Jamestown Community College is offering help and support to students who either plan travel soon... or are international students who were planning to travel in the coming weeks following President Trump's temporary ban on immigrants from seven Majority Muslim countries in the Middle East. JCC's Executive Director of Academic Innovation, Nelson Garifi, also oversees the college's Global Learning program. Garifi says they have 20 foreign students at the college... but, adds none of them are from the seven countries listed in the president's order. As a general statement... SUNY officials on Monday advised students and faculty to put off making trips to any of those seven Muslim-majority nations included in the president's travel ban. Garifi says his office has already been talking with students who have general anxiety about the situation. He says they are regularily getting information updates on what's happening. He says they monitor updates from the U-S State Department at least three times a day... and, get a lot of guidance from SUNY. Last Sunday... SUNY's top officials recommended the suspension of travel plans to the countries included in Trump's executive order blocking immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
There's a lot of talk about President Trump's executive order restricting immigration... and, officials at the State University of New York College at Fredonia say they have a "solid" international student population on campus. Officials add they are offering support should they need it. Jeff Woodard, Director of Marketing and Communications, says the Office of International Education offers support to international students. Woodard says the situation is "fluid" and it's not known how many students have been impacted by the presidential order. He says the campus will working to develop opportunities for dialogue on the issue... everything from talking with their international students... to celebrating diversity on their campus. SUNY officials say the university system currently has 320 enrolled students who come from the counties included in the executive order.
Washington is the first state to sue the Trump administration, but it likely will not be standing alone for long. Democratic state attorneys general have been forming a coordinated wall of legal resistance over immigration, environmental protections, health care and other major issues since Donald Trump was elected. Washington state sued over the president's executive order restricting refugees and immigration. By suing, they will be following the same path as Republican attorneys general, who repeatedly sued the administration of former President Barack Obama. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says his colleagues and other lawyers are being moved to action because they believe Trump "does not have respect for the rule of law."
City lawmakers have approved legislation asking the state to let Jamestown start-up an 11-year tax abatement program to redevelop vacant or condemned homes. City Development Director Vince DeJoy earlier this month outlined the Local Property Tax Abatement Incentive Redevelopment of Vacant and Condemned Properties program... which would be for single and two-family residential properties. Acting City Council President Tony Dolce says the main goal of the program is to rehabilitate delapitated and vacant properties to eventually get them back on the tax roles. For the first three years... City Council members say the property owner would pay no city taxes. It would then go to 20-percent the next two years before the property goes fully on the tax rolls in the 12th year. Dolce says the measure would also allow homebuilders the chance to put up what are called Tiny homes..." which can be as small as 700 to 800 square feet. He says they may be ideal for some of the lots that are too small for a full sized home. Dolce says the legislation has been given to state lawmakers for approval.
It's been an eight to nine-year process that's brought three northern Chautauqua County towns to be involved in major wind turbine projects... two of which have now been approved. That from Villenova Town Supervisor Rich Ardillo... who has only been on the town board a short time... but, says the project will greatly benefit the municipality. Ardillo declined to speak on tape... but, says there were several public meetings... including two public hearings... on the multi-million dollar project. He was responding to comments from two town residents... one town board member Angelo Graziano... who spoke against the project at a recent Chautauqua County Legislature meeting. In his estimation... Ardillo says an "overwhelming majority" of the residents he spoke with -- at least two-thirds -- favored the project. He says the board's final vote on the project was 3-to-1... with Graziano voting no... and, one other board member abstaining because they were to directly benefit financially from the project. Ardillo says some 90 residents will be getting some kind of "direct payments" from the project. He says that will be the equivalent of 15 new, full-time jobs in the town.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's budget proposal does not include any new taxes... and, only one new fee. Howeever... it does include fee increases that New York motorists will pay. That from Chautauqua County Clerk Larry Barmore, who says the Governor's proposed budget boosts the fees for new vehicle titles... which will go from 50-dollars to 75-dollars. Barmore says he's also proposing the fee for a duplicate title go from 20 to 40-dollars. Barmore says he has voiced his concerns over the proposals to State Senator Cathy Young... and, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell. He also urges local residents to let their representatives know how they feel about the proposed fee increases.
Gas prices in the Jamestown-area are down nearly half-a-penny this week... remaining fairly stable over the past week. That from the Triple-A's Fuel Gauge Report... which says this week's average price is just under 2-dollars-56 cents a gallon. Triple-A says the price is down from an even 2--56 last week to 2-dollars-55.7 cents this week. Last year at this time... the price was about 2--10 a gallon. Nationally... the Fuel Gauge reports that continual growth in the number of U.S. oil rigs... and, the increased drilling it implies are raising expectations for a climb in domestic oil production. Additionally, increased U.S. crude oil production coupled with lower driving demand has kept downward pressure on the national average price at the pump, which has fallen for 21 consecutive days. Today's national average price for regular unleaded gasoline is 2-dollars-27 cents per gallon. That's down about 4-cents versus one week ago.
Three northwestern Pennsylvania residents have now been arrested on Felony charges for allegedly stealing several firearms from a home in Warren County's Brokenstraw Township. State Police in Warren say troopers in Corry arrested a third person... 27 year-old James Livingston-the-Third... at a location in Corry late Monday. Police say Livingston is charged with Felony theft,and conspiracy to commit theft. Troopers say Dakota Weilacher and katrina Livingston... both 24... had already been arrested for the thefts... which allegedly took place between May of 2015 and October of last year. Police say James Livingston was arraigned Tuesday, and released on 75-thousand dollars bail, pending a future court appearance.
