Borrello and Goodell join County Chamber Breakfast via Zoom during breaks in state budget debate and votes...
The New York state legislature is expected to work late into the night on several remaining budget bills that are part of a nearly, $222-billion spending plan that was due a week ago.  That from State Assemblyman Andy Goodell and Senator George Borrello during the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce's annual State Legislative Breakfast in Jamestown.  Both appeared by Zoom during a break on the floor of their chambers.  In a word... Borrello says the process has gone "poorly..." because they're getting "messages of necessity" from the governor to forego the usual three-days that legislation has to sit before it can be acted on.  In one case... Borrello says lawmakers only had 10 minutes to look at the bill.  Goodell says the approximately 12 budget bills can range from 50... to 1,000 pages in length.  The Jamestown-area Republican says the budget has ballooned from just about $180-billion a couple of years ago to more than $220-billion this year for two reasons.  One is an additional $8.5-billion in taxes added on by Majority Democrats, and the cash windfall the state got in federal COVID-19 relief.  So far... the state legislature has approved three budget bills.  Controversial changes to the state's three-year old Bail Reform laws have not been acted on yet... but, Goodell says the revenue bill was adopted with bi-partisan support. 

Hochul says she and legislature have general agreement on final state budget...
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced what she calls a ``conceptual'' agreement with legislators on a $220-billion state budget.  The Democrat says New York will devote billions of dollars to help families pay for child care, boost health care worker wages and temporarily cut state gasoline taxes.  The budget was due Apr. 1, but has been held up by last-minute policy and spending disagreements.  Lawmakers planned to begin voting on it Thursday evening.  Many parts of the budget deal are aimed at easing the public's financial burden, as the state deals with the pandemic recovery, inflation and rising prices.

Three injured in four-day accident on I-86 in Cattaraugus County...
Three people suffered only minor injuries in a wild, four-car accident on Interstate 86 in Cattaraugus County between the Steamburg and Randolph exits.  Sheriff's officers in Little Valley were called to the scene shortly before 4 p.m. yesterday... and, determined the first vehicle was eastbound when the driver lost control, and the car wound up in the median on it's side.  Deputies say the driver of a westbound car saw the accident... and, stopped to help.  However... a third car -- which was also westbound -- struck the vehicle that had stopped to assist.  That car came to rest in the middle of the wesbound lanes.  Officers say the driver of the fourth vehicle tried to avoid the collision, and went off the road and struck a guardrail.  Deputies say one person had to be freed from the wreckage.  The three people injured were taken to UPMC Chautauqua Hospital in Jamestown.  The other two drivers declined medical treatment.  The investigation into the crash is continuing... and, officers say charges are pending.

Tenney gets required number of GOP and Conservative signatures to get on ballot for 23rd Congressional District...
Upstate New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney says she's filed petitions with more than 9-thousand Republican and Conservative Party signatures in the new 23rd District.  The Utica-area Republican thank the more than one-thousand volunteers who helped her campaign hit this record number, doubling her total from previous elections and demonstrating her strong support in Western New York, and the Southern Tier regions.  She currently represents New York's 22nd Congressional District.  Tenney says just over 7,700 were Republican signatures... and, nearly 1,500 were for the Conservative line.  She's looking to replace the retiring Tom Reed on the ballot.

Reed confident that U.S. Senate will act in near future on new, COVID Relief bill...
A U.S. Senate vote on a compromise, $10-billion measure that would buttress the federal government's COVID-19 defenses may not take place until late April.  It seems all but certainly sidetracked in that chamber for weeks... a victim of a campaign-season fight over the incendiary issue of immigration.  However... local Congressman Tom Reed says he remains confident that a new relief package will be coming sometime in the future.  Reed says it will help small businesses... especially restaurants.  The measure has already been approved in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He made his comments during his weekly telephone conference call with Southern Tier Media.

North county man arrested in Gerry for driving while under the influence of drugs...
A Dunkirk man is accused of driving while under the influence of drugs after he was stopped for a traffic violation in the town of Gerry.  State Police in Jamestown say they pulled over 29 year-old Jeffrey Holmberg on Route 60 Monday... and he failed several sobriety tests.  Holmberg was arrested... and, troopers allegedly found drugs and a digital scale containing drug residue inside Holmberg’s car.  Police took him to the State Police barracks... where he was evaluated by a New York State Police Drug Recognition Expert.  They determined he was impaired by drugs and unable to operate a vehicle safely.  Since Holmberg’s driving record revealed a DWAI conviction within the past 10 years, the charge was upgraded to a felony.  Troopers processed Holmberg... and, he was issued appearance and traffic tickets for Gerry Town Court at a later date.