Batavia's Business Improvement District kicked off its promotional campaign, "More Feet Downtown," today.
Banners were hung at light poles downtown to help spread the word.
Pictured are Amy Worthington, left, Jeff Gillard, Don Burkel, Paul Marchese, Mary Valle, Beth Kemp and Lusanne Simard.
More than 600 National Grid customers in Genesee County are with out power this afternoon, including 590 in Batavia, as high winds play havoc with trees and power lines.
A tree came down on Clinton Street, which is what knocked out power around East Main and Clinton, including the intersection lights.
About 90 customers in Pembroke are also without power and there are a couple of small outages elsewhere in the county.
Power should be restored in Batavia by 4:45 p.m. and in Pembroke by 3:45 p.m.
There is a hazardous weather outlook in place because of strong winds into tonight. Winds are hitting 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
Law enforcement will be closing Clinton Street at East Main Street to traffic until wires and tree branches in the roadway by Grandview Cemetery can be safely removed.
UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: The traffic lights are out at that intersection, too.
Press release:
The City of Batavia Annual Water Quality Report for 2012 has been completed and may be viewed online at: http://www.batavianewyork.com/documents/2012WaterReport.pdf. This report contains information as to how your drinking water is produced, testing results, and other general information relating to the public water supply. Paper copies of this report are also available at City Hall.
Hannah Bowen had three hits, inclduing two doubles, and three RBIs to help Batavia crush East Irondequoit 12-4 in girls softball.
Kimberly Walsh went the distance, giving up only two earned runs and striking out eight.
Kayleight Tourt also had three hits, including a triple.
Alyssa Joe Baiocco, and Halston Wiseley had two hits apiece.
Lauralee Pacer, 28, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Pacer was stopped by Deputy Joseph Corona for alleged equipment violation and found to be wanted on a bench warrant out of Batavia City Court for alleged disorderly conduct (fighting/violent behavior), and she was allegedly driving without a license. Bail was set at $200.
Eric J. Martin, 41, of Caledonia, is charged with DWI, speeding and failure to submit to chemical test. Martin was arrested by by Le Roy PD.
Former Batavia PD lieutenant Eugene Jankowski was honored Monday night by the Batavia City Council for his 34 years of service to the city.
Among Jankowski's many accomplishments was creating the Emergency Response Team (commonly referred to in other jurisdictions as SWAT).
Jankowski was forced to retire earlier this year when the lieutenant positions were eliminated from the Batavia police force.
Two weeks ago, the City GOP committee endorsed Jankowski for one of the three at-large council positions up for election in November.
Two four-wheel ATVs have been stolen from a residence in East Pembroke and the owner is offering a cash reward for their return.
They belong to Parker Dean, who has been racing motocross and flat track on the local and national circuit for eight years. The theft comes at a particularly bad time -- the start of the season.
One is a blue 2001 Yamaha Raptor 660 with ITP Holeshot front tires and ITP mud lite rear tires, DG front bumper, TCS front shocks with black PEP shock covers and carbon fiber hand guards.
The other ATV is green Suzuki Ltr 450 with a custom black and green Quadtech seat, gunmetal hinson clutch cover, Quadtech carbon fiber shock guards, 127 number plate.
The reward will be paid upon return of the quads and "conviction of the scum who sold them," according to the flyer we were sent.
Call the Sheriff's Office at (585) 343-5000 with any information that may assist in the investigation.
Tonisha Price has a growing little bakery business -- so much so that she needed to move Sweet Ecstasy out of her cramped shop in Stafford and find a space closer to her growing customer base in Batavia.
While going through the city's grant process, she had a meeting at Seymour Place, the former Batavia Club building at Main and Bank streets that is home to GO ART!
She'd already scouted several locations in Batavia, but immediately recognized Seymour Place as the perfect quaint locale for what she wanted to do -- expand her bakery business, but also provide a cozy setting for lunches and catered affairs.
"As we were going through the approval process, we ran across this place," Price said. "This wasn't our first choice, but once we saw it, we fell in love and here we are today."
Besides sweet treats, Sweet Ecstasy will offer grilled sandwiches, quiches and soup on a daily basis for lunch. Every Friday is "fresh bread Friday."
Price is also planning "supper clubs," where one night a month, there will be a special dinner served. The first one -- date to be announced -- will feature sushi.
The new location opened Friday and Price has already booked five special events that take advantage of the unique space at Seymour Place and she's looking to book more bridal showers, receptions, birthday parties, tea parties, office parties and other such events.
Sweet Ecstasy is also applying for a liquor license so they can serve wines and craft beers.
Photo: Price, Jean Robbins, and Tonisha's mother Carla Price, seated.
As promised, Paul Berardini opened his new pizza shop today, Big Pauly's. It's in the same location as the former Pauly's Pizza (314 Ellicott St., Batavia).
Chantal M. Lord, 32, of 82 Gilbert St., Le Roy, is charged with two counts of grand larceny, 4th, and two counts of petit larceny. Lord was charged following a Le Roy PD investigation into missing money from a relative's bank account. Lord is accused of using the relative's debit card on two separate occasions without permission to make withdrawals from the relative's bank account. Lord was jailed on $5,000 bail.
Joshua M. Banick, 22, of 3 McIntosh St., Liverpool, is charged with DWI, driving while impaired by drugs and alcohol, failure to keep right and unsafe backing. Banick allegedly had a near head-on collision with a Batavia PD patrol vehicle in the area of 509 East Main St., Batavia, at 1:40 a.m., Thursday. Banick then allegedly backed up and through the 7-11 parking lot and over a concrete parking space bumper, coming to rest on the sidewalk near the front entrance. Banick was transported back to College Village following his arrest.
Morgan B. Mikolajczyk, 19, of 328 S. Jackson St., Batavia, was arrested at Tim Horton's on a warrant for alleged failure to appear in City Court on an unreasonable noise charge.
Douglas G. Goodwin Jr., 22, of 130 Bank St., Batavia, turned himself in on an arrest warrant out of City Court related to an alleged parking violation for parking facing the wrong way.
Michael J. Carroll, 21, of 16 Harvester Ave., Batavia, was arrested by Monroe County Sheriff's and turned over to Batavia PD on a warrant out of City Court related to a charged of possession of alcohol under age 21.
Shaneeka R. Wroten, 20, of 16 Central Ave., rear, Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Wroten was arrested on a warrant out of City Court related to the listed charges.
Samantha L. Tennity, 18, of 318 E. Main St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Tennity is accused of shoplifting from Dollar General.
Jeremy M. Denton, 27, of Brockport, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unreasonable speed, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, driving left of pavement markings and moving from lane unsafely. Denton was allegedly involved in a single-car accident at 1:23 a.m., Friday, on Route 19, Bergen. He allegedly fled the scene was was later located. The accident was investigated by Deputy Howard Carlson.
Jeffrey Louis Deats, 26, of Olyn Avenue, Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Deats is accused of making threatening phone calls to a woman.
Destiny S. Milroy, 16, of Le Roy, is charged with assault, 3rd. Milroy was arrested by State Police in connection with an incident reported at 8:28 a.m., May 1, in the Town of Le Roy. No further details released.
Today was Women Build Day at the Habitant for Humanity project house on Harvester Avenue. More than 75 percent of the workers at the job site were women, part of a national week that recognizes women in the construction trades.
Work on the house began Wednesday with the Day of Caring.
Above, Kelly McCaffery, of Rochester, removes from debris from the house. Also pictured below, Charlotte Dickson (carrying wood out of the house) and Marsha (no last name given) from Wyoming, who was prying wood from the walls of the kitchen.
Mrs. Richmond hosted a tea party at the Holland Land Office Museum today and dozens of local women attended.
Awards were given for the best hats.
Above, Dona LaValle, who won the award for best hat and ensemble.
Below, Anne Barone, most original, and Maryanne Arena, most elegant.
The Allstate Foundation recently presented two $1,000 grants to the HomeCare & Hospice Foundation, Inc. in honor of local Allstate Insurance agents Mike Roth and Keith Roth, who are both event volunteers for HomeCare & Hospice. Pictured are Mike Roth Linda Cummings abd Keith Roth.
Law Street, City of Batavia, is closed until 2 p.m. today for resurfacing.
Genesee County Economic Development Center is trying to get initial permitting completed on a proposed expansion of the Upstate Med-Tech Center on R. Stephen Hawley Drive just in case a specific medical device technology company wants to lease the space.
Mark Masse, VP of operations for GCEDC, told the County Planning Board on Thursday that a contractor has a potential leasee and is in negotiations now. Getting certain regulatory hurdles cleared now would help the process.
"If they reach an agreement, the potential leasee is working on a tight time frame," Masse said.
Masse doesn't know yet how many new jobs could be created by the company.
"They haven't gone before the board yet for incentives from us," Masse said. "More information would be available at that point in time, if it gets to that point."
The planning board unanimously approved site plan review for proposed 60,000-square-foot facility.
The board also unanimously approved a site plan review for a proposed 60,000-square-foot cold storage facility at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
Masse said GCEDC still owns the property the unnamed company is considering for the facility and sales negotiations are ongoing.
That company also has yet to come to the GCEDC board seeking incentives, so Masse doesn't know yet how many new jobs will be created by the facility.
In other board action:
For the first time since 2005, Batavia's commercial property owners are getting their parcels re-assessed and the effort has been greeted with some decidedly mixed reviews.
With some property owners being told their initial re-assessment shows an increase in value of 55 percent to 400 percent -- adding $70,000 or $95,000 or $120,000 per parcel -- there is a bit of a sticker shock.
Re-assessing commercial property when it hasn't been done for eight years isn't an easy process, explained Rhonda Saulsbury, the city's assessor. There are a number of factors to consider and the initial re-assessment is sometimes based, admittedly, on incomplete information.
That makes it important for property owners to help fill in the blanks for the assessor's office.
"The goal here is to keep property values as fair as possible citywide," Saulsbury said in an e-mail. "Without going through this process (after 8 years) that wouldn’t be possible. I have also reduced a great number of assessments citywide resulting from the same methodologies. I do not hesitate to make an adjustment down when given reasonable information to substantiate the change in value.
"Until someone reaches out to me with an issue," she added, "I can’t fix it."
Local property owners have confirmed that after responding to the initial re-assessment letter to the city and providing more evidence about the status of their buildings, Saulsbury has adjusted, and even rescinded the increase in value.
One local businessman with at least two commercial properties downtown was actually notified that the value of one property was reduced. He didn't complain about that re-assessment.
Another property owner said his assessment only increased 10 percent.
So while some property owners are being hit hard, the impact isn't uniform.
The criteria for reassessment is almost an endless list, Saulsbury said, and includes location, property use, rentable space, income generated, building updates, additions, demolitions and deferred maintenance.
The assessor, from just looking at the building, can't know all of these details, which is why property owner feedback is an important part of the process.
If a property value increases substantially, she said, the assessor's office believes there's a reason for it -- such as a former warehouse being converted to office space, but it's still important for a property owner to clarify any concerns.
City Manager Jason Molino said the process is intended to be one in which property owners provide feedback on the assessment.
"Review procedure and phone numbers are included in the notices sent to property owners that receive a change in their assessment, as we encourage an open door policy to anyone with a question or concern," Molino said.
One day during the winter I was at Genesee Community College walking down this walkway and thought, "um, wonder what this looks like in spring when the trees are in bloom." Last evening, I went back to take a look.
Yesterday, Ryan P. Johnson was reported as a fugitive from the law; today, he's a convict headed to state prison.
He will spend four years in prison for attempted burglary, 2nd, with a concurrent sentence of one and a third year for grand larceny, 3rd.
He could have received a short jail sentence followed by a term of probation if he had shown up for his original sentencing date in March.
Instead, Deputy John Baiocco, the warrant officer for the Sheriff's Office, had to go looking for him.
When Baiocco found him on Ross Street yesterday, Johnson reportedly took off running leading to a search of the area by three police agencies.
Johnson eventually surrendered to Baiocco and appeared today as a ward of the Genesee County Jail before Judge Robert C. Noonan.
Noonan wasn't pleased with Baiocco's reported violations of his release under supervision contract.
"You blew your opportunity," Noonan said. "You had an opportunity at shock probation. All you had to do was show up, tell the truth, and serve your time. You would have gotten shock probation even though the probation department recommended incarceration given your record, but I was prepared to honor your negotiated deal."
Johnson was arrested in January for the Oct. 5 burglary of a City of Batavia residence where is said to have carried off more than $68,000 in precious and irreplaceable family jewelry.
In court today, Johnson cried as he apologized to the victim (who did not appear in court, but had sent a letter to Noonan), his fiance and his three children.
He blamed his behavior on an addiction to drugs and his attorney William Tedford said Johnson was using hydrocodone at the time of the burglary.
Noonan was unmoved.
"Saying your children need a father is certainly not going to tug at my heart strings," Noonan said. "They don't need a father like you, not like you are now."
Tedford asked that the restitution hearing be delayed until June 20 so he can more fully review the restitution claim.
The insurance company paid only $1,000 to the victim, who is claiming another $55,000 in unrecovered jewelry.
Johnson said he knew where some of the jewelry went so he made efforts to recover as much as he could and reportedly returned $14,000 worth of jewelry.
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