Monday News Brief

35-year-old Brian Raphael of Batavia has been arrested. He’s charged with petit larceny, following an investigation at Tractor Supply Company on East Main Road. Raphael allegedly concealed merchandise from the store and attempted to leave with items he did not pay for. He’s scheduled to appear in Town of Batavia Court in late August.

 

A police pursuit that started in the Byron area with the New York State Police ended with a standoff at a Batavia apartment complex. The chase happened yesterday afternoon; the driver proceeded toward 335 Bank Street and entered an apartment at Northside Meadows a little before 4:00pm. Batavia Police say the driver barricaded the door so law enforcement could not enter. A little before 6:00pm, police made entry by forcing the door open; the driver was taken into custody without incident and arrested. The car was towed and is in the possession of State Police. City Police are investigation how entry was made into an unoccupied apartment; state police are handling the pursuit portion of the investigation.

 

Officials with Rochester Regional Health have revealed their plan to deal with a possible strike by nurses. Members of the Rochester Union of Nurses and Allied Professionals are currently planning to walk off the job starting on Thursday if a new contract isn’t approved. If that happens, Rochester Regional already has a deal in place to hire replacement nurses so patient care isn’t affected. Negotiations between the health system and nurses have been ongoing for months.

 

Regional drivers are still paying more to fill up their vehicles thanks to a surge in gas prices. According to Triple A today, the national average cost for a gallon of regular fuel is now $3.76. The state average is $3.82. In Batavia, we’re paying $3.71. That’s up 12 cents from a week ago but 78 cents lower than it was one year ago today.

 

 

Summer is in full swing, and the New York State Department of Health is reminding people to keep themselves safe from dangerous UV rays. The agency says that anyone who spends time outdoors should wear sunscreen and make sure to reapply it after swimming or sweating. Prolonged exposure to UV rays can lead to melanoma, which is the ninth most common type of cancer in New York. Folks should also have on sunglasses to protect their eyes and reduce the risk of cataracts.

 

For the first time since her cardiac arrest more than a year ago, Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim Pegula has made a stop at the team’s training camp. Pegula was at Saint John Fisher University yesterday, but didn’t appear in front of fans. Both head coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen took time to go over and see her while she watched practice from inside an SUV that was parked near the field. Pegula and her husband Terry also own the Buffalo Sabres.

 

Unfortunately, the Batavia Muckdogs get to, and then lose the Playoffs, in one weekend. With a convincing win over Niagara Power on Saturday, in combination with a loss by Elmira, the Muckdogs clinched the Western Division in the regular season finale at Dwyer Stadium. Batavia won 9-2; this is the second consecutive Western Division crown for the Muckdogs. The Playoffs started and ended for the Muckdogs last night with the #1 seed ‘Dogs losing to the Auburn Doubledays, 4-2 ending their season.

 

ELSEWHERE…

Olympic champion Katie Ledecky now holds more individual world titles than any other swimmer. Ledecky tied and broke Michael Phelps’ record over the weekend at the World Aquatic Championships in Japan. She claimed her 16th world title and passed Phelps on Saturday when she won the 800-meter freestyle. The 26-year-old Ledecky tied Phelps’ record last Tuesday with a win in the 1,500-meter freestyle.

 

Verizon customers with older phone plans could see their bill go up next month. The company says starting this week some older plans will be charged an additional $3 to $5 per mobile phone line every month. Unlimited plans that are currently available to new customers won’t get hit with the additional charge.

 

The Powerball jackpot continues to grow. Lottery officials say no one picked all six numbers in Saturday’s drawing. That means Monday night’s jackpot in the multi-state lottery game will be worth $74 million. As for Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot, that’s worth just over $1 billion. Please play responsibly.

 

 

 

An Australian man has been dubbed the scrabble world champion. David Eldar won ten-thousand-dollars and bragging rights after besting his opponent at the world scrabble championship in Las Vegas over the weekend. Over 132 players competed for the title over the course of the four-day event. Eldar played some unique words like “thrimsas” and “sosatie” [[ So-saw-tee ]] but ultimately his final word in the winning game was “women.”

 

And for anyone who remembers (or even cares) the little girl once known as ‘Honey Boo Boo’ (Alana Thompson) is hitting two major milestones this fall: She’s starting college (Regis University in Denver) and moving in with her boyfriend (Dralin Carswell). She plans to study nursing and is living off campus for security reasons and because Dralin will be with her.

 

 

Today is Monday, July 31st, the 212th day of the year.

 

July 31 in history…

…In 1792, the cornerstone of the United States Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was put into place. It was the first building to be used solely as a U.S. Government building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1928, Leo the lion roared for MGM Studios for the first time. Leo introduced MGM’s first talking picture, “White Shadows on the South Seas.”

 

 

 

…In 1955, 17-year-old Marilyn Bell became the youngest person to swim the English Channel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1964, Country Music Hall-of-Famer Jim Reeves died in a plane crash near Nashville, Tennessee.

 

 

 

 

…In 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin became the first men to ride in a vehicle on the moon. The two men spent two hours traveling five miles on the moon’s surface in their lunar dune buggy.

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1981, the baseball player’s strike came to an end after seven weeks. 713 games were cancelled because of the strike.

 

 

 

 

…In 1998, “Diff’rent Strokes” star Gary Coleman turned himself in to police after allegedly punching a female fan who asked for his autograph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

…In 2013, former football star OJ Simpson was granted parole on convictions for kidnapping and armed robbery stemming from a hold up of two sports memorabilia dealers in 2007. However, he was ordered to remain behind bars on other charges.