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WJTN News Headlines for Apr. 19, 2018

The end is near for department store operator The Bon-Ton Stores, one of which is in the Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood...  
 
Two liquidation firms are the victors of an auction for the bankrupt company's assets, after the retailer failed to find a bidder willing to continue operating the business.  A bankruptcy court hearing was held Wednesday to approve the sale and liquidation details.  The Bon-Ton Stores was operating 260 stores in 24 states, largely in the Northeast and Midwest, when it filed for bankruptcy in January.  Liquidation firms Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group are the winners of the auction.  The Bon-Ton stores part of a larger group of retailers falling on hard times, facing bankruptcy and store closings, due mainly to increasing online shopping.  No one was available at the Lakewood store Wednesday morning for comment.
 
 
It's "full-speed ahead" for the new Jamestown Brewing Company at the former Lillian Ney Renaissance Center after three important approvals were given by the city's Planning Commission Tuesday afternoon...  
 
That from city Development Director Vince DeJoy, who says the panel approved the brewery-restaurant's formal site plan, with one contingency that'll be addressed during renovations.  DeJoy adds they also approved the State Environmental Quality Review Act -- or SEQR documents.
 
DeJoy says the third item approved was a state Historic Review of the property at 119 West Third Street so it qualifies for Historic Tax Credits.  He says city officials are "tremendously excited" about the opening, which they hope fill coincide with the opening of the National Comedy Center, and the start of the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in August.  A father and son from the Buffalo-area are undertaking the project.  DeJoy says they expect to begin brewing three types of beer before the brewery and restaurant formally open to the public.
 
 
Dunkirk Common Council members have authorized the mayor to sign the ground lease with Erie Development, LLC to construct a new Wyndham Hotel on Lake Shore Drive East...  
 
The hotel, with about 85 rooms, will be located between the Tim Horton's store and Clarion Hotel.  Mayor Willie Rosas says it's a good deal for the city. Rosas says the agreement calls for the project preparation and approval processes to begin this year, with construction expected to be completed by December 2019.
 
 
Republicans are blasting New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's executive order restoring the voting rights of parolees...  
 
Republican Senate Leader John Flanagan said Wednesday the move is bad public policy and potentially illegal since Cuomo chose to sidestep the Legislature.  The order could impact up to 35,000 parolees who currently aren't allowed to vote.  Cuomo's directive will give corrections officials the power to block some former inmates from regaining the right to cast a ballot.  Some 14 states and the District of Columbia already allow people to vote once they are released from incarceration.
 
 
Leaders of the New York state Conservative Party are backing Republican Marc Molinaro as he seeks the GOP nomination to run for governor this year...  
 
The Dutchess County Executive on Monday thanked Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long and the organization's executive committee for supporting his campaign, which he officially launched April 2nd.  The executive committee unanimously voted last Friday in Brooklyn to recommend that the party endorse Molinaro.  Molinaro and state Senator John DeFrancisco are seeking the Republican nomination, which will be made next month.
 
 
United States' Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is introducing legislation that would protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program -- or SNAP -- benefits for eligible children...  
 
The New York Democrat says the "SNAP for Kids Act" will include more money each month to help families put food on the table for their children.  Gillibrand says it's needed for two reasons:  The first is families often run out of SNAP benefits before the end of the month and secondly, the cost of food is going up.
 
Gillibrand says 43-percent of the approximately 40-million people receiving SNAP benefits are children. She says the $42.00-a month increase would boost the child SNAP benefit from $153, to $195.  House Republicans are proposing a major cut to SNAP, as well as new work requirements for "able-bodied" people who receive them.  However, Gillibrand says work requirements have been in place for 20 years and the new proposal would do nothing more than increase paperwork.  She says that would make SNAP benefits more difficult to get.
 
 
One person has been arrested on an active warrant out of Jamestown at the K-Mart store in West Ellicott...  
 
Ellicott Town Police say they were initially called to the Wegman's for a warrant check early Tuesday night on 54 year-old James Grant.  On arrival, officers found that Grant had left the grocery store and went to the K-mart across the parking lot.  He was arraigned on the charge of first-degree criminal contempt and sent to the county jail.  He is due in Ellicott Town Court at a later date.