City firefighters are being dispatched to the city schools administration building at 39 Washington Ave.  Initial report is that a four-year-old accidentally pulled the alarm.

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15th Annual “Festival of Hope” hosted by Genesee Cancer Assistance June 5, 2009 at the Batavia Downs Genesee Cancer Assistance Inc.

(GCA), a community-based, volunteer organization located in Batavia, has set the date for their annual Festival of Hope celebration. This event was made possible by several local business event sponsors; Batavia Radiation Oncology Associates, Bank of Castile & Tompkins Insurance, Steven M. Haley & Associates, LLC at the Insurance Center, The Batavia Downs, UMMC, Stan’s Harley Davidson, Pudgie’s Lawn & Garden, WBTA-1490, Batavia Sign Company, HSBC and Time Warner Cable.

The Festival of Hope celebration and fundraiser gives GCA the ability to help lighten the load of Genesee County residents who are fighting courageous battles against cancer. GCA is a local charity that helps local citizens. The premier event at this year’s festival will be the Time Warner “Kids Zone” which includes a fun run and other entertaining activities for kids and families alike. Other activities at this year’s event will include the second annual 5-K Run for Hope, the traditional Walk for Hope, a Chinese Auction, and the “Lighting of the Luminaries.

“This event allows GCA to operate and to continue helping the residents of our county who are battling cancer” stated Gregg Torrey, GCA Board Member and Chairman of the festival planning committee. “This event is about honoring members of our community who have passed away from cancer and ensuring that those who are suffering with cancer today have the assistance they need” Torrey concluded.

If you are interested in registering for the 5K or the Walk for Hope please call Gregg Torrey at (585) 507-8139. To learn more about Genesee Cancer Assistance visit their webpage at http://www.geneseecancerassistance.com/index.html

Don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook Search Genesee Caner Assistance.

Please save the date for this important and exciting celebration to be held at the Batavia Downs, June 5 at 5PM and bring your family!

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia) today announced that he is hosting a local food drive throughout the 139th Assembly District in order to help those hit hardest in these tough economic times.

“The generosity and kindness of Western New York residents never ceases to amaze me and while many of our friends and neighbors are struggling right now, there are many of us that know how fortunate we are and grateful that we can help those less fortunate. I am sure that the residents of the 139th Assembly District will show their generous spirit yet again with this food drive that will be benefiting our local food pantries in order to help families, seniors and individuals in need,” said Hawley.

The Assemblyman has posted drop boxes in a variety of locations throughout Genesee, Monroe, Niagara and Orleans counties within the 139th Assembly District where residents can leave non-perishable food donations. The donations will be given to local charities, shelters, and food pantries, including the Salvation Army, Life Solutions, Hilton Food Shelf, Brockport Food Shelf, and Orleans Community Action, among others.

To find out more information or to find the donation drop-off location closest to you, please call Assemblyman Hawley’s office at (585) 589-5780.

Today's Deal of the Day: A $56 gift certificate from Blue Pearl Yoga in Batavia. The Batavian's Good Deal Price: $28 -- HALF off!

Blue Pearl is located in the Masonic Temple on Main Street. With a wide-open fourth-floor location for yoga classes, it provides a great setting for these classes.  The gift certificate provides 7 classes over a seven week session.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value. 

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street before 5:00 p.m. to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

SOLD

And take advantage of our  online exclusive offer from Roxy's Music.

Maybe it was the time, as one speaker noted, but for as controversial as the Masse Gateway Project has seemed, the turnout at tonight's public hearing was disappointing. Only five people got up to speak.

Below are videos of each of the speakers. Note that I didn't necessarily capture the entire speeches of each person, though in some cases I did.

Roger Muehlig has a fascinating story this morning on a 40-year-old master planning document that would have aligned the land use planning for both the city and county.

When you drive around Batavia and contemplate the disorganized approach both entities took to commercial and retail development, you have to wonder: Why was the plan ignored?

The report, "A Comprehensive Master Plan for the Batavia Area," was done by Herbert H. Smith Associates of Rochester as consultant to a Batavia Area Planning Board. It is not dated, but was apparently done in the late 1960s.

Purpose of the area planning board, established in 1966, was "to provide foresight and guidance on matters of concern to both the city and town," according to the document that's on file at the Genesee County Planning Department,

The plan was commissioned in late 1967, the report said, and there are several references to a 20-year planning period up to 1990. The plan, it said, projects the area board's thinking approximately 20 years into the future, "and is therefore an effort to envision the Batavia of 1990."

Review of the 88-page plan is especially timely considering the current proposal to considate the town and city, but isn't there also an element of a little too late?  Batavia has undergone a lot of development and revedevelopment in 40 years. It might be a little hard to organize things now.

What would be more helpful, especially if consolidation goes through, is a completely new master plan -- one that builds on Batavia's historic strengths, finds solutions for catastrophic mistakes (like, the Mall), and focuses on creating a dynamic business environment to create jobs and grow revenue.

The story is about young people returning to Buffalo, but it probably could apply to any Western New York town, including Batavia.

The Buffalo area has lost a huge share of its younger population to other places, as U. S. Census numbers routinely show. But Burns is part of a segment of the population heading the other way, looking to return as their priorities change. Often they are people in their late 20s or early 30s who want to be near family, familiar places they grew up around, and crave a lifestyle with a pace different from larger metro areas.

...

A recent story in New York magazine is calling attention to the area’s low cost for living space and how it has helped persuade some Buffalo expatriates living in New York City to come back. As of late last week, the article was ranked the most read, commented on and e-mailed story on the magazine’s Web site.

Part of the article dealt with the price chasm between New York City and Buffalo for homes and apartments, as well as the difference in the amount of living space that comes with those costs. One couple gave up a tiny Brooklyn apartment for $1,300 a month for a spacious place in Buffalo for $795 per month.

Realtors interviewed said the region’s home prices could be a draw for young people who have tried living somewhere else but now want a place where they can afford to settle down.

“The crucial thing is the lifestyle,” said Phil Aquila, general manager of M. J. Peterson Co. “You can have a lifestyle here because you can afford to live here.”

Are there prodigal sons and daughters returning to Genesee County?

While jobs are not in abundance, there are jobs here, and it's never been easier to work from home or start you're own business.  When compared to most major metro areas, you can't beat housing prices and it's a heck of a lot less crowded, smoggy and crime-ridden.

There have been a few postings about the state of our neighborhoods and people’s opinions of the rate of decline. From someone new to the area or familiar with big city living, some missing paint and a little litter are not anything to be concerned about. People in big cities have had to live with falling property values, absentee landlords and drug activity for years. The obvious question is, why wouldn’t the people of Batavia point to the precursors of decline and pull together to keep the quality of life we have always enjoyed?