Weekend News Brief
Written by Dan Fischer on July 26, 2024
The FBI is issuing a warning about an ongoing scam in the Western New York region. The agency says scammers are targeting older individuals and getting them to empty their savings accounts to buy gold. The scammers claim to be a government official or financial expert, and say the victim’s accounts were either hacked or at risk of being hacked. They then ask the victim to liquidate their money into cash to buy gold or other precious metals. But those funds end up getting stolen and are never returned.
Governor Kathy Hochul spent a good amount of time over the last few days going around the state to gather input on a cell phone ban in school. On Wednesday, she was in Buffalo, where she met with teachers and school administrators for a roundtable session about the topic at Kenmore Junior Senior High School. Hochul said New York needs to confront the problem of young people misusing their smart phones during school and she’s open to a daylong ban. She noted that some districts have implemented a cell phone ban on their own and have reported improvements, as students are able to focus and engage with their peers. While the State Legislature is currently out of session until January, this gives everyone the chance to talk about how a ban on cell phones in school would work.
A former employee of a parish and medical office in Tonawanda is being sentenced for stealing over one-million dollars between 2016 and 2023. Lisa Nobel was sentenced to 19 years in prison for stealing about $465,000 from Saint Amelia’s Parish in 2023 and over $890,000 from an audiology practice while working as an office manager from 2016-to-2021. The 44-year-old pleaded guilty to larceny, falsifying business records, and forgery, among other crimes. She’s agreed to pay restitution to both Saint Amelia’s and the audiology practice.
The girlfriend of the man who murdered Brittanee Drexel of Chili is now facing prison time for lying to the FBI. Angel Vause confessed to misleading federal investigators about what she knew about Drexel’s death at the hands of Raymond Moody. She could be ordered to spend up to 10 years in prison. Moody is already serving a life sentence for killing the 17-year-old Drexel. She was last seen alive during a spring break trip in Myrtle Beach in 2009.
The New York State Thruway Authority is once again warning us about an ongoing text message scam. The agency says scammers have reached out to people claiming to be from Tolls by Mail NY falsely saying the message recipient has unpaid tolls. That person is then directed to a website that asks them for personal data like their credit card number and social security number. The Thruway Authority says it would never ask for information like this and urges anyone who gets one of these messages to delete it.
New York State is awarding grant money to a number of hospitals, health networks and nursing homes around the state in an effort to address the shortage of health care industry workers. Governor Kathy Hochul says 22 and a half million dollars is being awarded to 28 facilities. Hochul says this will increase the training capacity of health care facilities and prepare a pipeline of high-quality health care professionals. The funding can be used for costs related to developing training programs and curriculum.
Gas prices continue their downward trend. According to Triple A, the national average per gallon price for regular is $3.52. In Batavia, we’re paying $3.61, which is down 11 cents from a year ago today.
Buffalo Bills General Manager Brandon Beane is responding to an ESPN Plus article calling star quarterback Josh Allen overrated. The claim in the article was made by an anonymous NFL executive who said Allen makes a lot of mistakes and is more of a thrower than precision passer. During training camp at Saint John Fisher University, Beane said quote “there are idiots everywhere.” Allen has thrown for over 4,000 yards each of the last four seasons and led the Bills to multiple division titles.
Save the date; October 26th, for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s night at Batavia Downs. The event begins at 5pm; a full card of racing starts at 6:00. The cost is $50 per ticket, which includes a buffet dinner, $25 in free play, and a racing program. There will also be a silent auction with proceeds from the evening supporting cancer research and patient care initiatives at Roswell Park. If you’d like to sponsor a race, please call 716-998-2179.
The Genesee County Farmer’s Market is open every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday now through November 1st, from 9am until 4pm. Vendors offer fruits, vegetables, baked goods, cheese, flowers, crafts, wine and more. They’re located in the parking lot across from O’Lacy restaurant on School Street. For more information, please call 716-560-0853.
“Heavenly Traditions and Holy Matrimony: Weddings Through Time,” is an exhibit that will take you through decades of wedding dress styles and traditions. Items from the 19th century through the 20th will be on display at the Holland Land Office Museum during normal museum hours through December 31st. For additional information, visit www.hollandlandoffice.com
The Senior Nutrition Site at Havenwood Congregate Apartments at 240 Richmond Avenue serves lunch daily starting at noon, Monday through Friday. For reservations, please call 344-1330.
Every Monday morning starting at 10:00, it’s Toddler Story Time at the Richmond Memorial Library. Join them for stories, songs and fun. For more information, please call 343-9550.
NBC News Features…
Fewer Americans are filing first-time jobless claims. The Labor Department said on Friday that it received 235,000 requests for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 20th. That’s down 10,000 from the previous week’s revised total.
Mortgage rates continue to be a barrier to homeownership. Bankrate Analyst Jeff Ostrowski says a new survey found that homebuyers are waiting on the sidelines until rates come down. Current mortgage rates are in the sevens. Ostrowski says rates are likely to stay at or above six percent as the new normal. He added that if rates did fall below 5%, it would signal something was wrong with the economy like a recession kicking in.
