LOCKPORT, N.Y. – Congresswoman Kathy Hochul today sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson requesting she expedite the determination of inclusion of the Eighteen Mile Creek Corridor on the EPA Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

“After nearly 25 years, the EPA recently proposed adding Eighteen Mile Creek to the Superfund National Priorities List as one of the nation’s most hazardous waste sites,” said Congresswoman Hochul.  “Now, four months after the conclusion of the comment period, it’s time for the EPA to end its review process and finally add Eighteen Mile to the Superfund List.  The people of Lockport have waited long enough for us to clean up this site.”

"Burst down those closets doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight."

Those are the words of Harvey Milk, a man who lived and breathed LGBT rights and equality. Milk was a pioneer.  To read further, go to Honoring Harvey Milk.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects on average 1 in 110 children in the U.S. While ASD doesn’t discriminate across, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, it seems that it is 4 to 5 times more likely to occur in boys than in girls. According to the CDC, roughly 730,000 people between the ages of 0 and 21 will have an ASD.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced recently that programs authorized under the original Combating Autism Act (CAA) will continue for an additional three years, promising help for children with autism and their parents. It is estimated that 48,000 children across NY suffer from autism. That’s more than pediatric autism, diabetes, and AIDS combined.

Late Monday night the U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation to combat autism. The House of Representatives had already passed the bill. It is now up to President Obama to sign the bill into law, something he has said he will do.