Monday News Brief

43-year-old Carrie Stewart of Attica has been arrested. She’s charged with petit larceny. It’s alleged she shoplifted from Old Navy in the Town of Batavia. Stewart was released on an appearance ticket returnable to Batavia Town Court next month.

 

 

Rochester Pipeline, Incorporated will be mobilizing equipment in preparation for construction on the Bank Street Water project within the City of Batavia. Construction on this project is scheduled to begin this week and will include the installation of 932 linear feet of new 8-inch water main and appurtenances to replace the existing 4-inch and 6-inch water mains along Bank Street (East Main Street to Washington Street). Traffic delays are to be expected; however, no street closures are anticipated at this time.

 

 

As reported by Tom Tharp this morning: Some possible bad news for the STAMP site in Genesee County near Alabama. The Plug Power company currently building a hydrogen fuel cell plant at the site declared in an SEC filing that it has not been able to raise enough money through investors and may not have enough capital to continue within a year. The Latham-based company started selling public stock in 1999 and has never reported a profit, which is not unusual for early-stage start-ups. The company is working on several options to raise more capital. The CEO said that the report is not final and he has hope for the company’s future. According to reports in early October, Plug Power is considered a strong contender for a portion of $7 billion in federal grants for alternative energy projects. In 2019, the federal government committed $4 million to the company.

 

Some good news regarding the per-gallon price of regular gas. As of this morning, the national average price is $3.37. The state average is 3.65. In Batavia, we’re paying $3.66 per gallon, that’s down 4 cents from a week ago and 13 cents from a year ago today. Recent decreases in the price of oil may bring the price at the pump down even more. Oil has dropped over $10 per barrel in just a week.

 

Starting today, over 1000 employees at the University of Rochester Medical Center will begin an informational picket. Service workers and caregivers say they want to be paid fair wages and for attempts to be made to recruit and train more people to address staffing shortages. The workers are still going to be on the clock for their regular shifts and will picket in their time off. Their current contract with the hospital expired last month.

 

Western New York Congressman Brian Higgins has confirmed that he’ll be leaving Capitol Hill next year. Higgins is planning to resign in February so he can become the next president of Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. The 26th District Democrat says that Congress isn’t the same place as it was when he first took office, and that less time is being spent serving the American people. A special election will be needed to fill the rest of his term.

 

Today, proposed changes to high school graduation requirements are going to be revealed at the state Board of Regents meeting. Right now, high school students need to pass four specific Regents exams to get their diploma. Recommendations may include getting rid of those exams or allowing kids to have more of a say in what they must do to graduate. It’ll be up to the board to decide how and when these changes are made.

 

 

The state departments of health and agriculture and markets are urging residents not to buy or eat certain apple puree and applesauce products. Recalls have been issued for Schnucks Applesauce pouches, WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree pouches, and Weis Apple Cinnamon Fruit pouches due to concerns they could contain high levels of lead. The state is now working to see if any children have elevated lead levels in their blood. Anyone who has bought these products should throw them out.

 

The Buffalo Bills will be back in the national spotlight tonight as they take the field for Monday Night Football. The Bills are set to host the Denver Broncos at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Buffalo is coming off of a 24 to 18 loss last Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals that dropped their record this season to five wins and four losses. Kickoff this evening is set for 8:15.

 

ELSEWHERE…

 

The Rockefeller Center Tree arrived in New York City Saturday and is now standing. The 80-foot tall Norway Spruce was cut down from Vestal, New York Wednesday morning. The traditional 80-year-old, 12 ton Norway Spruce made a roughly 200 mile journey to be the star of New York’s holiday season. The tree’s decorations includes five miles worth of more than 50,000 LED lights, and is topped with a nine foot, 900 pound Swarovski star adorned with three million crystals. The tree lighting will be on Wednesday, November 29th.

 

Scientists in Texas have discovered a new species of dinosaur. While a small fossil from the animal was discovered in 2020, more bones were found near Lake Grapevine this week and scientists confirmed it was an entirely new species. The small herbivore’s Latin name translates to “Cohen’s Grapevine Jaw,” a combination of Murray Cohen who first made the discovery, and the place it was found. The dinosaur was likely about six-feet long and between 20 to 60 pounds.

 

 

A Dickinson, North Dakota woman has been handed a big surprise at Lottery headquarters in Bismarck. The woman was cashing in what she thought was a Powerball ticket worth $600 this week. At the Lottery office she was told it was actually worth $150,000. The drawing was October 7th.

 

Today is Monday, November 13th, the 317th day of the year.

November 13 in history…

 

…In 1940, the Walt Disney animated feature “Fantasia” premiered in New York.

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1971 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1974, nuclear power plant employee and political activist Karen Silkwood died at the age of 28. She was killed while on her way to meet with a “New York Times” reporter. They planned to discuss evidence she had uncovered about faulty fuel rods at the plant. The story was the basis for the 1983 film “Silkwood.”

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1998, President Clinton agreed to pay Paula Jones $850,000 to drop her sexual harassment lawsuit and end the four-year legal battle that triggered the impeachment proceedings against him.

 

 

 

…In 2009 Forbes Magazine reported that Michael Jackson had earned about $72 million since his death in June.