Morning News Briefing

Batavia City Council members have appointed longtime attorney David Saleh as part-time City of Batavia Court Judge.
Saleh will be filling the vacancy created by former part-time judge Durin Rogers who in November was elected as the full-time City Court Jusitce.
Council members voted unanimously in favor of Saleh’s hiring at the close of their Business meeting at City Hall Council Chambers last night.
Saleh begins his six year term on January 1st 2020.

Delays on Ellicott Station project development continue.
Since Buffalo developer Sam Savarino bought the Della Penna and Santy’s Tire property for 60-thousand dollars 3 and a half years ago, no visible work has been done on the promised remediation of the brownfield site.
Savarino has also only put 5-thousand dollars on the down payment for the property.
Savarino proposed the construction of a commercial and retail space, including the Resurgence Brewing Company and 55 medium income apartments to the tune of $22.7-million.
The city wants Savarino to begin work by tearing down a garage on the old Santy’s Tire property, which has yet to be done.

Former Republican Congressman Chris Collins has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission following a guilty plea on federal insider trading charges.
As part of the deal, the ex-27th District representative can no longer be on the board of a publicly traded company.
His son Cameron will have to pay back over $634,000 for his part in the scheme and Stephen Zarsky, whose daughter is engaged to Cameron Collins, will need to hand over $159,000.
The settlements won’t be official until they’re approved by a federal judge and all three men will be sentenced in federal court next month.

Batavia Police are out with a warning for Holiday shoppers.
Lock your car and don’t leave valuable items in view.
City police have received multiple reports of vehicle thefts and larcenies from cars over the past two weeks.
If you are taking your car after hours to a mechanic, do not leave your keys in the car.
Use a drop-box instead.

A new report is showing some encouraging signs in the fight against the opioid crisis.
Data shows opioid overdose deaths outside of New York City have dropped for the first time since 2009.
The Department of Health says opioid-related fatalities dropped from 21-hundred in 2017 to 18-hundred in 2018.
Once overdose death data is released in New York City, officials will be able to know if the decreases are part of a statewide trend.

A judge has ruled in favor of New York’s controversial school vaccination requirements.
Over 50 families filed a lawsuit earlier this year, claiming the new legislation that eliminates religious exemptions violates the constitution.
But the Albany County Supreme Court judge disagreed, saying the law was put in place due to public health concerns and not to affect anyone’s religious freedom rights.
The vaccination law went into effect in June due to measles outbreaks in New York City and surrounding counties.