Category: PostNews

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ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) — Governor Kathy Hochul is set to make an announcement on the New York State FY 2023 Budget at 4:15 p.m. You can watch in the player above once it starts.

Still no finalized NYS budget

The budget was due a week ago and still has not passed. On Monday, a budget extender passed, letting state employees to continue receiving their paychecks.

Officials said the budget will address issues such as bail reform, alcohol-to-go, and a gas tax suspension.

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) — The budget was due a week ago and still has yet to pass. Officials say they’re making progress, but the big hold-up has been agreeing on issues like bail reform and a new Bills stadium.

Deal reached for new Bills stadium

On Monday, a budget extender passed, letting state employees continue receiving their paychecks. But until the budget itself is passed, state lawmakers themselves will not get paid.

Capitol Reporter Jamie Deline was told that a three-year authorization for alcohol-to-go with the purchase of food will be included, and that a gas tax suspension will take place until January, with a saving of 16 cents per gallon.

Bail reform ‘dangerousness’ clause holding up NYS budget: Lawmaker

When it comes to bail reform, sources say changes will be made for repeat offenders, guns, and hate crimes.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Returning late books to branches of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library will no longer result in late fees, starting next month.

As of May 1, fines will no longer be charged, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said.

“Fining users for returning materials late actually hurts usage by those who need it most,” he tweeted.

But for lost or damaged materials, there will still be a charge.

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) – Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz will deliver his State of the County address from the Bills’ fieldhouse at 4 p.m. You can watch live in the video player above.

Poloncarz is expected to hit on numerous topics in a nearly hour-long message, including the Bills stadium deal, plans for federal Covid relief dollars, plans to improve schools, and programs to help the county get back on its feet in an eventual post-pandemic world, among other items.

This story will be updated

BYRON, N.Y. (WIVB) — In Genesee County, a new solar farm from Excelsior Energy Center has been approved by the New York State Siting Board.

Located in Byron, this is New York’s largest solar farm approved to date. It’s a 280-megawatt farm coming at a cost of $345 million.

“The Excelsior solar farm and other renewable energy projects built or currently under development are vital to meet the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s aggressive carbon reduction and clean energy targets to combat climate change,” said Siting Board Chair Rory M. Christian. “This solar farm will benefit all New Yorkers by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, boosting clean-energy investment, creating clean-energy jobs, and improving our environment.”

New York State says 290 construction jobs and three or four full-time positions will be created.

It’s expected that this solar farm will begin putting out power starting later this year. Altogether, the plan is to have it produce enough electricity to power 74,000 average-sized homes each year.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Another Buffalo Starbucks has voted to unionize, according to organizing group Starbucks Workers United.

In what they described as a “landslide” 18-1 vote, the store at Delaware Avenue and W. Chippewa Street has become the United States’ 11th store to unionize.

Looking at just western New York, this one is number six, meaning more than half of Starbucks’ unionized American stores are in this region.

The others in the area who have unionized are located at the following locations:

Elmwood Avenue in BuffaloGenesee Street in CheektowagaWalden Avenue and Anderson Road, CheektowagaSheridan Drive and N. Bailey Avenue, AmherstTransit Road and French Road, Depew

Three more Buffalo-area Starbucks vote to unionize

Starbucks has 20 stores in the Buffalo market. The Elmwood Avenue store was the first in the whole country to unionize, while the Genesee Street one was second.

Third though, was nowhere near Buffalo. That store is located in Mesa, Arizona.

To unionize, a store needs a majority vote, which means just over 50 percent.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — TV prices are going up once again for Spectrum customers.

The reason, Spectrum says, is higher fees from TV programmers. But they say the average customer will pay less than $5 more than what they pay now.

Spectrum’s Broadcast TV Surcharge is going up to $21 a month, while Spectrum TV Select goes to $79.99 a month and Spectrum TV Receivers go to $9.99 per month.

If you’re a Spectrum customer getting a special deal through a promotion, that price will be honored.

“TV programmers continue to raise fees annually to carry their content, driving higher costs across the entire industry,” the company said in a statement to News 4. “As a direct result of the growing cost of programming from the TV networks we carry, we are passing through these increased fees to viewers.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — One of the Buffalo police officers who was shot last week is being released from ECMC.

On the night of March 29, Joseph McCarthy was struck in the abdomen by a bullet police say was fired after a lengthy chase had come to an end. After it happened, McCarthy had to be taken to the hospital for two surgeries.

After spending more than a week there, he was released Thursday morning. Dr. Jeff Brewer, a trauma surgeon at ECMC, says McCarthy is expected to be fully recovered “within a month or so.”

(Watch below as McCarthy is released from the hospital.)

The other two officers who were shot were identified as Christopher Wilson and Trevor Sheehan. Wilson’s bulletproof vest took the brunt of the damage when he was shot in the chest, but Sheehan needed surgery. He was struck in the left bicep and ear.

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn says the chase began after two officers approached 28-year-old Kente Bell’s vehicle on Ferry Street due to its tinted windows.

After being asked to get out of the vehicle, Flynn says Bell told the officers he could not due to being partially paralyzed as the result of a 2012 shooting.

Bell eventually sped off, officials say, leading officers on a chase that eventually crossed into Cheektowaga. It came to an end near Fillmore Avenue and E. Ferry Street.

DA Flynn reveals new details on high-speed chase, man accused of shooting 3 BPD officers

Since the incident, Bell and another suspect have been arrested. Bell, who was shot by police, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and three counts of attempted murder of a police officer.

At the time of his arrest, Bell had been on probation for gun possession charge out of Amherst.

In addition to the injuries suffered during this incident, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia says nine police vehicles were struck by gunfire. In all, 19 crime scenes had to be processed, Gramaglia says.

And according to the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, 16 officers were put on administrative leave after firing their weapons. As part of the Buffalo Police Department’s protocol, an officer must be placed on administrative leave after discharging their gun.

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — New York State police are looking to add more members to their ranks.

To help accomplish this, they’ll be holding a recruitment event this Saturday at the Walden Galleria.

It’s happening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and happens to be the day before the deadline to register for the New York State Police Exam.

One of the Troopers on hand to discuss a career with the State police will be Dominic Cianfrini, a western New York native who graduated from the NYS 210th Academy last month.

To qualify to be a State trooper, you must be in your twenties. But for anyone who served in the military, the maximum age allowance will be extended for every year of full-time active duty, up to seven years.

Other requirements include being a U.S. citizen and having a high school diploma or the equivalent. For a full list of qualifications, click or tap here.

Anyone interested in speaking with State police this weekend can find them at the NYSP Recruitment Center on the lower level across from Dave & Buster’s.

RICHBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) — An investigation into a contractor who worked in Allegany and Cattaraugus counties, as well as northern Pennsylvania, has led to an arrest.

Richburg resident Jesse Smyers, 31, has been accused of scheming to defraud, grand larceny, issuing a bad check, and being a fugitive from justice in Pennsylvania.

New York State police started investigating his business, Smyers Contracting, in January.

“Smyers collected over $200,000 in both money and supplies for jobs that he either never completed or completed so poorly that they had to be torn down and re-done by a separate contractor,” State police said.

In addition to this, police say he issued a number of bad checks with insufficient funds to lumber companies and other businesses.

After his arrest, Smyers was arraigned and released on his own recognizance. He’s due back in court in June.

Anyone who hired Smyers as a contractor and feels they were scammed is encouraged to call police at (585) 344-6200.