A North Carolina man was arrested last Friday night for illegal possession of a hand-gun after police caught him driving around barricades for the annual Christmas Parade.
State Police in Jamestown say they pulled over 21 year-old Tim Batchelor of Zebulon, North Carolina on Fourth Street. Troopers say they saw a Smith & Wesson handgun inside the vehicle in plain sight and Batchelor was arrested after they confirmed that he didn’t have a New York State pistol permit. Batchelor was processed, and later arraigned, and sent to the County Jail without bail.
A Jamestown woman was arrested twice in the city within an hour last Friday for driving while intoxicated... and, driving without a license in the city.
City police say they pulled over the car, driven by 28 year-old Rachel Farnham, about 2:40 AM near the intersection of Ahrens Avenue and Hebner Street... and, found she was driving while drunk. They also found Farnham had a revoked license, and had been pulled over earlier that morning, and was told not to drive. During that stop... she was issued two traffic tickets, and officers called her a cab to take her home. However... Farnham drove again... and, now faces charges including first and second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation... and, driving while intoxicated. She was jailed pending arraignment.
The area's new State Senator says he has put his name in for consideration for several committee assignments once the state legislature begins it's new session in early January.
Irving Republican George Borrello says he has told the Senate Leadership that he will be on as many committees as they will allow him. He says two would directly replace retired state Senator Cathy Young... and, those are Finance, and Agriculture. In addition... Borrello says he has also put in for the lead Economic Development committee, and another involved in tourism.
Borrello says he would also like to put his experiences to good use... and with that he's asked to be on Transporation, and Local Goverment. He says he feels many of the lawmakers in Albany have no experience on the local level, and how difficult it can be dealing with Albany's rules and regulations. He says he's also put in for a new committee, called Domestic Animal Welfare.
A fire at the Chautauqua County's Methane-to-Energy plant last weekend shut the plant down... but, officials hope to have it back on line soon. T
hat from Acting County Executive Stephen Abdella, who says the blaze broke out last Saturday night in the engine room at the County Landfill’s plant... and, it temporarily disabled the plant’s operations. However... he says one engine was restarted Sunday morning. Two more engines are to be restarted by today. Abdella says no staff were on site when the fire broke out, and no one was hurt. He adds the cause and the extent of the damage "is being investigated and assessed." He also says that when the plant shuts down there is a likley increase in nuisance landfill gas odor in the area. Once the second and third enginers are restarted... he says the potential for nuisance orders should be contained.
It sounded beautiful last night at First Covenant Church, as the final Living Christmas Tree performance came to a conclusion.
The standing-room only crowd was on its feet seconds after the final note... ending the 35 year run of the holiday program. Kaye Young, who has been involved in 'the tree' since the beginning... and its chairperson in recent years... said it was a very emotional performance and they went out on a high note, as they wanted. Citing 'no one single reason' organizers announced earlier this fall that this year would be the final one.
New York is moving ahead with a law that will raise the minimum wage statewide on New Year's Eve.
The $15-dollar wage will expand to city businesses with 10 or fewer employees starting December 31st. Meanwhile, the minimum wage will increase from $12 to $13 in Long Island and Westchester. The rest of the Empire State, mainly Upstate New York, will see their minimum wage increase from $11.10 to $11.80 at the end of the month. Governor Cuomo's budget director says several studies show the state's gradual increase in the minimum wage hasn't directly caused a loss in jobs.
Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas says city officials continue to await word from the federal government regarding emergency funding for damage caused by the Halloween storm. Rosas says they are working closely with the area's federal lawmakers.
Governor Andrew Cuomo requested nearly $33-million in federal assistance. Rosas was not sure how much the city could pick up. The storm battered the city's waterfront area with high waves and flooding, with the seawall along Lakefront Boulevard sustaining the most damage. Preliminary estimates have total damage costs at upwards of $750,000.
The bi-partisan Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress has formally endorsed a bill that establishes a "post-secondary student data system."
That's something the co-chairman of the caucus... local Congressman Tom Reed... says will require the U-S Department of Education to provide information to students and their families so they can make "responsible choices" about their higher-education. Reed says the College Transparency Act will also provide new access to data on enrollment, completion, and post-graduation success across colleges and majors. He and Democratic Co-Chair, New Jersey's Josh Gottheimer, say the measure will provide for "a user-friendly data that is transparent, informative, and accessible for students, parents, policymakers, and employers."
New York officials have declared that the flu is "prevalent" in the state.
This declaration initiates a state regulation that will require healthcare professionals who are not vaccinated for influenza to wear masks in areas where patients are present. The state Department of Health reports that as of November 30th there have been 3,158 laboratory-confirmed cases, 691 hospitalizations and one child death. Heath officials say anyone older than 6 months old should be vaccinated, particularly the elderly and children younger than 2 years old. The Albany Times Union reports that vaccines change each year based on predictions on what strains of the virus will be prevalent.
