Weekend News Brief
Written by WBTA STAFF on July 15, 2023
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was in Rochester on Friday calling for the passage of legislation to help slow the flow of fentanyl into the United States. The Fend Off Fentanyl Act would empower the government to sanction drug traffickers and combat money laundering schemes that make this trade profitable. The majority of illegal fentanyl entering the U.S. is made with Chinese precursor chemicals and manufacturing in Mexico. Senator Gillibrand was joined by the family of a local teen who died last year of a fentanyl overdose.
Sweetland Road, between Roanoke Road and east to Bater Road will be temporarily closed starting at 7 a.m. on July 17 and ending at 4 p.m. on July 20. The road will open each day 4 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day. Expect traffic delays and/or possible road closure. The work is weather dependent and may be delayed by a day if inclement weather occurs.
The search for Michael Burham continues more than a week after his escape from the Warren County Jail and investigators have released what they believe is evidence that he is still in the area. On Friday police provided a doorbell camera video from a home in an area south of Warren, Pennsylvania. Police did not want to specify when the video was taken, but said this is considered to be a confirmed sighting of Burham walking past a home and headed toward the woods. In addition, they believe Burham may have a leg injury due to a possible limp visible in the video which could have occurred during the escape. Police said that although this video is considered to be a confirmed sighting, no one that is part of the team searching for him has had a confirmed sighting at this point. According to police, investigators believe the longer the manhunt goes on the more difficult it is for Burham.
Rochester Regional Health nurses are ready to strike next week if no agreement is reached with the hospital administration. The Rochester Union of Nurses and Allied Professionals or RUNAP highlights a decrease in the number of nurses as patient needs rise. The Chief Operating Officer of Rochester Regional Health states that the entire country is facing a nursing shortage, but RRH has made significant progress by recruiting more than 150 nurses this year, with another hundred expected to join by 2024.
