Rushdie gives first interview since stabbing on Chautauqua Institution stage...
Months after being stabbed repeatedly as he prepared to deliver a lecture at Chautauqua Institution... Salman Rushdie is blind in his right eye, struggles to write and at times has ``frightening'' nightmares. However... Rushdie said during his first interview since the stabbing on the amphitheater stage, he still has a feeling of gratitude. ``Well, you know, I've been better,'' he told The New Yorker's David Remnick. ``But, considering what happened, I'm not so bad.'' The interview appeared on the eve of the publication of his new book, ``Victory City,`` which he completed before the attack. Rushdie called his attacker an ``idiot'' but otherwise said he held no anger.
City man arrested after allegedly dousing another person with gasoline, and threatening to light them on fire...
A Jamestown man has been arrested for allegedly dousing another person with gasoline... and, threatening to set them on fire during an incident early Monday afternoon on the city's westside. Jamestown police were called to the scene in the area of Washington and West Seventh Streets shortly before 2 p.m. for a disorderly person. When they arrived... officers found the suspect... 42 year-old Nathan Strickland... a short distance away from the scene. Strickland was arrested for second-degree menacing... and, he was jailed pending arraignment.
Jamestown man sentenced to 2 to 4 years for illegal weapons possession conviction...
A city man convicted of violating his probation on a drug charge in early 2022 has received another 2 to 4 years in prision for illegally possessing a weapon. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt says 56 year-old Carlos Rivera of Jamestown was given the indeterminate sentence by County Court Judge David Foley Monday morning. Schmidt says Rivera was convicted early last December of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon... after being convicted on a charge of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in April of last year. He says Rivera also received two more years determinate in state prison plus one-year of post-release supervision for his parole violation.
City Council receives update on amount of ARPA funding allocated, and left...
Jamestown city leaders still have some hard decisions to make regarding remaining American Rescue Plan funding... with just over $25-million now having been spoken for. That came out during lengthy discussion last night about how much ARPA funding has been allocated... and, actually spent. City Council Finance Committee Chairwoman Kim Ecklund says much of the original $28-million has been allocated... and there's not enought left to deal with the remaining wish list. Ecklund says the wish list is 4.85-million dollars, but she adds there is only $2.77-million left that hasn't been spoken for. The city's ARPA Grants Coordinator, Tim O'Dell, says their residential roofing projects are moving forward, with about $215,000 allocated for 12 roof projects... and, several others are being bid on. O'Dell adds that 21 businesses have taken advantage of more than $300,000 in ARPA Economic Development funds being dispersed. He added that 119 jobs have been created by all the projects... and saved 341 others.
Wendel says new Media Communications person would bring his office to five employees, not eight...
The Chautauqua County Legislature's approval of a new Media Communications person to the county executive's office did not create an eight employee for that office. That from County Executive P.J. Wendel in response to criticism of a local law approved at the January legislature meeting in a 13-3 vote. The three "no" votes came from Democratic legislators... who said there were already seven people employed there. However... Wendel says there are now four employees there -- including himself. He says there's a resource assistant which is a CSEA position, an executive assistant, confidential secretary, and his position. The Lakewood Republican says a compliance officer in his office is being moved into the county's Human Resources Office. He adds another change is moving the Deputy County Executive for Economic Development Mark Geise back under Planning and Economic Development. Wendel adds the new position was already in the 2023 budget... and, lawmakers had already voted for it. Wendel had requested the position as a new media "point" person to mainly handle social media accounts... as well as getting critical and immediate information out to the public.
City man arrested for allegedly stealing girlfriend's car...
A Jamestown man is accused of taking and driving his girlfriend's car -- without permission -- early Monday morning on the city's northside. Jamestown Police were called to an eastside address shortly after Midnight... and, found that 28 year-old Najee Finley had taken the car ths past weekend... and, he was arrested for third-degree unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Officers say the car was located and returned to the victim... while Finley was taken to the city jail pending arraignment.
Many PA residents looking at loss of free health insurance with the end of pandemic moratorium against kicking people off Medicaid...
The federal government's pandemic-era prohibition against kicking people off Medicaid is ending... meaning that hundreds of thousands of people in Pennsylvania face losing free health insurance. Many people who stand to lose Medicaid coverage have no idea that the changes are coming. That's according to advocacy organizations who do outreach to the poor. Enforcing the eligibility rules will be a massive bureaucratic task for the new administration of Governor Josh Shapiro.
