A city man is jailed without bail for allegedly firing two shots from a pistol at another person during a fight on Jamestown's eastside early last Saturday morning....
City Police Captain Bob Samuelson says officers were called to the area of 45 Franklin Street about 1:30 a.m., and, soon learned that the suspect -- 34 year-old Desimon Elston -- had run from the scene into the home at 55 Franklin. Howeve, Samuelson says Elston was taken into custody without incident in a neighboring yard. Police then got a search warrant for 45 Franklin and, found the 45-caliber pistol allegedly used. The other person was not hurt. Elston was arraigned on one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and sent to the county lock-up. More charges are expected. If you have any information on the incident, call the JPD anonymous Tipline at 483-TIPS.
A man from Mayville is being held without bail for Felony drunk driving and drug-possession charges following a raid on his Potter Road home late last week....
Sheriff's deputies say they also found a growing marijuana plant when they took 31 year-old Casey Monroe into custody last Thursday night. Officers say they found Monroe in possession of a quantity of marijuana, and suboxone during the raid. He was arraigned on charges including seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, Growing of the plant known as cannabis without license and, unlawful possession of marijuana. He was then sent to the county lock-up.
There remains no end in sight for the partial government shut-down, which is now into a record 24th day....
With that, many services are not being provided and, the federal workers involved are not being paid. Chautauqua County's Congressman, Tom Reed, says the good news is that about 75-percent of the government remains open. However, those approximately 800,000 workers involved are not being paid. Reed says there are impacts on several services, including airports and other transportation.
President Trump didn't drop any more hints last weekend on when he might declare an national emergency to get money for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. He's also not saying what his strategy to end the partial government shutdown might be. Reed recently noted that there are still the makings of a deal if the two sides would talk. He feels border security, and the the DACA issue should all be on the table. Many border security and TSA workers are not being paid but, many are still working at this time.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to raise the state's minimum age to buy tobacco and electronic cigarette products from 18 to 21 -- to curb their use by younger people....
Cuomo announced Saturday that he will include the proposal in his 2019 executive budget. The legislation would ban sale of tobacco and electronic cigarette products in pharmacies, restrict their display in retail stores that are not adult-only and require that e-cigarettes be sold only by licensed retailers. The governor says New York has made "great strides" to stamp out teen smoking, but new products threaten to undo the progress. Cuomo also wants to clarify the health department's authority to ban the sale of certain flavored e-cigarette liquids, except menthol, that could be popular as a smoking starter product for youth.
The organization that represents New York's school boards is urging state lawmakers to not abandon the Foundation Aid formula... but, fully fund it....
That comes in the wake of Governor Andrew Cuomo's claim that the main "base" aid program is antiquated and doesn't work. Executive Director Tim Kreamer with the New York State School Boards Association says the formula has been the best way to identify the cost to educate each student. He says -- right now -- the state legislature agrees.
Kreamer says, though, it's not clear how hard the legislature will fight the governor on fully-funding Foundation Aid. However, they'll have a good idea when Cuomo presents his budget on Tuesday. Many local school officials have said they would rather see all aid be doled out as Foundation Aid. The formula was created in 2007 in response to the state losing a lawsuit to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
Media One's Dennis Webster has won a statewide award for agricultural reporting....
The annual 'Cap Creal Awards' were presented late last week at the New York Agricultural Society meeting in Syracuse. Dennis' award winning program was a 2018 'Farm Bureau Radio Show' that summarized the first ever 'Concord Grape Summit'... held at the Grape Discovery Center in Westfield in April. The Creal awards are named for Harold 'Cap' Creal, a depression-era farmer from Central New York, who went on to become a state assemblyman, and Director of the New York State Fair. Dennis was nominated for the honor by Cornell Cooperative Extension in Chautauqua County.
Lawmakers in New York are poised to overhaul the state's antiquated election laws in an effort to raise low voter turnout rates....
The most significant change up for a vote in the state Senate and Assembly on Monday would allow voters to cast a ballot up to 10 days before an election. Most states already allow early voting, but bills authorizing it in New York were long blocked by Republicans in the Senate. With Democrats now in charge, the change is expected to pass easily. Lawmakers also plan to vote to allow voter registration on Election Day, and to consolidate what are now multiple state and local primaries to a single date. New York was among the worst 10 states for turnout in both the 2016 and 2018 elections.
Multiple people tell The Associated Press that Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is looking at Troy, New York, as a potential headquarters for a 2020 presidential bid....
They cautioned that the decision is not yet final and spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Gillibrand's team eyeing Troy, which is 150 miles north of Manhattan, is the strongest signal yet that the New York senator will soon enter the presidential race. If Gillibrand enters the race, she will join what is expected to be a historically large field, and one that could include many of her Senate colleagues. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has already formed an exploratory committee and is moving quickly with trips across the landscape of early primary states.
