The weather roller-coaster continues into the weekend and, that ride is not expected to come to an end any time soon.....
The National Weather Service upgraded a High Wind Watch to a High Wind Warning late yesterday morning. Strong, damaging winds hit the area overnight. That from Meteorologist Kirk Apffel at the National Weather Service, who says a strong cold front kicked-off the wind event.
The gusty winds will continue through much of today. Apffel says the highest wind speeds are most likely to occur closer to Lake Erie once a cold front moves through. He says wind gusts could reach 60 miles an hour in spots.
Jamestown's Department of Development will soon be asking residents for help in identifying Zombie properties in the city's neighborhoods....
That from City Council Housing Committee Chairwoman Vickye James, who announced at Monday night's meeting that Development Director Vince DeJoy will further discuss the program at next week's committee meeting. James says the idea is to find the properties, which were abandoned during the Great Recession and housing crisis.
James says the Department of Development will be working with the Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation on three abandoned properties. One is a demolition, while two others will be rehabilitated through the city's HOME Program. James says the city is also working with the Chautauqua County Landbank on two properties at 146 and 148 Buffalo Street to "gut" and rehabilitate them so they can be brought back to code and then sold to new owners.
Fredonia Mayor Athenasia Landis says she's optimistic about the village's future, but she also raised some pressing needs during her State of Fredonia address....
In her message, delivered at the Fredonia Opera House Wednesday evening, Dr. Landis outlined a number of projects that will be getting underway or are in the planning stages. She says the village has received a helping hand from the state by providing some major funding.
Landis says -- total investment in the village has been $83.7-million. Among the projects, a new hospital, downtown revitalization and infrastructure upgrades. But, Landis also called for a new project, a public safety building. She says both the police and fire departments would be housed there. Landis said after the meeting that she has had recent discussions with State Senator Cathy Young about the situation and she hopes Young will tour the current facilities.
Molestation victims are urging New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to quickly sign into law the Child Victims Act, which would extend the statute of limitations to give victims more time to seek criminal charges or sue their abusers.....
Lawmakers passed the bill last week, leaving supporters wondering why it hasn't been signed. A group of them wrote to the Democratic governor on Thursday saying victims have waited long enough. Cuomo supports the bill and has said he would sign it. A spokesman for the governor says the bill will be signed soon but stopped short of announcing a date. The lag isn't unusual. The Legislature must formally transmit the bill, a process which sometimes takes weeks, before the legal wording of the bill is reviewed by the governor's legal team.
Authorities in western New York have a new initiative to track opioid overdoses and treat them as crime scenes....
U.S. Attorney James Kennedy, Junior, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn and, other officials announced the new protocols on Wednesday. Officers who respond to an opioid overdose will log certain evidence into a law enforcement database. Kennedy says that by standardizing the way overdose scenes are processed, law enforcers will enhance their ability to prosecute those who peddle ``poison". He says tracking the locations of overdoses will also help drug treatment providers reach those who are most in need. A drug intelligence officer with a joint New York-New Jersey task force, Daniel Rinaldo, says the initiative represents ``the perfect partnership between law enforcement and public health.''
Following Winter Storm Harper, a government shutdown and artic temperatures across Western New York, the American Red Cross is re-issuing it's emergency need for donors due to a significant number of blood drive cancellations.....
External Communications Director Patty Corvaia says now, it's more critical than ever. Corvaia says all eligible donors are welcomed, especially those with O-postive and O-negative blood types. She says the Red Cross is also in immediate need of the blood platelets, which are clotting components often given to patients undergoing heart surgeries, transplants and chemotherapy to name a few. The Red Cross chapter house in Jamestown will host another blood drive next Thursday -- on Valentine's Day. You can schedule an appointment by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or, by visiting RedCrossBlood dot-org. Corvaia says a single blood donation can save up to three lives.
Two people from Jamestown have been arrested on drug and false impersonation charges after their speeding car was pulled over in the town of Stockton......
Sheriff's deputies say the driver, 33 year-old Raymond Borland of Charles Street, was stopped on James Road just before 4 PM last Sunday. Officers say Borland allegedly gave them a false name, while his passenger, 46 year-old Joanna Snyder, was found in possession of marijuana, and drinking alcohol inside a car. Borland is charged with speeding over 55 miles an hour and, second-degree criminal personation. Snyder was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehcle. Both were released on appearance tickets for Stockton Town Court.
