City man arrested following motor vehicle accident, and pursuit...
A Jamestown man was arrested following a vehicle pursuit last night that went down several city streets after a car crash on the eastside. State Police in Jamestown say they -- and city police -- were called to the scene on Falconer Street where one of the cars was allegedly driving away. Troopers say the car failed to comply... and, a pursuit was started. Police say the driver, later identified as 37 year-old Manuel Fernandez, then drove down several streets before pulling into a residence on Hoyt Alley. Fernandez was taken into custody without further incident. He was arraigned... and, issued an appearance ticket, and multiple traffic tickets. City police also issued Fernandez a ticket for Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident. He's to appear in City Court at a later date.
Wendel touts county's response, and belt tightening during pandemic in State of the County Address...
Chautauqua County has been meeting the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic... and, he plans to take the county "to the next level" once it's done. That from County Executive P-J Wendel during his 2021 State of the County Address last night. Wendel delivered his message virtually during the County Legislature's monthly meeting. Wendel says he will continue to push to bring the county to that "next level..." and says the pandemic is merely an "obstacle on our path to success." Despite the unknowns around the impact of the pandemic, Wendel said preliminary budget figures show that 2020 came in $4.5-million better than expected for the county... which he says was thanks to good sales tax revenue, as well as department heads "holding the line" on their budgets. Wendel says there have been preliminary talks to establish mass COVID Vaccination sites in Jamestown and Fredonia.
SUNY College at Fredonia earlier announces new, county-run Mass Vaccination Site...
The SUNY College at Fredonia announced earlier Wednesday that it had entered into the agreement with Chautauqua County to establish a mass vaccination site to serve eligible residents in the region. Fredonia officials say the vaccination site will be set up in the Ice Arena complex in Steele Hall for use by the health department when COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available. This site would be run by the the county Health Department... which will schedule appointments, and administer the vaccines. It would not be tied to any federal site that may be located in the county.
Reed says county now likely to be a federal Mass Vaccination site...
There's been a shift in New York state's stance on whether Chautauqua County will be considered for a mass COVID-19 vaccination site by the federal government. That's a change from what was in an NBC News story earlier this week. It reported the Biden Administration wanted to locate one of the Centers for Disease Control's four sites here. However... it was reportedly nixed by New York state. Local Congressman Tom Reed says his -- and others -- pushback on the matter, has led state officials to reverse course. Reed says he was joined by State Senator George Borrello and local Assemblyman Andy Goodell in calling out Governor Andrew Cuomo on the matter. The Corning Republican says Cuomo's office changed it's stance Tuesday night... when the governor issued a statement saying that he never intended for a vaccination site to be removed. Reed believes the county site should be one of four along the state Thruway corridor... including Buffalo, Rochester, and Albany.
Reed now seriously considering a run for Governor in 2022...
Local Congressman Tom Reed now says that he is "seriously considering" a run for New York governor after dropping several hints over the past couple of weeks. Reed told Fox News Wednesday morning that he is now fully-weighing a run -- likely against incumbant Democrat Andrew Cuomo -- in 2022. During his weekly conference call later with regional media... the Corning Republican said yes -- he's looking at it. He adds that others have urged him to consider it because of his ability to work with both sides of the political aisle. Reed has been very outspoken in his criticism of Cuomo... especially over the governor's response to reports about his March 2020 order that sent COVID-Positive nursing home patients back to their homes once they became asymptomatic in the hospital. Reed adds, though, that he needs to talk with his family about it in the wake of a pair of threats they received during last year's election campaign.
Cuomo now facing detailed sexual harassment accusations...
A former member of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration who previously accused him of sexual harassment has offered new details. Lindsey Boylan said in a Wednesday post that the Democrat once kissed her on the lips without consent. During her more than three years in the administration, she said Cuomo "would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs," compared her to one of his rumored ex-girlfriends... and, once joked they should play strip poker. Cuomo previously denied the allegations.
County's number of new COVID cases drops to single-digits Wednesday...
There are just 8 new cases of the COVID-19 virus being reported the past day in Chautauqua County... the first time that number has been in single digits in many months. However... there was one new death reported in the past day... bringing that number to 137. The county's Health Department reports there have now been 7,462 confirmed cases to date... and, four of the new cases were in Jamestown. The number of active cases is down to 111... and, 11 of those are hospitalized. Health officials say there have now been 7,214 recovered cases.
