Friday News Brief

ICE SELECTS CONTRACTOR FOR BATAVIA DETENTION CENTER EXPANSION

Federal immigration officials are moving forward with plans to add another 100 beds to the ICE detention facility in Batavia.
The Department of Homeland Security intends to hire Virginia-based Akima Infrastructure Protection to build and operate a temporary detention structure on the existing facility’s property.
The current detention center has 650 beds. Federal documents say the new space would accommodate detainees of all security levels.
The contract is being awarded without competitive bidding, with ICE saying Akima is the only company capable of completing the project within the required timeframe without disrupting operations.
Akima already has a nearly 350-million-dollar, 10-year contract with ICE and operates detention facilities elsewhere in the country.
The price, construction schedule and exact design of the Batavia expansion have not yet been disclosed.

BATAVIA APPROVES NEW NORTHWEST WATER DISTRICT

The Town of Batavia is moving forward with a 5-and-a-half-million-dollar water project serving portions of Stegman, Galloway, Harloff and Miller roads.
The Town Board approved creation of the Batavia Northwest Water District following a public hearing Wednesday night.
Town officials say 25 homes would be eligible to connect. A typical property is expected to pay about 782 dollars during the first year, including roughly 334 dollars in debt service and an estimated 448 dollars for water usage.
Property owners will not be required to connect, but all properties within the district will contribute toward repayment of the project debt.
Residents who do hook up may keep their wells for other uses, as long as the two water systems are properly separated to prevent cross-contamination.
The project’s debt is expected to be repaid over 38 years, with construction aimed at expanding access to municipal water in the northwest portion of the town.

OAKFIELD LABOR DAZE RETURNS FOR 42ND YEAR

Oakfield’s annual Labor Daze celebration returns this weekend for three days of music, food and family activities in Triangle Park.
The 42nd annual festival runs Saturday through Monday, with events scheduled from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. each day.
This year’s lineup includes live music, children’s activities, a 5K run and walk, car cruise, parade, fireworks, arts and crafts vendors and plenty of food.
Captain Fantastic Meets the Piano Man performs Saturday, Nerds Gone Wild takes the stage Sunday and Reporter closes out the festival Monday.
All Labor Daze activities are alcohol-free and family-friendly.

LABOR DAY DEMONSTRATION PLANNED IN BATAVIA

A Labor Day demonstration is planned outside Batavia City Hall on September 7th.
GLOW Community Alliance and the Genesee County Democratic Socialists of America will hold the event from 1 to 3 p.m.
Organizers say they are calling on local, state and federal officials to stop the planned expansion of the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia.
The groups are also advocating for higher taxes on wealthy Americans, the removal of ICE from the community and expanded workplace democracy.
Organizers are inviting workers and supporters from across the region to attend.

NVIDIA BUYING HUGGING FACE FOR $13 BILLION

Nvidia is acquiring artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face in a deal valued at 13-billion dollars.
Hugging Face has become a major hub for open-source AI, with millions of developers and researchers using the platform to share models, data sets and applications.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says Hugging Face will remain an open platform following the acquisition, including support for different cloud providers and hardware.
The deal strengthens Nvidia’s position beyond the high-end chips that already power much of the AI industry.
Nearly 1-billion dollars of the purchase price is also being set aside to retain Hugging Face employees.
Nvidia shares rose nearly 2-percent following the announcement.

WOMEN’S RIGHTS ICON GLORIA STEINEM DIES AT 92

Gloria Steinem, one of the most influential figures in the American women’s rights movement, has died at the age of 92.
Steinem died Wednesday at her home in New York City after a period of declining health.
Beginning her career as a journalist, Steinem became a prominent activist during the late 1960s and helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971. She co-founded Ms. Magazine the following year, helping create a national platform for the growing women’s movement.
Steinem remained active well into her later years, continuing to speak and write about equality and other social issues.
She had recently completed another memoir, which is scheduled to be released this fall.

DREW MONTI STAYS HOT AT BATAVIA DOWNS

Drew Monti continued his dominant start to the Batavia Downs meet Thursday, winning five races for the second straight night.

Monti scored victories with Miss M A K, Mighty Santana N, Amigo Mio, Miss Rockadali and Pro Beach, including three consecutive wins in races seven through nine. He now has 51 victories at the meet, giving him a 21-win lead over Shawn Gray.

Pro Beach also captured one of Thursday’s three co-featured 8-thousand-dollar races. Live racing returns Saturday at 4 p.m., with Labor Day racing scheduled Monday at 12:15.