Jamestown Police officials say the victim in Tuesday morning's shooting on Livingston Avenue on the city's westside has passed away...  

 

City Police Captain Bob Samuelson says the unidentified victim died shortly after he was taken off life support at UPMC Hamot Medical Center yesterday afternoon.  Samuelson says 54 year-old David Waggoner now faces a charge of second-degree murder in the case.

 

Samuelson says they do have a motive now in the shooting, but aren't releasing that at this time.  He says an autopsy will be conducted later today hrough the Erie County, Penn. Medical Examiners Office to determine the exact cause of death.  Waggoner was initially charged with attempted murder, and first-degree assault.  He's being held in the city jail pending arraignment on the new charge.

 

 

 

A Jamestown man charged with setting over a dozen fires-- including 12 in the city and one in Slippery Rock Pennyslvania-- has been sentenced to at least a month in jail in Warren County... 

 

The Times Observer reports 21 year-old Jonathan Young was sented by Judge Gregory Hammond on Monday afternoon after he pled guilty to felony theft and misdemeanor loitering charges. The newspapers says Judge Hammond gave Young 39 to 78 days on the theft charge. The Jamestown Post Journal reported earlier that Chautauqua County officials were waiting to see what happened in the Commonwealth before prosecuting Young in New York. 

 

 

County lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a measure reallocating salary grades for about 75 Child Protective Services caseworkers, and their supervisors...  

 

The legislature voted 17-1 last night to increase the grades by two levels each -- and thus increase their hourly pay by two-to-three-dollars an hour.  Caseworker representative, Katherine Hamernick, says the job is getting more difficult and complex.  She adds it's harder to keep good workers now because caseloads - which were about 15 per caseworker a few years ago -- are now much higher.

 

Hamernick says the basic caseworker needs about two-years of higher education to enter the field.  She adds that the opioid epidemic and other domestic issues have helped spark the increase in caseloads.  Sheridan Republican Terry Neibel says he sympathized with their predicament, but felt the matter should be taken up during budget talks in September and October.

 

 

A former Southern Tier Congressman, and the current one, are seeing things that President Donald Trump did while meeting with the Russian president in Helsinki very differently...  

 

Former Corning Congressman Amo Houghton says he has joined "the resistance" against President Trump in the aftermath of the Trump's private meeting with Vladimir Putin.  Houghton says "enough already..." and, says every opportunity to "get this guy out of office is a good thing."  Current Republican Congressman Tom Reed disagrees.

 

Houghton, also a Republican, concluded his comments in The Buffalo News this morning by saying "I'm scared for the country."  The newspaper also contacted three former Republican Congressman from Western New York for their views on the President, including Jack Quinn of Hamburg and Thomas Reynolds of Clarence, who have also voiced concerns over Trump.  Reed says he has disagreed with President Trump on policy and the way he presents issues in the media and social media.

 

 

A New York state farmers' group is welcoming the federal government's $12-billion plan to assist farmers hurt by trade disputes...  

 

But the New York Farm Bureau hopes the Trump administration's disputes with China and other trading partners can be resolved quickly.  The federal plan announced Tuesday is designed to help farmers hurt by tariffs with direct payments.  New York Farm Bureau president David Fisher said in a prepared statement Tuesday that the plan recognizes the dire need among many farmers. He added that what New York farmers ultimately want is open markets to sell their products.  President Donald Trump is trying to renegotiate trade agreements that he says have hurt American workers.  He has asked for patience ahead of key talks.

 

 

There is still no word yet on how soon there may be a special session of the New York state legislature to deal with a handful of issues left unresolved during the 2018 session...  

 

Lawmakers have been told there will likely be one held to deal with a couple of county sales tax matters and, New York City items such as speed cameras.  Local Assemblyman Andy Goodell says it depends on negotiations among legislative leaders and Governor Andrew Cuomo.  Goodell says Majority Democrats in the Assembly is trying to negotiate for more speed cameras in school zones.  Local sales taxes need to be approved before the end of the year for Warren and Greene Counties.  Many lawmakers believe those should be separated from the New York City matters. 

 

 

The showers and thunderstorms that brought torrential rains to portions of Chautauqua County Tuesday night produced some amazing rainfall totals....  

 

The National Weather Service in Buffalo reported nearly 4 inches of rainfall in the Dunkirk-Fredonia area.  Meteorologist Bob Hamilton says the heaviest rainfall occurred over a 20-mile-wide path across the county.

 

New figures show 3.77 inches of rainfall being reported at two different locations in the Dunkirk area and 3.4 inches near Fredonia.  The Dunkirk Airport had a report of 2.84 inches of rainfall.  Conditions improved during the day Wednesday, but more showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast over the next couple of days.