Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on July 1, 2022
Governor Hochul signed new legislation Thursday that will make concert goers happy. The legislation coined New York’s “Ticketing Law” bans hidden fees in live event tickets, establishes fines for scalper bots or illegal ticket purchasing software, bans the sale of tickets that were given out for free initially, and bans delivery fees on print at home tickets or e-tickets. These potentially unfair and deceptive practices will hopefully make going to live events cheaper and less likely to be scammed.
Do you have an electric vehicle? Governor Hochul has just announced that EVolve NY charging stations will be free through the Independence day weekend. This goes from midnight July 1st through Midnight July 5th. There are about 100 of these stations throughout New York placed and maintained by the New York Power Authority. Follow the link at WBTAi.com to see where they are.
https://evolveny.nypa.gov/
The Supreme Court decided not to make a decision in the case brought by health care workers against the State of New York on Thursday. The case centers around the requirement for healthcare workers to get the COVID vaccination with no exemptions for religious reasons. New York is one of only 3 states in the union that denies religious exemptions for the vaccine requirement. 3 Justices dissented in the decision not to take up the case.
The Canadian Government announced Thursday that the travel restrictions for COVID 19 will continue at least until September 30th. Americans crossing the border must be fully vaccinated and are mandated to use the ArriveCAN app to submit information. They may also be subject to random arrival testing. Representative Brian Higgins says that 2 and a half years of border restrictions, with most people being vaccinated on both sides of the border, are breaking the US Canada relationship and economies.
Genesee County Office for the Aging wants to apologize. The coupons for seniors at the farmers market are not yet available because of a shipping delay. They will start having coupons after July 5th and will post updates as soon as they get them.
The City of Batavia wants to replace the public lights throughout the city with LEDs but they don’t own them. Through a contract with National Grid, the power company is responsible for keeping the lights on and their maintenance. The City is voting to spend 226 thousand dollars to buy the lights, 948 of them, back from the power company. The City Council wants to convert the lights to LEDs so they will last longer, provide more light, and more coverage. City Manager Rachel Tabelski says that National Grid does a good job but it will be better to have more local control.
Work on Richmond Ave in Batavia is scheduled to begin July 6th. Milling and paving as well as work on the sidewalk on the north side of the street will begin from Oak Street to State Street. Once the North side is done the work will shift to the sidewalk on the south side from Oak to Ellicott Ave. No street closures are anticipated but delays should be expected.
