Monday Afternoon News Brief
Written by WBTA STAFF on December 30, 2024
The state is awarding $51 million in grants for affordable home ownership. Governor Kathy Hochul says more than one thousand low to moderate income families in different areas of the state are being awarded the money which can be used for making repairs, renovations and safety modifications to homes. The money is also helping for down payment assistance to first time homebuyers. For additional information, you can follow links at hcr.ny.gov.
Motorists won’t be seeing much of a change when they head to the gas station to fill up. Triple A says the national average cost for a gallon of regular fuel is $3.03. The state average is sitting at $3.12. In our region, the average price per gallon calculates out to $3.22. That is down a penny in the last week, and it is also three cents less than what drivers were paying at this point one month ago. A year ago today, we were paying $3.40.
A New Year means new laws, and there will be a variety of legislation on the books in the Empire State comes New Year’s Day. Telemarketers will be required to provide the purpose of their call plus the name and address of their company within the first 30 seconds of a call. Cell phone companies must also limit or disable service to a device that is reported stolen to reduce the number of phones sold on the black market. Finally, on January 1st New York will be the first state in the country to require paid prenatal leave.
A man is charged after Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies rescued him from a crashed vehicle in the Town of Wheatfield. Authorities say deputies were called out yesterday on a report that a vehicle had overturned and was underwater in a ditch. Deputies were able to open the vehicle and pull Robert Prange to safety. Prange was sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He was charged with a traffic violation and Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs after an investigation revealed he was under the influence of drugs.
Officials are gearing up for Downtown Buffalo’s 37th Annual New Year’s Eve Ball Drop & Fireworks Celebration. The event will take place tomorrow night from 10 p.m. to midnight at Roosevelt Plaza in Downtown Buffalo. The celebration includes live music, the ceremonial “Dropping of the NYE Ball”, and a fireworks display starting at midnight.

Josh Allen, 12/29/24 (CBS Sports photo)
The Buffalo Bills have locked up the second seed in the AFC playoffs after rolling to a blowout victory at home. QB Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and also had a rushing score as his team dominated the New York Jets 40 to 14 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park yesterday. The Bills have also broken the franchise record for points scored in a season and were undefeated at home. Their final game of the regular season is Sunday against the New England Patriots.