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A one-year moratorium on data centers along with some longer-term regulations was passed by the New York State Legislature last week, but has yet to be signed by Governor Kathy Hochul.

At an unrelated event in Buffalo today, Hochul signaled that she’s sympathetic toward concerns about higher utility bills, but stopped short of saying she’ll sign or veto the bill.

"I cannot have a scenario where they come and they're a drain on our grid driving up the cost for rate payers that are just right now being crushed with high utility bills," said Hochul. "With respect to this particular bill — I have over 850 bills. I have a lot of bills to look at between now and the end of December."

Assemblymember Jon Rivera was one of the legislators pushing for a moratorium on new data centers. Rivera believes regulators need time to catch up on the industry. He's been urging the governor to sign the bill into law.

"This moratorium is about ensuring that New Yorkers have the time to ask questions, to examine the facts, and to make informed decisions before a project that could consume hundreds of megawatts of electricity moves forward," he said. "The public deserves clear answers about how it will affect energy reliability, affordability and our environment."

The governor said the moratorium bill will have to go through a review by her office, which includes looking at the impacts on local government decision making.

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Toronto was buzzing with the excitement of hosting its first-ever World Cup matches, with the added bonus of its home team kicking off the festivities.

Canada opened group play Friday against Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming from behind to draw, 1-1.

Playing World Cup host for the first time is a major achievement for Toronto, but also the country as a whole, Burlington, Ont., resident Tyler Collins said.

"It's less a point of pride and more a point of acknowledgement," he said. "It's an invitation to be an equal at the table of the global football community, but also the global sporting community."

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The communities of Hamburg, Falconer and Jamestown are celebrating this weekend after the announcement of substantial grant funding from the state.

On a visit to Buffalo Friday morning, Governor Kathy Hochul announced these communities had been named the latest winners of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the NY Forward Program.

Jamestown will receive $10 million through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, while Falconer and Hamburg will each receive $4.5 million through the NY Forward Program.

Hochul highlighted Jamestown's success when it previously received a revitalization grant.

"I didn't want to overlook the little guys, you know, because I know what that's like," Hochul said. "And now we've breathed life, new life into 151 communities, many across Western New York, and in fact, Jamestown was one of an early winners, about an hour and a half south of here, and they did a fabulous job. They turned $10 million into $57 million in private investment."

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Luke Reece never played hockey growing up in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. Instead, he played soccer, like many Canadians who are now adults.

The sport is so popular it has surpassed hockey and all other sports in youth participation, according to a recent report by Jumpstart, a Canadian charity that helps low-income youth play organized sports. It said half the nation's youth participate in organized soccer.

Reece was one of many locals sporting Canada soccer gear on Thursday ahead of their nation's World Cup opener Friday against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"Wish I had tickets to the game tomorrow, but I don't," Reece said. "I'm going to a game in Vancouver. It was cheaper to get a ticket out there."

Is Canada about to have a soccer moment?

"It already has a good hold in this country in terms of participation. I think we all expect that to grow. These tournaments inspire so many next-generation people to find their heroes, play the game," said Christina Linz, president of the women's Northern Super League. "I think (it) will really draw those emotional connections."

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The Sixties Scoop was a series of policies and programs in Canada where welfare agencies adopted or fostered thousands of Indigenous children to predominately non-Native families. For many it meant the end of connection to their Indigenous communities and culture.

The new narrative film Meadowlarks by Cree director Tasha Hubbard explores the journey of reunion and healing in adulthood. Hubbard spoke with BTPM NPR about the film, which recently had a screening at Toronto’s imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and premiere on Canadian streamer Crave.

Meadowlarks tells the story of five fictional siblings all separated by Sixties Scoop programs, who reunite for one week in a remote vacation rental in Alberta. While the middle-aged siblings may be fictional, their life story is very much a reality for many First Nations people.

"I grew up in a farm community. The only other Indigenous people in my community were other Sixties Scoop kids," said Hubbard, who was adopted through the Saskatchewan Adopt Indian Metis project. "How did I get to learn about anything Indigenous? Caricatures and stereotypes on television… and I felt so alone."

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New York state is on track to spend $277 billion this year – nearly $9 billion more than what Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last month when she proclaimed a “general agreement” on the budget.

The total figure – revealed late Wednesday in a financial plan posted by the state’s budget division – shows spending has climbed almost 10% above the $254 billion figure enacted last year. The state begins its fiscal year on April 1.

Republicans and fiscal watchdogs said the higher spending is worrisome and called Hochul’s use of a lower figure misleading.

“It’s a sobering reminder of the reckless, irresponsible approach Albany takes when developing its annual spending plan,” Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra, a Nassau County Republican, said in a statement. “Albany Democrats demanded a blank check from New York taxpayers and signed it in the dark.”

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The first-ever World Cup hosted by multiple countries got underway Thursday, when Mexico kicked off the festivities by defeating South Africa in Mexico City.

Even in Toronto, Team Mexico fan Gustavo Miro feels the excitement watching his team. But with excitement comes high expectations.

“Through the years, it's been always, always a fantastic experience to see Mexico play. Now that Mexico is opening the World Cup, it's just completely unbelievable," he said. "My expectations are to enjoy the World Cup, and the Mexico will go to quarterfinals.”

FIFA has set strict guidelines with how much branding businesses are allowed to use. One Toronto bar says they already have common partners with FIFA, which helps them avoid issues with the city’s enforcement of the governing body’s rules.

Multiple bars around Toronto say they are full with bookings Thursday, and for most games across the six-week tournament.

Many businesses already have embraced the World Cup attitude, Hoops Bar server Darrylann Tallon said.

“The biggest change is just the atmosphere and how much more the city comes alive," she said. "Like, there's loads of little pop-ups, there's loads of little fan festivals, and there's loads of street crowds and street drinking. And just, everything's on a much happier scale.”

Toronto resident Charley Keyzer is juggling his Dutch and Canadian fandoms. Being a host city is a major honor, especially in a place as diverse as Toronto, he added.

“It's a really diverse city, so I feel like almost every country is, pretty much, represented," he said. "I just came from Etobicoke, and on the train I saw, like five different jerseys for like five different teams, so I feel like a lot of the fandom is pretty mixed.”

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