As a transplant to Western New York, my impression that WNY is a hotbed of anti-free-trade sentiment.

NAFTA is a dirty word in these parts.

Certainly, trade was a hot button issue in the 26th Congressional race last fall.

Yet, every time I drive past Wal-Mart or Target, or any of the other Big Boxes in Batavia, the parking lots are full.

I wonder how many people realize that Wal-Mart and its ilk are a bigger cause of good paying manufacturing jobs in the USA being shipped overseas than NAFTA?

Black and Decker, for example, started a process of closing factories in the U.S. in 2002 that lead over the next 24 months of 4,000 jobs lost. The tool maker was pressured by Home Depot and Lowes to lower prices and that could only happen by shifting manufacturing overseas. In 1990, Levi owned several factories in the U.S., which produced about 90 percent of the product sold under the brand. In an effort to meet the demands of Wal-Mart and Target for ever lower prices, Levi eventually shuttered all of it's U.S. plants and now out sources all of its manufacturing overseas. Twenty-five thousand people lost their jobs.

If you're anti-immigration, the next time you step into Wal-Mart, consider than some 40,000 jobs have been lost in Latin America since the mid-1990s as clothes making was shifted from those countries to China.

We all love low prices, but those prices come at a price (and Wal-Mart doesn't always have the lowest prices in town -- sometimes, the locally owned retailers meet or beat those prices).

I'm not sure we can reconcile being anti-free trade, and even anti-immigration, and do the majority of our shopping at big box stores.

Buying local keeps more local jobs in the local community and helps grow the local economy.  In current conditions, the big boxes can be unavoidable at times, but they should be a last resort.

Just overheard on the scanner (source unknown): "Gee, I guess you can't take a truck that's 14' 3" and put it under an awning that's 11' 6". "

Response: "Why's that?"

"Gee, I don't know."

Now, I have no idea what that was all about, but it sounds like something got crunched.

For residents looking for volunteer opportunities in the city, Batavia has five openings on four different boards/committees.

The Neighborhood Improvement Committee has an opening in Ward 1. The Planning & Development Committee has an opening in Ward 6. The Plumbing Board has an opening in Ward 6 for a master plumber. The Zoning Board of Appeals has an openings in Ward 2 and Ward 5.

From the City Clerk's press release:

Residents interested in applying can obtain an application from the City Clerk’s Office or can visit our website at www.batavianewyork.com and download a Committee/Board Application under Downloadable Forms.  The City is hoping to fill these vacancies as soon as possible.  Applications will be taken for any board to be kept on file for future use.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact:

Office of the City Clerk
One Batavia City Centre
Batavia, New York 14020
Phone:   (585) 345-6305
Fax:        (585) 343-9221
E-mail:   hparker@batavianewyork.com
 

WBTA was off the air for nearly 90 minutes this morning after the lines that carry the radio signal from the studio at Main and Center to the transmission tower was knocked out.

The cause was apparently related to work being done by Verizon, according to Debbie Fischer.

WBTA started transmitting again at 10:55 a.m.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: Dan Fischer just came on air to explain the situation. The Verizon lines remain out of service and the station is using a temporary patch to get the signal to transmission tower. "This is about the third time this has happened with Verizon, but we'll keep those thoughts to ourselves," Fischer said. The in-studio sound is degraded with the temporary fix and Fischer asks listeners to be patient while repairs are underway.

We're putting up TWO items today: Herbly Wonderful and Batavia Downs Grandstands Bar and Grille.

Both are $25 gift certificates for $12.50. Half Off!

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.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  Gift certificates cannot be used, by state law, to purchase alcohol.

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. on MONDAY 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.

Herbly Wonderful

SOLD

Batavia Downs

SOLD

Joanne Beck wants to license cats.  I sympathize with her concern for the animals and the overburdened shelters that often take in far more unwanted kitties than they can handle.

The extra revenue, if directed toward shelters, could be put to good use, and the program might, overtime help in keeping better track of cat ownership.

We license dogs, so why not cats?

Well, let's look at the differences between dogs and cats.

Dogs, unlike cats, if improperly raised and handled can pose a significant public safety threat, especially when it comes to larger breeds.  It's important to be able to know who owns a particular dog.  Dogs who get rabies can also be a significantly greater public health threat than a cat with rabies.

Dogs, being pack animals, however, are far more likely to stick close to home, especially with good owners who exert alpha-like control over the animals.

Cats on the other hand are more independent.  They are not likely to wander far from a good home, but if allowed outside, they can take off for days at a time and possibly find a new place to live. Ownership, then, becomes much harder to track. 

A good dog owner can be expected to control a canine, but cats are beyond the same level of control.

So I question whether licensing is practical.

Then there is the lifestyle question: Cats are often more affordable pets than dogs. They are animals that people on more limited incomes can afford.  I would be concerned that any licensing scheme would hit the working poor harder than those who can afford to shrug off another $10 or $15 fee.

Sorry, Joanne, I'm just not buying into the licensing idea, no matter how well intentioned.L

Batavia's interim Fire Chief Thomas Dillon will serve his last day with the department on Friday.

Dillon is resigning after the New York Civil Service Commission denied a waiver that would have allowed him to continue drawing retirement benefits while receiving a full-time salary from the city.

Dillon retired after 29 years with the Rochester fire department and under civil service rules could not collect more than $30,000 per year as Batavia's chief without a waiver. The job pays $80,000 per year.

Details on the reason for the denial are not immediately available, but Dillon said he believed it had something to do with the availability of local candidates to fill the role.  Civil service rules only allow a full-time position to be filled by a retired public employee if there are not other qualified candidates for the job.

Dillon, who was appointed to the job in September, said he's disappointed to be leaving Batavia.

"This has been a great fit for me," Dillon said. "I can't say enough about how great the people here have been. I have nothing but good things to say about the people on both the fire and the medic side. It's been a great experience for me."

He also praised the city administration and repeated how disappointed he is that he's unable to stay in Batavia.

Dillon and his wife will return to Geneseo, where they ow na home, he said.

UPDATE: An alert reader notes that city officials must have known for a few days at least that Chief Dillon would be leaving. There is a help wanted ad in the Democrat and Chronicle. The job opening was not advertised with the Daily News nor The Batavian (which is free). Nor is the job placed with Craig's List, which is also free.

UPDATE II: Before tonight's council meeting, I spoke with Jason Molino.  "We've been advertising the position for the last week and we have received resumes," Molino said. He also said, "We are considering internal candidates, as well."

Genesee County is apparently on the short list of potential locations for a new data center for Internet giant Yahoo!, according to the Buffalo News.

If Yahoo! located the center in Genesee County -- or Orleans -- the new facility would generate only 50 to 100 jobs, but it might spur new high-tech growth in the region, according to the article.

Yahoo likes the region for three reasons, Schumer said.

It has a well-educated labor force. And because the data center would house computer systems and other equipment, the company likes the cooler climate, Schumer said.

"In this case, our cool Western New York temperature benefits us," Schumer said.

The company also needs a good supply of electricity, and it prefers clean energy, the senator said.

Of course, when Google was looking at WNY for a data center, it couldn't come to an agreement with NYPA on electricity for the facility.

Brian P. Griffin, 24, of Batavia, is charged with grand theft and endangering the welfare of a child after he allegedly forced his way into the car of an ex-girlfriend, climbed over her children and grabbed a cell phone from her hand. The alleged incident took place Saturday around 7:20 p.m.  Griffin is being held without bail.

John C. Townley, 33, of Alexander, is charged with criminal mischief. Townley allegedly got involved in a verbal argument with another patron at MY Saloon early Saturday morning. Because of the disturbance, an employee reportedly asked Townley to leave the bar. Once outside, Townley reportedly punched a window of the building and broke it.

Cory J. Rigdon, 22, of Holley, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or higher and unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Rigdon was arrested after reportedly driving off the end of Hessenthaler Road in Byron on Sunday evening. Upon further investigation, deputies found he had a prior DWI conviction.

John Tullar, 30, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana following a traffic stop on Pratt Road.

Jeffery S. Leonard, 22, of Tonawanda, is charged with DWI, a BAC of .08 or greater and ticked for failure to stop at a stop sign. He was cited early Sunday morning on Pearl Street in Batavia.

Happy Mothers 09 fron Dan and boys.These flowers are in front of the mansion on jackson st batavia.

We're putting up TWO items today: Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle and T.F. Brown's.

Both are $25 gift certificates for $12.50. Half Off!

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.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  Gift certificates cannot be used, by state law, to purchase alcohol.

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. on MONDAY 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.

Adam Miller Toy and Bicycles

SOLD

T.F. Brown's

SOLD

There is a severe thunderstorm watch and wind advisory in affect for Genesee County.

The thunderstorm watch is in effect until 7 p.m.

The wind advisory warns of gusts up to 50 p.m. it will be in effect from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m.

When I heard earlier this week that the New York State Senate had launched a new Web site, I was skeptical that it would really matter much.

Given the dysfunction and high level of partisanship in Albany, my expectations where that new site would serve as nothing more than a promotional brochure for the new Democratic majority.

But, taking a page from the quality and openness that the Obama Administration brought to WhiteHouse.gov, the new Senate site is truly a Web platform that is open and hits the target of serving the public good.  The site is not perfect -- for example, users can't comment on news or blog items -- but it is impressive.

First, there's no attempt -- yet, at least, -- to use the site to favor Democratic legislators. Every Senator who has content to display, whether a press release, blog post or video, is treated equally (based on timestamp).

And every Senator has a full range of tools to communicate with the public.

Let's tour, by way of example, our senator's home page, Mike Ranzenhofer.

From this page, you can not only get his latest press releases, but an aggregation of YouTube videos related to Ranzenhofer's senate service. These aren't just videos produced by Senate staff, but include, for example, a video produced by The Batavian.

Ranzenhofer also has a blog, but he has yet to post any items.

From this page, you can also sign up for e-mail and/or mobile alerts from Ranzenhofer's office. The sign-up process also allows you to select notifications from each of the Senate committees, so if there is a specific topic of interest, you can follow that issue in the Senate.

Much of the rest of Ranzenhofer's page is standard fair that you find on any legislative Web site, such as a district map, contact info, legislation and a biography.

When Ranzenhofer's office posts news, blog items or video, it could appear on the home page and it get aggregated into general parts of the site along with all the other Senate content. For example, Ranzenhofer's videos are right on the main video home page (at least at the time of this writing).

For the most part, the Senate is using YouTube for video, which is smart not only from a superior distribution standpoint, but the free hosting (which from commercial providers is VERY expensive) saves taxpayers money.

I looked through a few of the Senate blog posts. It's clear, even if some of these guys are writing their own posts, they still don't quite get the whole blogging thing. The writing is often stiff, there are no links out to items of interest or other bloggers, and the posts often lack any real substance, but presumably just in giving these guys the tools, over time more and more of them will get it and the blog as a communication tool for senators will become something that is useful.

But just about every page has RSS feeds attached, for easier updates for users with RSS readers.

And, like I mentioned above, the site still isn't really a two-way communication tool. Users can't comment on items or make any other public communication that would allow citizens to engage in a two-way conversation with their representatives.

Still, the Senate Democrats are to be applauded for creating a site that brings a great deal of more information about the Senate -- from both sides of the aisle -- to citizens in an easy-to-use and follow format. (One usability quibble: It's really not a good idea to serve an irritating little alert box every time a user clicks a link that will take him off the site.)

Speaking of senators and the Internet, here's Ranzenhofer's Facebook profile.

Genesee County farmers may soon have an opportunity to see their products sold in urban farmers markets in New York City, thanks to a bill unanimously passed by the State Senate last month.

The program creates a revolving loan program to help entrepreneurs open farmers markets in NYC's urban neighborhoods, providing residents in those neighborhoods with fresh farm products from New York State farms.

“One of our goals as a state must be to put quality New York produce from our farms on the plates of New York consumers,” said sponsor, Senator Darrel J. Aubertine (D-Cape Vincent), a retired dairy farmer who continues to raise livestock and grow crops on his farm in Northern New York. “This legislation is an important step toward achieving that. By giving consumers the opportunity to buy the highest quality and freshest products from New York farmers, we are giving our farmers new opportunities to sell their products, bringing healthy foods to underserved communities, and helping our environment by encouraging people to buy local.”

Hat tip to Lorie Longhany for finding this bill.

A 17-year-old from Brockport is accused of sending digital photos depicting nudity from his computer to a minor at a home in Bergen. The youth was arrested and charged with a felony count of disseminating indecent material to a minor. He was arraigned in Town of Bergen Court and released under supervision.

Chrisopher Bey, 32, of Attica, is charged with driving while under the influence of drugs and possession of a controlled substance. Bey was allegedly spotted by a Sheriff's investigator operating a car erratically, swerving all over the roadway on Route 33, so a Sheriff's deputy was called to the scene. Deputy Thompson observed the car pull off the road, the driver jump out, open the hood and then quickly close it. Deputy Thompson pull behind to see what the problem was and observed activity that led him to believe the driver and passenger were under the influence of narcotics. A K-9 search by "Jay" revealed Bey possibly possessed heroin. Bey was also cited for failure to keep right and expired inspection.

Amber Ellison, 19, of Cheektowaga, is charged with possession of marijuana. The marijuana was reportedly found following a traffic stop in Alabama. Ellison was released on an appearance ticket.

We're putting up THREE items today: Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, Herbly Wonderful and Main St. Pizza Company.

All three are $25 gift certificates for $12.50. Half Off!

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.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  Gift certificates cannot be used, by state law, to purchase alcohol.

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. on MONDAY 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.

Adam Miller Toy and Bicycles

SOLD

Herbly Wonderful

SOLD

Main St. Pizza Company

SOLD

No, Bruce Springsteen isn't coming to town. Yes, you're not missing a secret show by the Gwen Stefani on Center Street.

This ticket-seeking camp out began at 6 a.m. and it's filled with parents hoping for the best available seats for a Suzanne's School of Dance recital at Batavia High School this Friday and Saturday.

"Yes, we're crazy," said Cathy Chmielowiec, who arrived at 11 a.m. "This is what we'll do for our kids.

Candice Wells was the first in line. "It's important to my daughter," she said.

At the back of the line, a woman noted that no person is allowed to by more than 12 tickets. "We can't buy tickets for each other."

She declined to give her name.

"I don't want to face the wrath of Suzanne," she said. "I'm anonymous."

Another parent said the tickets used to be sold at the school each year, but administrators objected to the long, day-long lines, so now people queue up on Center Street the day of the sale.

The door for tickets opened a little early (scheduled for 6 p.m.), at about 5:40 p.m.

A nurse with the Genesee County health department has reportedly lost her job and is accused of forging two clinical notes about a patient she did not examine.

Sherri Allen, 47, of Elba is charged with two counts of filing a false instrument.

Allen allegedly submitted clinical notes containing false information about a client she did not examine. The notes were dated March 16 and March 30 for clients who skipped their appointments on those dates.

Today's Deal of the Day: A $50 gift certificate from Larry's Steakhouse in Batavia. The Batavian's Good Deal Price: $25 -- HALF off!

Larry's, located at 60 Main St. in Batavia, is one of the newer and finer dining establishments in Batavia. The menu offers many great items, but of course the speciality is steak.  Larry's also features a full bar.

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.  People who have won this certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible for this offer.  Gift certificates cannot be used, by state law, to purchase alcohol.

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.