Morning News Brief

Governor Hochul says that she has been told the Omicron Variant of COVID 19 has been detected in Ontario Canada.  On Friday she declared a state of emergency for NY and demanded that all hospitals suspend non-essential surgeries in order to free up more bed space for COVID patients starting december 3rd.  She is also announcing the opening of 13 new Vaccination sites.  The Omicron variant of COVID was first detected in South Africa and has spurred a reaction across the globe including a travel ban in the US.  researchers so far say that the variant has not shown to be any more transmissible than other variants and doctors in South Africa report that symptoms are generally much more mild than other variants with muscle soreness and 1 to 2 days of fatigue being the most common symptoms.  Loss of taste and smell so far has not been associated with Omicron according to Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association. 

Lovely Warren’s tenure as Rochester mayor is set to end Wednesday.  Her resignation is effective at the end of the day.  She resigned as part of a plea deal for a misdemeanor charge, after accepting campaign contributions that exceeded legal limits.  That charge was originally a felony.  Warren was also facing charges related to a raid at her home. Those charges were wiped out a part of the plea deal.  Deputy Mayor James Smith will take over as mayor until Malik Evans is sworn into the office in January 2021.

A collision in Elba involved the surprise flight of a small child.  At around 4:15 yesterday afternoon a sedan crossed 98 traveling westward on Lockport Road was struck by another car going south on 98.  The collision caused the sedan to strike a guard rail and eject a 6 year old girl from the back seat and down a steep hill.  No injuries were reported although the girl was taken to the hospital for evaluation.  The crash is under investigation.

Batavia First United Methodist Church will hold its annual Cookie Walk & Vendor / Craft Sale on Saturday, December 11, from 10:00 am – 2:00pm.  The event will feature a large variety of homemade Christmas cookies for sale by the pound along with 35+ vendors and crafters with many interesting items for you or that special someone on your Christmas gift list.  There will be free pictures of the kids with Santa and the Kozy Korners Thrift Shop will be open.  Lunch will be available for takeout.

The Buffalo Sabres once again failed to defeat the Kraken, this time at home with a 7 to 4 loss.  With the loss, the Sabres finished the month of November with a 3-9-2 record. Nine of those 14 games featured the Sabres giving up five or more goals.  In this game 2 of the goals scored by Seattle in the first period were scored while short handed.  Buffalo plays the Florida Panthers Thursday at FLA Live Arena at 7pm.