Afternoon News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on December 29, 2020
The 600 dollar stimulus check payments may be going out as early as later this week. This is 600 dollars a person in a family where each adult makes less than 75 thousand dollars each, so a family of 4 would get 2400 dollars. President Trump has called for 2000 dollar payments and the House has passed a new stimulus of just that, 2000 dollars a person in a family, and the senate is debating the increase. This would be an increase from the 600 dollars to 2000 dollars a person. How that will be sent out if passed, as the 600 dollar payments are already being processed, remains to be seen.
The city of Batavia is looking for qualified agencies to take over the work of its now defunct Youth Bureau. The city is requesting proposals from qualified agencies to provide after-school programming, youth services and a summer recreation program. To be considered you have to pick up the proposal in the city manager’s office by January 15th. The proposal is also available on the city’s website.
Governor Cuomo and other statewide elected officials won’t be getting their planned pay increases. The governor signed an executive order yesterday putting them on hold. As a result, the governor will forgo a 25-thousand dollar bump in pay while people like Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli won’t receive a 10-thousand dollar raise.
19 year old Tyler Williams of Summit Street in Leroy was arrested on December 17th for breaking into a home in Leroy at 3am while everyone was asleep. While he was in the home he was confronted by the homeowner with a gun. The homeowner held Williams at gunpoint until police arrived. He is charged with second-degree burglary, a felony; possession of burglar tools, a misdemeanor; and second-degree criminal trespass, also a misdemeanor.
The Buffalo Bills conquered the Patriots last night in a 38 to 9 trouncing. The Bills last swept the Patriots in 1999. The last division opponents to sweep the Patriots were the Jets and Dolphins in 2000. Buffalo is now 12 and 3 and is in the 2nd slot for the playoffs tied with Pittsburg. The Bills are hosting the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the State Department of Health continues to work with the Buffalo Bills on a pilot plan to allow fans into Bills Stadium this January for the playoffs. If approved, the pilot plan would allow for a limited number of fans after testing each person for COVID-19. Cuomo says it could serve as a model for reopening other types of businesses. “Many stadiums across the country are already open, and without any testing whatsoever,” Cuomo said during Monday’s briefing. “But the model the Department of Health is working on is smart. How do you use testing to start to reopen businesses? That is going to be the challenge of 2021.”
