Salamanca gets a bailout
The State of New York issued a $5,000,000 zero-interest loan
to the
city of Salamanca after withholding the payments, due the
city from the
state, for nearly a year. The state refused to pay the city
their
payments due to the fact that the source of funding those
payments--
exclusivity payments from the Seneca nation stemming from a
casino on
the city's western side-- has been disrupted since September
of last
year. (Senator
Catharine
Young press release) 7/27
|
USPS proposes closing Otto, Dayton post offices
The U.S. Postal Service has announced its intentions to
possibly close
roughly a tenth of the total number of post offices in the
United
States, most of them being in rural areas. Three of those
are located
in Cattaraugus County: Otto, Dayton, and Farmersville, and
one (Niobe)
is located in Chautauqua County. A massive list of seven
post offices
are slated for closure to our east in Allegany County. (WBEN)
7/27 |
Weather: When will we see some rain?
 This
coming
week
will provide several opportunities for some much needed
rain showers. I'll tell you what days we're most likely to
get any in
this week's weather forecast. 7/23 |
|
The end of one-dollar soda in
Little Valley
 You can no longer buy a 20 oz. Pepsi with a
dollar in
Little Valley
anymore. The Sixt Lumber vending machine (pictured at
right), which
charged only $1.00 for
20 oz. bottles of Pepsi, Gatorade, and Lipton Green Tea, has
raised its
price to $1.50, citing cost increases. The Sixt machine was
the
lowest-priced 20 oz. drink in town prior to the price
increase. Now,
that honor goes to the John's Collision vending machine,
which sells
Pepsi products for $1.25. (However, I can't guarantee how
long that
will last, and the machine is currently empty other than
some root
beer.) Crosby's also sells a 12 oz. can of Pepsi for
99¢ plus tax
and deposit. (FV Exclusive) 7/18
|
Center Street Bridge to reopen August 1, 2011
Finally, after nearly two years without a bridge on the west
side of
the city of Salamanca, which really threw a wrench into
detour plans
when I-86 washed out this past June... the new bridge over
the
Allegheny River is nearly complete and is on pace to be
reopened August
1, roughly three months ahead of schedule and just in time
for the
Cattaraugus County Fair. There were some rumors it was to
have opened
July 4, but those rumors were obviously untrue. (Salamanca
Press) 7/13 |
Lloyd Long gets five years probation, $1.38M fine
Long, formerly a major business owner in Little Valley, was
sentenced
to five years probation and $1,380,000 in restitution to
several states
for using a Seneca woman to operate two Salamanca Uni-Marts
and an
online business with the same tax exemptions granted to the
Senecas, as
well as for tax evasion. Long will serve no jail time. Keep
in mind,
Long pled guilty to this crime three years ago. (Buffalo
News) 7/10 |
|
Weather: A beautiful summer weekend is in store
 Seasonably
warm
temperatures
of
around
80
degrees
and
sunny skies will dominate
this weekend, while the rest of the week's outlook only
includes some
light rain on Tuesday and sunny skies the rest of the day.
More in this
week's weather forecast. 7/9
|
Counterfeit dollar coins in
Little
Valley?
 File this under "The News I Missed" but last
week,
T&H Brooks Market (note: I work there) ceased accepting
Golden
Presidential Dollars (pictured) as payments, due to a series
of highly
sophisticated apparent counterfeits that were spent. The
phonies have a
distinct yellow sheen, particularly on the portraits, and
are much
shinier and more reflective than real dollar coins. If you
see any of
these coins in circulation, contact the Secret Service at
(716)551-4401. (FV Exclusive) 7/9
|
State set to legalize sparklers-- for next year
Lost in the shuffle of the whole same-sex marriage dispute
was a law
that would legalize the sale of sparklers, small fountains
and other
similar non-explosive fireworks to adults. Firecrackers are
still
banned, as are other, larger explosives. (Gannett)
7/7 |
|
First the cigarettes, and now the... sippy cups???
The New York State legislature, under heavy pressure from
the dental
lobby, passed a bill demanding that sippy cups have warning
labels
attached warning of the threat of tooth decay. (And yes, I
am aware
that baby teeth eventually fall out and are replaced by new,
permanent
ones over the course of childhood.) The bill awaits the
signature of
Governor Andrew Cuomo; previous governor David Paterson had
vetoed a
similar bill. (New
York
Daily
News) 7/4
|
Fred Dicker keeps pushing the Cuomo rumor mill
Fred Dicker, the man directly responsible for Andrew Cuomo
becoming
governor of New York, continues his campaign for Cuomo to
seek higher
office with yet more speculation that Cuomo will replace Joe
Biden as
the running mate of incumbent President Barack Obama. As I
said the
last time Fred Dicker peddled this rumor, such a move is
very rare in
modern politics and hasn't happened since FDR, so don't
count on it. (New
York
Post) 7/4 |
State set to approve hydraulic fracturing today
After a moratorium of several months, the Cuomo
administration released
regulations today regarding the authorization of hydraulic
fracturing
in the Marcellus Formation. The bill prohibits the practice
(known
perjoratively among its opponents as "hydrofracking") within
the
watersheds of Syracuse and New York City but leaves 85% of
the field
open for drilling. (Liz
Benjamin) 7/1 |
|
State names sweet corn the official state "vegetable"
 Just keep in mind: corn is considered a
grain, not a
vegetable. The introduction of higher levels of corn into
the American
diet, including high fructose corn syrup, has coincided with
major
increases in obesity. (Notice the rate of obesity among the
Indians,
who claim corn as one of the "Three Sisters" staples of
their diets.)
Corn is better associated with Iowa, ethanol and corruption.
However,
senator Young decided to vote in favor of the grain as a
vegetable. 6/26
|
Same-sex marriage becomes law in New York
State senate vote: 33-29 in favor Friday night. Young votes
against. By
party: GOP 4-28, DEM 25-1, IDC 4-0. Rev. Rubén
Díaz
(Bronx) the lone DEM dissident. GOP dissidents: McDonald
(Capital
District), Alesi (Rochester), Grisanti (Buffalo), Saland
(Hudson
Valley). 6/26
|
Not telling welfare about your boyfriend is a crime
Just ask Olivia Schink of Machias. The 22-year-old was
charged with
filing a false instrument and welfare fraud after the county
alleged
she had a boyfriend and didn't note it on her application.
What the
county meant by boyfriend wasn't clear, and how close the
two were
wasn't stated. However, they weren't married. (Gowanda
Pennysaver, no link) 6/26
|
|
Governor reaches deal with CSEA union
Among the key details: a wage freeze for two years, unpaid
furloughs
that span nine days over two years (but will eventually be
paid back
during the next governor's term-- how convenient), no
reforms to
step/longevity raises (in other words, they're not frozen),
some minor
increases in health insurance premiums, no pension reforms,
and no
layoffs. (Liz
Benjamin) 6/22
|
Rumor has it: upstate Senate GOP to oust Skelos
Now, keep in mind, folks, that this is Fred
Dicker, so the reliability isn't very good, but rumor
has it
that the upstate caucus is dissatisfied with the same-sex
marriage
negotiations and wants to replace Senate GOP leader Dean
Skelos, a
member of the "Long Island Nine," with Binghamton's Thomas
Libous. 6/20 |
Wx: A beautiful weekend, but a not-so-nice week
This Father's Day weekend is going to be fabulous. Heading
into next
week? Not so much. More on this in this week's weather
forecast. 6/18 |
|
Rep. Reed promoted to Ways and Means
Rep. Tom Reed (R-29NY) was promoted to the influential Ways
and Means
Committee on the U.S. House of Representatives. The
committee has
domain over all taxation and entitlement programs; it is the
origin of
all tax laws. (Corning
Leader) 6/15
|
Cattaraugus Fire Dept. loses tax-exempt status
Among other area organizations losing said status are the
Little Valley
Lions Club, the AMVETS post, and at least three labor unions
in
Salamanca. (Business
First) 6/13 |
Weather
Latest weather forecast. 6/11 |
|
State Dems propose single-payer health system
The New York State Assembly and Senate Democratic caucuses
have put
forth a bill that will create a single-payer universal
health system in
which every person must participate. There'd be no co-pays
or premiums,
but your income tax will increase to cover it. So far, the
Republican
Senate isn't biting. (Gannett)
6/8
|
Townhall.com profiles Salamanca & it ain't pretty
Let me put it this way: the title of the article is "Portrait
of
a
Failed
American
City." 6/6 |
Weather: Rain tonight, gone tomorrow
 The
only
major
threat
of
rain
in
the
next
five
days
comes
tonight.
More
on
this
in
this
week's weather forecast.
6/4 |
|
UPDATE: State will build new I-86 detour lane
 The state DOT didn't make it clear whether
the eastbound
lane of I-86
would be reduced to one lane or if an extra westbound lane
would be
built in the middle of the highway, but the DOT has reversed
course and
announced that on June 10, they will open a new westbound
lane on I-86
to compensate for the collapse of the current highway. The
move comes
after a single day of chaotic traffic along the path of the
detour. 6/3
|
Well, this didn't take long: accidents abound on 242
The decision to reroute traffic along New York State Route
242, one of
the hilliest highways in the region, is turning into a
debacle, with
several misdirected detours and accidents along the way.
Keep in mind,
all of this was over the course of ONE DAY. This is going to
be a LONG
summer... (WIVB)
(Post-Journal)
6/2 |
Eric Massa pays his wife, hefty legal fees with camp $
 Former Congressman Eric Massa continues to
draw from his
campaign
account (estimated at $600,000 at the time of his
resignation) to pay
lawyers fending off his legal troubles with his former
congressional
staff. His wife continues to earn a $20,000 a year salary
from the
campaign funds. (Gannett)
6/2 |
|