Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on December 21, 2021
Governor Hochul announced funding for county health departments to help with COVID. Up to $1 million will be available for most counties, with larger counties eligible to receive up to $2 million. She said that enforcement of the COVID mandates will be done primarily by the local health departments. The new funds will apply to expenses incurred by counties and local health departments from when the “mask-or-vaccine” mandate was announced on Dec. 10 until its planned expiration on Jan. 15, 2022. The money will be for reimbursing county health departments and they will have to apply for any funds. Hocuhl also announced more at home tests and masks being distributed.
You may have been singing about walking in a winter wonderland since the end of Halloween but that was all unofficial till the 21st of December. Today marks the official start of the winter season. Winter will run through Sunday, March 20th. Winter is the period where depression and mental illness reach their annual highs. Make sure to reach out and connect with loved ones periodically and look out for the markers of mental health issues.
The Great Northern Grain Elevator in Buffalo won’t be demolished just yet. The State Supreme Court has issued a restraining order till Wednesday when a court hearing will be held on the matter of it’s demolition. The order comes as The Campaign for Greater Buffalo preservation group sued to stop the destruction of the 120 year old site which was on the cover of the Christmas Issue of the 1897 Scientific American and was one of the first buildings to be lit by Tesla Generating Station. ADM which owns the building says it is a risk to public health because of falling debris hitting an active rail way and flying metal from the roof.
The Sabres next game will be against the New York Rangers. All Three of the games they were supposed to have this week, Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche and then Thursday back to the Blue Jackets, have all been postponed due to COVID cases on those teams. Their next game that hasn’t been rescheduled is Monday the 27th at 7pm in buffalo at the Keybank Center.
