Morning News Brief
Written by Dan Fischer on April 18, 2023
44 year old Tylee Gaines of Summerville drive in Rochester was arrested after an investigation into the sale of cocaine in Batavia by the Local Drug Task Force. Gaines is accused of selling crack cocaine to agents of the task force while in the City of Batavia. He was caught with 14 bags of Crack Cocaine. Gaines is charged with two counts of Criminal sale of a controlled substance and 3 counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Gaines was arraigned in County Court and released under supervision.
Do you have an old gun you don’t want anymore and want to turn it into quick cash? Attorney General Letitia James is holding a gun buyback in Niagara Falls on April 29th at St John’s AME Church on Garden and Richard Allen Way. this is part of 9 simultaneous gun buybacks going on that day across the state. The buyback goes from 10 to 1 and all guns will be accepted no questions asked, working or non working, and they must be unloaded. They are offering 500 dollars in prepaid gift cards for each assault rifle, although they don’t define what an assault rifle is, or ghost gun. $500 for the first handgun per person, then $150 for each additional handgun; $75 per rifle or shotgun, and $25 per non-working, replica, antique, homemade or 3-D printed gun.
State Police are going to be cracking down on unsafe drivers over the next few days as part of their annual Operation Hardhat campaign. Troopers will be keeping an eye out for people who don’t follow the law when traveling through construction zones. This initiative lines up with National Work Zone Awareness Week which will run through this Friday. During last year’s Operation Hardhat campaign, three-thousand-62 tickets were handed out, an increase of 726 from 2021.
New York lawmakers passed a three-day budget extension Monday to ensure state operations continue undisrupted as negotiations over the spending plan continue. The budget was originally due April 1. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers missed that deadline as they tried to reach agreement on changes to the state’s bail law, a housing plan and other policy issues the governor had included in her budget proposal. A key sticking point has been Hochul’s proposed changes that would give judges more discretion on setting bail for violent felonies. Liberal lawmakers have resisted further changes to the state’s bail law. This was the third temporary budget extension approved by state lawmakers. Lawmakers must pass another extender Thursday if a state budget isn’t finalized by then.
Which young man will be chosen as Mr. Batavia on Friday? 10 high school seniors are competing in the 10th annual competition set to start at 7 pm at the frank Owen Auditorium at the Batavia High School. The students compete in multiple rounds of the event to display their various talents — from singing and comedy to playing instruments and acting. Donations raised from ticket sales and donations will be given to the top three winners’ charities. Since 2013, the annual event has raised $32,719 for local organizations.
The Buffalo Bills have announced they are bringing back linebacker A.J. Klein on a one-year contract. Klein played with the defending AFC East champions in 2020 and 2021, but was released before last season. In 2022, he played for the Bears and Ravens before the Bills claimed him off waivers. In his 37 games with Buffalo, Klein has 121 combined tackles, five sacks, and one interception.
