Morning News Brief

Rochester Police are investigating a triple shooting in the city’s Upper Falls area on Monday night.  Around 6:20 p.m., officers responded to William Warfield Drive for the report of shots fired.  Once there, they found out there was an altercation, which resulted in three people being shot.  Police say two young girls, ages 12 and 16, were both shot at least once in the lower body, and a 20-year-old man was shot in the upper body.  All three were taken to Rochester General Hospital by private vehicles, where they are expected to recover from their injuries.  No arrests have been made.

Bribery and fraud charges against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin were tossed out Monday by a federal judge, leaving Benjamin to face only records falsification charges and prompting his lawyers to say it was tragic that the case was ever brought.  Judge J. Paul Oetken in a written opinion said prosecutors failed to allege an explicit example in which Benjamin provided a favor for a bribe, an essential element of bribery and honest services fraud charges.  Benjamin resigned after his arrest last April. He pleaded not guilty to charges that he obtained campaign contributions from a real estate developer in exchange for his influence to get a $50,000 grant of state funds for a nonprofit organization the developer controlled.

US representative Elise Stefanik is alleging nearly $20,000 dollars in donations has been stolen from her campaign in targeted mail theft, and her team is demanding action from the United States postal service.  The claim was made in a letter Thursday, addressed to Postmaster General Louis Dejoy. It shows photos of mail being ripped apart—including a torn check from a donor. The packages were discovered in Memphis by the USPS Inspection Service.  The letter states that “on four separate occasions between June and November, packages sent by Elise For Congress containing campaign contributions were ripped open and the contents stolen while in the custody of usps or its contractors.”  The US Postal Service said they received the letter and will respond with findings, adding both the Postal Inspection Service and Office of Inspector General have a potential role to play in this investigation.

The Buffalo Common Council unanimously passed a resolution that asks Governor Kathy Hochul to declare a State of Emergency over the Buffalo School District’s transportation issues. This would allow the district’s Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams to change the district’s start times without the approval of the Buffalo Teacher’s Federation.  Buffalo School said the district and the union have been renegotiating a contract for months, but have not come close to reaching a solution. In a press conference on Wednesday, the district’s general counsel said one of the reasons is they can’t agree on a three-bell start time.  The teachers federation held a vote of no confidence in the Superintendent.  The next negotiation day is tomorrow.  

December 3rd a battle of the Batavia publishers came close to a tie, pitting former Daily News publisher Tom Turnbull against Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian. The match-up was for GO Art!’s Bartender Challenge, a fundraiser for the Batavia-based  nonprofit.  After about two dozen patrons participated, the total tips were counted: $164 for Turnbull and $159 for Owens. All in good fun, it ended well with a contribution of $323 for Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

The National Football League has revealed the kickoff time for the upcoming game between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. The two longtime AFC East rivals will play at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Saturday, December 17th at eight-15 p-m and the contest will air on NFL Network. These teams played earlier in the season with Miami winning 21 to 19. The Bills will also be home this coming Sunday when they host the New York Jets.