Morning News Briefing
Written by Dan Fischer on September 8, 2020
Night six of racial unrest in Rochester.
The crowd may have been slightly smaller than this past weekend but the message was clear, justice for Daniel Prude
Rochester Police made no arrests, despite a few tense moments between protesters and officers dressed in riot gear.
The protests have garnered national attention, including from President Donald Trump, who tweeted that Rochester was one of three cities to have a “bad night.”
Mayor Lovely Warren said the president was trying to “bait people to act with hate and incite violence.”
The numbers are in, and Western New York continues to have the highest coronavirus positivity rate in New York State.
Of the people who were screened for the illness Sunday, just under two-percent of them received a positive result.
Remember, for these purposes, Genesee and Orleans counties are in the Finger Lakes Region where the positivity rate has been below a half of a percent.
Meanwhile, the statewide positivity rate has been under one-percent for 31 consecutive days.
Governor Cuomo has signed off on a bill aimed at protecting workers during future health emergencies. The legislation requires all public employers to come up with proposals that address certain criteria such as a list of positions considered essential, PPE protocols and what happens if an employee is exposed to disease.
The plans must be submitted within 150 days and have to be finalized by April 1st, 2021.
It was a natural gas leak that caused Oak Street to close for about a half hour on Labor Day.
City Fire and Police responded to Los Compardres Mexican Tacqueria at 40 Oak Street last night.
Police closed the area of all Oak Street to all traffic and minutes later closed it to just tractor trailer trucks.
The building was ventilated and the street was reopened just before 9p.m.
Casinos across New York have one just more day to prepare for the return of gamblers.
Starting tomorrow, state-operated casinos will welcome visitors back for the first time in months. This includes Batavia Downs Gaming.
Casinos were shut down earlier this year in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. As you’d expect, there will be health and safety precautions in effect such as capacity limits and masks will be mandatory.
