Evening News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on February 4, 2021
The New York State Supreme Court Justice Kimberly O’Connor has ruled that the state department of health has 5 days to release all information about nursing home deaths to the Empire Center which has been suing for the information since August 3rd. O’Connor also ruled that the health department has to pay for all legal fees and compensate the Empire Center for losses during the time since they first filed suit. The Department of Health had postponed responding to the Empire Center’s Freedom of Information Law request 3 times. The state health department has previously stated that the information was lost, or that what was already released was completely accurate, and now the State Attorney General reports that the number of deaths in nursing home was underreported by at least 50 percent.
COVID Update: Genesee county has 20 new cases and 21 people have recovered. One county resident and 1 Resident of the VA Medical Center have passed away. Orleans county has 30 new cases and 10 people have recovered. 7 of the new cases are at Orchard Rehab and Nursing and 1 is at The Villages of Orleans. There are 132 active cases in Genesee county and 119 in Orleans.
Western NY Independent Living is calling on people with disabilities to make their voices heard by participating in the 2021 Virtual Legislative Education Week from February 8th to 12th. Participants wishing to hear from, and talk to, their representatives can use the Zoom Meeting online platform OR call in to speak with the elected officials participating. Go to wbtai.com for details on how to register. Register by Feb. 6 for these virtual meetings by contacting Jillian Moss at (716) 836-0822, ext. 146, or by email at jmoss@wnyil.org.
The city of Batavia Police Reform Committee has released their draft of the plan for how Batavia PD can move ahead in compliance with Governor Cuomo’s mandate. The whole draft and the feedback form are available online at batavianewyork.com.
Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger has COVID 19. He announced that he tested positive earlier today and has entered the NHL’s COVID protocol. A handful of other players across the NHL have also tested positive and are quarantined. All Sabres games through the 11th are postponed.
