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It's not technically accurate to say the House Ethics Committee is investigating his involvement with Innate Immunotherapeutics, Rep. Chris Collins said today while in Batavia.

There have been questions about Collins and his alleged "insider trading" related to the Australia-based pharmaceutical company for more than a year.

The issue was first raised, Collins said, by Rep. Louis Slaughter, which led to an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics.

The three charges investigated by OSCE were dropped but the investigators referred two additional points of inquiry to the House Ethics Committee.

That, Collins said, is not an investigation.

"The Ethics Committee hasn't done anything," Collins said. "So to people who say I'm being investigated by ethics, I would say ethics is reviewing the OSCE, what I call 'the mall cops' report.' That doesn't mean they're investigating. And what didn't they do -- they did not appoint a subcommittee to look into it. If they thought there was wrongdoing they would have appointed a subcommittee to look into this."

Collins called the initial three points of contention and the two new issues a "nothing burger."

The points initially raised by Slaughter, he said, were that he had insider information about the progress of a clinical trial that he shared, that he facilitated discounted stock trading for congressional members, and that he supported a bill, the 21st Century Cures Act, because it benefited Innate.

To the first charge, Collins said, the clinical trial was a double-blind trial with nobody at Innate, including him, getting any idea of the potential results until the trial was completed and the results were released in July.

He couldn't have provided information on the trial to anybody because there was no information to provide.

As to the alleged illegal discount, Collins said, "We got this discount. The Office of Congressional Ethics totally dismissed that because it was available to every investor."

The allegation that Innate might someday come to the United States, and therefore benefit from the 21st Century Cures Act, was so preposterous, Collins said, that OSCE dismissed it without giving it serious consideration.

"That was such an outlandish allegation it wasn't even investigated," he said.

Out of the all the documents and emails reviewed by the OSCE, the staff came up with two more items it referred to the House Ethics Committee. One was that Collins allegedly communicated non-public information in emails to other investors and that he provided insider information about Innate to staff at the National Institute of Health.

In emails, Collins said he mentioned that the clinical trial had 93 participants. It was public knowledge that the trial would have at least 90 participants and the fact that there was 93 wasn't material to the value of the stock, he said.

He also shared his personal view that the trial would be done by a certain date, and then another date after that, and then a date after that, and in all cases he was wrong, he said.

"It was just my personal subjective opinion," he said.

'"Our CEO has done an affidavit saying he looked at those emails and there was nothing non-public in them," Collins said. "There was nothing significant in them."

As for the number of participants, he said, it's standard practice to sign up more participants than needed for a trial because some patients always drop out. The count of 93 vs. 90 really meant nothing to the value of the trial and it wasn't considered a secret by the company.

"Anyone who had called our office and asked how many people were recruited, we would not have even considered that confidential information and would have shared it," Collins said.

Significantly, Collins said, none of the people whom Collins shared information with through the emails bought or sold shares after receiving the information.

"If no one traded on it, even if I did share nonpublic information, there's no crime," Collins said.

The NIH meeting, Collins said, was part of a two-hour tour of the facility that he initially forgot about when the issue came up again a couple of years later.

The so-called insider information provided by Collins was an introduction of one scientist to another. It's common practice, Collins said, for NIH scientists to share information with outside scientists.

"There was a scientist in the one meeting who was looking at biomarkers and other indications from multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease, and some things (some aspects of the research) that there are no hard science measures on," Collins said. "It looks like this. It looks like that. Boom. Boom. Boom Boom Boom.

"And I said, 'you know, you might want to talk to our scientists because we're finding the same frustration in finding scientific measures of secondary progressive M.S. because there aren't any -- it's quality of life, patient-reported outcomes, doctor-observed things that are subjective, not objective, not scientific.

" 'You might want to want to talk to Jill. You guys should share some information.' And this woman said, 'I think it makes a lot of sense,' because that's what they do with the NIH. They talk to companies all the time."

The OSCE didn't even give Collins a chance to respond before forwarding the issue to the ethics committee, he said.

"My attorneys have subsequently done that, to point out that part of the role of the NIH is to meet with outside scientists," Collins said.

Now that these issues are in the hands' of the ethics committee staff, there isn't much Collins can do but sit and wait, he said.

It's possible there will be an investigation, but Collins said he knows of members of Congress who have waited for years while the committee did nothing on complaints brought to them, and didn't even publicly acknowledge when the case was dropped.

"Here's the most frustrating part," Collins said, "they may never look at this. This could be hanging over my head as a 'nothing burger' because they're not even investigating it."

(Photo: Chris Collins during a meeting today at the Job Development Center in Batavia.)

Rep. Chris Collins thinks he has the proof he needs to label Gov. Andrew Cuomo now and forevermore a pathological liar.

Following a meeting with county employment officials at the Job Development Center in Batavia, Collins took questions for reporters and in response to comments by Cuomo that the recently passed House tax reform bill will cost New Yorkers money, Collins immediately launched into a prolonged attack on Cuomo for claiming he had spoken with Collins about the bill.

"He attributed a quote to me that said that I said the reason I voted for the tax act was that I was pressured by Republican leadership," Collins said. "As I said, and it’s in The New York Times today, 'liar, liar pants on fire.' In seven years, I’ve never spoken to the governor. I certainly did not speak to him on this. Aand the outrageousness of him even fabricating a quote will tell you, if he will lie about something like that, he will not hesitate to lie about our tax plan."

The Batavian reached out to the governor's office for a response and received this statement:

The Governor's point was the Republican congress members he spoke to said they were under pressure from their political leadership‎ to vote yes‎. Collins and the rest of the New York Congress members who voted for their donors and against their own constituents can try to deflect from this irresponsible vote, but it's the Governor who stood up for New York taxpayers and always will.

Contrary to Cuomo's assertions about the reforms, the changes in the tax code will save most of his constitutes money Collins promised.

"I have said I will stake my career, my election next year, on the fact that 95 percent of the folks in GLOW and Erie County will pay less in taxes," Collins said. "If you do, then vote for me, and if you don’t, then don’t vote for me."

He challenged Cuomo to make the same pledge.

"If under our plan you pay more, then the governor was right and you should re-elect him, but next year when 95 percent of my constituents pay less, I would expect them to vote against our governor because he’s lying to them," Collins said.

Why isn't every single taxpayer in the NY-27 saving money? Collins explained it this way: If you're a married couple with no kids, with $80,000 in current state and local taxes, making $300,000 a year, living in a $1.5 million home, then, he said, you might pay $1,000 more in taxes.

Collins said most of his constituents will be quite happy when they get their first paycheck after Jan. 15 if the House bill passes the Senate -- and the Senate has its own ideas about how to change the tax code -- and they see their withholding has gone down.

"(The governor) is lying and he’s deliberately lying," Collins said. "He lied again and he exposed himself by talking about this and then attributing a quote to me. That’s beyond outrageous. I think he’s lost it.

"Now, from this day forward I can remind people, he is a pathological liar," Collins added.

A resident on Buckley Road, Stafford, reports that a cream-colored SUV-type vehicle pulled up to her mailbox and stole her mail.

The theft happened about 15 minutes ago.

A deputy is dispatched.

Rep. Chris Collins toured the offices of the county's Job Development Bureau this morning to learn more about the work the department does to help people in Genesee County find jobs.

The tour, led by Jay Lazarony, GLOW Workforce Development Board executive director, focused on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (oWOIA), which is a federal program designed to help youth and those with significant barriers to employment find and retain high-quality jobs and careers.

Many of the clients who enter the program have not developed the job skills that help them retain jobs.

Lazarony told the story of one woman who entered the program who had been working as a home health care aide but couldn't stay in a job. The training she received helped her understand what it takes to hold onto a job and also provided her with the skills to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. The program helped her with the expense of travel, shoes, and scrubs. She eventually landed a full-time job at the Genesee County Nursing Home and now she's studying to become a Registered Nurse.

"This is the stuff that we can do with that funding, is give people a great start," Lazarony told Collins.

Collins said he appreciated the insight because so often the programs that pass before congressional members for review are just numbers on a page but the tour helped him see how the program benefits people.

So far in 2017, the center has helped 989 clients, including 141 through WIOA. A total of 137 veterans have been assisted.

There have been 1,322 people placed in jobs in Genesee County through the department's services.

Collins also learned about on-the-job-training programs through 13 participating businesses, occupational training programs, 38 on-site employer-specific job recruitment sessions, and the Summer Youth Employment program that placed 39 high school students in jobs at 23 work sites this summer.

Sometimes the clients of the center need ongoing help, said Scott Gage, director of the bureau.

"We’ll actually stay with them for 12 months after they leave us," Gage said. "We can mediate anything going on with the business, help this person out with issues. We’ve got a lot of community partners we rely on to help us out, social service agencies that will help us out in a number of ways and there’s no funding involved. They provide services and we access those services."

There are currently more than 600 job listings on file with the bureau and most of those are good-paying jobs, Gage said. With local unemployment at about 4 percent, it's proving hard for companies to find skilled workers.

The tight job market is helping to bring some people into the workforce who until now had opted out, Lazarony said. He said two recent clients the bureau has placed in jobs have worked their way up to full-time employment. They were in their mid-20s when they first came in and had never worked any type of job in their lives. They weren't part of the system at all. They just lived at home and didn't work.

There are other long-term unemployed who rely on the state's Safety Net program and they can be hard to assist, Gage said. They're capable of working, but they also have other underlying issues, such as disabilities, and sometimes they've just given up. That's a challenge, Gage said.

Collins observed that "Anybody who wants to get a job can get a job. It may not be at the wage they want, or the hours they want, or the job they want, but they can get a job."

Changes in aid programs initiated by Congress might change some of that, Collins said.

"As we continue down that road you’re going to start to see people lined up out your door," Collins said.

A 70-year-old Batavia woman died yesterday in a two-car accident at the intersection of Chestnut Ridge Road and Paul Road in Chili.

The crash was reported at 2:30 p.m.

It took firefighters 30 minutes to extricate Diane Rebmann from her vehicle. She was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital where she later died.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office reports that Rebmann was westbound on Paul Road and made a left turn onto Chestnut Ridge Road. They say her vehicle entered the path of a vehicle driven by Joseph Curtis, 18, of North Chili. His vehicle was T-boned and pushed into a telephone pole.

Curtis was not hurt.

Via our news partner 13WHAM

GO ART! hosted an opening reception Friday night at Seymour Place for a show of work by artist Jim Burns.

Burns, a photographer, created a series of works with a hammer, nails, twine, and wood called "Cabal and Zen."

The show runs through Feb. 3.

Press release: 

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today voted for H.R. 1, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which will provide historic tax relief to families across America and spur economic growth. 

“With today’s vote, President Trump and House Republicans have seized this once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform our nation’s tax code,” Collins said. “Since this plan was introduced, I have crunched the numbers and know that this bill will allow families in Western New York and the Finger Lakes to keep more of what they earn, while unleashing America’s competitiveness to bring jobs and profits back home, where they belong.”

The legislation passed by the House today lowers tax rates, collapses tax brackets, increases the child tax credit and doubles the standard deduction, which will allow families to keep more of their paychecks.

Most families are likely to use the new standard deduction, no longer needing to itemize deductions. For those who still choose to itemize, House Republicans have maintained important deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and state and local property taxes up to $10,000.

“Families that are struggling to make ends meet will see more cash in their pockets to help with everyday expenses,” Collins said. “This tax reform will also have an overwhelming impact on our nation’s economy that will create jobs and increase wages.”

Currently, the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. H.R. 1 will lower this rate to be competitive with other industrialized nations. Additionally, the plan lowers the tax rate on small businesses to the lowest it has been since World War II.

Collins added: “Unfortunately, career politicians like Andrew Cuomo and Chuck Schumer have not been truthful over the past few weeks as they look out for New York City millionaires and try to keep more of my constituents’ hard earned money for their wasteful spending.

"I am only looking out for the people of Western New York and the Finger Lakes, and their wallets. The tax reform package ultimately sent to President Trump’s desk will improve the lives of my constituents and will truly Make America Great Again.”

Based upon average family household income, average home value, an estimated mortgage interest of 4 percent, and respective state and property taxes, a family of four in the follow counties under the House Republican tax plan would save an average of:

Erie: $1,845.60
Genesee: $1,637.50
Livingston: $1,736.40
Monroe: $1,872.76
Niagara: $1,703
Ontario: $1,836.52
Orleans: $1,362.64
Wyoming: $1,509.28
 
For more information on H.R. 1, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, click here.

Investigators are seeking the public's assistance in identifying two older black males whom they suspect of making off with a cash box from Plaza Spirits at about 1 p.m. today.

According to police, the two individuals worked in tandem, with one subject distracting a store employee while the other one grabbed the cash box.

They then left in separate vehicles.

There were no threats and no weapons were displayed. No one was injured.

One suspect is described at 50 years of age, 5'10" to 5'11", wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie, black and white sneakers, a black and white winter hat and sunglasses.

The other is about 40 years old, 5"10", wearing a blue hat with a white line around it, gray/blue zip-up hoodie, blue/white striped sweatpants, and work boots.

One vehicle was a maroon Chevrolet sedan. The other vehicle was a gray or light blue SUV.

Tips: Det. Thad Mart, (585) 345-6372, or Batavia PD (585) 345-6350, or the Confidential Tip Line (585) 345-6370.

 

Sports is a booming business for tourism in Genesee County, according to Kelly Rapone, tourism marketing director for the Chamber of Commerce.

Between soccer at Batavia Sports Park, the Darien Lake baseball and softball tournaments, golf getaways, and various other competitive sports events that attract people from throughout the region and the Northeast, Genesee County hotels are often selling out during the spring and summer, Rapone told members of the County Legislator's Ways and Means Committee yesterday.

"Every weekend, I would say, from May right through July, we are booked up, our hotels, for sports," Rapone said.

That helps contribute to one of the major funding sources for the Chamber of Commerce, the county's bed tax.

Last year, the bed tax fell a little short of projections but Tom Turnbull, chamber president, said it looks like the revenue will exceed the $420,000 target, despite a rainy June.

Revenue was up 3 percent in the first quarter, 3 percent in the fourth quarter, but down 1 percent in the third quarter.

"The big factor there is probably Darien Lake," Turnbull said. "They are a big contributor to the bed tax and it was a rainy summer. Their numbers were, I know, down a little bit, but still 1 percent is not too bad."

The fourth quarter should make up for it, Turnbull said, with a projected increase of 17 percent.

Rapone said the golf packages the chamber sells fell off significantly in June, from leading to the booking of 93 room nights a year ago to just 29 this June.

"You can see, they all kind of shifted out to later in the summer and then we did another push for fall packages," Rapone said.

The chamber's budget for 2017 expected $66,000 from New York in matching funds for the "I Love NY" tourism promotion program, but the chamber received only $64,400 this year. That is the number the chamber will budget for 2018 and hope for an increase in that amount.

The chamber also generates its own revenue through a visitors guide, dining guide, coupon book and the golf packages. The budget anticipated $106,000 in revenue from these sources and the actual revenue for 2017 will be at least $108,000. The chamber will budget $110,000 for 2018.

Rapone said the county may see an increase in Chinese tourists, with a shift away over the next four years from bus tours to more individual travelers.

This year, the chamber hosted a group of 16 Chinese travel guides who were touring the state.

She also talked about how the Chinese pay for things. There is only one national credit card and that isn't always accepted by businesses in the United States.

"A Chinese traveller would never pull out his Chinese credit card to pay for something if he thought there might be the slightest chance it would be denied," Rapone said.

So what they carry is a card called Union Pay. What a lot of merchants don't understand, she said, is if they can accept Discover, they can accept Union Pay.

She said she visited a deli over the summer and the owner complained that the Chinese who came in never bought anything. She told him about Union Pay. The next week, he had all the signage up in the store to show he accepted Union Pay.

"It's the simple things that make us more welcoming," she said. "Like, they don't like ice in their drinking water. They want their water and tea at room temperature."

The state provides a tax exemption to industrial solar projects and until recently county officials didn't realize they had any say on whether to allow these exemptions.

Typically, the projects are built on farmland and the county can continue to tax the property at the established assessed value, but if the solar farm increases the assessed value of the land -- typically 10 acres -- then the property is exempt from taxes on the amount of the assessment increase.

The options for the county are to opt-out, through a local law, on the tax exemption, or establish a PILOT on projects on a case-by-case basis.

PILOT stands for Payment In Lieu of Taxes, and typically a PILOT ramps up the amount of payments made as a percentage of the increase in assessed value over a period of years.

Under state law, the solar farm properties are exempt from taxes on the increase in assessed value for 15 years for county, town and school taxes.

"I think everybody should be able to do what they want with their land but the real issue is the state telling us what we can’t tax them on," said Legislator Andrew Young during a discussion of the issue during yesterday's Ways and Means Committee meeting. "Because of that reason, I think we should at least do something to maintain a little control."

By consent, the committee agreed to have County Attorney Kevin Earl draft a local law to have the county opt-out of the exemption.

There are three solar projects under construction and all three were started before the county learned it had the choice to opt-out of the exemption or establish a PILOT.

The issue came to the county's attention because the builders of a fourth project on Pearl Street Road came to the county and volunteered to pay a PILOT.

That caused Legislator John Deleo to wonder why the company would volunteer for to make PILOT payments.

"I think they know counties are going to start taxing everybody, so they’re going to get ahead of it and don’t want to get stuck with the full no-exemption later on," suggested County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens.

It's unclear if the county can go back to the projects already under construction and void the exemption or require a PILOT.

The company with the project on Pearl Street Road told county officials that not only did they anticipate building other projects in the county, but that officials should expect more solar companies seeking farmland for solar farms locally.

The developers typically lease the farmland at $6,000 a year for 15 years.

Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said that should be a big concern to legislators.

"My fear is we have pretty reasonable land costs here and that these are going to pop up everywhere and it’s open season because Geneses County hasn’t really established any kind of policy regarding (solar farms)," Clattenburg said. "If other counties do start doing it, then we’re going to get the brunt of it all."

Legislator Shelly Stein noted that two of the three solar farms going in are on "wet land," less than prime farmland, and that she's aware of four projects proposed in Le Roy that were turned down by National Grid because the nearest power station is over capacity already.

Hens said the typical project is 2.5 megawatts and costs $5 million to build.

How they should be assessed has yet to be established.

If the Pearl Street Road project goes forward and PILOT is instituted, it won't produce any revenue for the county before 2020, maybe in 2019.

Kevin Andrews, deputy county treasurer, said the PILOT payments won't help the county increase its overall tax levy.

"There’s no overall revenue benefit to the county at that point," Andrews said. "It’s more of a shift so the solar companies are picking up a little extra versus the rest of the taxpayers."

Photo: Taken today of a solar project under construction off State Street Road near West Saile Drive.

Residents in the City of Batavia are reporting a spate of larcenies from unlocked vehicles, according to police.

There have been reports of cars being entered from various parts of the city for at least each of the past two nights.

Police remind residents to lock their vehicles at night.

A robbery larceny is reported at Plaza Spirits, 563 E. Main St., Batavia.

Police are responding.

The suspects are described as two black males. One is wearing a black jacket, black hat and glasses. The other is in a double-lined gray hoodie and glasses.

One suspect reportedly left the scene in a maroon 2004/2005 Chevy, possibly a Malibu, westbound on East Main Street. The other was last seen walking toward McDonald's.

UPDATE (By Billie) 2:14 p.m.: After police investigators spoke with personnel at the liquor store, it was determined that this was a larceny, not a robbery. No weapon or force was used. The suspects simply grabbed a cash box and ran from the store. The two black male suspects remain at large. Both are said to be between 40 and 50 years old.

(Editor's note: The initial dispatch indicated a bank robbery.)

If you drive past the Original Red Osier Landmark Restaurant in Stafford and think its holiday lights have a bit more twinkle this year, your eyes are not deceiving you.

Owners Tim Adams and Steve Foster are adding lights this year. Last year, they had a million lights on display and decided this year to boost the number to more than 1.5 million, but when they learned the DiSalvo family was taking the year off from its annual Christmas light display, the decided to add even more lights.

Soon, they'll have installed more than two million lights.

And Adams and Foster are doing all of the installation themselves.

"It makes you feel good," Foster said. "People drive by and say how good it looks and they think we've had help. We've done it all ourselves."

"Every light passes through our hands," Adams said.

With the DiSalvos' Fargo Road display on hiatus, Adams and Foster have decided to host two community days, Dec. 4 and Dec. 11. They are inviting children and their parents to walk the grounds and take in the lights. Santa will also be on hand to greet the children. Light viewing and the visit with Santa are free.

Red Osier will also open its smaller catering trailer, the lunch trailer, to serve sandwiches, cookies and hot cocoa.

Also, the restaurant will be open on Thanksgiving, serving traditional Thanksgiving dinners, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting local charities.

Residents at 43 Tracy Ave. report an unknown type explosion in their basement.

They've been advised to evacuate.

City fire responding.

UPDATE 11:56 a.m.: Possible furnace malfunction. No smoke or flames at this time. Investigating.

Two men have reportedly been seen beating a small dog, possibly a terrier, in the area of Liberty Street.

The two men, both wearing dark clothing, are reported to now be in the area of the Pok-A-Dot.

Police are responding.

UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: Police said they arrived within two minutes of the initial call and no one was around, neither was a dog.

UPDATE 4:45 p.m.: Nicole Johnson witnessed this event and says, “Saw the whole thing at the Pok-A-Dot. Dog got away and weaving in and out of traffic on Ellicott Street. The two were chasing the dog, not beating it. Rest assured. They were hugging and kissing it when they finally got it. The young boy was in his socks running down the street to get the dog. The dog was safe! And happy to be caught by the two. No abuse was seen.”

Press release:

The New York State Department of Transportation will hold an information session on Tuesday, Nov. 28 to discuss proposed plans for a project to improve safety at the intersection of Route 77 and Ledge Road in Alabama, Genesee County. The meeting will be held in an open house format from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Alabama Fire Hall, located at 2230 Judge Road. No formal presentation will be given.

The preferred alternative is to build modern roundabout. The proposed project will improve safety at the intersection by reducing crashes. A preliminary layout of the roundabout will be available to view and discuss with NYSDOT representatives.

Construction is slated to begin in the spring of 2019.

The location is accessible for people with disabilities. If anybody requires special accommodations to participate in this public outreach, please contact Colleen Williams by Nov. 20 at 272-3363 or by e-mail at colleen.williams@dot.ny.gov

Bank Street is closed today for water line repairs.

The work will result in service disruption for some water customers in the area.

UPDATE 1:46 p.m.: Bank Street is reopened.

Investigators have yet to determine how a fire started Friday night that destroyed a barn and killed livestock at 1239 Judge Road in Alabama.

There was an initial report that somebody was seen running from the scene just before the fire broke out but Investigator Chad Minuto said no witnesses interviewed so far corroborates that story.

"We don't know where that report came from," he said.

Minuto said several interviews have been conducted and there are several more to take place to try and uncover what people know or saw. At the time, investigators from the county's Emergency Management Service are sifting through evidence to try and determine the cause and origin of the fire.

There is no evidence to emerge yet that the fire was intentionally set.

All of the horses and cows that were in the barn have been accounted for, Minuto said, but all of the rabbits, goats, and sheep, except either one goat or sheep, perished in the fire. That goat or sheep came out of the barn after the fire was out and Minuto said it's his understanding that animal may not be in good health.

Andrew Young Jr., the Alexander High School student who came up with the idea of a toaster that shoots toast onto a plate, leading to a spot as one of five finalists in a nationwide contest with a $250,000 prize, was featured on WGRZ's morning news show today.

There are only 12 days left to vote. You can vote every day on every Internet-connected device you access. Visit AndrewsInvention.com for more information and a link to the voting page.

Press release:

On Thursday, Nov. 16, the City of Batavia Water Department will be repairing a water leak on the main water line on Bank Street.

Water service will be interrupted on Bank Street from East Main Street to Washington Avenue.

Bank Street will be closed to traffic at 8 a.m. from East Main Street to the entrance of the Mall parking lot until repairs are complete. Please avoid the area if possible. Every effort will be made to keep water service interruption to a minimum.

This work may result in a period of discolored water in this general area after service is restored. Residents should check to make sure water clarity has returned before resuming activities such as laundry which may be impacted.