2008 HOLIDAY LIGHT CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

If you're looking for something to do to keep from going stir crazy this winter, you may want to visit our Announcements section. We've always got fresh info posted on upcoming events and happenings around the county. Just today we got up event listings for Richmond Memorial Library and the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Lots going at both. Be sure to check them out!

For those of you hosting happenings, there are instructions on the Announcements page on how to post your news to that section. For more detailed video instructions on posting your own blog, please visit our Help page.

As we should expect, there's plenty of next day reaction to Gov. David Paterson's budget proposal in the news this morning. We've included here a roundup of some local reaction, as well as a few choice cuts from around the state.

My personal favorite among our local representatives—other than WXXI's capital correspondent Karen DeWitt who is simply fantastic: literate, articulate and trenchant—has to be Buffalo News reporter Tom Precious, who works out of the paper's Albany bureau. Precious put together another great piece today, now that the smoke screen has dissipated somewhat... well, not really dissipated at all.

“We’re going to have to take some extreme measures,” Paterson told lawmakers of the challenge of closing the state’s largest deficit ever.

The reaction was swift — and negative.

Hospitals and nursing homes would close, health care officials say, and those that don’t would cut back on patient care. As a result of Albany’s decreasing school aid, schools would reduce classroom and after-school programs, and property taxes would rise, education officials warned.

Middle-class taxpayers would be hit hard, critics said, not just from the cuts, but from the stunning array of increases in taxes and fees.

New Yorkers would pay more for registering a car, catching a salmon or trout, going to the movies, getting a haircut, buying gasoline, drinking beer and buying nondiet soft drinks.

Republicans say the Democratic governor’s tax and fee plan is actually $2 billion higher than being revealed. In all, there are 151 proposals that would create or increase taxes.

Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle reinforces the theme of atoning for the sins of our ancestors. Under the subheading: Paying for the Past, Joseph Spector writes: "Paterson warns that the state's fiscal problems are the result of years of overspending." Guilt is implied as a fact of life, it seems, and we're living out the unfortunate tragedy of an Ibsen character, collectively.

The Albany Times Union put together a great piece breaking down the "major elements" of the proposed budget. In an easy-to-navigate bullet-point format, this article is a must read for folks who want to know what's really at stake in the budget. For example, this is the only place we've read about the proposed $7 million reduction in arts grants.

Other articles you may want to check out:

• Newsday: Paterson's 'doomsday budget' aims to close $15.4 billion gap ... (Dan Janison has a more thoughtful, less hyperbolic piece in this same publication.)
• Bloomberg: New York to Close Budget Gap With $7.2 Billion Cuts
  
• Business First: Business reacts to Empire Zone changes
• Reuters: Governor's $121 billion budget shuts hedge fund loopholes
• New York Daily News: Skelos: Paterson Budget 'Discriminates' Against The 'Burbs

That should get you started.

Tabatha A. Torcello, 42, of Alexander, now faces more than a dozen additional charges following her arrest a couple weeks back for alleged possession of a forged prescription, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Torcello has since been charged with four counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument, five counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, five counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and two counts fifth-degree health care fraud.

Torcello's home was searched by deputies following her previous arrest. Inside, they found a partial prescription pad that was allegedly stolen from a dentist's office in Rochester. An investigation revealed that Torcello had allegedly used the pad to forge prescriptions and obtain drugs from the pharmacies at the Batavia Wal-Mart, Warsaw Wal-Mart and Attica Rite Aid stores between November 15 and December 3. Deputies were assisted in the investigation by the Wyoming County Probation Department and the Buffalo Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Torcello was sent to Genesee County Jail without bail. A violation of the terms of her probation is also pending, as Torcello was under probation supervision for charges stemming from 2006 and 2007, when Torcello was accused of similar crimes.

Rita Cintron, 18, of New Jersey, was charged with trespass for an incident that occurred on December 7, deputies said. Cintron had previously been banned from the College Village dormitory apartments at Genesee Community College, yet she was allegedly located on the property by security personnel.

Between three and five inches of heavy wet snow has so far fallen on Genesee County and environs, WBTA's Wayne Fuller tells us. It's ugly out there. Driving is slippery, so be careful. We're also still due for a continued onslaiught of snow and sleet and freezing rain until about noon today. Precipitation should end in a freezing drizzle and some icing is possible. Be wary all day on the roads. Fortunately, we look to be in the clear for tomorrow.

Book two in the four volume series, Famous Genesee, is fresh off the press and available for purchase at everybody's favorite local bookseller, Present Tense, as well as at the Genesee County History Department. It costs $15, and that price includes tax.

Inside the book, you will find some of the suspected cast of characters, such as Barber Conable and Terry Anderson. Yet, you are also likely to find stories you have never heard before. For example, there's the tale of Richard Ross, a 13-year-old Boy Scout who was awarded "the nation's first meritorious action medal" for saving the life of another boy. That was in 1946.

Volume two is officially known as: Famous Genesee: Book II: The Historians Collection of Newspaper Articles Featuring Heroes, Politicians & Reformers. All of its articles were compiled by Sue Conklin, Genesee County's historian, along with research assistant Judy Stiles.

"Many of the reformers that came through here were not welcomed with open arms," said Conklin. A visit by Frederick Douglass—documented in this volume—was even protested by many in the county.

"People might be surprised how many presidents come here," said Conklin, who described the "incredible" story of Bobby Kennedy who was ravaged by the public as people in the crowd nearly ripped his clothes off as if he were a rock star. "It was like a sea of people" packed together in the streets and even on the buildings.

He wasn't the only one, either. Roosevelt, Taft, Lincoln, Truman—they all came by. You can even read in this book about Lincoln's visit, when his train stopped at the New York Central Railroad Depot in Batavia, where he spoke "48 words" from the rear platform of the stopped train.

Some of Conklin's personal favorites include Helen Keller's visit to the state School for the Blind and the story of John L. Childs, who grew up in Batavia, but moved out west later and life and nearly formed a new state by taking land from northern California and southern Oregon.

"Of course, this book is not intended to be encyclopedic," said Conklin.

It's more of an introduction or an overview with a few snippets here and there that folks may not have already known. Conklin stresses that not all the stories are circa Emory Upton and Dean Richmond. There's much to be read from our own times.

"We're hoping it will spark people's memories," said Conklin.

That's why some of the pages of the book—instead of being left blank between chapters, for example—are ruled for taking notes and come with suggestions to get you started. One page, following the section on politicians, asks you to list all the presidents that have held office since you were born.

I'll go: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush. That's everyone since 1978, right?

Conklin hopes that they will make enough money with the sale of this book to finance the publication of the next volume in this series: Criminal Genesee. Also in the works: Brides of Genesee: For Better or Worse and Quirky Genesee: Gross and Disgusting Tales.

A law that would enforce the collection of taxes on the sale of cigarettes by Indian-owned retailers was merely the beginning. Gov. David Paterson today unveiled a $121 billion budget proposal that plans to eliminate the state's $15 billion deficit over the course of the next two years through a hefty dose of cuts and creative taxation.

From the Democrat & Chronicle:

Paterson is calling for massive cuts to state education and health-care aid, an elimination of a property-tax rebate program for homeowners and 88 new taxes and fees.

Put a little more bluntly, with a bit of spleen, by the Buffalo News:

Aid to public schools will be cut by $700 million, state university tuition will rise, the STAR property tax rebates will be scrubbed, prison facilities will close and state workers who aren't laid off will get no pay raises under a budget plan Gov. David Paterson proposed this morning.

Cuts in school aid would total about $700 million, which has some education officials already worried that the loss will need to be offset by increases in local property taxes. Although their worry sounds more like a threat that we're sure to soon see manifested in television advertisements. You know the kind. We've seen them before. For example: Imagine something along the lines of a school playground at recess: the children, the glee, the games. Then, cut to a close-up of Paterson, overlaid with a sombre voice detailing some aspect or other of the budget proposal, followed by the post-apocalyptic image of an empty swing, rocking back and forth in the middle of the now empty playground. Or something like that.

Although, at least Paterson delivered his posion pill with an olive branch. Or so the Buffalo News would have it (note the language: make up for):

To make up for the cuts, Paterson proposes exempting schools from the state's expensive, union-backed Wicks Law … which drives up public facility construction costs … and new pension reforms to reduce local costs.

Wicks Law, a requirement for local governments to hire separate contractors for different aspects (plumbing, heating, electric) of the same public construction project, has been a frequent point of contention among municipalities across the state. The law was restructured some earlier this year.

What else should we expect? From the Buffalo News:

The Paterson budget raids an assortment of accounts that are not part of the state operating budget, increases taxes and fees by $4.1 billion, eliminates sales tax exemption on clothing and footwear purchases under $110, and places new sales taxes on everything from cable TV and satellite radio services to haircuts and massages.

A so-called obesity tax that would increase the levy on sugary, non-diet sodas to 18 percent per bottle is one of many "creative" taxes set up in the budget proposal. From the New York Times:

A tax on car rentals would rise to 6 percent from 5 percent. Taxes on beer and wine would more than double. Licensing fees would increase for private investigators, barbers, bail enforcement agents, home inspectors, notary publics and cosmetologists.

Taxes on gasoline, cable TV, satellite television and radio service, cigars, flavored malt beverages would also increase. And the cost of owning and operating a car would also increase significantly, with 16 fee increases for the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Mainstream media reports mostly give the impression of bracing for a blow from dad's leather belt. In the New York Times, we can read of the "austerity budget" that lays out a "painful plan"—you almost expect to hear the phrase: 'This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you,' as the blows rain down upon us. Paterson, we're told, better get ready for a "reckoning" with the state's workforce. The Democrat & Chronicle's much more inspid coverage shies away from such colorful language, opting for the "trim" this and "limit" that style of budget speak.

Tom Precious, with the Buffalo News, siphons a bit more powder into the gun barrel in his coverage, coloring Paterson something of a pirate who is "raiding" state accounts. Precious talks of Paterson "slapping" this group with cuts and "scrubbing" rebates for that one. Sure, there's no doubt that the governor is scrambling to squeeze revenue from any source possible. But a $15 billion deficit is no chink the armor. We're hammered and dented and our shin buckles have long since rusted away. Isn't it time to strip down and revisit the forge? Or do we keep clambering on, stabbing at the windmills?

Paterson speaks of "sacrifice," mostly on the part of "working New Yorkers." No surprise, then, that we read in the Times: "Unions were bracing for a battle."

In a joint statement, George Gresham, the president of 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers East, and Ken Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said “these are staggering cuts that would shatter New York’s health care infrastructure, severely threaten the ability of patients to get access to care, and cause serious harm to communities across the entire state.”

That doesn't sound good. Shattering the health care infrastructure! That's intense. That's colossal. Is it true? What about "education advocates" who are telling us that the $700 million in cuts to school aid "really" amounts to $2.5 billion. Aid was going to increase next year. So that increase should be figured into the loss... so goes the argument. Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, told Tom Precious that this is "the most dramatic cut in education in the history of New York." Is that true? I fear we will be hearing a lot more of this most and worst ever talk.

Of course, it's not all bad news.

The Paterson budget would raise $105 million by permitting the sale of wine in grocery stores. And he wants New Yorkers to gamble more: the state's Quick Draw lottery game, derided as Crack Draw by gambling opponents, would see restrictions relaxed for the kinds of places the games could be offered as well as the number of hours a day the machines could be run. And racetrack casinos could keep their doors open longer each day.

So, when you can no longer afford to buy a Coke and listen to your satellite radio while you're trout fishing—license fees are listed to go up—you can buy a box of wine or go gamble away your last few bucks at the local watering hole... you know, engage in some real civic activity... that is, If you can afford the booze.

Seriously though, this budget proposal is big news. One has to wonder, however, how far this will all go. In fact, the plethora of fee hikes, aid cuts and tax increases—not to mention the "attrition" of state workers—smacks of a clever bit of strategy. It's hard to believe that the flabbergasted media reaction was not anticipated. I'm no political schemer, but it's almost as if Paterson's crew had the idea to try every trick possible. Bombard the enemy with all that you've got, and one or two are sure to slip through the cracks, breach the walls. Cut everything that can be cut. Increase the cost of very specific products and services—say, haircuts sneakers and back massages. Vow to weed out hundreds of "needless" jobs. Oh, and the day before all this is announced, sign a law that will surely miff the state's Indian population... Do you follow? It's as if Paterson is trying to get everyone up in arms. That way, while all the bigger, louder special interest groups are making all the noise and dominating the media coverage, some of these cuts and hikes and freezes will go under the radar and actually get passed. Hmm.

Just a thought.

Today's lights come from Woodcrest Drive in Batavia. I like the two snowmen in front of the trees, with the reindeer in the middle. Cool looking design.

We found this pair of videos posted on YouTube. They were taken at a Notre Dame swim meet at Genesee Community College in Batavia last week.

"In late August, 1966, the city jail in Batavia, New York, held four regular prisoners, that is, four prisoners who were being kept on something more than an overnight basis." So begins The Sunlight Dialogues, by John Gardner, novelist, essayist, professor, Batavian.

Gardner appears at No. 6 in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous. Not much of a surprise there.

Museum Director Pat Weissend:

As a young adult, John Gardner had many interests. He wrote plays, studied chemistry, played the French horn and was an Eagle Scout. While at Alexander High School, he drew a cartoon of an elephant in art class that was published in the July 1948 edition of Seventeen Magazine. For his senior year of high school, he transferred to the larger Batavia High School so he could take some more challenging classes. Every Saturday, he went to Rochester where he took French horn lessons at the Eastman School of Music’s Preparatory School.

Following his graduation from Batavia High School in 1951, Gardner had to decide where he was going to study. He was awarded a scholarship to the Eastman School, but he chose to go to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and major in chemistry.

Of course, Gardner didn't last long as a chemist. He soon left Indiana for a university in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned his bachelor's degree, then went to Iowa for his doctorate. Gardner was hailed throughout his teaching career as a popular professor, yet it was his books that made him famous. Among his most well-known—Gardner published no less than 27 books—are the novels: Grendel, The Resurrection and The Sunlight Dialogiues, and two of his books on the art of writing: On Becoming a Novelist and The Art of Fiction. Gardner died in 1982 in a motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania.

There's plenty of interesting info to be found on Gardner on the Web, including The Batavian's own video of Batavia Reads John Gardner at the Pok-A-Dot. You can check that out below. The video was filmed and produced by Darrick Coleman.

You can also view a documentary, entitled Sunlight Man, produced by Gardner's son, Joel, about his father's life and work. On a Web site called The Arch and the Abyss, you will find a bibliography of Gardner's works, a miscellany, an archive. You can even order a John Gardner limited edition t-shirt. As always, the Genesee Community College John C. Gardner Appreciation Page has a wealth of resources, including links to a dozen other sites.

Photo courtesy of Genesee Community College Web site.

Better late than never... At Christmas in the City, here in Batavia a couple weeks back, we set up our camera and asked folks what Christmas means to them. Here's what a handful of your friends and neighbors had to say about the holiday:

Expect some snow showers to begin some time around 7 o'clock this evening. WBTA's Dan Fischer warns us of a National Weather Service advisory for tonight that should last until about noon tomorrow. What will start out as light snow in the Southern Tier and spread throughout the region will develop into a mix of snow and sleet in the morning hours. All told, expect between four to six inches of accumulation by tomorrow afternoon.

In other news, Indian tribes across the state are threatening legal action following Gov. David Paterson's move to start collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers. Barry Snyder, who heads up the Seneca Nation, said that he plans to "revisit every aspect of the nation's relationship to the state." Fischer thinks that might be a thinly veiled threat that the Seneca Nation will rethink its revenue sharing deal between the casinos and the state.

As I headed down Bank Street to church at Northgate this past Sunday, I noticed something in the road ahead of me. I thought "what the heck is that?". As my car got closer I noticed, it was a pair of shoes!

All the cars just kept going by them, mine included. As I settled into the pew at church I kept thinking about those shoes. How in the world did they end up there? Did someone set them on top of their car as they were getting in to go somewhere and forgot about them? Was someone angry and threw their shoes out the window? Maybe they were nestled in a backpack on the bag of a bicycle rider? Or maybe, just maybe they got tired of walking  in their own shoes! How many times have you heard someone say " try walking in my shoes"? Yes we all have walked many miles in our own shoes. We have all had many life experiences, some pleasant and some not so pleasant.

During this holiday season, we are all putting extra miles on our shoes while we are busy getting ready for Christmas day. Currently, our shoes are working overtime trying be prepared for the big day. Our shoes are taking us to the local malls, standing at the oven baking the Christmas cookies, trudging through the field to find the perfect Christmas tree, standing outside of Walmart ringing the bell, singing carols on the streets, walking across stages to practice the Christmas play and the list goes on and on.

Do you know where your shoes are? Where have your shoes been taking you lately?

If you are tired of walking in your shoes, try someone else's on for size. You may find that your shoes are not that bad after all. But, if you are tempted, feel free to stop by the roadside and try these ones on. I stopped after church and picked them up out of the middle of the road and moved them to the curb just in case the owner went looking for them or if  by chance someone wanted to try walking in someone else shoes for a day.

Cindy Morelli says in her "about" on her profile that she's looking for a job.

We have a Jobs section for employers looking for help, but we haven't really set up a way for a process for job candidates to let potential employers know of their availability, but if you write a blog post about your experience, qualifications and the kind of job you're seeking, we'll find a way to highlight your post.

We're continuely on the look out for local bloggers -- Batavia needs more of them.

In checking member profiles tonight, we found the blog of  Arlana Pathammavong.

Mostly, it's a personal blog of her interests and observations, but she's a good blogger and includes some tidbits of local interest, such as this post about the Pok-A-Dot.

A chimney fire has been reported at 8824 Lovers Lane, in Corfu. It has been upgraded to a second alarm fire.

We'll most more information when it's available.

UDPATE: 5:24 p.m. The alarm has been down graded and some units returning to stations.

While we were out covering the mobile home fire in East Bethany earlier this afternoon, we received reports of a two-car crash out in the town of Darien. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but one of the cars had apparently run into a tree. So, already on the road, we drove out to take a photograph. Here's the car and the tree:

Not exactly what we had expected.

While we were on the scene, however, we got to talking with a fellow who told us that this corner (County Line Road and Sumner Road) is a frequent site of accidents. What might the county do to make the roads safer here?

Others have tried before and failed to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers. Nevertheless, faced with a $15 million budget shortfall, Gov. David Paterson could not keep from trying to tap into the estimated $400 million that is lost annually by the state through the sale of tax-free cigarettes.

From the Buffalo News:

Gov. David A. Paterson this morning signed into law a new effort to begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers to non-Indians, a move certain to spark controversy and push-back from the booming tobacco trade on Seneca Nation reservations.

That article takes quite a comprehensive look at some of the changes that will be proposed by the governor to help chip away at the budget deficit, including increased gambling hours at racetrack casinos and a revamping of the state's Empire Zone program.

What do you think of the governor's proposals? Should he try and get the tax money from cigarette sales? Will he succeed? What are some other ideas he might try to implement to bring more money into the state?

 Today's example goes back to the ordinary home, after a couple of days with massive displays on large properties.

This home on Elm St. in Batavia may be modest in size, but takes full advantage of the given space with plenty of lights and decorations.