Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on November 22, 2021
Mobile sports betting will soon be legal in New York State. The New York State Gaming Commission has voted to license 8 betting providers and 9 operators. Currently, mobile sports betting is legal in a dozen states, including nearby states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Here in New York, the final tax rate for online betting will be set at 51%. That means casinos and gamblers will be paying a higher percentage for added tax revenue. Meanwhile, licenses for approved providers like FanDuel and Draft Kings will last for at least ten years. Just within the last few years, sportsbooks became legal at casinos statewide.
Governor Hochul announced yesterday that New York was permanently adding into law the Nourish NewYork program. The Nourish New York initiative reroutes New York’s surplus agricultural products to the populations who need them most through the state’s food banks. The program also provides support for the food producers and farmers who have lost markets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic because the state’s food banks are buying agricultural products from New York farmers and food processors. Through three rounds of the program, New York’s food banks have purchased over 35 million pounds of food products, which equates to 29,800,000 meals. In this fourth round, New York’s food banks have purchased 6,900,000 pounds of food, creating an additional 5,750,000 meals for households in need. A total of $85 million has been committed to Nourish NY since its launch in May 2020.
The City of Batavia Democrats are upset about the process of selecting a City Councilperson to replace Rose Mary Christian as she leaves the City council. Although Christian was a democrat when she was elected to the council she switched to Republican. The charter says the seat that she left must be filled by someone of the same party as the person leaving. But the question is, is it the party she was when she started or when she left. The Democrats say it was when she started. The Republicans disagree. The Democrats say the city attorney has not been returning their calls and they demand a legal interpretation of the charter. They say in a press release that this is to ensure fairness rather than one party choosing what happens.
High School Football Far West Regionals this past weekend, one local team moves on to the state tournament and for another, a great season comes to an end. On Friday night in Class D the Oakfield-Alabama-Elba “Aggies” beat the Randolph Cardinals 28 to 22. The Aggies will advance to the state semi-finals at Cicero North near Syracuse this Friday. The Aggies will meet a tough opponent in Section 4’s Tioga. Game time Friday is 3pm, live coverage on WBTA begins at 2:45. On Saturday afternoon the Section 5 Class B champions Batavia Blue Devils were defeated by Western New York Maritime 22-14. Batavia’s season ended with an impressive 10 and 2 record.
The Buffalo Bills dropped the ball in orchard park Sunday afternoon in a 41 to 15 loss to the Colts. The Bills threw 3 interceptions, had a fumbled kick, and had penalties take away field goal opportunities. Overall the Bills had less than 300 yards on offense. They are scheduled to play Thanksgiving against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Dome.
The Sabres lost their game against the Rangers 5 to 4 in Manhattan Sunday. Aaron Dell made 31 saves for Buffalo to start a back-to-back for the Sabres. They’re home at KeyBank Center tonight to host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:00 p.m.
