Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on May 30, 2022
Drivers are looking for a little help paying for gas as it approaches 5 dollars a gallon in New York State. Governor Hochul has pledged that the state tax will be suspended, saving upwards of 16 cents per gallon. Several counties including Erie and Monroe are also dropping their gas tax on top of the state tax for another 12 to 15 cents off. The gas tax relief is set to go into effect on Wednesday and will go till September.
June is Gun Violence Awareness Month and most people are only too aware of gun violence in Western NY. Mayor Byron Brown, whose city remains grieving following the mass shooting at a Tops store on May 14, is hosting a statewide gun violence press conference Tuesday. He’ll be joined by Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas, and Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino. The event will also feature remarks from anti-gun violence advocates and clergy members. It comes a week after 21 were killed in a school shooting in Texas.
In North Tonawanda a new memorial has been dedicated to residents of the town who served in the armed forces. The North Tonawanda City Market has a hometown heroes wall with pictures of veterans and the USS The Sullivans. Several local elected officials and members of the city’s veterans groups paid tribute and took part in the rededication ceremony on Saturday. A donation from Joe Smith of David Chevrolet in Niagara Falls paid for the new wall. The North Tonawanda City Market is open on Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday from 7 AM to 1 PM and is located at Payne Avenue and Robinson Street.
Buffalo tennis star Jessica Pegula made it to the French Open Quarterfinals as the 3rd woman from the US to make it this year. The 26-year-old Pegula is seeded 11th at Roland Garros. Her two previous runs to the round of eight at Grand Slam tournaments came at the Australian Open — this January and last year. Pegula, whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, will play either the no 1 spot or number 74 spot depending on matchups.
