The following links are designed to help you better understand how things work on The Batavian.

• Who and what can be posted to The Batavian
• Video: How to create a blog post on The Batavian
• Video: How to use the HTML editor on The Batavian
• Video: How to tag posts on The Batavian
• Video: How to post a photo on The Batavian

 

Below are the results of the election survey taken of readers of The Batavian over the past three days.

Please keep in mind: 

• This is somewhat experimental. We're curious how close we can get to accurately reflecting how the election will go. That question won't be answered until election night. But as a matter of transparency, we're releasing the results tonight (also, even while acknowledging the potential pitfalls of this survey, candidates are expressing an eagerness to know the results.
• This is a non-scientific survey. Participants are self selected, which statisticians will tell you can skew results.
• An online survey isn't beyond being gamed, or tricked, but I see no evidence of that taking place in this case.

All of that to say: You shouldn't let these results influence your voting decisions, from who to vote for or whether to show up at the polls. Treat this as a potentially interesting reflection of how readers of The Batavian are responding to the candidates, but not necessarily a prediction of what will happen on Election Day.

Two other notes. We are not randomly deleting responses as we previously said we would. We had to delete too many as it is because SOOO MANNNNY people didn't follow the instructions on the survey.

The most common reason we deleted surveys (and whole surveys were deleted, not just specific questions) was people voting in BOTH district elections for the County Legislature. The next most common reason, was saying you lived in the Town of Batavia or another town and then voting in Batavia races or on the charter question.

We have 165 completed surveys. We trashed at least 200 more for failure to follow the instructions and another 25 for stating not registered to vote and unlikely to vote (you see, those were trick questions). We also deleted five surveys with duplicate IP addresses.

We're also not displaying results for jurisdictions that had only one or two respondents.

Here's the results:

Very likely to vote: 149 (90%)

Batavia City Council - Council at Large  

Answer
Marianne Clattenburg	49 (22%)
Timothy E. Buckley	45 (21%)
Frank C. Ferrando, Jr	44 (20%)
Phillip J. Ricci	39 (18%)
Sara J. Balbi	26 (12%)
Julie Ann Wallace	15 (7%)

 

City of Batavia Charter Revision  

Yes	52 (64%)
No	29 (36%)

 

Genesee County Legislator District 7 (Wards 1 & 6)  

Robert H. Radley	22 (59%)
Rosemary Christian	15 (41%)

 

Genesee County Legislator District 8 (Wards 2 & 3)  

Christopher M. Charvella	17 (55%)
Hollis D. Upson	14 (45%)

 

Darien Town Clerk  

Alice E. Calmes	5 (56%)
Linda P. Graber	4 (44%)

 

Darien Town Council (Vote for 2)  

Michael A. Plitt	7 (35%)
Stephen J. Ferry	5 (25%)
Christopher M. Nicastro	4 (20%)
Charles J. Flagg	3 (15%)
Jimmie E. Flaming	1 (5%)

 

Darien Town Council, unexpired term  

David D. Riker	7 (70%)
Samuel E. Williams	3 (30%)

 

Le Roy Town Justice  

Answer
Kermit Arrington	13 (65%)
Darryl D. Sehm	7 (35%)

 

Le Roy Town Council (Pick 2)  

Thomas Stella	15 (58%)
Christine M. Smith	8 (31%)
Jay E. Whipple	3 (12%)

 

Le Roy Town Council, unexpired term  

Kelly J. Lathan	14 (67%)
Jennifer AO Keys	7 (33%)

 

Stafford Town Council (Vote for 2)  

Ronald Panek	10 (38%)
Donald L. Mullen	9 (35%)
Michelle Mouery	7 (27%)

 

Stafford Superintendent of Highways  

Answer
Steven Boldt	13 (87%)
James D. Pontillo	2 (13%)

 

The Batavian was essentially off line from about 8:30  to 9:15 a.m.

Our hosting provider was the target of a "denial of service" attack. A DOS is the result of some malevolent person(s) sending a large amount of random data to a server, preventing legitimate traffic from accessing that server. 

The Batavian is part of a shared hosting environment, so any site in that environment could have been the target of that attack.

Our provider worked quickly to block the attack and return service back to normal. We haven't received official confirmation from the provider that everything is OK, but the site seems to be operating fine at the moment. Hopefully, this attack will cause no further problems.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

The businesses who support The Batavian are local businesses who also support the community in many other ways, from contributions to various community organizations, to owners and managers serving on community boards, to involvement in service clubs. Local businesses are an important part of any community. Please consider eating at a locally owned restaurant or buying from a locally owned retailer first.

Also, we would like to thank the candidates from both parties for county and city offices for putting their faith in The Batavian to help get their message out. Please be sure to vote on Nov. 3.

Here's our sponsors. Please patronize these businesses and let them know you appreciate their support of your favorite local news Web site.

3 D Wine & Liquor
Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Affordable Floor Covering
Alex's Place
Amelia's Antiques and Collectibles
Anglican Community Church
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Cycle Center
Batavia Downs Casino
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bonarigo & McCutcheon
Bontrager's Auction
Carlson's Studio
Castilone Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center of Attention Auto Spa
Center Street Smokehouse
Charles Men's Shop
Classic Home Improvements
Clor's Meat Market
The Color Salon
Crazy Cheap Cars
D&R Depot Restaurant
D'n'R Fireplaces and Stoves
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Genesee Dental Group
Genesee Feeds
Great Kutz
Herbly Wonderful
Holland Land Office Museum
House of K
The Insurance Center
Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's
Kravings Kafe
Lamb Family Medicine
Lewis and Lewis
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
The Manor House
Mark Lewis Agency
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Matty's Pizzeria
Max Pies
Movies in Motion
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Reeb Family Moving
Roxy's Music Store
Select Collision
Settler's Family Restaurant
Small World Realty
South Main Country Store
Southside Deli
Suzanne Interiors
T.F. Brown's
Total Image Hair Salon
T-Shirts Etc.
Valle Jewelers
Vintage & Vogue Inspirations

Maybe a little late in the month to be doing this, but I couldn't get to it sooner -- here's the most viewed posts for September:

• Couple caught in full embrace in Oakfield parking lot
• Council to vote on wage increase for City Manager
• Mystery boom on Southside
• Boortz on Education and Obama's Speech to Students, by Peter O'Brien
• Stabbing at Darien Lake concert
• Gay marriage controversy is reason Oakfield cans community worship service, by Billie Owens
• Molino gets raise on 7-1 council vote
• Byron man killed in motorcycle accident on Thruway
• Top Five Health Care Reform Lies, by Bea McManis
• The Apology That Wasn't - Joe Wilson, by Bea McManis

WBTA and The Batavian will bring you a series of candidate forums over the next couple of days.

Starting tonight, Dan Fischer and I will host a series of Q&A sessions with the City Council candidates and the candidates for competitive County Legislature seats at the WBTA studios.

We will interview the candidates in pairs. 

These sessions are not debates, but rather an opportunity to have a discussion about the important issues in the city and the county.

Tonight and tomorrow night, we will interview the candidates and the interviews will be broadcast unedited tomorrow and Friday. We've also hired Ethan Thompson to videotape the interviews, and the video will be available on The Batavian as soon as the tapes are properly processed for downloading on the web (as always, via YouTube).

Here's the schedule of interviews:

Wednesday, Oct. 14:
7:00 p.m.: Sara Burk-Balbi and Marianne Clattenburg
8:00 p.m: Frank Ferrando and Phil Ricci
These two interviews will air on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. on WBTA.
 
Thursday, Oct. 15:
7:00 p.m.: Julie Wallace and Tim Buckley
7:30 p.m.: Chris Charvella and Hollis Upson
8:00 p.m.: Rose Mary Christian and Robert Radley
These three interviews will air on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. on WBTA.

If there are questions you think I should ask, please submit them in comments below.

Brittany Baker, who signed on as a correspondent with The Batavian this summer, starts work today in the newsroom of the Daily News. We're happy for Brittany. She's an ambitious young journalist. She did a terrific job for us and we're sure she has a bright career ahead of her. Both Billie and I are grateful to Brittany for all of her work.

Meanwhile, we have two new interns starting today.

Amy Weidner completes a bachelor's degree in broadcast communications at SUNY Brockport in December. She's focused on pursuing a career in news media. Amy grew up in Genesee County and currently lives in Batavia. She's a 2005 graduate of Oakfield-Alabama High School. Amy's primary beat during her internship will be Le Roy.

Ethan Thompson is a high school student who is home schooled. We first became aware of Ethan in April when Tasia did a profile of him and his entrepreneurial activities. Ethan describes himself as a "teenage entrepreneur." He likes to write, read and produce videos and he's very much into computers. He runs his own media company, Just Passing Thru Productions. He also owns and runs Youth in Action Mag, a site for Christian teens. Ethan, an Oakfield resident, will be producing news and feature videos, primarily about community events, for The Batavian during his internship.

As for our other correspondents, Gretel Kauffman is back in school, but may make an occasional contribution, and Tasia Boland has been busy with some good changes in her life, but she plans to start writing again soon.

Thank you for your support of The Batavian. It's gratifying to both Billie and I (and Pachuco) to get all the positive feedback we get from readers.  We are continually amazed at how many people start raving about The Batavian when they meet one of us for the first time.

But, of course, without local businesses supporting The Batavian, we couldn't do this. 

If you enjoy The Batavian, if you visit the site regularly and consider it an important part of how you stay involved and informed about your community, please patronize The Batavian's sponsors -- and let them know it.

Here is the current list of sponsors:

Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Affordable Floor Covering
Alex's Place
Amelia's Antiques and Collectibles
Anglican Community Church
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Cycle Center
Batavia Downs Casino
Batavia Muckdogs
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bonarigo & McCutcheon
Carlson's Studio
Castilone Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center of Attention Auto Spa
Center Street Smokehouse
Charles Men's Shop
Clor's Meat Market
The Color Salon
D&R Depot Restaurant
D'n'R Fireplaces and Stoves
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
Diegelman Plumbing
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Genesee County Red Cross
Genesee Feeds
Great Kutz
Herbly Wonderful
Holland Land Office Museum
Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's
Kravings Kafe
The Insurance Center
Lewis and Lewis
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
The Manor House
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Matty's Pizzeria
Max Pies
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Picasso's Pizza
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Reeb Family Moving
Roxy's Music Store
Settler's Family Restaurant
South Main Country Store
Southside Deli
Sport of Kings
Suzanne Interiors
T.F. Brown's
Total Image Hair Salon
T-Shirts Etc.
Valle Jewelers
Vintage & Vogue Inspirations

This is why thebatavian is working.

Every two years, the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce releases a map of the area that helps promote local businesses.

This year, The Batavian will handle the ad sales, which helps support the Chamber and pays for a valuable resource for travelers and residents alike.

As always, the up-to-date color map will be produced by Rochester-based Map Works, Inc.

More than 12,000 copies will be distributed throughout Genesee County in 2010 and 2011.

Local businesses interested in this promotional opportunity should contact Howard Owens at 585-260-6970.

The Batavian is doing very well these days. It's gratifying for both Billie and I that we're growing our own business.

But the revenue so far goes primarily to our living and operational expenses. There isn't much left over to buy new computers or cameras.

For example, I have a nice video camera, but a better one would be most helpful. There are also times where photography requires more than just a point-and-shoot camera, so a good SLR camera would be helpful. And, importantly, software upgrades -- improvements to the site -- cost money, and usually significant amounts of money.  Finally, my MacBook Pro is now older than its extended warranty. At some point, it will need to be replaced.

To help with these needs, we've created "The Batavian Capital Expense Fund" (CapEx funds in business are for investments into the business).

I'm hitting up my colleagues in the online-news business across the Net for donations, but we didn't want to go to the readers of The Batavian and ask for donations without offering something of value in return.

Our offer: T-shirts for "The Batavian."

T-Shirts, Etc. will print the T-shirts for us, and all you you need to do to get your T-shirt is make a donation of $20. We will mail the T-shirt to the address associated with your PayPal account.

Or, you can mail a check for $20 to The Batavian, 200 E. Main St., #5, Batavia, NY 14020.

Whether donating via check or PayPal, please specify the size of the shirt you want.

If you enjoy The Batavian, and would like to see the site or our coverage improve, please consider this small donation that will also net you a nice T-shirt!

It's a common question people ask me: "Why Batavia?"

People often want to know how I wound up in Batavia with this crazy idea of launching an online-only news site.

It all started the second weekend of September 2006, my first weekend as a Western New Yorker, when, after spotting a notice in a garden magazine, I decided to drive out to Batavia for the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County’s Master Gardeners'  annual Fall Harvest Gala.

In California, I began growing roses as a hobby and was eager to continue growing roses, even though my new job was bringing me to the Rochester area. 

I had just completed my first week in my new job and was living in a hotel in Fairport. I had no idea how far Batavia was from Fairport, but I jumped in my rental sedan, punched the address into the GPS and off I went.

When I hit town, I was immediately smitten. Here was a small town that struck me as what small town should be. There were cool old buildings, lots of local businesses, nice Victorian-era houses and it just seemed like a place where some sense of community still existed.

I didn't see the warts that so many often note, and I still don't much see them.

I thought, "I'd rather live here than Fairport."  

But, my company's office was in Fairport and I've never been a fan of long commutes.

So we wound up living in Pittsford, but I didn't forget Batavia.

When my bosses asked me to come up with a plan for launching an online-only news site, Batavia was my first choice. After a few more scouting trips out to Genesee County, I felt confident Batavia was the right-sized town with a vibrant local business community. 

I was actually a bit disappointed that I couldn't move to Batavia to run the project. I still had other job responsibilities in Fairport.

Then an amazing thing happened: The Batavian was mine, if I wanted it. Of course, that would mean moving to Batavia. That was fine with me and Billie. We moved to Batavia on June 1, glad to be out of the rat race and eager to be entrepreneurs.

We're quite happy with our life here. It's the kind of small-town life we long sought but could never find in California. We're grateful to all the readers and sponsors of The Batavian. You're helping us live "life as it should be" (the link is an irony hint; we previously lived in Bakersfield).

And here's how four of my rose bushes are faring in Batavia.

Here's the most viewed posts for August 2009.

• Blink 182 show at Darien Lake leads to 16 arrests
• St. Nick's closing its doors, by Brian Hillabush
• Children on assistance eligible for $200 in back-to-school aid
• 23 people arrested at Lil' Wayne concert at Darien Lake
• Harley-riding Border Patrol agents pass through Batavia, visit Stan's Harley
• Eleven arrests reported at Phish concert at Darien Lake
• Eric Massa, by Peter O'Brien
• Drunken driving suspected in Darien accident that kills Dansville girl
• The public should know the details of union settlement well before vote
• The Political Spectrum Quiz, by Bea McManis

Here's the most viewed video in August (Man airlifted from accident on Route 5, Le Roy, by Mercy Flight):

In August The Batavian had 38,057 unique visitors. That's up from 36,268 in July.

It's the third straight month of record traffic growth for The Batavian, and fourth straight month of increasing traffic.

Before the current growth spurt, The Batavian's record traffic month was February when the site had 28,030 unique visitors. March was down slightly, but we've had an upward trend going since.

A unique visitor, as measured by Google Analytics, is one visit by one person (or more accurately, one computer) within the given time frame. It's the closest count available to say how many people visited a Web site in a given month. 

The Batavian launched May 1, 2008.

In August 2008, The Batavian had 5,359 unique visitors.

The other primary metrics we track are visitors and page views. A visit is a count of each time various individuals visit the site. One person (or computer) can account for numerous visits.  A page view is a count of each time a page of the site is opened in a browser window.

In August, The Batavian notched 131,763 visits, up from 121,708 in July.

August page views were 292,176, up from 285,671 in July.

So, help us keep the trend going. Wouldn't it be great to top 40,000 unique visitors and 300,000 page views in September?

Here's what you can do to help:

• Tell a friend you've never told before about The Batavian. Tell them what you like about the site.
• Include a note about The Batavian in your organization's newsletter.
• Stop by our office (200 E. Main St., #5) and pick up a bumper sticker for your car (we have some setting outside our door if nobody is in the office when you come by).
• Use the "E-mail a Friend" link on posts to send something you find interesting to a friend(s).
• If you're not already a daily visitor, become a daily visitor. We do update the site frequently and every weekday and usually on Saturdays and Sundays.

Thank you all for your support of The Batavian. Please take a look at all of the sponsors' ads on the site, and please support those businesses and let them know you saw their ad on The Batavian. If you're a fan of The Batavian, supporting our sponsors is critical to keeping it going.

Let's meet up at Dwyer Stadium Thursday and take in the greatest show in town -- a Batavia Muckdogs baseball game.

The game against the Auburn Doubledays is the next to last home game of the season, and I have free tickets available.

Between what the Muckdogs gave me for advertisers' appreciation night (because The Batavian was a sponsor this year) and the unused season tickets I have -- I have 28 tickets available.

E-mail me your request for tickets and we can either arrange for you to stop by the office to pick them up or meet me before the game and I'll give them to you.

Game time is 7:05 p.m. and my e-mail address is howard (at) the batavian dot com.

Request as many tickets as you like, just make sure you can use them. First come, first served.

I usually set in the third-base bleachers and you're welcome to join me for the game. Heck, I might even let you buy me a beer.

Sometime ago I came to conclusion that newspaper journalism as practiced from about the 1950s on is dishonest.

Journalists beat their chests about objectivity. They report only the facts, they tell us. They have no opinions, no prejudices, no biases.

But the truth is, there's never been an objective newspaper story printed in the history of mankind.

Strict objectivity is impossible.

When a reporter goes to a City Council meeting, he starts making decisions about what agenda items are important, which facts and quotes will get jotted in a notebook and who to interview and what questions to ask once the meeting is over. When the reporter gets back to the office, he starts making decisions about which facts are the most important and which quotes to use and how to weave them into his story.

These are all subjective decisions based on a reporter's experience, prejudices and predilections. 

Some reporters are quite artful in pursuing an agenda by what they report and how they report it, but when called on it, they can just point to the story and say, "I don't express any opinion in this story."

A news story can be 100 percent factual, and laden with opinion, designed to lead the reader to the conclusion a reporter wishes to promote.

The general audience, however, believes reporters should be objective. That's what they were taught by the media.  People often sense the media they're getting isn't objective and become dissatisfied with the coverage they get, but because they haven't thought about how impossible objectivity is, they continue to demand objectivity as the standard.

Rupert Murdoch, the ever insightful media observer, noticed the breadth of this objectivity gap (audiences demand objectivity but only recognize as objective that which conforms with their views) and created Fox News.

He called his news "Fair and Balanced" and conservatives ate it up.  "Finally," they said, "objective news."

But Fox is anything but objective. It's opinionated. It pushes a conservative agenda. On Fox, Republicans can do no wrong and Democrats can do no right.

Every Democrat activist hates Fox News, and the "Fair and Balanced" motto drives them up the wall, but they love MSNBC, which overtly shifted its coverage to appeal to progressives in order to compete with Fox.

So when we launched The Batavian, we decided we would do away with all that phony-baloney "objectivity."

Our goals are simple: Be truthful, be honest, be transparent, provide all the relevant facts, to the best of our ability and hope our own blind stops don't lead us down the wrong coverage path.

That means, if we have an opinion, we'll be honest about sharing it. That's what honest and transparent journalists do in this New Media world.

And in the New Media world, because anybody can publish, there is a free and instantaneous check against our mistakes, biases and wrongheadedness, or just an open forum for others to disagree.

All opinions and observations are welcome on The Batavian.

There was a time when Republicans thought The Batavian was hostile to their positions. Many of the original members of the site were active in local Democratic politics, and I think Philip Anselmo leaned a bit to the liberal side. 

While I espoused a localist-libertarian position, I was (and am) non-partisan.

In this environment, Republicans didn't see many of their ideas being put forward and thought their viewpoints would be unwelcome.

Now, I'm hearing the Democrats are thinking of The Batavian, especially since Philip left,  is hostile to their party and positions.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Naturally, I'm going to be critical of big government programs being pushed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand or more taxes and spending from David Paterson, but that's because as  a libertarian, I think those are bad policies. It has nothing to do with party affiliation.  I'm critical of Republicans when they espouse more government solutions to problems.

But really, what I believe and write is really immaterial. Mine is just one voice.

The Batavian is an open forum.  Anybody can leave a comment or submit a blog post.  If you don't like what I or anybody else has to say, you can have your say, too.  Of course, be prepared to defend your position in a mature and thoughtful way. There are many smart people who contribute to The Batavian and they won't always agree with you.

We believe that in an environment of open discussion, we can get much closer to the truth than in an environment where only single voices, or singular viewpoints are heard.

The only people who have ever been banned from The Batavian were people who engaged in personal attacks or trolling or not using their real names. Nobody has ever been banned because they were a Republican or Democrat or disagreed with me or another member of the site.

This isn't Daily Kos or Free Republic where you will get shouted down and shunned if you disagree with the prevailing agenda.

So if there are there any Democrats out there, or Republicans, who feel like their viewpoint isn't represented on The Batavian, they have nobody to blame but themselves.

UPDATE: See my comment attached to this post noting a back channel communication suggesting I'm off base and pointing out a few locally involved Democrats who participate that I didn't realize were active in the local party.

UPDATE Monday, 9:45 a.m.I: I've been struggling a good deal since yesterday afternoon about how I feel about this post.  I'm very grateful to all the people who are friends and fans of The Batavian. Some of them happen to be very involved in partisan politics, many of them are Democrats. I never really sat down and counted up how many that might be.  None of them said one mean or angry thing to me about this post, but as soon as I realized that I had overreacted to what just a couple of people said (and particularly an e-mail correspondent who doesn't even live in Genesee County), I felt and feel bad.  And not because of anything related to people being Democrats or Republicans, but because the people I least considered should have been among the first I considered because they've been so loyal to The Batavian.  I went in the wrong direction with this post, and for that I apologize.  (And maybe I'm just being too sensative about my own mistake -- some good conversation has come out of this post. I'm not sure anybody was really offended. But I feel like some people would have a right to be offended).

A "rural justice attitude" will prevent at least one of the defendants in the June 18 Elba bank robbery from getting a fair trial in Genesee County, according to Batavia defense attorney Thomas Burns.

Burns is defending Matthew J. Wells, who is accused, along with two other men from Buffalo, of robbing the M&T Bank branch in Elba, making off with at least $10,000 in cash, and then leading local law enforcement on a five-hour manhunt (with Wells being the final suspect caught).

In papers filed Thursday, Burns cites extensive media coverage of the robbery and manhunt, with special attention on The Batavian, as part of his change of venue motion.

Comments made by readers on The Batavian, as well as quotes from local law enforcement officials cited in coverage on The Batavian, indicate, according to Burns, that local jurors would be prejudiced against his big city client.

Among the five reader comments Burns includes in his brief is this one by Jeff Allen left the day after the robbery:

"Let's give major kudos to our local law enforcement agencies. The fact is these thugs thought that driving out to a hick town near a Thruway exit would be an easy knock off and escape back to the city. They got a quick introduction to rural justice. The only question that loomed yesterday was who would get them first, the police or a ticked off land owner with a shotgun! Great work everybody (Howard included), you did our area proud!"

Burns also cites quotes from Chief Jerome Brewster of the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney Lawrence Friedman in The Batavian suggesting the suspects thought a rural bank might make an easy target.

His change of venue motion rests on three key points:

• Intense media saturation coverage in a small, rural community with "sensationalized reports" combined with instantaneous and interactive technologies.
• Lack of racial diversity in Genesee County (only 2.6 percent of the population is African-American).
• The fact that some 30 to 35 percent of the people living in Genesee County were directly impacted by events that day, primarily because of the BOCES-imposed school lock down.

But it's the news coverage of The Batavian, and the comments on posts, that take up the bulk of the motion by Burns.

The attorney argues that the nature of media has changed, making the case for venue change even more compelling. The last change of venue granted was made by a local appellate court in a 1983 murder case. The trial was moved from Livingston County to Monroe County out of concern for "rural justice" attitudes and local media coverage.

"It is submitted that widespread use of internet news services will require courts to carefully assess the impact of instantaneous news reporting from on-line news services upon small rural counties reacting to high-profile crimes," Burns writes.

"It is reasonable to conclude that the Fourth Department Justices grappling with the Acomb, supra, decision in 1983 would have found the extent of localized publicity significantly increased had that decision been made after 1992, when the internet became widely accessible to the public, and even more so today where internet news sources saturate homes and businesses with instantaneous news of local concern and provide interactive content with subscribers and readers. Of the news services cited herein only the traditional print media and Time Warner services require reader/viewers to pay a fee. 'The Batavian' cited at length in this affirmation is available 24 hours per day without fee. In contrast, in Acomb, it is believed that media resources were exceedingly limited when compared to today's media outlets."

Burns also cites "extensive negative press" following bail review hearings for co-defendants Demone Dillon and Dennis Abrams as the reason he didn't seek bail for his client. Both Dillon and Abrams were offered bail of $250,000 and bond of $500,000 following hearings in which both defense attorneys and the prosecution discussed details of the cases at length. Following both hearings, written and verbal confessions were made available in the public case files. The Batavian reported details of the June 18 events from these sources.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said he doesn't believe Burns will win his motion and that it's premature for a change of venue motion because jury selection hasn't even started yet.

"Normally, you wait until you select a jury and then document the difficulty in doing so because of pre-trial exposure," Friedman said.

Friedman, who said he regularly follows local law enforcement cases on The Batavian, said it's rare for media coverage to impact the ability of attorneys to impanel an impartial jury and that it's too soon to say if new media is going to make that job harder.

Burns agreed that it may seem early to file a change of venue motion, but he said court rules compel him to file all of his motions within a certain time frame. In order to preserve the rights of his client, he said, he had to file the motion before today.

On behalf of Wells, Burns filed several other motions Thursday, including one to suppress any statements Wells made after his arrest.

Burns contends that Wells was not read his rights for more than two hours after his arrest. During that time, Burns states, Wells expressed a desire to remain silent and to speak to an attorney, but investigators kept pressing Wells to talk. Wells was arrested at 2:51 p.m., but it wasn't until 5:35 p.m., when a written confession was placed before Wells to sign, that he was read his Miranda rights.

Burns also claims there is a lack of reliable eyewitness testimony to place Wells at the Elba bank. The witnesses can only describe the robbers as black, Burns contends, and cannot positively identify Wells as one of the men inside the bank.

These facts call into question the evidence provided to the Grand Jury that led to the indictment of Wells on the bank robbery charges.

Burns also tipped his hand on a possible defense. Wells, in his defense, will assert "lack of knowledge and understanding of the criminal activity as a result of duress or improper influence by one or both of the co-defendants."

The change of venue motion was filed with the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department. The other motions were filed with Judge Robert Noonan in Genesee County. Noonan will hear arguments for the motion at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. There's no word on when the appellate division might issue its ruling.

Previously:

• Manhunt in progress near Townline and 63
• Elba robbery suspects identified, arraigned and held without bail
• 'I messed up,' Elba robbery suspect texted wife while hiding from police
• Third suspect in Elba robbery enters not guilty plea
• Elba robbery defendant reportedly sterling citizen prior to alleged crime
• Suspects didn't know what they were getting into when they chose Genesee County
• Two Elba robbery suspects to answer to charges in court tomorrow
• Alleged Elba bank robbers indicted by grand jury

It's exceptionally gratifying to meet people who love The Batavian. It's common for me to attend a public event and meet people who say, "I love your site. I visit it several times a day to find out what's going on."

So I have a request for all the readers who love The Batavian: Support our sponsors. Without them -- 51 of them now -- there is no local news site like The Batavian.

Please patronize The Batavian sponsors first, and when you do, it is exceptionally important that the owners or managers know that you saw their ad on The Batavian. Please tell them, "Thank you."

Here is a list of our sponsors:

Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Affordable Floor Covering
Alex's Place
Amelia's Antiques and Collectibles
Angelican Community Church
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Cycle Center
Batavia Downs Casino
Batavia Muckdogs
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bonarigo & McCutcheon
Carlson's Studio
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center of Attention Auto Spa
Center Street Smokehouse
Charles Men's Shop
D'n'R Fireplaces and Stoves
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
Diegelman Plumbing
Eclectic Creations
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Genesee County Red Cross
Genesee Feeds
Godfrey's Pond
Herbly Wonderful
Holland Land Office Museum
Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's
The Insurance Center
Larry's Steakhouse
Lewis and Lewis
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
The Manor House
Max Pies
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Picasso's Pizza
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Reeb Family Moving
Roxy's Music Store
Settler's Family Restaurant
South Main Country Store
Southside Deli
Sport of Kings
T.F. Brown's
Total Image Hair Salon
T-Shirts Etc.
Valle Jewelers

The Batavian continues to grow. Most recently, we've been fortunate enough to meet up with three young women who aspire to careers in journalism, but are just starting out and are looking for more experience -- and they also believe that Web journalism is the way of the future. They all are big fans of The Batavian, so they stepped forward to offer to help with local news coverage.

We're not yet to the point of hiring staff writers, but we asked them if they would take on the volunteer role of "correspondent" and either cover a beat or be available for occasional assignments.

Tasia Boland should be a familiar name to long-time readers of The Batavian. She was an intern for us last semester and after taking a break, she's back with The Batavian covering a variety of assignments. Tasia is originally from Wisconsin, but moved to New York in 2002 and currently resides in Batavia.  She graduated from Brockport with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. 

Brittany Baker grew up in Genesee County, graduating from Oakfield-Alabama High School in 2004. She started her journalism education at GCC and went on to Buffalo State College then SUNY Brockport where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communications - Broadcasting, with a minor in English.  Her career goal is to become a TV news anchor at a WNY station. Brittany is covering Oakfield and Alabama for The Batavian.

Gretel Kauffman first approached me and Billie at the Muckdog's home opener about doing an internship with The Batavian this summer. She is interested in a career in journalism. Gretel is a sophomore at Elba Central School. She has published poems in various magazines. She is the daughter of Bill and Lucine Kauffman. Gretel is covering community events in her hometown of Elba.

We're always on the scout for people interested in being correspondents for The Batavian. If you have a particular area of Genesee County you would like to cover, contact Billie Owens:  billie (at) the batavian(oneword) dot com.

Most viewed posts for July

• Driver of Kid Rock crew busted for alleged DWI
• No injuries reported after tornado touches down in Corfu
• Tornado hits Corfu, power lines down, Route 33 closed
• Batavia Trivia - Pizza Shop in East Town Plaza?, by Bea McManis
• Serious injury accident reported at demolition derby at Genesee County Fair
• Recap: Tornado strikes Corfu, damages homes and businesses, but no injuries reported
• Today's Poll: Do you think Sarah Palin is planning on running for president in 2012?
• More than 100 people arrested at Kid Rock concert at Darien Lake
• Corfu tornado videos submitted to YouTube
• Tornado Picture, Corfu.... July 25, 2009, by Susan Kennelly

Here's our most viewed video for the month: