Midday News Brief
Written by Dan Fischer on January 19, 2021
The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce has announced it’s the winners in its 49th annual awards.
Business of the Year is Pellegrino Auto Sales; Agricultural Business of the Year is L&M Specialty Fabrication and Special Service Regnition of the Year goes to Rochester Regional Health / UMMC.
The Geneseean of the Year is Tammy Hathaway, the Executive Director of the United Way of Genesee County.
The spread of COVID-19 is finally slowing statewide, but officials say the worst of the health crisis may not be over yet. Cases surged as expected after the holidays as families gathered to celebrate, but the number of new infections is starting to level off. However, experts say the threat of new variants of the virus from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil means people need to remain alert and take the proper precautions. There have already been several cases of the UK variant discovered in New York.
New York is billions of dollars in the red, and today Governor Cuomo will reveal how he plans to fix the state’s financial problems.
He’ll be giving his annual budget address this morning at the State Capitol building in Albany. New York was already in tough fiscal shape before the COVID-19 pandemic started, but things have gotten much worse over the last few months.
The governor is expected to ask the federal government for money but says if that request isn’t granted, programs could be cut and taxes may be raised.
The fortress of security that surrounds Trump Tower along Fifth Avenue will loosen up a bit once President Trump leaves the White House this week. The NYPD says streets around the high-rise that have been blocked since he became president will likely be reopened. The communications center inside the tower will be dismantled.
The Buffalo Sabres finally have their first win of the season at the expense of an East Division rival.
The Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers six-to-one on the road last night. Buffalo goalie Carter Hutton stopped all but one of the 22 shots he faced. These two teams will meet again in Philadelphia tonight starting at 7.
