Morning News Brief
Written by WBTA STAFF on July 20, 2023
A man hired to do work on a woman’s home was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing her to death. Piero Scala was convicted in April for killing Cathy O’Brien at her Webster home in October 2019. Family members of O’Brien said she hired him to fix problems around her house two years prior to her murder. According to court testimony, Scala was caught on camera attempting to pawn items he stole from his 56-year-old victim’s home after he killed her. He was convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of possessing stolen property.
A Rochester man is heading to prison for killing his estranged wife last year. A judge sentenced 50 year old Juan Rivera to 25 years in prison Wednesday for the stabbing death of 35 year old Maribel Diaz whose body was found June 17, 2022 inside her vehicle on Suntru Street. Police found Rivera hours later at his parents’ home on McNaughton Street. They said he set the home on fire when they arrived, surrendering a few minutes later. The fire killed 11 animals in the house. Rivera pleaded guilty in May to manslaughter and arson. Prosecutors said Diaz was “beginning to gain her independence from a controlling and toxic marriage” when Rivera killed her.
For the first time the Batavia City School District will be providing families standard school supplies for the start of the 2023 school year. That means more than 2200 students will receive supplies including crayons, markers, pencils and glue sticks when they walk in the door. It’s a program that Superintendent Smith says will cost the Batavia City School District around $125 per student, but a program he hopes will continue in the future. Smith says he wants students to be successful and that he wants to do the “right thing for families.”
The state’s Office of Cannabis Management is now allowing growers to showcase and sell cannabis products. Retailers can partner with up to three-farmers and a processor to do pop-up sales at locations approved and vetted by the office. The hope is that the move will provide opportunity for entrepreneurship and ensure the products reach consumers. O-C-M says another 212 card-licenses have been awarded to dispensaries across the state. Nine of those licenses went to Western New York.
The Muckdogs beat the Jamestown Tarp Skunks on Wednesday with a comeback in the Tenth Inning and a final score of 7 to 6. Batavia trailed the whole game until the 9th inning when it made up 4 runs sending the game into ten innings. The Muckdogs scored 1 run to win it. The Muckdogs are now 23 and 13 on the season and are ranked second in the league behind the Elmira Pioneers who have one less loss. The Muckdogs next game is against the Newark Pilots on Friday night in Dwyer Stadium starting at 6:35.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that the state is spending more money on electric vehicle charging infrastructure and rebates. Wednesday’s announcement is meant to help the state reach its goal of requiring all new passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be zero emission by 2035. Twenty-nine-million-dollars is going toward the “Drive Clean Rebate” program. New York state reached 150-thousand E-V’s on the road last month. The state is also aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050.
