Afternoon News Brief
Written by Doug Thompson on August 24, 2022
It appears New York State Republican Committee Chairman Nick Langworthy is one step closer to heading to Capitol Hill. Langworthy has declared victory over Carl Paladino in the Republican primary for the newly-redrawn 23rd District. But, Paladino’s campaign has released a statement saying its seeing statistical irregularities in a number of counties that will be looked into in the coming days. In the newly created 24th District, Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney defeated challengers Mario Fratto and George Phillips. Tenney is now going to face Steven Holden, who is the nominee of the Democratic Party.
The unemployment rate for Genesee County is now at 3.0 percent, which represents an increase in the total number of people working, from 28,200 in July 2021 to 29,600 as of the end of last month. The number of unemployed dropped from 1,300 to 900 during that time. The unemployment rate for Orleans County was at 4.2 percent, compared to 5.5 percent a year earlier, the state Department of Labor reported today. (In July 2020, early in the Covid pandemic, the unemployment rate was at 9.4 percent in Orleans.) The unemployment rate also dropped statewide from 7.1 percent in July 2021 to 4.8 percent last month. Nationally the unemployment rate declined from 5.7 to 3.8 percent.
Wegmans – lemon dill butter recall
Wegmans has issued a recall of its brand of lemon dill finishing butter due to the possibility it may be contaminated. The supermarket chain says that the product could have listeria in it. According to the Food and Drug Administration, listeria can affect anyone and symptoms include high fever, severe headache, vomiting, and weakness. So far, no illnesses have been connected to the product. Anyone who purchased it should throw it out or return it to the store for a refund.
The Carlton Fire Company tells us that a vehicle was found partially submerged in Lake Ontario early Tuesday morning. The car had driven over an embankment from the Lakeside Beach Park and landed upside down in Lake Ontario. A single occupant was found inside the vehicle by first responders. The occupant was quickly extricated from the car and transported to the hospital with only minor injuries.
Positive COVID-19 test result
Among COVID-19’s most harmful features, is its incubation period. It’s much longer than many other respiratory viral infections. However, according to recently published research out of China, it appears the time period between an individual’s exposure to COVID-19 and development of symptoms, is narrowing from what used to be 5 days to now roughly 3-1/2 days. And that’s good news, because the longer a virus can replicate inside a person before causing symptoms, the harder it can be to stop because of the greater potential for the infected individual to unknowingly spread it to many other people.
The New York State Fair opened today at the Fairgrounds in Syracuse. The popular event is scheduled to run through Labor Day, which is Monday, September 5th. There will be a wide variety of things for visitors to check out including food, rides and performances from some of the biggest names in the music industry. For a complete list of events and to purchase tickets, head to nysfair.ny.gov.
Governor Hochul
Today marks one year since Kathy Hochul was sworn in to become New York State’s governor. Hochul became the 57th governor of New York and the only female governor in state history after Andrew Cuomo resigned due to sexual harassment allegations. Hochul is touting her success, highlighting her efforts to combat gun violence, protect reproductive and human rights, and alleviate rising costs. The Democrat is hoping to win a full four-year term in office when she takes on Republican and Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin on Election Day.
