Month: May 2021

NY Announces Legacy City Access Program for Housing | LAW OF THE LAND

Posted by: Patricia Salkin | May 29, 2021

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On May 27, 2021 NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the new $25 million Legacy Cities initiative, a targeted effort to eradicate vacant properties in concentrated neighborhoods across Upstate New York and transform blighted structures into newly renovated, move-in ready homes. The renovated homes will help expand affordable homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents, specifically first-time buyers and households of color.
 
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What the ephemerality of the Web means for your hyperlinks – Columbia Journalism Review

By John Bowers, Clare Stanton, and Jonathan Zittrain

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 In a 2014 study, for example, researchers (including some on this team) found that nearly half of all hyperlinks in Supreme Court opinions led to content that had either changed since its original publication or disappeared from the internet.
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Our team of researchers at Harvard Law School has undertaken a project to gain insight into the extent and characteristics of journalistic linkrot and content drift. We examined hyperlinks in New York Times articles, starting with the launch of the Times website in 1996 up through mid-2019, developed on the basis of a data set provided to us by the Times. The substantial linkrot and content drift we found here reflect the inherent difficulties of long-term linking to pieces of a volatile Web.
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IRS reminds taxpayers of May 17 deadline for individual income tax returns: extensions, other help available | Internal Revenue Service

By Leonard E. Sienko, Jr. on May 21, 2021 4:58 PM | No Comments
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Anyone who needs more time to file can get it. The easiest way to do so is through the Free File link on IRS.gov. In a matter of minutes, anyone, regardless of income, can use this free service to electronically request an extension on Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Taxpayers are reminded, however, that an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. To get the extension, taxpayers must estimate their tax liability on this form and pay any amount due. Tax payments are generally due by the May 17 filing deadline, and taxpayers should pay as much as they can to avoid possible penalties and interest.

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Legal malpractice payouts are the highest on record, insurance broker reports–ABA JOURNAL

BY DEBRA CASSENS WEISS

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The largest number of claims stem from three practice areas: trusts and estates, business transactions, and corporate securities.

Claims for trusts and estates work are increasing as the baby boomer generation ages, and court decisions allow third parties to sue law firms for work on behalf of a client, according to Ames & Gough.

Ames & Gough recommends using an engagement letter that spells out whom the firm represents and what services will be performed, documenting communications, ensuring that the client has testamentary capacity, and maintaining a familiarity with fast-changing statutes and tax laws.

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New York caps the cost of broadband for low-income families | Engadget

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill requiring all internet service providers (ISPs) to offer $15 per month broadband for low-income users, as Bloomberg has reported. That will significantly lower the price for over 7 million people in 2.7 million households who qualify, as the current average monthly price in the state is $50.

ISPs must provide at least 25 Mbps download speeds or their current low-income internet speeds if those are greater. In centers like New York City where speeds tend to be faster, the bill caps the price of high-speed broadband over 200 Mbps at $20 per month.

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Emergency Broadband Benefit | Federal Communications Commission

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The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

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Find out who is eligible…

CHP: Backseat Tesla driver arrested | YourCentralValley.com

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OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The backseat driver of a Tesla has been arrested, according to the California Highway Patrol.

On Tuesday, authorities announced that 25-year-old Param Sharma had been arrested without incident. He has been booked into the Santa Rita Jail on two counts of reckless driving and disobeying a Peace Officers.

As the legal profession ages, dementia becomes an increasing concern–ABA Journal

BY DEBRA CASSENS WEISS

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There is no comprehensive information about how often ethics officials and lawyer assistance programs deal with lawyer dementia, according to Bloomberg Law. But the percentage of lawyers older than age 65–about 14%–is higher than the 7% of workers generally in that age group, suggesting that the problem could be worse in the legal profession.

And the numbers are growing. Over the last decade, the number of practicing lawyers older than age 65 has increased more than 50%.

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Lawyer who sued Chevron over Ecuador pollution faces N.Y. contempt trial | Reuters

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A disbarred American lawyer who spent more than two decades battling Chevron Corp (CVX.N) over pollution in the Ecuadorian rainforest attempted on Monday to fend off criminal contempt charges stemming from a lawsuit against him by the energy company.

Steven Donziger is on trial in Manhattan federal court for failing to turn over his computer, phones and other electronic devices and refusing court orders to surrender his passport in the civil case brought by Chevron.

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