Morning News Briefing
Written by Dan Fischer on May 14, 2020
The Genesee County Legislature, by a close and rarely used weighted vote, has decided to halt revenue sharing with towns and villages at least for now.
Why? The county is crying poverty due to its own financial losses because of COVID-19.
Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein tried to reassure town and village leaders who joined in the electronic virtual meeting last night that they would, “not be left behind.”
The vote was 5 to 4 to stop the revenue payments and even when weighted voting was applied, the measure still passed
Four farmhands are burned out of their mobile home in Elba.
Flames quickly destroyed the trailer on the Oak Orchard Dairy yesterday afternoon. Officials labeled the cause as accidental due to a faulty connection to a clothes dryer.
For the first time since the county health department has been announcing daily COVID-19 infections…no new cases of the virus have been reported over the past 24 hours in Genesee or Orleans Counties.
In Genesee County, four active cases remain hospitalized, in Orleans County, 10 positive cases are in the hospital.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths in neighboring Erie County has reached another grim milestone.
Officials say 400 residents have now died after getting infected, while nearly 46-hundred people have tested positive for the virus.
The news is another tough blow to the Western New York region’s ongoing attempt t\o reopen its economy. The region needs to reach seven state mandated benchmarks to begin re-opening.
Genesee County, as part of the Finger Lakes region, has met all seven and will be allowed to slowly re-open beginning tomorrow.
Nursing homes across the state are raising questions about a new testing mandate announced by Governor Cuomo.
He’s calling on all employees at those facilities to be tested twice a week for coronavirus.
However, some nursing homes question they will be able to conduct such screen – and ask who will pay for it?
