Morning News Brief

The Batavia Police are hosting their annual Community Night tonight at St. Anthony’s, on Liberty Street. It starts at 5:30 pm and goes until 8 pm. The Celebration includes free food, a bounce house, games, and horses. The event will benefit the K-9 program, and our Nici Johnson will be broadcasting live, with Chris Kalin in the dunk tank.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin wants state Democrats to dump a plan that would result in a 40-hour work week for farm workers. The state’s Farm Laborers Wage Board wants to phase in the mandatory 40-hour work week over the next decade, which means farm owners would have to pay overtime if a worker logged more than 40 hours.

Right now, farm owners don’t have to pay overtime unless someone works over 60 hours. Zeldin says the change would harm the state’s agriculture industry and smaller farms. The wage board meets Sept. 6 to finalize the plan.

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Residents in the Town of Batavia may experience low water pressure through tomorrow as the town is making repairs and upgrades to the Ellicott Street Water Booster Station. Once the work is completed, the town says water pressure will be restored to normal.

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The deadline for you to change your party enrollment ahead of the August primary is coming up later this week. You now have until five p-m Thursday to switch your affiliation and you can do so by filling out a form that can be picked up at your city, town or village clerk’s office, post office or motor vehicle office. You can also request a change in-person at the county’s Board of Elections. Primary Day is set for Tue., Aug. 23 and ballots will be cast in both Congressional and State Senate races.

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The American Red Cross says only 3% of eligible blood donors give blood. To entice more people to donate, the Red Cross is giving anyone who donates blood or platelets in August a $10 e-gift card good for various merchants and will be entered in a drawing for a chance to be one of three people to win gas for a year. We have a list of donation locations in Genesee County for August that can be found here, or you can call the Red Cross for info (1-800-RED-CROSS).

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One invasive species could cost New York State millions of dollars.  Officials say the colorful spotted lantern fly was first seen in the area two years ago on Staten Island but has now been seen throughout the state.  The Department of Agriculture says the insect feeds on more than 70 plant species and is especially worried about what it could do to the state’s $300 million grape and wine industry.  Officials are asking anyone who sees the bug with the red body to stomp it out.

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Buffalo-based Rich Holdings Inc., the parent company of food-service company Rich Products Corporation, will have a new chairperson. Mindy Rich, will take over the role, succeeding her husband, Robert E. Rich, in what the company called a long-planned transition.

She joined Rich’s in 1985 and worked in various roles as part of the leadership team, including executive vice president of innovation. She also chairs the board’s Finance and Audit and Compensation and Organization committees.

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