Tuesday News Brief
Written by Doug Thompson on February 13, 2024
Employees from the Batavia City School District, New York State Troopers, Batavia Police Department, and the City of Batavia Fire Department, along with the Blue Devil Varsity Football Team, will participate in the “Polar Plunge” to benefit the Special Olympics of Western New York. Students, staff, and community members are encouraged to join the event in person, where participants will stand outside and get soaked for a great cause. The plunge is scheduled for this Friday at 3:00pm at John Kennedy Intermediate School – Back Bus Loop (off of Elm Street). In 2023, Batavia was the leading fundraising school district, and the Special Olympics of Western New York will be on hand to present an award before the event. If you wish to attend the event or would like to interview any participants, reach out to Emily Benedict at bcsdcommunications@bataviacsd.org or call 323.397.6456.
Meteorologist Marty Snyder
13WHAM meteorologist Marty Snyder tells us that, so far, this month is the warmest February on record for Rochester. With an average temperature 11 degrees above normal, it beats the second warmest February on the list by over 2 degrees. The outlook for the rest of this week and this upcoming weekend does feature colder temperatures and some snow, but no big storms are expected in Rochester through the end of the weekend. Marty is coming up with the detailed forecast for our area in just a few minutes.
Former Congressman Higgins
A special election will be held in New York’s 26th Congressional District. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the April 30th special election to fill Democrat Brian Higgins seat. Higgins resigned from office and is now the president of Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. The Western New York 26th Congressional District covers parts of Erie and Niagara counties, and includes Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
File photo
After about a month without any problems, carbon monoxide issues resurfaced at Holiday Twin Rinks in Cheektowaga. It happened over the weekend when a carbon monoxide detector sounded during a youth hockey game, which prompted evacuation of the building. A spokesperson for the rink said that they remained closed over the weekend due to the Ice Resurfacer once again having emissions issues. They were able to reopen yesterday.
Entrance to Stiglmeier Park, Cheektowaga (13WHAM Photo)
Cheektowaga Police are trying to find the door to an airplane that fell off mid-flight. Officers say they got a call around 6:00pm last night. A small plane carrying two people reported losing a door while flying over Stiglmeier Park. Officers scoured the area, but were unable to find the door. According to public flight data, the single-engine aircraft took off from the airport and several minutes into the flight reported the emergency. According to Police, the plane is reported to have landed safely and parked near the Signature Aviation terminal. As of this morning, no injuries or property damage has been reported.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced that her office has secured full refunds for hundreds of state residents who were wrongfully billed for COVID-19 vaccines by Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care (Northwell-GoHealth) clinics. Her Office found that Northwell-GoHealth wrongly charged up to 731 patients for the vaccines, resulting in patients paying a total of $14,996.05 in improper fees. Northwell-GoHealth also sent 72 unpaid bills for COVID-19 vaccines to collections. As a result of this agreement, Northwell-GoHealth has reimbursed all New Yorkers who were wrongly charged, will strengthen employee compliance with applicable laws for COVID-19 vaccine billing, and will pay a $25,000 penalty.
ELSEWHERE…
Recalled
Some 380,000 Frigidaire refrigerators are under recall after reports of plastic in the ice bucket. The Side-by-Side fridges with Slim Ice Buckets were sold between November 2015 and September 2019. Two injuries have been reported. Recalled model numbers can be found at frigidaire.com.
Tiger Woods makes a new deal
Tiger Woods has a new apparel deal. After ending his decades-long, highly profitable relationship with Nike last month, the pro golf veteran announced on Monday that he’s working with TaylorMade to launch a new brand: Sun Day Red. The company’s website says the line is coming May 1st and will also include women and children’s styles.
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 13, the 44th day of 2024 with 322 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.
February 13 in history…
Jerry Springer Speaks To Guests During His Show December 17, 1998.
…In 1944, talk show host Jerry Springer was born (he died April 27, 2023, reportedly of pancreatic cancer)
A young Peter Gabriel dances with his sister.
…In 1950, Peter Gabriel, singer and one of the original members of Genesis, was born (happy 74th!
