Afternoon News Brief

Administrators with the Le Roy Central School District are busy working on the 2022-23 budget; they presently propose close to $28 million in expenditures, an increase of a little over $800,000 from the present school year. School districts do not yet know how much state aid they will receive, which is a significant portion of every district’s revenue. Without knowing that number, administrators in Le Roy cannot say what the anticipated tax levy will be and what that will mean for the tax rate on property owners in the district. Under the property tax cap, the district can increase the levy by 2.39 percent. The school board will meet tomorrow evening at 6 in the auditorium of Wolcott School.

47-year-old Thomas Moynihan the Second of Alexander has been arrested after allegedly violating a stay-away order of protection on at least 5 different dates. He is charged with criminal contempt in the 2nd degree and released with an appearance ticket; another arrest followed for allegedly violating an order of protection/disobeying a mandate, which resulted in another appearance ticket…both of which are scheduled for April 12 in Town of Alexander Court.

Election officials in Albany are encouraging candidates in the state to carry on with campaigning as the state appeals an upstate judge’s decision striking down recently drawn congressional and legislative maps. The State Board of Elections said that election-related deadlines ahead of the June primary will remain in place pending the appeal. That includes the filing period for designating petitions this week, due by April 7th.

Lawmakers will be back at the State Capitol today as they continue working on passing a brand new state budget. The April 1st deadline went by without a deal in place, meaning the budget has now been late three years in a row. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office says if the budget isn’t approved by 4:00 this afternoon, paychecks for some state workers could end up being delayed. There are reportedly several issues that still need to be hammered out before a budget agreement is struck including possible changes to the state’s bail reform laws, the temporary suspension of a state tax on gasoline and how much money the state will contribute towards a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills.

 

This morning, oil prices were hovering around the $100 per barrel mark. They dropped after news that the U.S. will release one million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. With this in mind, according to Triple A, today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $4.19, that’s down 6 cents from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.87. The New York State average is 4.29, down 6 cents from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.90. In Batavia, the average price per gallon is $4.32, down 4 cents from a week ago.

 

With Tax Day just two weeks away, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is reminding folks that they can file their documents for free. Anyone whose 2021 income was $73,000 or less can submit both their state and federal returns by using software available on the tax department website. And to get your refund faster, the agency suggests e-filing your documents and setting up direct deposit instead of sending them in through the mail and waiting for a check. Anyone who has questions can contact a tax department representative from 8:30am until 4:30pm Monday through Friday or visit tax.ny.gov.

 

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is suing the state ethics commission over the money he received for his book about handling the COVID 19 pandemic. The New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics wants him to pay back the cash from his $5.1 million book deal because he allegedly used state resources to write and publish the book. The lawsuit is an effort to block the Attorney General’s office from investigating whether he should pay back the money.

 

 

The 8-game-points scoring streak of the Buffalo Sabres has come to an end after a late rally falls short on home ice. Kyle Okposo, Tage Thompson, and Jeff Skinner had a goal each as the Sabres lost to the Florida Panthers 5-3 at KeyBank Center yesterday. Buffalo goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 35 saves. Up next for the Sabres is a home game tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

 

The state Department of Transportation says people who travel on Interstate 390 through Greece and Gates will have their travel plans affected by a construction project set to begin today. The agency says the left lane along I-390 north will be closed at Lexington Avenue while the left shoulder on I-390 south is going to be shut down between Ridgeway Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Crews will be out working from 7am until 3pm through Friday, but their schedule is weather-dependent.

 

Last month, a group of California elementary school students launched a free hotline featuring on-demand inspiration and advice. The small school’s project has since gone viral, receiving thousands of calls hourly. If you call 707-873-7862, you’ll hear a cheerful, young voice listing your options: “If you’re feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press one. If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press two. If you need a pep talk from kindergarteners, press three. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press four.” Some of the advice includes, “You are okay;” and “The world is a better place with you in it.” Oh, and if you’re feeling sad or angry, you should ‘go get a cookie, a smoothie, or an ice cream’. I asked and you’ll be glad to know, it’s okay to have both a cookie and ice cream.

Other suggestions from the elementary school children…
· If you’re nervous, go get your wallet and spend it on ice cream and shoes.”
· “If you’re frustrated, you can always go to your bedroom, punch a pillow or cry on it and just go scream outside.”
· “If you’re mad or frustrated, you can do what you want to do best or you can do flips on the trampoline.”
· “If you’re sad or angry, go get a cookie, a smoothie or an ice cream.” I asked and you’ll be glad to know, it’s okay to have both a cookie and ice cream.

Other pieces of advice could save a great deal of money on therapy:
· “You are OK.”
· “Don’t give up – power through.”
· “The world is a better place with you in it.”
· “Choose weird.”

And finally, a cognitive-behavioral approach:
· “If you’re feeling up high and unbalanced, think of groundhogs.”