Morning News Brief

The man who was shot dead in his car Sunday morning in Rochester has been identified as retired Rochester police officer William Keith Booker.  Booker was fatally shot near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Iceland Park around 2 a.m. Officers say he was driving south on Jefferson, when he struck a parked and unoccupied car. It’s unknown at this time if he was shot before or after the accident.  Officer Booker served RPD from 1996 until his retirement in 2017. He previously spent 10 years as a School Resource Officer at Franklin High School, working to prevent violence in our youth population.  His death comes two months after Rochester Police Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz was shot and killed in the line of duty, making an already challenging year for the RPD family even more difficult.   No arrests have been made as of yet.

New York is out 110 million dollars so far this year because of unemployment insurance fraud according to the State Department of Labor.  Governor Hochul says that means 11 million dollars a month get stolen from taxpayers by people who are working while collecting unemployment.  She says a news system will find all the people who are doing this and get the money back.  People found to have been working will be given a chance to explain and then, if their explanation isn’t good enough, their wages can be garnished or they can be turned over to law enforcement.

Companies like National Grid are expecting winter heating costs to rise again this year by at least 39 percent.  For many homes already struggling with 12 percent inflation at the grocery store and gas prices at least a dollar more than last year per gallon the increase in heating costs will be the difference between being able to have heat or food or transportation.  There is help.  Starting November 1st you can apply for Home Energy Assistance Program benefits.  If you are eligible it automatically enrolls your household in National Grid’s Energy Affordability Program.  Check with your county’s department of social services for eligibility.

With access to cameras everywhere we go the threat of someone misusing them is always with us.  The FBI and local law enforcement are warning people about sexstortion, someone using threats to get compromising or sexual pictures from people.  Be very careful what you share online or over the phone.  People threatening to expose secrets or private information if they don’t get sexual pictures or videos is on the rise and not just with school age kids.  Adults and even seniors are being targeted.  It’s easy to avoid though, just don’t share private information or pictures of yourself that could be used to embarrass you online or with friends.  Turn off phones when not in use or put pieces of tape or paper over laptop cameras or webcams in case of hacking.  If you get threats you can call the police or FBI.  

The largest planet in the solar system will be nearer to Earth than at any point in the next thousand years tonight.  If you look up the planet Jupiter will be the brightest point of light in the sky.  It hasn’t been this visible since 1963.