Morning News Briefing

The recently formed Batavia Police advisory committee is set to meet for the first time September 24th. A quarter of the membership are members of ethnic minorities. The city was criticized for a lack of minority representation in the original make-up of the group. Brandon Armstrong, owner of Royals Barber Shop on Harvester Avenue, and one of four persons of color on the committee, says he wants to make a positive impact. The formal title of the group is the Police Collaboration Advisory Stakeholder Group. In June, Gov. Cuomo signed an executive order mandating statewide police reform. The advisory group has 20 members.

A healthcare facility in Batavia is one of 66 businesses, schools, and community-based organizations across the state to have been awarded nearly $9 million as part of the State’s historic Workforce Development Initiative. United Memorial Medical Center will be receiving needed funds. The grants are federally funded and will support job training opportunities across the State for more than 3,600 New Yorkers adapting to the post-COVID economy. There are over 100,000 job openings across the state from businesses looking to hire immediately. These workforce development grants will help provide workers training who want to gain the skills for new, fulfilling jobs.

The path to passing a City of Batavia Deer Management Plant plan – full of controversy, some changes and a bit of confusion – has become much clearer after the City Council approved a proposal giving its police department oversight of the operation. By a 5-2 vote, the Council endorsed an archery-only plan that puts management in the hands of police – understanding there will be overtime costs involved – and also allows only city employees to hunt on two parcels of city property and restricts hunting to antlerless-only deer in those two zones.

Governor Andrew Cuomo Monday announced that New York State’s COVID-19 infection rate has been below 1 percent for 38 straight days. As of Sunday afternoon, 0.92% of test results reported to New York State were positive. Cuomo said “New York’s government sets the tone for the state’s response to COVID-19, but New Yorkers drive it home. The positive test results for the Finger Lakes region, which includes Genesee County, stands at 0.8%…a slight uptick from Saturday’s numbers.
(as a follow-up)…The latest COVID-19 numbers for Genesee County: There were no new positive cases of the virus in the past 24 hours and four new individuals were placed on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states. In Orleans County, one new positive case was reported– a person in their 50’s from Albion – 17 new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel. Wyoming County reports two new positive cases.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 18 varied properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. On the list for consideration… George and Addison Wheeler House, East Bloomfield in Ontario County – First listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places in 2005, the listing for this early 19th century residence and farm property is being expanded to include a historic barn that was recently acquired. Once the recommendations are approved, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.