One person suffers burns in fire on Jamestown's southside...
One person suffered burns and had to be taken to the hospital after flames broke out in a second-story bedroom on Jamestown's southside this morning.  City fire officials say crews were called to 41 Linwood Ave. at 8 a.m., and, found the bedroom area fully-engulfed in flames.  However... firefighters had the blaze out fairly quickly with the help of an off-shift.  No one else was hurt in the blaze.  There's no word on the fire victim's condition.  A crew remained at the scene early this afternoon.  The cause remains under investigation.

Several firefighters overcome by some kind of toxic fumes in town of Portland house fire...
The investigation continues into the cause of a house fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon in the Town of Portland.  Chautauqua County Sheriff Jim Quattrone says State Police are heading up the probe of the fire at 6842 Webster Rd., that put some fire fighters at risk.  Quattrone says investigators are not sure what triggered the fumes.  The residents of the home were not injured... but, we now understand several firefighters were overcome by the unknown fumes coming from the house.

JPD investigating shots fired incident on southside Wednesday afternoon...
Jamestown police are investigating an alleged shooting incident late Wednesday afternoon believed to be the result of an argument that escalated.  City police confirm that officers were called to the 100-block of Broadhead Avenue about 5 p.m. on a report of shots fired.  Police say one round went through the trunk of a car... then went through an empty car seat... and lodged in a rear passenger seat.  A child was reportedly in the passenger seat... but, was not hurt.  

Teen involved in shots-fired incident in Jamestown now charged with stealing the AR-15 rifle used...
A 17 year-old boy accused of shooting off a stolen, AR-15 rifle in Brooklyn Square last weekend now faces a Grand Larceny charge in Lakewood.  Lakewood-Busti Police confirm the teenager was charged after Jamestown police arrested the 17 year-old near the intersection of South Main and Harrison Streets about 11:30 p.m. last Saturday.  Lakewood-Busti Police say the teen was arraigned on one count of fourth-degree Grand Larceny -- a Felony.  The teen was originally arrested in Jamestown for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon... and, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.  No one was hurt in the incident.

Another suspect in Jun Martinez drug trafficking conspiracy in Jamestown pleads guilty...
Another city resident involved in a major, drug traffcking operation in Jamestown has pleaded guilty to being involved in that trafficking operation.  U.S. Attorney Trini Ross announced Wednesday that 60 year-old Kevin Hughes entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Buffalo to narcotics conspiracy.  Prosecutors say Hughes assisted co-defendant Jun Martinez in his drug trafficking operation, receiving drug packages in the mail at his home.  He's also accused of often driving Martinez in, and around Jamestown to traffic drugs, help with retrieving money from customers, vacuum sealing the money, and subsequently mailing the money to the source of supply.  In September 2020... during a trip out of state to acquire narcotics from a supplier... an Illinois State Police Trooper stopped Hughes and Martinez... and, a search of the car resulted in the seizure of just over 9,500 grams of methamphetamine, 3,100 grams of fentanyl... over 2,200 grams of cocaine, and marijuana products.  Martinez has been convicted. Hughes faces at least 10 years in prison, and a $10-million fine.

Thompson tells city lawmakers it's too early to tell whether Jamestown's 2022 budget projections were on target...
Some revenue projects are running ahead of projections for the first-quarter of the year in the city of Jamestown... but, it's still too early to tell how 2022 will turn-out.  That from City Comptroller Ryan Thompson... who updated the City Council this week on final, 2021 budget numbers... and, took look at the year to date.  Thompson says Board of Public Utilities Payment-in-lieu-of Tax payments are running ahead of last year... and, if the numbers hold up... they'll see a $100,000 increase.  He adds the city's also received 68% of all last year's revenues from the fire department's EMS service... averaging about 28,000 a month for the first four months of this year.  If the trend continues... Thompson says they'll wind up about $171,000 over budget.  Thompson says upgrading the EMS billing system has had a lot to do with that.  As for concerns... he says one is that parking ramps and lots are not covering operation expenses so far in 2022.  Thompson adds that they are also still awaiting first-quarter sales tax revenues... which will be a big part of the overall picture. 

Judge tells Democrats no to Spring primaries...
A federal judge has refused to order New York to hold its congressional and state Senate primaries this spring using district maps declared unconstitutional by state judges.  The judge said a legal effort by Democrats to revive the maps amounted to a "Hail Mary pass" and would potentially trigger "chaos."  A group of voters filed a lawsuit asking federal judges to intervene in New York's redistricting battle after the state's highest court ruled that district maps crafted by the state Legislature were improperly gerrymandered to favor Democrats.  They argued that redrawing the maps now would cause the state to miss an old, court-ordered deadline to hold its primaries by late June.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!