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Roger Muehlig reports that the Genesee County Economic Development Center is selling its Mill Street headquarters and will lease back its office space from new owners.

The move paves the way for the property to move back onto the tax roles.

The  price: $675,000. The buyer: Harris Mill Street Properties.

A mortgage tax and sliding scale property tax exemptions package approved by GCEDC directors for the sale totals about $187,745. The largest part of that is an estimated $180,995 in property taxes on a sliding scale over a 10-year period.

The agency is considering relocation within the next three years to one of its other project locations.

Muehlig says that more than 35 new companies have been launched from the business incubator the GCEDC runs from the location.

The agency is working on at least three major development project in Genesee County.

The National Weather Service has issued a weather advisory for Genesee County with chances of freezing mist and a wind child factor of 5 degrees.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND WEATHER OBSERVATIONS AT NIAGARA FALLS AIRPORT INDICATE THIS FREEZING MIST TO BE SPREADING TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE NIAGARA FRONTIER. THIS COULD RESULT IN ICY SPOTS ON AREA ROADS, ESPECIALLY UNTREATED OVERPASSES AND THE LESS TRAVELED ROADS. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO BE EXTRA CAREFUL OF THESE ICY CONDITIONS AND PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE DISTANCE BETWEEN VEHICLES, AND SLOW DOWN IN HEAVIER TRAFFIC. SIDEWALKS AND PARKING LOTS MAY ALSO BECOME SLICK AND SLIPPERY, SO BE CAREFUL WALKING EARLY THIS MORNING. THE ICY CONDITIONS SHOULD DIMINISH BY MID MORNING.

Anthony Dimarzo, 18, of Byron was arrested yesterday in his home at 6404 Millpond Road, for allegedly possessing marijuana.

The arrest by Sheriff's deputies came after a probation office reported his suspicion that Dimarzo had marijuana in his house.

Dimarzo is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 5.

WBTA reports on a two-truck accident at the intersection of Routes 98 and 262, with some diesel fuel being spilled.

The accident occurred just before 6:30.

School bus service was not disrupted, but traffic is being rerouted and motorist are being asked to avoid the area.

Tune into WBTA this morning for updates.

We heard from a few sources that one of the hang ups the Daily News ran into was getting its print classifieds online.  This, we hear, delayed the launch of the web site, and when the Daily launched on Tuesday, classifieds were not part of the launch.

That's not surprising -- many newspapers have struggled with getting legacy ad systems to transfer files cleanly to online systems.

It looks like the Daily has worked out the kinks -- the ads are now online.

Dan and Debbie Fischer sure know how to throw a party.

There was plenty of food and laughs tonight at 113 E. Main St., in the studio of Batavia's WBTA.

The radio station hosted the Chamber's monthly mixer and made sure all guests were quite entertained.

Below, Dan received a certificate of recognition from the Chamber for hosting the event.

I spotted this mural on Swan Street in Batavia a few days ago and was taken by the idea that it was probably painted prior to 9/11, and it's still there -- on what is otherwise a pretty run-down old building.  The mural, which consists of two panels of the New York City skyline, is signed "John Howard."

Everybody loves a good auction, and at this time of year, an auction can be a great way to pick up an interesting present.

Batavia's WBTA is holding another of its periodic auctions this Saturday. For rules, information and a list of the items up for grabs, visit WBTA1490.com.

Among the many interesting items:

• Gift certificates from Center of Attention Auto Spa
• NY Trailways Casino Bus Trip
• Gift certificates from Batavia Restaurant Supply
• Various items from Flowers by Dick Burton
• Two $50 gift certificates from Valle Jewelers
• Three-month membership to the YMCA
• Party of 10 at the Jell-O Factory Paint Ball
• Gift certificates (wine only) from Mr. Wine and Liquor

Buffalo Pundit links to a story about the economic hard times in Detroit and draws a comparison with Western New York.

From the Time.com story:

When a state lives with a story line of decline for so long, it doesn’t just affect the mood. It becomes part of the culture. Whereas America’s history has been one of expanding horizons, yours has become funnel-shaped. Much like the postbellum South, Rust Belt culture looks backward at an idealized past–a nostalgia not for plantations but for three-bedroom houses paid up on blue collar salaries. (See pictures of the remains of Detroit.)

“It used to be you could get a job at one of those factories, even without an education, and make a decent living to support your family,” says letter carrier Dina Schueller, 33, of Saranac. Now her husband has been laid off from his construction job, and her brother moved to Maryland for work. Like many left-behind Michiganders, she’ll be seeing fewer family members this season.

We've had discussions about the future of Western New York before, and I know some people are skeptical that the local economy can ever grow again, but when you look at efforts to bring new manufacturing businesses to Batavia and Alabama, for example, then it's hard not to be hopeful that renewed growth is a real possibility.

WNY has a lot going for it, such as natural resources, open spaces, an available work force, affordable housing.  There's no reason there can't be a renaissance of sorts.

Philip visited the Genesee County Economic Development Council today and is working on a post now about some of the things GCEDC is doing to help expand business opportunities in the county.

Here's one of the more interesting free classifieds placed on The Batavian yet:

I am will to trade charges from the Batavia Police for the return of the brown box that was stolen from my truck on Friday night.

Here's to hoping Richard Clark of Alexandar is able to make the swap.

For any of our readers who stopped by our booth at Christmas in the City and answered the question on video of "What Christmas means to you?" and you're wondering why we haven't posted that video ... truth is, I lost it.

I remember just before leaving the office, I stuck the tape in my jacket poket, but didn't have it the next afternoon when I went to edit the video.  I was afraid, or hoped, I left in my truck, which I took in for service Saturday morning and didn't get back until last night.

It wasn't in the truck.

So I double checked the office.

Today, I stopped in at Sunny's, where Hilly and I went for dinner that night, to see if it fell out of my pocket there -- no luck.

Well, there's always next year ...

A double-occupancy residence at the corner of Elm and Fisher Park was gutted in a fire that was reported at 7:40 a.m.

Both families evacuated themselves without incident according to Batavia Fire Chief Thomas Dillon, who said the fire was a hard one to fight because of the age of the building.

No injuries, either to the families or firefighters, were reported.

We'll have a video interview with the chief posted within an hour. (as you can see, video now up) The Daily News has three photos posted, but no additional information.

UPDATE: Here's a Google Street view of the location.

View Larger Map

UPDATE II:  Photo of the aftermath:

After months of "we'll have a web site soon" -- some tell us years -- the Batavia Daily News finally does. 

The site launched some time in the past two hours.

The site, hosted by Town News, which is a favorite content management system used by many small publishers, is rather basic.  The platform offers limited ability for big news packages or posting breaking news.

But the daily will offer comments on stories, at least for now. However, the registration process is rather lengthy and submissions are held in a moderation queue pending approval, a process often used by papers on Town News, but tends to inhibit community conversation.

We'll see if the comment I just left on a Joanne Beck story gets posted!

Of course, Daily News staffers are always welcome to leave comments on The Batavian.

Many people have asked me what the launch of the Daily News site means for The Batavian. To me, it only bodes well.  The Daily is going to help create more community interest in local online news, which means many, many more people will find The Batavian and like the different way we handle news.

Go take a look at the site and let us know what you think of it.

UPDATE: They did publish my comment ... at least for now.