Two Randolph residents have been arrested for allegedly operating a Methamphetime lab in their Hall Street apartment. Agents with the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force say they raided the apartment at 162 Hall Street shortly after 11 PM last Friday. Task Force members say they immediately found the Meth lab when they entered... and, the state Police C-C-SERT Team was called in to secure the lab, and materials used to make Meth. Task Force agents also arrested the two residents... 27 year-old Robert Richardson, and 35 year-old Nicole Hauck. Both are charged with Felony unlawful manufacture of Methamphetime... and, criminal possession of Methamphetime precursors. Both were arraigned, and sent to the Cattaraugus County Jail on 5-thousand dollars bail each. More arrests are expected.
Four people have been arrested for allegedly being found in possession of Methamphetime during a parole check at a home in the town of North Harmony last Thursday night. Sheriff's officers say 38 year-old Gregg Morrison of Wall Street in Ashville... was allegedly wanted by the state Parole Division. Deputies say they found a quantity of Meth, and various pills inside the residence. In addition to Morrison... officers also arrested 23 year-old McKenzie Paulson of Jamestown... 26 year-old Sarah Short of Panama... and, 40 year-old Denver Komenda of Ashville. Those three are charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Morrison was arrested for violation of probation.. and, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. All four people were arraigned, and sent to the county jail with bail to be set pending court appearances. The Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force... and, Jamestown Police K-9 Mitchell assisted the investigation.
A hearing will be held later today on whether the preservation group "Save the Amp" and five residents at Chautauqua Institution can get a temporary restraining order on the project. The group and residents filed suit late last Friday in State Supreme Court to stop the effort to "raze" the current amphitheater, and construct a new one at the current site. In a press release issued last weekend... "Save the Amp" attorney, Arthur Giacalone of Buffalo, noted that the legal action was started once the town of Chautauqua issued demolition and building permits for the project... which the institution has called a "renewal" of the amphitheater. "Save the Amp" Co-Founder Brian Berg recently told us momentum was building for the lawsuit. Giacalone says "Save the Amp" wants the institution and town to fully comply with two laws... the first being the town's own Waterfront Consistancy Law... and, the other is the State Environmental Quality Review -- or SEQR - Act. In response... the Institution says it's "disappointed" about the lawsuit. Officials add that in developing the project, "we have taken care to study the issues carefully and and thoroughly, to proactively seek outside input and to make sure that all of our actions and filings comply with any and all requirements." Giacalone says their Article 78 Proceeding was filed late Friday.
New York's attorney general has relaunched the office's website containing public information to match lobbying disclosures with specific legislation proposed and passed by state lawmakers. According to the attorney general's office... NYOpenGovernment.com now links Joint Commission on Public Ethics filings by lobbyists with specific bills, enabling people to more easily track issues that lobbyists and their clients are advocating for, as well as the results. The website is intended to promote the public's right to know about governmental decision-making. It includes data on campaign financing, lobbying, charities, state contracts, legislator grants, corporate registrations, elected officials and legislation.
A Georgia woman visiting relatives in Buffalo in recent months has been found dead inside her parked car in a parking lot in Fredonia. The Buffalo News reports village police found 48 year-old Darlene Depto of Adairsville inside the vehicle shortly before 5 PM last Friday in teh rear parking lot of the McDonald's on Route 60. Officers say there was no apparent cause of death... and, an autopsy has been ordered for today. They say snow had been plowed around the car... which had tinted windows. That made it difficult to see anyone inside. Depto is formerly from West Seneca. However... it appeared the car had been there for some time. Family members reported her missing last Tuesday.
Dunkirk's new Mayor says he remains hopeful that the NRG repowering project will eventually move forward. However... Democrat Willie Rosas, who is in his first month in office, says he is also developing a plan should the "worse case" scenario happen. That would be mothballing the plant. Rosas, who gave an update on the plant during this week's Common Council meeting, indicated there is state funding available to communities facing similar situations. There is 19-million dollars in state funding set aside for communities that have to "retire" coal-powered plants. Meanwhile... NRG spokesman David Gaier says the plant is moving ahead with the actual mothballing of Unit 2, which was the last unit in operation. Gaier also says the company submitted the re-powering project in late December as part of the New York Independent System Operator's Public Policy Planning Process. He says the next step is for NYISO to evaluate the proposed projects, including NRG's. The proposals will be presented stakeholders and the State Public Service Commission in mid-2016.
New York has established a 5-billion dollars clean energy fund to encourage renewable sources of electricity such as wind and solar. It's part of Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to generate half of the state's energy from renewable sources by 2030. The state's Public Service Commission approved the initiative last Thursday, eight days after the Democratic governor announced the proposal in his state of the state address. The money will be used to subsidize solar energy, spur energy research and development and incentivize private investments in clean energy projects. It will also support programs that increase consumer energy efficiency. It will be funded through utility bill surcharges, but the state anticipates that it will lead to consumer savings as early as this year and ultimately save consumers $39 billion in 10 years.
The pilot of a single-engine plane safely landed in a backyard field at western New York home after the engine iced-up during a flight from Massachusetts. Pilot Jeremiah Coholan and passenger Richard Medeiros took off from New Bedford Thursday... and, were approaching the Rochester area around 1:45 PM when the engine of their Cessna began seizing up as ice clogged the carburetor. Coholan says he looked for a place to land and found a small, snow-covered field behind a home in the Wayne County village of Macedon... just east of Rochester. The plane landed safely. The two men weren't injured. State police say Federal Aviation Administration representatives went to the scene to inspect the plane.
