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Thursday, December 14, 2023 ~ Volume 69 ~ Issue Number 8 ~ $1.00
Referred Lines: Court Rules NY’s Congressional Map to Be Redrawn By Matt Meduri UpstateNYer (modified)
After months for a long-awaited decision, the New York Court of Appeals in a 4-3 vote has ruled that the congressional lines for New York must be redrawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) ahead of the 2024 elections. The development is the latest in the redistricting epoch in New York, as the process was one of the most eventful and controversial of almost any state’s process last year. After the 2020 Census, all states entered the redistricting process to alter congressional and state legislative lines to reflect population shifts. Some states’ processes are controlled entirely by the legislatures, while other states have entirely independent or bipartisan commissions that handle the maps. Other states have mixes of the two, while some states are at-large districts that do not require the process.
New York finds itself squarely in the center of that Venn Diagram, as the IRC is a feature of the state’s redistricting process, but the political parties still have a decent amount of leverage. New York’s IRC was one of the hallmarks of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) second term, in that voters approved a 2014 constitutional amendment to establish a ten-member panel to oversee the mapdrawing and redistricting processes. Two panelists are appointed by the State Senate Majority Leader and Temporary President, two are appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, two are appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and two are appointed by the Assembly Minority Leader. Continued on page 10
Turf vs Grass: Debates Resurface Ongoing debates about the use of turf in all levels of sports have been dominating conversations in sports medicine for years due to the number of injuries players suffer while on turf. Research and studies on whether or not turf fields are safe for young athletes lead many local school districts to weigh their options on the subject, ultimately coming to the conclusion the woes of turf fields do not outweigh its benefits. Turf, also known as synthetic or artificial grass, has been used commonly since the 1960s. It gained its popularity in the 1970s and 1980s when professional sports arenas began implementing turf fields to decrease the cost of maintenance and deterioration. Turf can withhold consistent high intensity play with ease, making it a first choice for commonly used fields. More recently, in the last two decades, turf has been added to almost every high school on Long Island. However, many don’t believe the lower cost of maintenance should come at the expense of players’ health. Concerns from athletes, parents, and coaches come from the basis that turf provides a much tougher surface. When players dig their cleats into such a surface, the force is not absorbed by turf. Instead, it is absorbed by the joints in lower extremities, like knees and ankles, and can cause injuries, the most common being anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or medial collateral ligament (MCL) tears. Nicole Posner, of Hauppauge, was only 16 when she tore her ACL playing defense for the Hauppauge Girls Varsity Soccer team. At almost 24 years old, she continues to suffer from residual pain of the injury. Posner explains that even everyday things can be difficult. “My knee is still not fully back to how it felt pre-injury, and I don’t think it will ever be. I have a lot of knee pain when running and climbing stairs.” Continued on page 3
FULL STORIES ON:
Local Spotlight: Elaine Faith Thompson Page 15
LI Senators Condemn Congestion Pricing Plan Page 20
‘Elves in Blue’ Visit Premm Page 24
Robert Druckenmiller Turf Field (Credit - Kaitlyn Foley)
By Kaitlyn Foley