Afternoon News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on March 1, 2024
Are you ready to take a ride in a car with no driver? You’ll have to wait but there are self driving cars in Buffalo. The self-driving vehicle service Waymo has been conducting weather tests for its fleet for the past month in Buffalo. A spokesperson for the company says they are exploring how salt and snow on the roads affects the cars self driving ability. Waymo uses radar panels and LIDAR, laser imaging detection, to detect the area as far as three hundred yards away. The service is operating currently in San Francisco and Phoenix, and users download Waymo’s app to order the vehicle to their location. They can only unlock the vehicle from their phone, and their initials appear on a screen atop the Waymo. Waymo plans to bring service to Los Angeles and Austin by the end of 2024. As of now, there are no plans to operate in Buffalo.
Rochester Police are investigating a shooting on the city’s northeast side Thursday night. Around 7:45 p.m., officers responded to the corner of Clifford Avenue and Ellison Street, where they found a 40-year-old man who had been shot. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive, according to police. No arrests have been made.
A barn burned completely down in Alexander early this morning. At around 1AM a barn at 10216 Alexander Road was reported to be on fire and was soon fully engulfed in flames. The barn was used to store hay. Alexander Fire responded along with Elba, Town of Batavia, City of Batavia FAST Team, Corfu, Attica, East Pembroke, Le Roy, Oakfield, Bethany, Darien, and the Office of Emergency Management. Barre was on standby for Elba. Wyoming County Correctional assisted at the scene. The cause and origin of the fire are under investigation, according to Alexander Deputy Chief Nathan Fix. No animals were involved and no injuries were reported.
State Attorney General Letitia James is demanding that Nassau County rescind an executive order which prohibits the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Museums from issuing permits to any women’s or girls’ sports team with transgender players. James calls the order transphobic and illegal. The county executive, Bruce Blakeman, said that the order is to protect women and girls from biological males bullying them by joining teams and dominating the sport. He also said that there was no reason to ban transgender boys from boys or men’s teams because of “common sense” physical differences between boys and girls.
Two of Section V’s oldest and fiercest rivals are preparing to join forces for the 2024 football season. The LeRoy and Caledonia-Mumford school districts announced Tuesday night they have agreed in principle to merge football programs for all levels, pending Section V’s approval. The districts, whose rivalry dates back to 1900, explored a potential merger last year, but plans fell through. Due to low numbers, Cal-Mum played 8-man football in 2023. The schools believe the merged program will allows them to “maintain and sustain 11-man football opportunities for modified, JV and varsity levels.” Cal-Mum had been merged with Byron-Bergen to field football teams since 2016, but that partnership will end. The combined LeRoy/Cal-Mum program is now looking to hire coaches.
Niagara Falls on the USA side announced yesterday that NASA will host total solar eclipse programming at locations across the city from April 4 to April 8. The programming will be free and open to the public and will be held in locations including: Niagara Falls State Park, Aquarium of Niagara, Niagara Falls Underground, Railroad Heritage Center, Niagara Power Vista, Niagara Falls, Culinary Institute, Niagara Falls Public Libraries and Niagara Aerospace Museum. Officials said to cap off the festivities Wegmans will sponsor a free fireworks display on the middle block of Old Falls Street USA at 8:30 p.m. on April 8.
