Education
The Buffalo News reports that new standards coming from the state will institute higher standards for math for younger students:
The new kindergarten math standard will build on the instruction of basic math and counting concepts. The new standard will seek to develop understanding of ordinal numbers -- first, second, third, etc., recognize and identify coins and use other methods that had been taught in later grades. No new math standards were recommended for second through 12th grades.
There are also changes to literature standards in the works – OMG!
Meanwhile the Post-Standard reports that the Syracuse school board has given the OK to dividing a middle school into male and female classes, citing research that shows students thriving in gender separated classrooms.
Economic development
The Daily News is reporting that the Cuomo administration is having some trouble finding someone to take over Empire State Development, New York's economic development corporation:
"No one has turned us down," Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto insisted. "We are restructuring the agency, and that must obviously be done before we fill any positions because you can't fill a position that doesn't exist," he said. Albany insiders aren't buying that argument. "They're trying to put their best face on it," one source said. "It's a hard environment to get people into public service."
Reinventing ITT
ITT Corp. (based in Westchester, Rochester and Seneca Falls) is splitting into three firms. Defense and information systems divisions will become one firm, water technology will become another, and the Goulds Pumps division will concentrate on "industrial processes and motion controls," according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
Rate hike reduced
The Post-Standard reports that the state's Public Service Commission is likely to vote for a rate hike for utility National Grid on January 20. The good news for consumers? The deal they're set to approve comes in at a third of what National Grid wanted, meaning a rate increase of $115 million - not the $391 million originally requested. That means rates for customers should stay flat over the next year.
Hydrofracking leases re-upped
A Norwegian gas company is claiming "force majeure" - an major unforeseen event - to extend gas leases in the Southern Tier. The force in question is former Governor David Paterson's moratorium on hydrofracking, reports the Press & Sun-Bulletin:
A legal clause found in most oil and gas leases, force majeure allows a contract to be extended if an unforeseen event, such as a natural disaster or a new regulation, prevents the terms from being followed by either party. The company holds gas rights on roughly 180,000 acres in New York state and has a stake in a number of current drilling operations in the central portion of the state, mainly the Herkimer formation beneath Chenango County.
Humans v. Robots I
Middle and high school students from across western New York Wednesday were pitted against each other in hand to hand combat. What kind? ROBOT BATTLE. The Buffalo News reports that the competition included "sumo-wrestling robots," racing handmade "cars," and "seismic design" - building models that can survive simulated earthquakes.
Humans v. Robots II
Remember Watson, who was going to take over the world after beating a batch of human geniuses at Jeopardy!? Well, turns out the machine had a fatal flaw - no way to buzz in. We were briefly safe, reports the Press & Sun-Bulletin, but now we're screwed again: IBM designers fixed it and now it’s set to play some practice rounds against humans today.
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