Thursday News Brief

The City parking lot between Court and Jackson Streets – usually referred to as the Save A Lot parking lot – will be milled beginning next Thursday, April 27th. It’s believed that part of the project will be completed by Friday, the 28th. The west half of the parking lot will be closed to traffic the 27th and then the east half will be closed to traffic on the 28th. The parking lot will reopen for the weekend once completed. The paving portion of the project is expected to take three days to complete and is scheduled for Monday, May 1st through Wednesday, May 3rd. The parking lot will be split into thirds and will be affected similarly to how it will be for the milling operation, closing and resurfacing one section at a time until lot is completed. Once the parking lot is completely resurfaced, City of Batavia staff will begin striping parking spaces and driving lanes. Parking will be closed off in sections as crews work from east to west during the repainting process. Vehicles that are using permitted parking are asked to temporarily use the City lot off of School Street or any other permitted parking areas in City owned lots. Photo: Doug Thompson, WBTA News.

 

Press release:

April 20th, 2023- At approximately 1:07 PM the Genesee County 911 Dispatch Center received a report from the Veteran’s Administration Hotline that a male subject had called them and stated they were going to get a weapon and “shoot up a school”.

This information was immediately relayed to patrols in the City and throughout the County working. An initial trace of the phone number provided showed the phone to be in the City of Batavia area.

Patrols were dispatched to each school in Genesee County as a precautionary measure and all county-wide schools placed into lockout.

Officers and investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies followed up on leads and determined the threat to not be credible and in fact was false.

Currently a juvenile is being interviewed by the City of Batavia Detective Bureau regarding the matter, no further information regarding the juvenile will be released at this time.

All schools were released from lockout at approximately 2:25 PM. We wish to thank the public, the school districts and the other members of law enforcement for their assistance during this investigation.

 

Two Buffalo men have pleaded guilty to committing burglaries during the blizzard that devastated Western New York last year. Prosecutors say 37-year-old Quinton Jones and 31-year-old Dijon Joyner broke the window of a store on Main Street in Amherst with a rock and were able to get away with $20,000 in cash and $25,000 in merchandise. They also broke into a pizzeria on Main Street and stole food products and cash. Both men are facing up to seven years in prison.

 

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says it’s not likely that an agreement will be reached on a new state budget this week. During a news conference yesterday, Stewart-Cousins said while lawmakers are closer to reaching a deal to change the state’s bail reform laws, there are other issues that also still need to be addressed. The legislature must pass another budget extender today to keep the government running and make sure state workers get paid. The initial budget deadline was April 1st.

 

Genesee County Sheriffs, City of Batavia Police and Village of LeRoy Police will once again be stepping up patrols and participating in a coordinated effort with the STOP-DWI program to bring awareness to the dangers of impaired driving. The statewide initiative starts today and continues through tomorrow. Law enforcement suggest you make sure you have a safe ride home because impaired driving is preventable with just a little bit of planning ahead.

 

Construction begins on May 11th on the railroad crossing on Route 19 in LeRoy. You’ll want to plan ahead since work will close the road over that weekend and traffic will be detoured. The railroad crossing work will involve pulling up the old ties and rebuilding new ones plus resurfacing the road near the tracks.

 

 

 

The man who has served as the president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation for more than four decades has announced he is leaving the position. Phil Rumore says that he’s planning to retire at the end of his current term which is coming up on June 30th. Rumore has lead the Buffalo Teachers Federation since 1981 and a vote on who will replace him is expected to happen next month. During his tenure, the 80-year-old Rumore has negotiated a total of five collective bargaining agreements and also outlasted 12 superintendents.

 

Demolition is now underway for a major expansion project that’s going to be happening at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. The project calls for the construction of a new nine-story inpatient bed tower and the creation of a larger emergency department that will have over 100 private rooms. The hospital is getting roughly $50,000,000 (million) from the state to help offset the cost of the project. The hope is that work is going to be fully completed by 2027.

 

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans has laid out his plans for the months ahead during his annual State of the City address. During a speech at the Central Library last night, Mayor Evans promised that his administration will remain focused on reducing the gun violence that has been affecting the city. He pointed out that shootings are down 44 percent from this time last year but said that he’s concerned about the number of young people getting involved in crimes. He also discussed the partnerships that the city has forged that will allow revitalization efforts to move forward and also provide people with a path to homeownership.

 

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is reminding motorcyclists about an important deadline that’s coming up. The agency says all motorcycle registrations expire on April 30th and must be renewed by then. The registration lasts for one year and the DMV says motorcycles must be inspected at a station the agency has licensed to perform motorcycle safety inspections. For information on how to renew a motorcycle registration, visit dmv.ny.gov.

 

Folks who want to save a bit of money on tickets to this year’s Erie County Fair will have the chance to do that today. A flash sale on one-day admission tickets is happening 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. During that time period, adult admission tickets are going to be available for $13.50 at ecfair.org. But, there will be an eight-ticket limit per person. The fair runs this year from August 9th through the 20th.

 

ELSEWHERE….

 

Tesla’s first quarter earnings and net income are down over 20% compared to last year. Net income for the electric car company came in at just over $2,500,000,000 (2.5 billion) down 24% compared to 2022.

 

 

The CDC is recommending a second dose of the updated COVID booster for seniors. It comes after the FDA authorized the shot this week. People 65 and older can get another dose of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines at least four months after their last shot. The FDA says most people with weakened immune systems can get an additional dose at least two months after their last one.

 

Tiger Woods is still dealing with the effects of his 2021 car accident. The legendary golfer just underwent leg surgery. His team shared an update on social media saying he’s getting the procedure to treat his post-traumatic arthritis after fracturing his anklebone. The statement says Woods is recovering after a successful surgery. Woods has been dealing with the aftermath of the crash, most recently withdrawing from the Masters Tournament.

 

McDonald’s is changing up its Big Macs by adding more sauce, and now you can get even more. The fast food giant announced this week that for a limited time, customers would be able to get the Big Mac Sauce in a dip cup. In a bid to promote its staple items, McDonald’s is working on building up hype around the product without making large-scale changes. Dipping sauce is an easy way to do that without making an entirely new menu item or adding an ingredient to the existing Big Mac.

 

The line at the unemployment office is getting longer. Jobless claims in the U.S. are jumping up 5,000 from the previous week. Experts say the rise in jobless claims indicates the strong labor market is starting to cool off.