Category: ESTA News

According to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, a single ride on the NYC Ferry will go up from $4 to $4.50 starting on the 9th. A 10-ride ticket will also go up from $27.50 to $29.

However, the half-price discount program currently in place for seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income passengers will continue to operate. In addition, a discount program for New York City public high school students who use the ferry to and from school has also been in place since the 1st.

Students who wish to apply can apply through the NYC Student Account Portal. The New York City Economic Development Corporation said, “The ferry fare increase was an inevitable decision to ensure the smooth operation of NYC Ferry,” and added, “We will strive to provide a satisfactory operation for passengers, such as providing free Wi-Fi on the ferry and expanding the languages supported by the dedicated app.”

Meanwhile, this increase was made for the first time in two years since September 2022.

New York City 669 Cases Over 60% of All Asian Hate Crimes Fourth Highest Hate crime rate in New York State has reached an all-time high.

According to the ‘New York State Hate Crimes Status’ report released by the New York State Comptroller on the 28th, 1,089 hate crime incidents occurred in New York State last year. This is the highest number since the related statistics began to be published in 2000 following the implementation of the hate crime law. By region, there were 669 hate crimes in New York City and 420 hate crimes outside New York City, with more than 60% concentrated in New York City.

Hate crimes have surged particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with hate crimes in New York State increasing by 69% last year compared to 2019. Specifically, there was a 59.3% increase in New York City and an 87.5% increase outside New York City during the pandemic, with the increase being more pronounced outside New York City. The most common type of hate crime was anti-Jewish hate crimes, with 477 cases (44%). This was followed by anti-Black hate crimes (183 cases), anti-Gay hate crimes (130 cases), anti-Asian hate crimes (130 cases), anti-Muslim hate crimes, and anti-transgender hate crimes. In New York City alone, 65% of hate crimes last year were anti-Jewish hate crimes.

Of the 669 hate crimes in New York City last year, 72 were ‘felony assaults’ resulting in serious injuries, with nearly half of the victims being Jewish and gay. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said, “The nature of hate crimes has changed. Since 2018, both in-person and object hate crimes have increased, but in-person hate crimes have begun to outpace object hate crimes since 2021.”

He pointed out that “New York State must focus on establishing countermeasures to prevent the various biases and prejudices that cause hate crimes from taking root.” He added that “hate allegations are not often judged as actual hate crimes.” He added that “To combat hate and prejudice, we must communicate, respect, and accept our neighbors. We must condemn all hate, invest in prevention and protection efforts, and expand education that upholds the value of diversity.”

Meanwhile, according to the report, less than half of hate crime incidents in the state lead to actual arrests, indicating that more stringent arrests are needed.

The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office is warning of an ongoing scam in which people are impersonating law enforcement agencies, including the Sheriff’s Office, to steal money, with losses reaching $52,000.

Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Curitton said, “Dozens of people have recently fallen victim to scam phone calls impersonating law enforcement agencies, including the Sheriff’s Office. The losses they’ve suffered amount to $52,000.” According to Sheriff Curryton, there has been an increase in scams in which people impersonate law enforcement and call people to threaten arrest if they don’t pay money.

The scammers claim that they have a warrant out for a person who has missed jury duty or has unpaid fines, and they threaten arrest if they don’t pay. They then try to get people to send money using a method that is difficult to trace, such as a prepaid card or cryptocurrency.

Furthermore, the scammers are using sophisticated methods, such as using phone numbers that appear to be law enforcement numbers or sending fake court documents and warrants via email.

“The scammers are easily fooled because they are impersonating current and retired police officers,” Sheriff Curryton said. “The scammers are targeting both older and younger people.” Sheriff Curryton said, “Law enforcement does not ask for money over the phone. They never call and threaten to arrest you,” he said. “If you receive a scam call like this, do not give out your personal or financial information and hang up immediately.”

The Guardian, a British daily, reported on the 25th that California, which has been suffering from heatwaves and wildfires this summer, has seen snow in August for the first time in 20 years.

According to this, Madera County Deputy Sheriff Larry Rich said in a statement released the previous day that he did not expect to see snow at Minera Vista, a Sierra Nevada Mountain lookout southeast of Yosemite National Park, in August, conveying the unusual snow news.

Deputy Sheriff Rich said that it is unusual to spend a birthday surrounded by a winter wonderland in the middle of summer, and that it was a very special moment to work here.

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook about the unusual summer snowfall and urged visitors to be safe.

The National Weather Service said that there has been no snow in Yosemite National Park in August for at least the past 20 years.

Officials at Mammoth Mountain and Palisades Tahoe ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada Mountains also posted photos of snow on social media the day before, as snow fell on the mountains in the cold morning.

Local weather officials said that snow also fell at Lassen Volcanic National Park in northeastern California, but temperatures rose during the day, preventing snow accumulation.

The weather service then said that an unusual summer snowstorm brought record-breaking rainfall to Redding, Stockton, and Red Bluff in northern California.

Despite the heavy rain, the weather service warned that strong winds were blowing as a cold front passed by, increasing the risk of fires.

At the same time, weather officials issued a flood watch for areas where wildfires broke out in northern California late last month.

The northern wildfires, which began on March 24, swept across more than 1,700 square kilometers in four counties, making them the largest wildfire of the year and the fourth largest on record in California.

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris is building up her campaign funds, which are the actual fuel needed for her campaign.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and others, Harris’s presidential campaign announced on the 25th that Vice President Harris has raised $540 million since declaring her candidacy last month.

Vice President Harris raised $82 million during the Democratic Party’s convention in Chicago from the 19th to the 22nd.

Donations poured in immediately after Vice President Harris gave her acceptance speech on the 22nd.

“The passion and energy at the United Center (the convention venue) was clear, and that passion spread far and wide, far beyond Chicago and into the swing states that will determine this election,” said Chairman Dillon.

Vice President Harris plans to focus on swing states based on the energy she gathered through the convention.

Harris’s presidential campaign has aired new ads in seven swing states since the convention, and Vice President Harris and Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Tim Walz, Minnesota Governor, are scheduled to hold a bus campaign in the swing state of Georgia on the 28th and 29th.

The Democratic Party has been ahead of the Republican Party in terms of financial resources since changing its presidential candidate from President Joe Biden to Vice President Harris.

Four Korean students attending Fairfax High School in Virginia have developed an online fraud prevention website and received first place and a cash prize from the county. Fairfax County recently announced the winners of the 2024 Student Shark Tank Technology Competition, and the online fraud prevention website ‘Scam cops’ (scamcops.com) developed by four Fairfax High School students, including David Nam and Nathan Kim, won first place.

Scam cops, developed by the four students, is known to be very useful as it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide real-time online fraud warnings to seniors, people with disabilities, caregivers, and even the public who are easily deceived by online fraud.

This year’s competition, now in its 8th year, is a large-scale competition in which all middle and high school students in the county participate, hosted by the Fairfax Department of Family Services, the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, and the Fairfax 50+ Technology Committee.

A bill that would automatically refund fares if New Jersey Transit trains were canceled or delayed for more than three hours is being pushed through the federal Congress. On the 12th, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D, NJ 5th District) announced that he would introduce the “All Aboard Act” bill to protect passengers from train service disruptions.

The bill includes a “Passenger Bill of Rights” that would guarantee passengers a full refund if train service were canceled or delayed for more than three hours. The bill is gaining attention as it was proposed at a time when passengers are experiencing significant inconvenience due to frequent disruptions of New Jersey Transit trains that use Amtrak-managed tracks.

According to Rep. Gottheimer’s office, more than 650 New Jersey Transit trains were canceled in June. More than half of the cancellations, 415, were related to Amtrak, which operates the Northeast Corridor route connecting New York and New Jersey. Transit says 92.3 percent of trains would have run normally if there were no issues with the track and equipment managed by Amtrak.

Recently, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin suddenly told 140,000 federal workers in the state that there will be plenty of jobs even if the Trump administration changes in the November presidential election, and attention is focused on the background of his remarks.

On the 5th, Virginia public radio station WVFT reported this under the title, “Youngkin says there will be plenty of jobs in Virginia even if Trump lays off federal workers.”

According to this, after a recent meeting of the Governor’s Revenue Estimation Advisory Committee (GACRE), Governor Youngkin said, “Even if Trump carries out his promise to immediately lay off a large number of federal workers if elected president, Virginia’s 140,000 federal workers have nothing to fear,” and “There is a tremendous opportunity to find new jobs in Virginia.”

After Governor Youngkin’s remarks were made public, the Washington Post published an article on the 8th titled, “Trump’s plan to lay off federal workers could shake up the economy of the Washington area,” and before that, MSMBC published an article titled, “Governor Youngkin ignores Trump’s plan to lay off a large number of federal workers.”

Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation, a think tank, recently announced ‘Project 2025’, which contains key national tasks to be implemented within the first 100 days of former President Trump’s re-election. One of the key contents of this project is to remove existing civil servants through a large-scale civil service reshuffle and replace them with Trump loyalists.

It is said that there has been considerable unrest in the civil service community since the project was made known.

Port Lee Mayor: “It was a regrettable incident… Please wait for the results of the prosecutor’s investigation” As public outrage grows over the case of Victoria Lee, a Korean American in Port Lee, New Jersey, who requested an ambulance for mental health reasons but was instead shot and killed by police who responded to the scene, New Jersey State Assembly Member Ellen Park has become the first politician to speak out.

Additionally, Port Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich stated that because the state prosecutor’s investigation is ongoing in accordance with state law regarding handling of police shootings, it is difficult for the town government and town police to disclose information, and that they will have to wait for the results of the investigation.

On the 9th, Assemblywoman Ellen Park released a statement saying, “I express my deepest condolences to the family of Victoria Lee,” and “My office is in contact with the Attorney General’s office regarding this tragic incident. Out of respect for the family and the residents of the apartment, I will refrain from commenting further until more information is available. I hope our community can heal.” Assemblywoman Park made her public statement amid the political circles’ keen interest in this incident. However, Assemblywoman Park did not mention her specific position on the incident in her statement.

In addition, Mayor Mark Sokolic of Port Lee posted a statement on the town’s website on the same day. Mayor Sokolic said in his statement, “On behalf of the Port Lee community, I express my deepest condolences to the unfortunate and tragic incident that occurred on May 28th at approximately 1:30 a.m. in which one resident was killed in a police-involved shooting,” but also mentioned that “the Port Lee Police Department is a well-trained, top-notch law enforcement agency.” “We have continued to hold meetings and discussions with various groups since the incident. However, the state law on handling police-involved shootings states that the State Attorney’s Office conducts the investigation, and the town government and the town police department must follow that,” Sokolic said.

“Since the State Attorney’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability conducts the investigation, the Fort Lee Police Department and the Bergen County District Attorney cannot participate in the investigation in any way. During the investigation, no member of the Fort Lee Police Department will issue any press releases, comments, or statements.”

In his statement, Mayor Sokolic said he hopes the State Attorney’s investigation will be completed as quickly as possible, but he does not know how long this process will take, and he asked for patience during the investigation.

Mayor Sokolic’s statement came 12 days after the incident on May 28. He expressed his condolences but did not mention the allegations of excessive police action raised by the family of Lee, who was with him at the time of the shooting and witnessed the incident, citing the need to wait for the results of the State Attorney’s investigation.

Meanwhile, as the tragic circumstances of Lee’s death were revealed through an interview between this newspaper and Lee’s mother on the 7th, the voices of public outrage among Koreans are growing louder. Korean parents with children are expressing anger and anxiety.

A woman in her 40s told this newspaper, “I couldn’t stop crying while reading the interview article with Lee’s mother,” and “Korean mothers around me who learned the specific details of the incident through the article are so outraged and heartbroken.”

In a message sent to this newspaper, a resident of Port Lee said, “There are people in the Kakao Talk chatroom where parents gather who are worried, saying, ‘I’m afraid to call 911. My child could be shot by the police when they arrive.’ This is an unbelievable thing that happened, and Koreans need to actively speak out for a speedy investigation.” Another Korean woman said, “Now, my heart races whenever I see a police car. I wonder why the Port Lee Town government isn’t acting on this ridiculous incident where a woman in her 20s was shot and killed by the police.”

Vice President Kamala Harris was officially elected as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate on the 2nd ahead of the presidential election to be held in November. On the second day of the online ‘roll-out vote’ conducted from the previous day to select the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Vice President Harris secured many of the delegates needed to become the presidential candidate, Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison announced.

Vice President Harris had already received the support of 99% (3,923 delegates) of the delegates and was the only candidate to be nominated in the roll-out vote. With Vice President Harris confirmed as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, the matchup for the November presidential election has finally been finalized. T

his presidential election, which initially seemed to be solidifying early on as a ‘rematch’ between President Joe Biden and former President Trump, is unfolding in a more dramatic curve than any other presidential election as the situation changed abruptly with President Biden’s unexpected defeat on the 21st of last month. With less than 100 days left until Election Day, Vice President Harris will take over the baton and face off against former President Trump, resulting in an election with clear contrasts between people of color and white people, women and men, people in their 50s and 70s, and progressives and conservatives.

The Republican Party and former President Trump are attacking the Biden administration’s mismanagement by highlighting economic and border issues in this election, while also advocating for Vice President Harris’s shared responsibility.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party and Vice President Harris are appealing to voters for support, defining this election as a question of democracy and dictatorship, saying that if former President Trump is re-elected, American democracy itself will be in danger of extinction.