Morning News Brief

Matt Araiza and 2 San Diego State football players have been named in a lawsuit alleging that they participated in a gang rape of a 17 year old girl last year at Halloween party.  She says he gave her a drink with drugs in it and then him and the other two raped her while she was unconscious.  Araiza’s attorney says that he did have sex with the girl but that it was consensual and her allegations of force and being unconscious at the party are untrue.  The lawsuit comes days after the Bills cleared the way for Araiza to take over the punting duties by releasing returning veteran Matt Haack. Buffalo drafted Araiza in the sixth round because of his booming left leg.  Haack has signed with the Indianapolis Colts.  The Buffalo Bills issued a statement: “We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021.  Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil case, we will have no other comment at this point.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is applauding the search engine giant Google’s decision to exclude Crisis Pregnancy centers from searches in favor of Abortion Providers.  She had called on search engine companies to change their algorithms to make sure results for Crisis Pregnancy Centers like All Babies Cherished, CompassCare, and Care-Net which provide educational services, pregnancy tests, help with prenatal care, diapers, ultrasounds, and many other services to women in need of help during and after pregnancy, were buried because they do not offer abortions.  James called not offering abortions predatory and dangerous and called for CPCs to be shut down.  Organizations such as Jane’s Revenge burned and vandalized dozens of CPC’s across the country including several in New York.

Today is the second day that marijuana dispensary owners can apply for a license to sell cannabis retail.  The process is first come first served with a couple of caveats.  First is that a dispensary has to prove they can run a successful business and second, that they have been arrested or have family that have been arrested for a cannabis related charge.  The second part is from Governor Hochul’s equity initiative to make reparations to communities that have been impacted by marijuana arrests.  Applications are handled through an online form on New York State’s website.

The ARC GLOW Friends and Family 5K is set to be held on September 7th this year in Elba.  This is the 18th year the event has been held.  The run raises funds for Arc GLOW and raises awareness of the agency’s programs to children, adults, and families with intellectual or developmental disabilities.  Funds raised also contribute to the Mary Anne Graney Memorial Scholarship.  Registration is $20 per 5K entrant and $15 for the fun walk.  The after-party includes music, food, children’s activities and the “Taste of the County.”

The warehouse being added onto the south side of Batavia Downs is finished.  The new 5000 square foot 1 million dollar structure is going to hold all the food, beverages, and hospitality inventory for the Downs.  Now Park Road just has to be completed to make it easier to get to it all.