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Local tattoo artist working to organize community event against bath salts

By Howard B. Owens

Eric Betz says he and a lot of his friends are pretty unhappy with what they're seeing in Batavia right now.

Betz wants to do something about it: raise awareness of the dangers of bath salts and send a message that not everybody who enjoys an alternative lifestyle approves of this behavior.

"We don't want people who enjoy their freedom of expression to be equated to these scumbags," Betz said.

He's working on organizing a community event sometime soon that he hopes will bring the community together to rally against bath salts.

He said a few local businesses, such as Bourbon & Burger, Foxprowl Collectables and CPR Computer, have signed on to support the event. Next he wants to talk to the City of Batavia to get permission to hold the event in Austin Park. 

He's also looking for a donation of a car that people can take a whack at with a sledge hammer as a "your brain on bath salts" message.

At $5 a hammer swing, Betz is hoping to raise money for GCASA or another substance abuse program.

Betz, manager and a tattoo artist for Affliction Ink, 440 Ellicott St., Batavia, said "almost every one of my clients is against this crap."

Affliction Ink is owned by Eric Weiss. Both Weiss and Betz are former employees of The Laughing Buddha (440 Ellicott is the Buddha's original location) who left their jobs there, Betz said, because they were concerned about Jason Lang allegedly selling synthetic marijuana. 

Now they're just down the street from 420 Emporium (located at 400 Ellicott St.), which Betz believes has sold bath salts, and he said if they were or are, it's bad for the neighborhood.

People sometimes confuse the two businesses, he said, and he wants to make the distinction clear. Affliction Ink has nothing to do with bath salts, he said, though some people still come into the store looking to buy packages of the narcotic.

"It's getting out of hand," Betz said. "We see people walk by every day high on this stuff. It's disgusting."

One of the big dangers of bath salts, Betz said, is that it makes people paranoid and they might act irrationally, making them a danger not just to themselves but anybody in the community.

"We want to raise awareness about it," Betz said. "I'm tired of hearing people saying they want to leave Batavia because of it. This is my home. I love it here."

Rich Clark of CPR Computers has set up a Facebook page for the planned event, "Let's Beat Bath Salts."

UPDATE: The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., July 28, at L&L Transmission, 8781 Alexander Road, Batavia.  Additional businesses supporting the event: Neptunes Gardens Pet Shop, Rochester Metal Booking, B-Town Yellow Taxi, My T-Shirts Etc.  Also, I'm told I got Eric's profession wrong. He does piercings for Affliction Ink.

Photos: On the job, sealing a driveway

By Howard B. Owens

In California, I didn't see many asphalt driveways. For whatever reason, most homeowners there prefer concrete (weather, I imagine, is a factor).

It didn't take long after moving to Western New York to figure out that here asphalt is the preferred surface for driveways, and if you're a homeowner who takes routine maintenance seriously, you periodically get your driveway sealed.

A couple of years ago I suggested to Scott Kopper, owner of WNY Blacktop Sealers, that I come out to one of his jobs some time and take a few pictures and learn a little bit about why sealing an asphalt driveway is important. This morning, we actually finally got together for one of his jobs.

Here's what he told me: "A blacktop drive way is a big investment and you want to protect that investment. What blacktop sealing does, not only does it look good, but it makes your driveway more resistant to oil, gas leaks, power steering fluid, and it doesn't oxidize as quickly from the sun beating on it, which means it doesn't crack and break as easily. "

I was surprised to learn the sun does more damage to asphalt than winter salt and snow. Winter damage occurs when a driveway does crack and then ice gets into those cracks, expands and makes them worse.

Josh Dibble was helping Scott this morning at a residence on Vine Street.

GCEDC approves tax exemptions for companies in Le Roy and Attica

By Howard B. Owens

Projects approved by Genesee County Economic Development Center:

Triple F Services (Falcone Family Funeral): Sales tax exemption on materials, $27,200; mortgage tax exemption, $6,250; property tax exemption, $0. Falcone is planning on investing $602,000 to build a 4,500-square-foot funeral home in the Town of Le Roy. The company is planning to apply for property tax assistance through the Town of Le Roy. Projected new jobs: three.

Upstate Dodge Chrysler and Jeep, Inc.: Sales tax exemption, $24,800; mortgage tax exemption, $0; property tax exemption, $0. Upstate is planning on making a $655,000 investment to renovate an existing building at 125 Prospect St., Attica (Genesee County) and relocate its existing dealership from 15 West Ave., Attica (Wyoming County). Projected new jobs: 17.

Local dairy farmers looking for increased demand with opening of yogurt plants

By Howard B. Owens

Will Greek yogurt mean a boom for local dairy farmers? Marwa Eltagouri takes a look at that question for the Buffalo News.

Local dairy farmers Gordon Offhaus and Dale Stein are featured.

In order to keep up with the Greek yogurt demand, it is estimated that milk produced by Western New York farmers must increase by 15 percent over the next four to five years, said Dave Dean Norton, president of the New York State Farm Bureau.

Since there isn't enough milk in the state right now to feed the Alpina Foods and PepsiCo plants, the plants will have to pay additional costs to freight the milk in from another state, likely Michigan, said Stein, the farmer from Le Roy.

The article is full of useful information to know if this segment of the local economy is important to you.

Photos: Out with the old, in with the new for landmark Batavia Downs sign

By Howard B. Owens

Workers this morning carefully dismantled the landmark Batavia Downs sign atop the roof of the grandstand of the legendary racetrack.

The neon sign is being replaced with a more energy efficient and less costly LCD sign that has been fabricated to exactly match the lettering of the old sign.

Ryan Hasenauer, marketing director for Western Regional OTB, said officials plan to keep the B and the D from the old sign and display them in some manner on the property, but the future of the remaining letters of the sign has yet to be determined.

Bottom photo: The first two letters of the new sign, time permitting, will be fitted into place some time today.

Photo: Winner of Toys for Kids raffle picked at Southside Deli

By Howard B. Owens

Joy Hale is this year's winner of the annual Don Carroll's Toys for Kids lottery ticket basket raffle. The basket contained more than $200 in scratchers and gift certificates (not counting potential winnings, of course). Hale's ticket was drawn by Jeff Heubusch, owner of Southside Deli, who donated the lottery tickets. Above, Carroll, left, and Heubusch.

Gillibrand tours Alpina, says she's excited by signs of local economic growth

By Howard B. Owens

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand spent some time in Western New York on Tuesday, including at least two stops in Batavia.

Gillibrand met with area Democratic leaders for lunch at Larry's Steakhouse and then toured the Alpina Products factory under construction at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The facility, which will produce Greek yogurt and other dairy products, is nearing completion and should open in late August or September.

Gillibrand said seeing what is happening at the ag park -- which includes construction of a dairy production facility across the road from Alpina by PepsiCo and the Theo Muller Group -- is "really exciting."

"It's such an opportunity for agricultural growth in this region," Gillibrand said. "Not only is Greek yogurt production one of the fastest growing products in New York, but nationwide, and it's so well located with all of our dairies that are so close by. It makes business sense. Not only do we have a great workforce, but we have a great product, so it's going to be exciting to create these jobs, to have this industry grow in Western New York."

While there's been conflicting reports on whether New York dairies can produce enough milk to meet the demands of the new and existing Greek yogurt factories in the state, Gillibrand said she believes the dairies can meet the demand.

She said she has also introduced legislation to help New York's small dairies increase production without driving up their insurance costs.

Currently, if a small dairy wants to add a significant number of milk-producing cows, they're going to hit a cap on production imposed by insurance rules.

Gillibrand's legislation would remove the cap.

"That might give the ability of a small dairy to go up to 300 or 400 cows to meet the needs of their customers," Gillibrand said. "That would make a big difference for these projects."

Yogurt producers, Gillibrand said, don't want the expense of trucking in milk from other states to keep their production lines going and her legislation would keep the local milk flowing, she said, adding that there would be no regulatory burdens for small dairies to grow to meet local demand.

Steve Hyde, CEO of Genesee County Economic Development Center, also introduced Gillibrand to the STAMP project -- the 1,300 acre high-tech/nano-tech park that has been in planning for five years.

The senator took quite an interest in the project. She noted that with New York's previous success in Luther Forest -- the nano-tech corridor developing between Buffalo and Albany -- the surrounding technology-oriented university system, and the investment already made in the project, STAMP has a good chance to attract major manufacturers.

It was a validation of how the community and region came together on the ag park to have Gillibrand in Batavia on Tuesday to tour the Alpina facility.

"It’s really kind of heartwarming because this ag park was really nine-and-a-half years in the making," Hyde said. "Once we found a way to get it all done, get it funded, get it built, having two very significant manufacturing projects land in our back yard – like we talked about today, talk about the multiplier effect, Alpina’s working with OA-T-KA, and Stueben Food and a company in Rochester on packaging -- it’s just really really awesome."

BID awards four facade improvement grants

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

The Batavia Business Improvement District has awarded four more façade improvement grants to its downtown businesses. The recipients are: Kenneth Mistler, owner of City Slickers, 59 Main St.; Rich Clark of CPR (Computer & Phone Repair), 216 E. Main Street; Paul Marchese, Marchese Computer Products, 220 Ellicott St.; and Gerald and Thomas Williams, The Williams Law Firm, 2 Court St. Plaza.    

They received the following matching funds for improvements to their structures: Ken Mistler and City Slickers - $1,944 for new signage on the front and rear of his building; CPR - $286.69 for signage on their frontage; Marchese Computer - $1,205 for signage and gooseneck lighting; and Williams Law Firm - $1,487.50 for awnings on the second floor. These funds were awarded based upon the Business Improvement District’s design guidelines.  

The Batavia Business Improvement District is a not-for-profit, municipal / business incorporated association. It was established back in 1997 by a group of business owners to make improvements above and beyond what the municipality was normally responsible for.

B.I.D. provides programs, events and economic benefits to more than 190 downtown property owners and tenants. It has contributed greatly to the renewed vitality of downtown, the preservation of the character of its structures and development of its streetscapes.

According to Don Burkel, downtown manager, these improvements demonstrate a long-term commitment by these business owners to downtown and positive steps for its future. Eighty-seven businesses within the district have benefitted from this program and received more than $323,380 in funding. You also have to consider that these businesses have reinvested in total project costs of over $2,450,935 in Batavia’s downtown, which is pretty impressive.

Batavia native opens design studio, engraving business and product prototype workshop

By Howard B. Owens

Frank Kulikowski has been planning and preparing to open his own design studio since 2008.

The Batavia native graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 2005, worked in the design field with other companies, designed and patented a product that's sold on QVC and then returned to Batavia with the idea of taking all he's learned and opening his own business.

Kulikowski did that this week when he opened Frankly Design at the corner of Ellicott Street and Otis Street. (His shop is right behind Foxprowl Collectables and Affliction Ink -- decades ago, the building was the location of Ellicott Street Manor, a restaurant owned by Kulikowski's grandfather.)

Frankly Design's services include logo creation, complete design services for business branding and marketing, laser engraving and product design.

Laser engraving and product design are two areas in which Kulikowski believes he can carve out a unique niche in Batavia.

Kulikowski said he can engrave any sort of wood, glass or other hard surface with logos or messages of personal interest -- such as a headstone for a deceased pet or a cutting board as a custom anniversary or wedding present, or companies and sports organizations might need glass or acrylic awards.

Fans of QVC might recognize Kulikowski's most successful product design project. In 2008, Kulikowski came up with the Tilt-Pot. It's a pot with a pivoting strainer. The design gives cooks an easy way to boil food, such as pasta, and then drain the water without losing any food or getting scalded.

There's no other product design studio in Batavia, Kulikowski said, and he has the background and knowledge to help a product idea get from a concept to a design on paper and finally a prototype that can be shown to companies that might build or market the product.

"I like taking products and making something that’s never been made before," Kulikowski said. "It’s like, ‘Why don’t they make it this way?’ and then take it to the next step, make a prototype, pitch it to companies."

Kulikowski's new business is located at 440 Ellicott St., Batavia, and his phone number is (585) 343-6336.

Photos: Sneak peek at new Batavia Downs signs

By Howard B. Owens

Officials with Western Regional OTB, Batavia Downs and invited guests were in Rochester today for a ribbon cutting and unveiling of the work done so far on the new marquee signs for Batavia Downs.

The work is being completed by Premier Sign Systems.

Ryan Hasenauer, director of marketing for Batavia Downs, provided the pictures.

New regional business growth program seeks applicants ready for the next level

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE) announces the launch of the GRE Regional Economic Gardening Program. The first of its kind in New York State, the program focuses on fostering business growth throughout the Greater Rochester Region by providing free assistance to companies in expansion mode.

In order to participate in the GRE Regional Economic Gardening Program, second-stage companies must:

  • be for-profit and privately held;
  • headquartered and operating in Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming or Yates counties;
  • generate between $700,000 and $50 million in annual revenue;
  • employ between five and 100 employees;
  • have maintained principal operations in the nine-county Greater Rochester Region for a minimum of two years;
  • demonstrate growth in employment and/or revenue for at least two of the past five years;
  • and provide products and/or services to markets outside of the Greater Rochester.

“In addition to attracting new businesses, the best way to grow a region’s economy is through business expansion,” said GRE President and CEO Mark S. Peterson. “The GRE Regional Economic Gardening Program will allow companies to expand in the Greater Rochester, N.Y. Region, leading to more job creation and economic growth.”

A group of 20 second-stage businesses will be selected to take part in the program. A team of national experts provided by the Edward Lowe Foundation will work with selected companies to develop a plan to further accelerate their business success.

Participating companies will have access to a free suite of high-end, high-speed technical assistance, including help identifying qualified sales leads; mapping to facilitate targeted marketing efforts; reviewing core strategies related to commodity and niche markets; analyzing employee temperament to build strong management teams and recruit talent; examining social media utilization; and search engine optimization guidance.

Applications must be submitted online at http://rochesterbiz.com/gardening.

Program partners include: the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency;
County of Orleans Industrial Development Agency; Edward Lowe Foundation; Empire State Development; Finger Lakes Economic Development Center; Genesee County Economic Development Center; Livingston County Development Group; Ontario County Industrial Development Agency; Orleans Economic Development Agency; Seneca County Industrial Development Agency; Wayne County Industrial Development Agency; Wyoming County Business Center; and the Wyoming County Industrial Development Agency.

GRE received $200,000 for the economic gardening program from New York State through the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council.

Located in the heart of New York’s technology corridor, Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE) is a public-private partnership established to professionally market the Rochester metropolitan region as a competitive, high-profile place for business location and growth.

Its efforts support business attraction and expansion as well as entrepreneurship and innovation. GRE collaborates with businesses, universities, not-for-profit organizations and government leaders to ensure a unified approach to regional economic development.

For more information, please go to www.RochesterBiz.com <http://www.rochesterbiz.com/>.

UMMC to open urgent care facility in Batavia on July 2

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center is pleased to announce that Urgent Care Services will open at the Jerome Center located at 16 Bank St., Batavia on July 2. Urgent Care will be co-located with Laboratory and Medical Imaging Services.

Urgent Care services are a cost effective and convenient way for patients to receive quality medical care when their primary care physician is unavailable and they do not want to spend time waiting in an emergency room to be treated for a non-life-threatening injury or illness. Co-payments for urgent care are typically less than emergency room co-pays.

UMMC’s Urgent Care Center in Batavia will be well equipped to treat a variety of ailments, including sprains and fractures; cuts and lacerations, animal and insect bites and stings, cold and influenza symptoms; ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, asthma, sore throats/strep and mono and influenza vaccines.

Urgent Care at the Jerome Center will be supported by United Memorial’s state-of-the-art medical imaging services, the most advanced in Genesee County. The Jerome Center is conveniently located in the heart of Downtown Batavia. It offers handicap accessibility, convenient parking, a gift shop and refreshment kiosk.

In July 2010, United Memorial opened Genesee County’s first Urgent Care Center at 3 Tountas Ave., Le Roy. There were more than 5,000 patient visits to the Urgent Care Center in Le Roy during 2011. This volume had no noticeable impact on the number of emergency room patients treated at United Memorial during the same time period.

Both Urgent Care centers will operate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.

Local real estate investor purchases old St. Nick's Club with hope of getting another club going

By Howard B. Owens

Jeremy Yasses really misses those Friday afternoon lunches with his dad at St. Nick's, and after a while, he figured the only way he was going to get them back was if he bought the building on South Swan Street, Batavia, and provided the help to reopen it.

Today, Yasses closed on his $40,000 purchase, which included the contents of the building.

At 6 p.m., June 24, Yasses will host a meeting at the St. Nicholas for anybody who is interested in talking about forming a new club.

So far, he said, many former St. Nick's members have expressed interest in getting the club going again.

Yasses has also tried contacting former Elks Lodge members about sharing the space, but so far the response from the Elks has been cool.

"I'm willing to give free rent or a free lease for some period of time," Yasses said. "I really want to get the club going again. If that doesn't happen, well, OK, I have other people interested in the building."

Yasses said there are doctors interested in the space, or it might work for a veterinarian's office, and of course with all the space, the kitchen and large parking lot, it would also work for a restaurant. Whatever the space becomes, Yasses said, it needs to fit the zoning for the sake of the residential neighbors.

Recently, Yasses renovated a house at 38 Montclair St., Batavia, that he purchased out of an estate sale. Prior to that, he renovated a house on Ellicott Street that he purchased at a city tax lien auction.

"I've gotten only positive feedback (from city officials) on the properties I'm going to flip or renovate," Yasses said.

He said the initial feedback from the city has been supportive of his purchase and plans for the St. Nick's building.

Officially, if the new club is formed, it can't be known as the St. Nicholas Club. That business name has too many judgements against it and there are too many vendors that won't work with that business any longer.

Still, Yasses is hopeful the club -- if not in name, at least in spirit -- can be revived.

"I was a member, my dad was a member and my granddad was a member," Yasses said. "My idea is if we can get 300 members -- I believe they had 500 or 600 members when they shut down -- get 300 members to give $100, that's 30 grand. That will get the place going."

GCEDC announces incentives for four area business expansions

By Howard B. Owens

Genesee County Economic Development Center has approved the following projects for development incentives:

Batavia Animal Hospital (Perry Vet), 3699 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, is constructing a new 6,300-square-foot facility behind its current building. The project will receive a sales tax exemption of $76,960, a mortgage tax exemption of $16,250 and a property tax exemption of $80,994. Perry Vet is investigating $1.733 million in the project. The project will create five new jobs and retain 11 jobs.

Merrill Lynch, 24 Masse Place, Batavia, is moving into new office space. Merrill Lynch is receiving a $13,360 sales tax exemption. The company's total investment is $867,000. The project will create 16 new jobs.

Genesee & Mohawk Railroad - GVT, 100 Evans St., Batavia, is adding a 2,800-square-foot headquarters building next to a 31,000-square-foot transload warehouse constructed in 2008 for $2 million. The headquarters project will receive $13,600 in sales tax exemption, $3,750 mortgage tax exemption and $42,762 property tax exemption.The company is investing $360,000. The project will create two new jobs and retain 19.

Le Roy Motors, 7000 W. Main Road, Le Roy, is expanding its current facility by 2,400 square feet and renovating its interior. Le Roy Motors will receive $33,600 sales tax exemption, $9,375 mortgage tax exemption and a $29,631 property tax exemption. The company is investing $785,000. The project will create three new jobs and retain 35 jobs.

Turnbull employees get tune-up in customer service at BEST Center

By Howard B. Owens

If you happened by GCC this morning and saw the entire fleet of Turnbull Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration trucks on the parking lot -- no, the college was not undergoing some sort of massive HAVC overhaul.

Owner Bill Hayes, rather, had his entire crew out at the BEST Center this morning getting customer service training.

It's one of several programs offered by BEST to local businesses. Customer service is available to individuals or companies, which can bring their entire staff in for training that's specific to the company, Director Ray Chaya said.

"Sometimes, the best customer service is just better internal communication," Chaya said.

The training not only helps employees communicate with each other better, but with customers, and it stresses the importance of product knowledge, and dealing with customers who might be impatient or irritated.

Chaya said good customer service can also lead to more sales -- when employees have good product knowledge and know how to communicate what they know, it helps customers see the benefits of upgraded purchases.

"You want good customer service because you want people to come back, and word of mouth will help get new customers," Chaya said, "but more knowledge can also lead to more sales."

While Turnbull has long had a reputation for good customer service, Hayes said he's never put his employees through this sort of training before. He called the training program a "Turnbull Tune-Up."

"Nobody is perfect," Hayes said. "There's always room for improvement. We never want to fall down on customer service one iota."

"The BEST Center has some of the most intelligent and knowledgeable people and that's what they do -- they help businesses and people be better themselves. That's why it's the BEST Center."

It was scary, Hayes said, to completely shut down his business for half a day, but it was worth it. His answering service reported back that customers understood.

"Who would have thought when we scheduled this four months ago for a heating and air conditioning company, it would have been the hottest day of the year," Hayes said.

"My employees came out of there feeling very comfortable about where they need to go from here with customer service," Hayes added.

Photos: Fresh, juicy strawberries on a bright, beautiful Friday morning

By Howard B. Owens

Three-year-old Sam Stisser of Le Roy, enjoys a juicy, fresh strawberry just off the stem at Duyssen Family Farm in Le Roy. Sam was there to pick strawberries with his mother, Kari, who said she brings her three kids out to the farm a few times during the week during strawberry season.

Below, Carissa Graham, 4, was also out at the farm picking strawberries with her mother.

UMMC awarded 'Gold Seal' for meeting health care standards

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™ for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognizes United Memorial’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s advanced standards.

United Memorial underwent a rigorous unannounced on-site survey in late January 2012. A team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated UMMC for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

"Achieving Joint Commission accreditation, demonstrates United Memorial’s commitment to the highest level of care for our patients," said Mark C. Schoell, CEO of United Memorial. "With Joint Commission accreditation, we are making a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down. Achieving Joint Commission accreditation, for our organization, is a major step toward maintaining excellence and continually improving the care we provide.”

The Joint Commission’s hospital standards address important functions relating to the care of patients and the management of hospitals. The standards are developed in consultation with health care experts, providers, measurement experts and patients.

United Memorial has received accreditation for three years, from January 28, 2012 to January 27, 2015.

Senate Majority leader visits Batavia to help announce $2 million for STAMP

By Howard B. Owens

Dignitaries from throughout the county were at the Upstate Med-Tech Center today for the official announcement of $2 million in funding for the STAMP project in Alabama.

The project, if successful, is expected to produce thousands of jobs and the round of funding will help pay for grading and infrastructure improvements for a portion of 1,300 acres targeted for development.

"The investment we’re making today will make STAMP a shovel-ready, high-tech industrial megasite," said Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (top photo), who traveled to Batavia today for the announcement. "Long Island, the Hudson Valley and Capitol Region communities are already attracting high-tech companies and high-paying jobs."

STAMP is intended to attract high-tech/clean-tech and nano-enabled manufacturing and Genesee Economic Development Center CEO Steve Hyde (top inset photo) projects an eventual 10,000 jobs at the site, with support and supply chain jobs from Buffalo to Rochester adding another 20,000 positions.

STAMP is most often compared to Luther Forest in Saratoga. According to GCEDC, Luther Forest, in the past five years, has seen $1.5 billion in private investment, and more than 2,000 jobs created.

"Once we bring that site to what we call ‘shovel-ready light’ we will be ready to market the project to some of the largest semi-conductor manufacturers in the world," Hyde said.

Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer (second inset photo) thanked Skelos for helping secure the funding for STAMP and said the project has the potential to transform the region.

"This is really critical funding that will keep the project going and keep it on track," Ranzenhofer said. "We’re a step closer today than we were previously to making sure we develop scientific and technological manufacturing jobs in the future here in Genesee County. I’d rather see them developed right here between Rochester and Buffalo than in another state or another country."

Following the announcement, Skelos and Ranzenhofer met with local and regional media and discussed a variety of issues.

On Cuomo's plan to decriminalize possession of personal use marijuana, both Skelos and Ranzenhofer are adamantly opposed to the measure.

"When you talk to lot of drug counselors, they tell you marijuana leads to a lot of other kinds of addictions with heavier drugs," Skelos said. 

He added, "I don’t believe in legalizing drugs that the federal government has said are destructive to lives."

Ranzenofer said he's following the lead of GCASA in opposing decriminalizing possession.

"They felt strongly that this type of thing is a gateway drug for the very kind of people they’re trying to treat in our communities," Ranzenhofer said. "The experts in our community don’t believe that it is proper legislation and I’ll certainly defer to the experts in our community."

Even though polls show most New Yorkers support losing marijuana laws, Skelos said "the voters in my district on Long Island are not knocking down the door saying legalize marijuana."

On the ethics complaint against Sen. Ranzenhofer: Skelos said he has not received a copy of the complaint filed by Michelle McCulloch, even though it was sent to his office by registered mail. Ranzenhofer said he also has not yet seen it. 

Skelos called the firing of McCulloch, a mother of four children, a "personnel change." He said, "We all make personnel changes in our lives. I’ve done it. We’ve all done it."

Asked about his statement to a Buffalo TV station that McCulloch "knows why she was fired," even though he's said he wouldn't discuss a personnel matter, Ranzenhofer wouldn't comment further, except to say, "It wasn't for political activity."

He also said he's never directed anybody to gather signatures or petitions for Chris Collins, who is running in the NY-27 GOP primary against David Bellavia.

"People have volunteered for the past 50 years," Ranzenhofer said. "I've never directed anybody to do that."

On mandate relief for counties, particularly Medicaid: Skelos said the state simply can't afford to pick up its share of Medicaid costs.

He said NYS has already provided relief to counties, first by capping annual increases at 3 percent, then by agreeing to phase out the local mandate increase.

Counties promised each time not to ask for more help with Medicaid, Skelos said.

"They should be reminded that just a couple of years ago they said, ‘we’re fine,’ we’ll never need to come back again," Skelos said.

Skelos said reporters should ask federal elected officials why some states get 80-percent reimbursement for Medicaid while New York gets only 50 percent.

The Batavian happened to already have an interview scheduled with Rep. Kathy Hochul for this afternoon and we asked Hochul that question.

Hochul said that as a former town board member and former county clerk, she certainly understands the need for mandate relief, but the reason New York doesn't get more help from the federal government is the state has instituted a number of services and programs within Medicaid that are not required. Those additional programs drive up the costs for both the state and counties.

On another unfunded mandate issue, Skelos did agree that if proposed creation of a youth court division in NY's counties goes through, the state should pay for the additional cost. Officials estimate the new court will cost more than $1 million in Genesee County.

On efforts to increase the state's minimum wage, Skelos said he remains opposed to the idea.

"My concern is that if we raise the minimum wage with the fragile economy we have, there would actually be a loss of jobs," Skelos said. "Fifty percent of the people earning minimum wage are young people, age 16 to 24, and the last time we raised the minimum wage, 22 percent of them lost their jobs."

Professor Mike Jackson, RIT, presented officials with framed, commemorative computer chips.

Photos: Johnny Bananas at City Slickers

By Howard B. Owens

MTV reality show star Johnny Bananas dropped into City Slickers in Downtown Batavia tonight. Bananas made the appearance to help support the new restaurant's opening week. The star of shows such as "Real World" signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans.

Owner Ken Mistler said a big crowd showed up during the piano bar portion of the evening for the restaurant and bar's first Saturday night, even though there was a two-hour power outage downtown.

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