ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York correctional officials have set tougher rules that would suspend inmates' visitation privileges for up to six months for a drug violation.
The revised rules, effective this week at the state's 60 prison facilities, also authorize indefinitely suspending visitors' privileges for misbehavior that gets them kicked out once.
According to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, previously inmates found by staff to commit a drug violation and sent to special housing were eligible for visits.
Violations by visitors typically have meant termination of that visit.
Corrections Commissioner Brian Fischer says the changes will enhance the visitation program while strengthening prison safety and security.
More than 54,000 inmates are incarcerated in the state prison system.
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Friday, May 24 2013 6:09 PM EDT2013-05-24 22:09:59 GMT
New York State has 17,000 highway bridges. There are some bad ones. The Tappan Zee Bridge, for example, is set to be replaced because of aging infrastructure.
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Friday, May 24 2013 12:50 PM EDT2013-05-24 16:50:33 GMT
County sheriffs have asked to join the federal lawsuit challenging New York's tough new gun restrictions, calling some provisions vague and impossible to enforce fairly.
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Thursday, May 23 2013 8:50 PM EDT2013-05-24 00:50:04 GMT
Heavy downpours sparked flash flooding across the tristate area on Thursday. The National Weather Service issued numerous weather alerts for many counties in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
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Wednesday, May 22 2013 10:08 PM EDT2013-05-23 02:08:29 GMT
A bus chaperone is accused of going on a profanity-laced tirade towards a group of 12 and 13-year-olds and a piece of candy may be what started the incident.
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Wednesday, May 22 2013 6:15 PM EDT2013-05-22 22:15:21 GMT
An Army soldier has been charged with secretly photographing and videotaping women at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, including in a bathroom.
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Wednesday, May 22 2013 8:10 AM EDT2013-05-22 12:10:21 GMT
Commuter rail service from Connecticut to New York City, along with Amtrak service between Boston and New York, was back on schedule Wednesday morning on one of the nation's oldest and most heavily traveled railways.
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Wednesday, May 22 2013 7:42 AM EDT2013-05-22 11:42:24 GMT
The National Weather Service is looking into whether a tornado touched down in a rural eastern New York county during a series of severe thunderstorms that rumbled across the upstate region.
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Tuesday, May 21 2013 5:25 PM EDT2013-05-21 21:25:20 GMT
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and St. Regis Mohawk tribal leaders have signed an agreement to ensure the Mohawks keep their exclusive casino territory in northern New York while paying the state $30 million in gambling
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