Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on August 7, 2023
3 million dollars in damages, 6 stores closed and dozens of employees out of work after a fire at a shopping plaza in East Buffalo at the corner of Eggert and Kensington Saturday afternoon. Investigators said the fire started in the office space between a laundromat and the Rent-A-Center in the plaza at Kensington Avenue and Eggert Road around 4:20 p.m. and spread to other businesses in the plaza. Fire department officials said no injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation. The stores that are now closed are Family Dollar, Olivia’s Oasis, Nickel City Laundromat, Buffalo SNUG Neighborhood Violence Prevention Center, DaVita Cleve-Hill Dialysis and Rent-A-Center.
5 people shot and at least one dead following multiple shootings on Clinton Ave in Rochester over the weekend. Around 1am Saturday morning there was a gathering of hundreds of people in the Upper Falls area of Rochester when shots were fired near Siebert Place and Scrantom St. Officers responded and found a 19 year old man shot in the head, he was taken to the hospital and is listed in grave condition. Also a 26 year old woman was shot and is expected to survive. Two cars were shot but no one was injured. Another crowd gathered and even more people were pouring in when more shots were fired and a 13 year old girl and a 23 year old man were taken to the hospital and are in life threatening condition. A 22 year old man was found shot in the head on Clinton and died shortly after being taken to the hospital. At that same time, Rochester police said a 24-year-old woman was stabbed in the 700 block of North Clinton. She has non-life-threatening injuries. 1 person is in custody and several guns were recovered at the scenes of the shootings.
There will soon be a new way for adults in Western New York to buy cannabis; the region’s first online retailer is launching this week. Canterra touts itself as the first cannabis E-commerce platform in the region. The website is already up for Western New Yorkers to learn more about cannabis products. When sales open this morning, the site will begin taking orders from all eight counties in Western New York, as well as Monroe County. Officials with Canterra say deliveries will start as soon as Friday, August 11.
The STAMP Board has decided to table the plans for a sewer line that was set to use eminent domain to run 9 miles through the Iroquois Wildlife refuge, over three private properties and then dump treated wastewater into Oak Orchard Creek which would then run into Native American lands. After a public outcry against the 6 million gallon pipe at the meeting on July 27th the board, in executive session, decided to put the decision on hold. People who spoke at the meeting were upset over the water running into the reservation being tainted by the dumping of wastewater, the pipe running through the wildlife refuge possibly leaking, and waste being dumped into waterways.
You may have noticed an increase in the price at the pump over the weekend. In Batavia the average price of a gallon of regular gas went up by at least 13 cents in the last week. Currently it sits at 3.83 if you take member prices and discounts into effect but most people will be paying closer to 4 dollars. Its high but not as high as last year when the price was 4.45. The state average is 3.90 and the national average is 3.83. Lots of people traveling and the rising price of oil are to blame for the increase. AAA says that the price of oil has hit its top and is going to start falling off at the same time as people will start traveling less so gas should go back down soon.
The GLOW Corporate Cup was held on Friday in Batavia and the winner of the 5K is Zac Jantzi who ran for the Bontrager Auction and Real Estate Team. He had a time of 17 minutes and 16 seconds. Last year he was 8 seconds slower and came in second place. For the third straight year, Kim Mills of Oakfield and representing Batavia City Schools, was the top women’s runner, finishing with a time of 20:25. There were a total of 605 people who completed the course either as runners or walkers.
