Morning News Brief

A 10 year old boy who attended St Joseph’s in Batavia was killed in a crash in Lancaster Friday.  The car carrying Levi Zielonka and members of his family was struck from behind at an intersection by another vehicle at about 8:40pm, killing Levi and injuring the other occupants.  Several were transported to ECMC.  Police believe the driver of the vehicle that hit their car was speeding and under the influence of alcohol.  In addition to singing in church and learning to play piano, Levi loved sports and was a big fan of the Bills and Sabres.  His funeral is being held this weekend.

An investigation is underway after a series of threats were made against schools in Western New York and other parts of the state Wednesday.  Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 10 school districts in WNY, the Capital Region, Central New York, Long Island, the Southern Tier and the North Country received swatting threats, which are hoax emergency calls intended to cause a scare by getting a SWAT team to respond to a location.  State police are investigating these threats, and the NYS Intelligence Center is also keeping a close eye on the situation.  A series of similar threats were made to school districts in the Rochester area earlier this year.

A five-day nurses strike at the Rochester General Hospital has been averted, as the Rochester Union of Nurses & Allied Professionals announced they’ve reached a tentative deal on a 42-month union contract.  The agreement, which covers more than 900 union-represented nurses at RGH, comes after 25 bargaining sessions were held over the past year, with nurses pushing for a new contract that addresses pay and staffing issues.  RUNAP said bargaining reps will be reaching out to nurses at the hospital with more details, and more information will be released in the coming weeks as a vote is held.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley has introduced legislation that will undo some of the new laws that target the purchasing of ammunition.  The bill, A.8085, was introduced by Assemblyman Joseph Angelino and would allow those licensed to carry or possess a pistol, revolver, or semi-automatic weapon and licensed hunters to purchase ammunition without contacting the statewide license and record database.  Hawley believes this proposal is a step in the right direction for Second Amendment rights and will protect law-abiding gun owners.

RG and E flub their messaging with the wrong Rochester.  In a message to customers touting its “commitment to this region,” RG&E used a photo of the Rochester skyline that few customers recognized.  That’s because, as Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza and Legislator Rachel Barnhart noted, it was a photo of Rochester, Minnesota.  RG&E responded on social media apologizing for the error and sent out an updated message with the correct photo.

Rochester might just disappear!  Or get locked in a box and have to escape.  Leon Etienne, famous illusionist, is coming to the West Herr Auditorium Theatre this Saturday to show off his family friendly magic shot “Magic Rocks!”.  Etienne has been on Jimmy Fallon, America’s Got Talent, Penn and Teller and more.  In the show he recreates stunts first performed by Harry Houdini and many other magic tricks and illusions.  “Magic Rocks!” hits the stage this Saturday at 3 p.m.