Hochul urges Western New Yorker's to get COVID-19 booster shot...
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was in Western New York Tuesday to encourage any adult in the region... which now has a high COVID-19 transmission rate... to get their vaccine booster shot as soon as they can.  Hochul was at a community center for a COVID-19 briefing... and says infection rates in the region... as well as the Finger Lakes... are more than 8% -- the highest in the state.  Hochul says there is plenty of supply for people to get the booster, and, they state will help local counties get the vaccine boosters if they need them.  Hochul also expressed disappointment over the fact that only 47% of those 65-years of age, and older have gotten the booster shot so far.  She also encouraged parents to get their children who are ages 5 to 11 to get their first shot of a vaccine. 

Jamestown's City Christmas Tree up on Tracy Plaza...
It's beginning to feel a lot more like Christmas in downtown Jamestown... now that the city's official tree has been put up on Tracy Plaza.  A city crew, headed up by Parks Manager Dan Stone, harvested the Blue Spruce tree from the home at 265 Prospect St. on the southside this morning.  Stone says the DeLong family donated the 40-foot tall Blue Spruce.  He says Lakeshore Paving again provided a flat-bed truck to deliver the tree, and the Board of Public Utilities provided the crane to help get the tree up on the plaza.  The tree was up and anchored on the northwest side of the plaza as usual... where Stone says park's crews will install thousands of Christmas lights between now, and the annual Christmas Parade... this year on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m.  He says crews will start putting more than 4,000 LED lights on the tree later today through tomorrow.  Stone says a new star has been made for the top.  He also thanked the Jamestown Police Department for it's help in providing the escort to city hall, and closing off East Third in front of city hall so the tree could be put up. 

Marvin House Christmas trees on display...
When retired architect Marlin Casker learned the Marvin House in Jamestown wanted to do something special for the Holidays, he had just the answer.  Casker and a late friend had been collecting Christmas ornaments for many years, and they eventually had enough to decorate a dozen treets.  The trees were previewed at an open house on Tuesday evening.  The ornaments, many of which Casker donated, come from Scandinavia, other parts of Europe… China and Mexico, even the Middle East.  He says the one from Egypt is unique because they're all glass and derived from 'Islamic ideas'.  Marvin House President, Rosemary Lombardo, says she’s wanted something like this ever since she took office five years ago.  The trees can be seen every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. right through New Year’s, as part of the regular $10 Marvin House tour. 

Salvation Army's Red Kettle gets underway in Jamestown-area...
The Salvation Army of Jamestown's annual Red Kettle Campaign is officially underway with a goal of 115-thousand dollars to help the needy in the Jamestown-area.  On our Dennis Webster Show Tuesday morning... Major Kim Merchant said they have one of their locations now open... at Tops Market on Washington Street, with more to follow soon.  Merchant says... right now... they can only have one masked person at the Tops on Washington Street.  She says they're talking with Tops about getting those restrictions loosened up.  Merchant says both the Chautauqua Mall and Wal-Mart in Lakewood say families and groups will be allowed to man the kettles.  Residents can sign up to man a kettle for an hour at each location.  For more information on the Red Kettle Campaign... or their Angel Tree program... call The Salvation Army at 664-4108. 

Muldowney calls 2021 campaign a "challenging one" and Bankoski to be minority leader...
A Chautauqua County Legislature Republican from Dunkirk has been re-elected to a fourth term after a close race.  Kevin Muldowney says it was a challenging campaign against Democrat Marcus Buchanon... who ran a "spirited race" that came down to absentee ballots.  Meanwhile, Dunkirk's other county legislator, Bob Bankoski, will become the Chautauqua County Legislature's minority leader in 2022.  Bankoski will replace Jamestown Democrat Charles Nazzaro who will be leaving the legislature at the end of December.  Bankowski has been assistant Minority Leader since he's been on the legislature.  He says, with Nazzaro leaving, they will be big shoes to fill.  Legislator Paul Whitford of Jamestown will replace Bankoski as assistant minority leader.  Republicans will have a 15-to-4 supermajority in the legislature the next two years.

Ethics panel rescinds its approval of Cuomo Book Deal...
Members of New York's ethics commission have voted overwhelmingly to rescind approval of former Governor Andrew Cuomo's $5.1-million book deal.  In July 2020... commission staff granted approval of Cuomo's deal for "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic."  At the time, his special council told the ethics commission he would write the book "entirely on his own time."  But... Cuomo has since acknowledged that state employees "volunteered" with tasks including editing the manuscript.