Afternoon News Brief

A wind chill advisory is in effect for most of Western NY including the entire GLOW region until 10:00am tomorrow morning. Winds could drive the feels-like temperature to 20 below zero, creating increased danger to anyone spending extended periods of time outdoors. If you must be out, be sure to cover all exposed skin. Frostbite can occur in 30 minutes or less with wind chills of 15 below zero or colder. Updated forecasts are always available here from 13WHAM meteorologists and on the National Weather Service website at weather.gov.

 

 

National Grid tells us their crews are prepared to respond to any emergencies caused by the cold and is offering customers some tips to stay safe. The utility company suggests that folks keep working flashlights and a supply of batteries in their homes in case of a power outage. People who see downed power lines should assume they are live and report the location of those downed lines to National Grid or local law enforcement immediately. Anyone who experiences an outage can call 1-800-867-5222.

 

 

A teenager has been sentenced to five years jail for his involvement in five armed robberies that targeted casino patrons and food-delivery drivers. Prosecutors say the 17-year-old committed the crimes between March and August last year. Once the teen is no longer behind bars, he will be under post-release supervision for five years. Orders of protection have been issued for the victims he robbed.

 

Governor Hochul acknowledges that “conflicting language” in her proposed budget specifically in reference to bail reform laws has led to confusion for judges. In her 2024 proposal, Hochul discussed the need to restore judicial discretion by removing the least restrictive means standard. In the bail reform movement, judges were instructed to release accused criminals on their own recognizance except under very specific circumstances. This lead to police and judges expressing frustrations as criminals returned to the streets within hours of being arrested, many of them committing new crimes as soon as they were released. In Rochester, police said that they couldn’t stop car thieves from stealing cars multiple times in a row because they would be back out on the streets stealing again as soon as they were caught.

 

 

Monroe County will be hosting open interviews today in hopes of finding more people who want to become Child Protective Services caseworkers. The interviews will be conducted at the Gates Public Library, which is located on Elmgrove Road. In order to qualify, a person does not need to have passed a civil service exam, but they must take that test in the future. However, candidates do need to have a bachelor’s degree, valid driver’s license and reliable access to transportation.

 

 

 

Over 200 healthcare workers at nursing home facilities in Dunkirk, Eden and Salamanca are demanding contract negotiations and better pay. Their contract ended on December 31st. The nursing home facilities are owned by Personal Healthcare, a company in Tarrytown New York, and the staff say they have been faced with dire situations. Nurses report working 16 hour shifts and having to use sheets and pillowcases to clean residents because there is no service staff taking care of the laundry. Rural healthcare facilities have been faced with low wages and conditions that they say make it hard to do their jobs well.

 

 

Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres will be spending some time in the Sunshine State this weekend to play in the NHL All-Star Game. Dahlin has been chosen to replace teammate Tage Thompson after Thompson sustained an upper body injury in Buffalo’s 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday night. Dahlin has already scored 14 goals this season and tallied 41 assists. The All-Star Game is tomorrow afternoon at FLA Live Arena, which is the home of the Florida Panthers.

 

 

The American Red Cross is now offering new incentives in hopes of getting more people to roll up their sleeves and donate blood. The Red Cross says anyone who donates in the next few weeks will get a $10 Amazon.com gift card in their email. They’ll also be entered to win a trip for two to Florida including round-trip airfare, a three-night hotel stay and a $750 gift card for expenses. To schedule an appointment to donate, go to redcrossblood.org. The next two local blood drives will be on Monday, February 6th at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel from 1-6pm and Friday, February 17th at the Batavia VA Medical Center from 10am to 3:00pm.

 

 

 

The Powerball jackpot keeps on growing and has now reached 700-million-dollars ahead of tomorrow night’s drawing. No one was able to correctly pick all six winning numbers for Wednesday’s drawing and that means the jackpot is now the sixth-largest in the history of the popular lottery game. The cost to buy a ticket is just two dollars. And as always, the drawing will be streamed online at powerball.com.

 

 

Doctors who specialize in treating obese patients say popular but expensive weight loss drugs aren’t available to people whose health might benefit the most from significantly reducing their weight. Obesity specialists say Black adults, as well as uninsured or lower-income women, and other groups with high rates of obesity are least likely to get the costly medications known by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy. The drugs are in short supply at pharmacies nationwide.