Afternoon News Brief
Written by Doug Thompson on August 8, 2022
Today through Wednesday, August 10th, the Town of Batavia is making repairs and upgrades to the Ellicott Street Water Booster Station in the Town of Batavia, between the dates of August 8th and August 10th. While the work is being performed, water customers in the Ellicott Street Road area may experience lower than normal water pressure. Once the work is completed, water pressure will be restored to normal.
Nati home in Pembroke
A Pembroke family is now waiting to learn the fate of their home after being forced out of it because it could collapse at any time. Homeowner Gene Nati noticed a crack in his driveway, and later found one in the foundation on his Scribner Road home. Nati says the crack extends across the street and is getting worse. Genesee County officials told Nati that the nearby quarry may have drained the water table and geologists will determine whether the 10-year-old house is on a sinkhole. Photo is provided courtesy of our news partner, The Batavian. Additional details and pictures are available on their website; here is a direct link to the story: https://www.thebatavian.com/howard-b-owens/ground-shifts-under-pembroke-family-home-forced-to-evacuate-with-help-of-volunteer
The controversial ReAwaken America Tour is scheduled to come to Batavia Friday and Saturday, and protesters again made their feelings known about the upcoming event. Protesters were outside Cornerstone Church on Sunday, which is hosting the event after the original location in Rochester declined to host after public backlash. Protesters are concerned with the tour’s ideology and that nearly 3,500 people are expected for the event. Representatives of the Cornerstone Church have said they plan to move forward with the event, as scheduled.
The Batavia Police will host their annual Community Night tomorrow at City Church, St. Anthony’s, on Liberty Street. It’s scheduled to start at 5:30pm and goes until 8pm; the celebration includes free food, a bounce house, games and horses.
Western New York drivers are paying less money to fill up their vehicles these days as gas prices keep declining. According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand dropped recently to the point where it was in line with demand at the end of July 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions were in place. Meanwhile, stocks continue to rise while oil prices remain lower, which is leading to a drop in gas prices. This morning, oil prices ranged from $89 to $95 per barrel. And Triple A tells us; the average cost for a gallon of regular fuel in our region is $4.53. That’s down eight cents in the past week and is 34 cents cheaper than this time one month ago. The state average is $4.43 a gallon and the national average if $4.06. In Batavia, the average price we’re paying is now $4.45, which is down 30 cents from a month ago today.
Dive teams are expected to be back in the water at Canandaigua Lake today as the search for a missing man resumes. Officials say the man didn’t have a flotation device on when he jumped into the lake Friday in the area of LeTourneau Christian Camp in Rushville. The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office tells the Democrat and Chronicle the search couldn’t move forward until today because the department was waiting for special dive equipment to arrive. So far, the name of the man hasn’t been released.
The New York State Fair is opening soon, and Amtrak will be making it easier for people to attend. The rail company is offering direct service to the fairgrounds in Syracuse. Officials say by deciding to take the train, folks will be able to avoid things like parking fees, traffic and tolls and save money on gas. Tickets are available right now and can be purchased online at amtrak.com. The fair begins Wednesday, August 24th and runs through Labor Day, which is Monday, September 5th.
What’s the rush, Earth?
Scientists in England tell us they recorded the shortest day ever on June 29 and another shortened day on July 26. On both of these days, the Earth completed its usual 24-hour rotation in less than 24 hours, 1.59 milliseconds less, to be precise. They say this is caused by the Earth spinning faster than usual, but why on earth are we doing that? Some believe it has to do with earthquakes or global warming. Australian scientists say it may be because the earth has liquid on the inside, it’s got liquid on the outside, and it’s got an atmosphere and all of these things slosh around a bit, which apparently influences the speed at which the earth spins. There is speculation as well that this could be the beginning of a new period of shorter days; however, the need to drop a second annually to catch up with solar time, that would still seem quite a ways off.
