Western New York was not in the direct path of yesterday's total solar eclipse that was viewed by millions of people from the west to the east coast yesterday.
However, that didn't bother nearly 2,000 people who attended a viewing party held at the SUNY College at Fredonia Monday afternoon. Those turning out saw about 73% of the sun covered.
College Council Chairman Frank Pagano, a former mayor of Fredonia, was among those taking in the view and was pleased with the turnout. SUNY at Fredonia President Virginia Horvath also attended the event and, called it "historic" for the college and the community.
Dr. Michael Dunham, Assistant Professor with the University's Physics Department, says you don't see a partial solar eclipse every day. He also had some good news about another viewing opportunity coming up in a few years.
A total eclipse is expected in early April of 2024 that will pass over Western New York.
The viewing party was held in the field behind the Science Center. Mostly clear skies allowed attendees to get a good view of the eclipse.
State leaders have now signed off on a local law that would allow the city of Jamestown to provide an 11-year property tax exemption on owner-occupied homes that have been rehabilitated or newly-built in the city.
Mayor Sam Teresi announced the approval during last night's city council work session adding that the measure was originally developed by City Councilwoman Marie Carubba.
Teresi says Carubba patterned the program after one in her hometown of Batavia and, would exempt rehabilitated one or two-family homes or new ones on existing building lots. He emphasized this only applied to city taxes, not county nor school taxes.
Teresi says that was done for those taxes several years ago for new owner-occupied properties. He says the measure has been approved by both the state Senate and Assembly and, was recently signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Teresi says the local law would only be for small cities in New York state that have a population of 31,000 to 32,000 residents. He says the program would exempt 100-percent of the taxes in each of the first three years... then 80-percent for the next two years. Teresi says it would drop to 20-percent in years 10 and 11... and, the exemption would be gone by the 12th-year.
A preliminary hearing is set for this Friday morning for a Jamestown man accused of murdering a neighbor in their eastside apartment house early last Saturday morning.
Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson says he was called to the scene at 508-to-512 East Sixth Street shortly before 5 AM Saturday in connection with the incident. However while they were neighbors Swanson says the relationship between 51 year-old Michael Korzeniewski and victim Michael Bull is not yet fully known. He also says Bull died at the scene from blunt-force trauma to the head.
Otherwise Swanson declined to discuss many specifics about the murder case. He did praise the work of city police for their quick arrest in the case. Police say Bull was found laying face down in a driveway between two cars when they arrived.
A Brocton man is jailed on $2,000 cash bail for allegedly manufacturing Methamphetamine at a location where he was found on two active police warrants.
Sheriff's deputies say they were looking for 26 year-old Steven Seavy when they found him at a home on East Main Street last weekend.
Officers say during the course of Seavy's arrest they found precursors for making Methamphetamine as well as various drug paraphernalia.
Seavy was detained on a new arrest warrant issued in Brocton Village Court. He's been arraigned on charges of third-degree unlawful manufacture of Methamphetamine criminally using drug parapherenalia resisting arrest, and others. He was sent to the county lock-up.
The first year president at Chautauqua Institution says his first Summer Season in the top post has been a "whirlwind" experience.
Those are the feelings of Michael Hill who was installed as the institution's 18th President at the beginning of the year. During our Chautauqua Now broadcast yesterday, Hill told our Dennis Webster it's "one of the most unique jobs in the world." He talked about the high-lights to the season noting the institution had it's third-largest number of visitors on record during the week-six theme on "Comedy and the Human Condition" where they partnered with the National Comedy Center during the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival.
Hill spoke as Week-Nine on "our changing relationship with Food" began. He says it's a job that is part-time small town mayor, part-time university president, preacher, and teacher. Hill says it's great to have such a strong team in place at Chautauqua which helps the nine-week season go as smoothly as possible.
Chautauqua President Michael Hill's first season coincides with the first-season for the new Chautauqua Amphitheater and, so far there have been few if an problems with the new, larger facility.
That from Hill Monday morning during our Chautauqua Now broadcast. He says it's been an incredible transformation for the amp which was nothing more than a "dirt pit and organ chamber" when he first arrived last Fall.
Hill praised the institution staff and, project manager Ciminelli Construction for all the work they did to get the project completed. He adds they're still on site to conclude finishing work.
