• Shelley Mayer, left, and Julie Killian, who are running for an open New York State Senate seat, at a debate at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, N.Y., April 18, 2018. Special elections in New York on April 24, will present voters with nearly a dozen state legislative races and could prove decisive in the Democrats’ yearslong quest to capture all levers of state government. (Gregg Vigliotti/The New York Times) Photo: GREGG VIGLIOTTI / NYTNS
Photo: GREGG VIGLIOTTI
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Shelley Mayer, left, and Julie Killian, who are running for an open New York State Senate seat, at a debate at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, N.Y., April 18, 2018. Special elections in New York on April 24, will present voters with nearly a dozen state legislative races and could prove decisive in the Democrats’ yearslong quest to capture all levers of state government. (Gregg Vigliotti/The New York Times) less
Shelley Mayer, left, and Julie Killian, who are running for an open New York State Senate seat, at a debate at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, N.Y., April 18, 2018. Special elections in New York on April ... more
Photo: GREGG VIGLIOTTI

Molinaro taps Killian as running mate

GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro has chosen recent state Senate candidate Julie Killian to be his running mate for lieutenant governor.

Molinaro, the current Dutchess County executive, released a statement Sunday saying his camp identified 20 possible candidates statewide before selecting Killian. She is a former deputy mayor of Rye who recently lost in a special election to Democratic Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer.

Killian also lost in a state Senate race to now Westchester County executive George Latimer in 2016.

The state Republican convention, where the party will pick its endorsed candidates, is Wednesday.

— Staff report

State to apply tick control to land

New York state has a new plan to control the tick population and combat tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state will apply "eco-friendly" tick control treatments on public lands in the Southern Tier, the capital region and the Hudson Valley.

The state will also expand the use of deer feeding stations that automatically apply tick treatment to deer as they eat. The stations have already been used on Long Island and in other areas.

A new public awareness campaign aimed at hunters, fishermen and hikers will provide tips on how to avoid ticks.

— Associated Press

A warning of student loan practices

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has a warning for college students: Beware of predatory loan practices in the wake of the Trump administration's recent move to cut back its monitoring of financial institutions.

The New York Democrat announced Sunday that she'll demand new oversight regulations as well as legislation to lower loan payments for hundreds of thousands of graduates.

The senator says loan payments could push many into default, damaging their credit just as they're starting new jobs.

According to Gillibrand, graduates in New York generally have higher loan balances than in the rest of the country.

— Associated Press