

So, to me, it is explaining that climate crisis in day-to-day quality-of-life impacts and also showing how it drives up the price of life, not only in terms of your ability to enjoy life or your ability to rid yourself of anxiety about what life will look like decades and centuries from now, but also recently we invested in the Bureau of Coastal Resilience here in New York City. We finally gave them the money they needed to have adequate levels of staffing so they could operationalize, to its fullest extent, a flood wall that they were building in Lower Manhattan.

And what stood out to me as I was having a conversation with these engineers — they pointed out — this flood wall doesn't just prevent flooding in the immediately surrounding areas; it also decreases the cost of insurance for those who live in that surrounding area.

Making that connection and relationship clear is critically important so that people understand that this is not a luxury concern. This is a primary concern that affects all of us already. And it's just a question of how we respond to it, not if we shou…
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Climate activists rallied to help Mamdani get elected, but I’ve heard more and more complain that he’s failing to use his platform to advance the issue at a time when it’s badly needed. At Climate Week, he’s sounding ready to put it back in the spotlight:
youtube.com
Mayor Mamdani Discusses AI, Energy and NYC’s Affordable Future at Climate Desk
YouTube video by NBC New York
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 21/09/2026
When Croton-on-Hudson’s youngest students returned to school this month, a familiar tool was missing from their desks: iPads. It’s part of a larger push by the community. “We want Croton to be famous for being a town that brought back childhood.”
nysfocus.com
This NYC Suburb Is Bringing Back Screen-Free Childhoods
The Croton-Harmon school district is scaling back ed tech in response to a community movement.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 18/09/2026
Four takeaways from the first event in our live lecture series, Focus On, featuring Assemblymember Alex Bores and author Garrison Lovely.
nysfocus.com
How New York Can Influence the Future of Artificial Intelligence
Assemblymember Alex Bores and author Author Garrison Lovely appeared on a panel hosted by New York Focus. Here are some highlights.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I'm back on the beat at @nysfocus.com! With a look at some questionable claims about data centers being thrown around in the NY-17 race. Have more data center tips? Hit me up: colin@nysfocus.com
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 16/09/2026
Congressmember Mike Lawler is seizing a new wedge against his Democratic challenger Cait Conley in their closely watched Hudson Valley race: data centers. But Lawler has avoided taking a clear position on their buildout in New York.
nysfocus.com
Lawler Hits Conley on Data Centers, Sidesteps His Own Stance
Republican Mike Lawler is attacking Cait Conley on data centers, but has declined to take positions on Hochul's moratorium and key local projects.
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 16/09/2026
New York’s piecemeal approach to funding lead pipe replacement means the safety of your drinking water may depend on your ZIP code.
nysfocus.com
In NY, Lead Pipe Replacement Is Free For Some, But Not All
New York's patchwork approach to lead pipe replacement leaves some homeowners facing bills of $10,000 or more while others pay nothing.
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 09/09/2026
New York’s biggest upstate cities are making room for bikes. Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany — three of which are headed by progressive mayors elected last November — are reshaping their streets to make cycling less dangerous and more practical.
nysfocus.com
Upstate New York is Building for Bikes
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany are starting to invest in safer streets for cyclists, advocates say.
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Brian Kahn @blkahn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Becoming increasingly convinced we’re not ready for what El Niño has in store this fall and winter, especially layered on top of global warming www.wired.com/story/2026-s...
“This is probably one of the larger, if not the largest, climate events—aside from long-term warming, which really isn't a singular event—that anybody alive is potentially ever experiencing,” he says. “That's a very big deal. And I think there’s certainly going to be dramatic outcomes from this.”
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 03/09/2026
“I have pretty much gone back to the way I was teaching when I first started,” said one Brooklyn teacher who's been in the profession for 25 years.
nysfocus.com
Meet the NY Teachers Ditching Screens
A low-tech comeback is underway in New York classrooms. Lawmakers want to take it statewide.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 01/09/2026
Like most states, New York doesn't have any enforceable heat protections for outdoor workers.
nysfocus.com
As Summers Get Hotter, New York Farmworkers Go Unprotected
New York farmworkers are pushing for stronger protections like the TEMP Act — which has stalled in Albany — as extreme heat intensifies.
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Justin Gerdes @justingerdes.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
"Eight of the biggest oil companies amassed profits of more than $90bn in just three months as the Iran conflict sent energy prices soaring and the emissions-fuelled climate crisis caused deadly heatwaves." www.theguardian.com/business/ng-... by Jillian Ambrose and @dpcarrington.bsky.social 🔌💡
theguardian.com
Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis
Iran conflict windfall over three months reignites calls for companies ‘cashing in on human misery’ to pay for environmental damage
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Reposted by Colin Kinniburgh
Jessy Edwards @jessyedwards.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A video taken Saturday shows former NYC Mayor Eric Adams in sales pitch mode in Wisconsin Rapids, as he's heckled by residents opposed to the data center he's trying to sell them on. "My name is Eric Adams," he begins, as the boos begin to rain down. "You belong in prison!" one attendee shouts.
hellgatenyc.com
Eric Adams Is Selling Data Centers in Wisconsin Now
The former mayor had a wild weekend, and other links to start your day.
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Colin Kinniburgh @colinreports.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
“The ability to have folks pick up the phone, that’s huge,” Adams said. “Part of it is, ‘OK, yes we want to see the product.’ But then another part of it is, ‘We never got a chance to say, thank you.’’” therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com
Eric Adams’ new job: real estate’s pitchman
The former mayor talks with The Real Deal’s Amir Korangy on Mamdani, the indictment and what he’s selling to the state of Nigeria.
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 02/08/2026
I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇
A graphic poster reads "We have a deal! The ProPublica Guild has reached a deal with ProPublica's management on our first contract and has voted to ratify it. Swipe for the highlights [pointing emoji].
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 29/07/2026
ICE and Border Patrol agents have arrested at least six people in a kind of slow-motion raid that has drawn little outcry but upended life for immigrants who work in this corner of western New York, where the Rochester suburbs give way to farmland.
nysfocus.com
Immigration Agents Are Picking Off These Tomato Plant Workers
ICE and Border Patrol are stalking a Sungrow greenhouse and packing facility 20 miles outside of Rochester, prompting workers to flee.
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 24/07/2026
Amazon supplied almost all the funding for a campaign presented as a coalition of New York workers, small businesses, and national carriers. The company's donations are by far the largest it has ever reported making to a lobbying effort in the state.
nysfocus.com
Amazon Bankrolled $5M Campaign Against NYC Delivery Bill
Amazon supplied almost all the funding for a campaign presented as a coalition of New York City workers, small businesses, and national carriers.
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 20/07/2026
Paraquat — a herbicide commonly used to kill broadleaf weeds and grasses in New York and across the US — is banned in more than 70 countries. In an upstate town one resident calls "Parkinson's Valley," farmers are demanding that New York follow suit.
nysfocus.com
The Herbicide Haunting a New York Farm Town
Paraquat is banned in more than 70 countries. In an upstate town one resident calls “Parkinson’s Valley,” farmers are demanding New York follow suit.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 18/07/2026
We didn't previously integrate wildfire-smoke costs into the supposed cost of climate change for the US, and it turns out to be bigger than all those other costs combined. Oops! Gosh I wonder if we're underestimating anything else. Probably shoulda done something about this. Ah well.
heatmap.news
What Worries Me Most About This Wildfire Smoke
We didn’t know days like this could happen. Then we learned how bad they really are.
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Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 06/07/2026
The cooling safety net that provides free air conditioners to New Yorkers across the state ran out of funding in June, before summer officially started and ahead of the state’s hottest months. It’s the earliest the money has ever run out.
nysfocus.com
Extreme Heat Is Rising. New York’s Cooling Aid Isn’t.
New York’s free air conditioner program ran out of funding before summer, even as extreme heat becomes a deadlier threat.
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