Evening News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on August 11, 2021
Part of the Infrastructure Bill just passed through the Federal Senate is a regulation plan on page 1066 on how you will drive with a new car in 6 years. The plan calls for “passive” systems to monitor the performance of a driver, for example, by using eye scans. Or, it requires automakers to passively gauge blood alcohol levels, perhaps by measuring them in the air of the vehicle. If impairment is detected the vehicle will slow and then stop. It stops short of mandating breathalyzers or ignition devices but leaves the door open. All new cars sold after 2027 will be required to have these devices and have them active at all times.
As of now, Governor Cuomo will stand to get a full pension of over 100,000 dollars a year after his resignation. But there is a bill going through to stop that from happening. Democrat Senator James Skoufis has put forward a bill that revokes the public pension of a public officer who stands convicted on an impeachment. This bill is retroactive. The impeachment investigation into Cuomo is going forward regardless of his resignation.
Livingston County has announced that their county is not considering any new mask mandates. Jennifer Rodriguez, Livingston Counties Public Health Director, says that “Cases are trending upwards we must remember that these are just cases – confirmed, positive cases of COVID-19, both delta and non-delta cases. We have had no recent deaths, and currently, there are four hospitalizations, all of which are unvaccinated individuals.”
The city of Batavia has been awarded a grant to work on the Bank Street waterline to the tune of 334 thousand dollars. The current Bank street waterline will be updated to an 8” line. Over 950 linear feet of 8-inch diameter water main will be installed and replace the current 4” and 6” lines that are undersized and aging, 90+-year-old water lines. The estimated cost of the project is $410,000 and the City will provide a local match to the grant of 20% or $82,000. Currently, there is over $50M in public/private development in downtown Batavia, at various stages of planning, permitting, and construction.
The Buffalo Bisons had their opening home game last night, the first since August of 2019, and over 6,000 fans were in attendance. A spokesperson for the Bisons says the official paid attendance for the return of Bisons baseball to Sahlen Field Tuesday was 6,404. The Blue Jays played home games at Sahlen Field from June 1 to July 21 and according to attendance numbers averaged just over 6,500 fans a game. The Bison’s season goes from now till September 26th.
