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Albany Times-Union: Two doctors in Albany to promote law to allow aid in dying

After the accident in Stafford this evening, I grabbed a couple of barn shots.

The white barn, above, is on Randall Road. 

The "Will You Marry Me?" barn is on Route 237 near Morganville. I knocked on the door of the residence to try and get more information but nobody was home.

Batavia's newest retail store promises to offer local shoppers unique items for the home, as gifts or perhaps, something special for yourself.

The business, at 202 E. Main St. (Masonic Temple, next to Charles Men's Shop), is really two stores in one and the result of a cooperative agreement between Leanna DiRisio and Ashley Bateman.

The Hidden Door is DiRisio's business and offers rustic, old-timey items that will add tasteful flare to home decor, and Pollyanna & Dot is Bateman's business and offers primarily new dresses in vintage styles.

"We thought this would be a great start for a new business," DiRisio said. "It's kind of like an incubator and if maybe we both grow a little bigger we can go out on our own."

Bateman said Mary Valle (Valle's Jewelry) brought DiRisio and Batemen together and suggested they find a way to partner to pursue their shared dream of owning their own retail shops.

The two aspiring entrepreneurs met, but weren't initially sure it would work out, but as time went on and they thought about it more, the idea started to make more sense.

Both have young children and by working together they can coordinate times to keep the shop open and take care of their kids and other family needs. 

"For me, it's always been something that I've wanted to do and I just figured with the changes going on my life, that if I don't do it now, I would never do it," said DiRisio, who praised a six-week entrepreneur-training program set up by the Batavia Development Corp. at Genesee Community College for giving her the confidence to move forward.

Batemen also thought this was the time to act rather than wait.

"There's a renaissance here that's happening and if we don't do it now, somebody else will, so we wanted to get here first," Bateman said.

The grand opening celebration for Pollyanna & Dot and The Hidden Door is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday.

Article by Zachary Lee, an aspiring journalist and contestant in Mr. Batavia.

It’s finally here: the Mr. Batavia contest will be held at 7 p.m. April 15th — be there.

Mr. Batavia this year will be the biggest we’ve ever had; the occupancy of the auditorium at Batavia High School is around 800 and we intend to fill that to the point the auditorium doors are bursting.

Mr. Batavia is a community charity event; each candidate selects a nonprofit organization to represent with the charity of the contest the top three winners receiving money raised. In Mr. Batavia there are five different categories, each scored by selected judges from throughout the community. They are lip sync, talent, questionnaire, swimsuit, and tux walk. The guys also do a group dance in the beginning to get the audience hyped up for the contest.

Last year’s Mr. Batavia was probably one of the best we’ve ever produced here at BHS. Whether it was Brandon Smart’s Micheal Jackson tribute or Dylan Beckman’s dramatic reading of "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj, these performances were borderline legendary. The 12 candidates up for Mr. Batavia 2016 believe that they can do even better.

Lisa Robinson, event director and student government advisor said, “Mr. Batavia is an event where we raise money for community nonprofits. Everywhere this event gets larger and we believe this year will be easily our largest we’ve had. ”       

Here are the candidates and the nonprofit organizations they represent in the order they’ll perform:

• Tyler Hale – Michael Napoleon Foundation
• Noah Dobbertin – 25 Neediest
• Adonis Davis – All Babies Cherished
• Zachary Lee – Anna’s Wish
• Trevor Sherwood – Batavia VA
• Alex Mott – Golisano’s Children Hospital
• Michael Hughes – Habitat for Humanity
• Alex Canty – Volunteers for Animals
• Ross Chua – Organization for Autism Research
• Jake Kasmarek – Genesee Cancer Assistance
• Josh Kurtz – Salvation Army
• Dwayne Fonda -- American Red Cross

      Laura Fletcher

A 42-year-old Batavia woman told Presiding County Court Judge Michael F. Pietruska that she's willing to risk the possibility of a 24-year prison term in exchange for one more shot at drug rehab.

Laura Fletcher, a mother of four with three still of school age, will need to stay on the straight and narrow for two years to avoid prison if she pleads guilty April 18 to a four-count grand jury indictment for allegedly dealing drugs.

She has two prior drug-dealing convictions.

"Looking at her history, that is quite a risk," Pietruska said.

Those two prior convictions are the reason, said ADA Will Zickl, that Fletcher shouldn't get another shot at drug treatment.

"There is a demonstratable objective history in this case that I think makes it a very poor argument to be made that she should be given a chance in this program," Zickl said.

In the indictment issued in November, Fletcher is accused of selling cocaine in May and June to agents of the Local Drug Task Force. She is charged with four Class B felonies, two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

She's been approved for the program by a panel in Erie County, along with a recommendation from a local counselor. 

Her attorney Lisa Kroemer argued that Fletcher is willing to assume a substantial risk, given her track record, that she's fully aware of the consequences of failure, and that she desperately wants to succeed in the program.

Fletcher could potential get a lighter prison term in a plea deal, instead of pleading guilty to all four counts of the indictment.

She tearfully told Pietruska she understood the risk, but was willing to take the chance for a new chance at a clean life.

Kroemer said Fletcher has had periods between arrests where she was able to maintain sobriety before succumbing to her addiction again.

The prior drug sales convictions were "simply to support her own addiction," Kroemer said. "It was not part of any profit-making scheme."

Press release:

Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd., (“Hanwha Q CELLS”) (NASDAQ: HQCL) and 1366 Technologies, Inc., (“1366”) today announced that they have entered into a supply agreement in which 1366 will supply up to 700 MW of wafers using 1366’s proprietary Direct Wafer™ technology to Hanwha Q CELLS over a five-year period.

This deal follows a year-long strategic partnership and collaborative R&D efforts to commercialize 1366’s Direct Wafer™ technology with Hanwha Q CELLS’ Q.ANTUM cell technology. 1366 will supply the wafers from its planned U.S. manufacturing facility in New York State, scheduled to be online in 2017.

The agreement ensues months of intense technical collaboration between the two companies during which a series of performance records for the Direct Wafer™ technology were achieved. Hanwha Q CELLS and 1366 jointly reached a maximum efficiency of 19.1% using Direct Wafer™products in Hanwha Q CELLS’ Q.ANTUM cell, as independently verified by the Fraunhofer ISE.

“This agreement with one of the world’s most respected and innovative solar manufacturers is, no doubt, a significant milestone for our business. It further demonstrates the compelling capabilities of the Direct Wafer™ technology and the readiness of this innovation, and establishes its long-term bearing on the industry,” said Frank van Mierlo, CEO of 1366 Technologies. “We’ve found a strong partner, Hanwha Q CELLS, and we are extremely proud of the work we’ve accomplished together.”

“This agreement aligns with our continuing efforts to bring about world leading technologies that enable solar energy to be more competitive and more affordable,” commented Seong-woo Nam, CEO of Hanwha Q CELLS.  “We are pleased with the progress we have made together during the past year and excited about the potential of 1366’s Direct Wafer™ products with Hanwha’s cell and module technologies to deliver further cost reductions and LCOE competitiveness to standard multi-crystalline wafer-based modules.”

Provided that 1366 meets certain terms and conditions related to its wafer qualification and timing of delivery as agreed by both parties, Hanwha Q CELLS’s commitment to purchase up to 700 MW of wafers over a period of five years will commence.

1366’s Direct Wafer technology is a transformative manufacturing process that offers significant advantages over traditional cast-and-saw wafer production technologies. The process makes wafers in a single step, pulling them directly from molten silicon instead of today’s multi-step, energy- and capital-intensive approach, resulting in significant wafer production cost savings.

Hanwha Q CELLS' Q.ANTUM technology is based on PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) architecture and includes many additional technological features for maximum energy yield under real conditions. Q.ANTUM significantly enhances power output, low-light and temperature-behavior, while at the same time offering all of Hanwha Q CELLS' VDE certified quality standards like Anti-PID protection, Hot-spot protect, and Tra.Q laser marking.

Additional Note: Hanwha was part of a Series C funding round in 2010 that raised $20 million in venture capital to back 1366 Technologies. It was announced at that time that Hanwha planned to become a 1366 customer once production began. The latest available information online indicates that 1366 has raised more than $70 million from private investors.

Press release:

Live Nation is looking to hire a few “rock stars” for this summer’s upcoming concert season at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. The concert venue is shaping up to have a busy concert schedule with performers like Bad Company & Joe Walsh, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown Band, and Def Leppard scheduled to perform.

Seasonal job offerings will be available in key areas such as security, cleaning and parking attendants.  The open positions give music lovers seeking part-time work the chance to work in a fast-paced environment and enjoy great live music. 

Live Nation will be hosting four job fair sessions starting this Saturday, April 16th and Sunday, April 17th.  The job fair will be held backstage at Darien Lake in the catering pavilion and sessions will take place from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

For those interested in inquiring more about open seasonal positions, should visit www.livenationentertainment.com/careers/seasonal.

Applicants will need to bring either a driver’s license and Social Security card or a valid U.S. Passport to complete the application.

All applicants are subject to background checks.

A Le Roy resident has a fledgling tech startup he thinks has a chance to get big.

Billion dollar big,* he doesn't know, but he sees an opportunity and he's going for it. (*In the venture-capital investing world. a "unicorn" is a company with a billion-dollar valuation, and a "rocket ship" is a company that is growing fast.)

A couple of months ago, after much planning Antonio Calabrese launched Boonle, a site where aspiring graphic artists and other creative types can find entry-level projects and start building a resume. 

The concept is aimed at college students and new graduates, but anybody entering the workforce as a freelancer might find the site helpful, Calabrese said.

Small businesses without Madison-Avenue-type promotional budgets, as well as other startups, might also gravitate to the site for the chance to tap into some talent at little or no cost.

According to his research, the freelance market, also called the "gig economy" in today's digital parlance, is expected to become 40 percent of the nation's workforce in coming years. 

That's just a huge opportunity for a business like Boonle.

"I think we can harness a lot of that market because that's the newbie market, when things are starting out, and we plan on being that first stepping-stone for those entering the freelance market," Calabrese said. "I think we can own a big chunk of that."

So far, Calabrese, the company's sole owner and founder, has raised $100,000 in seed funding and is starting the search for another round of early-stage investors with a goal of raising from $500,000 to $1.5 million.

There's a lot of marketing needed to help get the word out about Boonle, especially on college campuses. He's hoping to complete a partnership deal soon with RIT, where he graduated from, and other colleges. He recently received applications from 25 students at universities around the nation willing to sign on as brand ambassadors to help sign up would-be freelancers. 

Calabrese came up with the idea for the business when he realized how hard it is for graduates who have yet to establish a professional portfolio to find work, and that there are a lot of smaller businesses that can't afford the rates experienced freelancers and agencies charge.

He acknowledges he's gotten a little criticism from those who think a site like Boonle lowers the fees digital designers and developers can charge, but he counters that the businesses that would pay more, and the designers who would charge more, aren't part of Boonle's target market.

"There is plenty of work to be done on projects that pay more," Calabrese said. "Those are the jobs that are still going to go to those with the skills to get higher-paying jobs."

Creative categories on the site range from logos and brochures to writing and photography and even music production. Basically, if you're a creator, you should be able to find a market for your work on Boonle.

"We're a platform to help people build a platform so they can eventually launch a career," Calabrese said.

Those looking for work set the price for the job, from free to something a bit more pricey, and then freelancers look at the job, decide if it's within their skill level, if the price is right for them at that stage, and then accept the assignment.

The potential employer has the option to reject the freelancer and the job goes back into the marketplace.

"The business can set the job for free if they don't have the budget for it, but the chances of it getting worked on go down if you set it for free," Calabrese said. 

If a business hires a particular freelancer, or several of them, they can present future projects to their pool of trusted freelancers, but the job goes out to the whole site if it isn't picked up within 48 hours.

On jobs that are paid, Boonle handles the transactions through PayPal, taking about a 30-percent cut, with a third of that covering PayPal's transaction fees.

In a future update, freelancers will be able to upgrade their accounts, once they've proven themselves, and get exclusive access to higher-paying jobs and avoid the fee being taken out for a small monthly subscription.

It's Calabrese's intention to keep his business based in Western New York. He's from Rochester with a lot of strong ties there, including ties to the tech-startup investing community, but he thinks as the business grows, wherever it's based in WNY, he won't have a hard time recruiting employees.

He said that while he was at RIT, a lot of students expressed an interest in staying in the area, even those not from here originally, but the kind of jobs they've been trained for are just in short supply in the area.

"When you're getting job offers from Google, Apple, LinkedIn and Facebook, who wants to stay in Rochester then?" he said. "But if there's a cool company here, and the cost of living is a lot less and we can still pay them somewhat competitive rates, then I think they would stay here."

It took three days, but a couple of weeks ago a group of volunteers, coordinated by the city, trapped 42 cats in the McKinley Street area and had them spayed or neutered, vaccinated and ear-tipped before releasing them back to the same location.

It was a big success, said Assistant City Manager Gretchen DiFante, for the city's fledgling effort to get a program up and running to deal with Batavia's community cat (commonly called feral cat) problem.

The City Council-approved effort was a bit bogged down because the city had been unable to find a volunteer to lead the all-volunteer committee to operate the program.

Recently, Ann Marie Brade, the county's animal control officer, volunteered to lead the group and has secured the permission of her employer, the Sheriff's Office, to take on the task.

There will be a meeting tomorrow of committee volunteers to organize the next steps.

The McKinley Street undertaking began with a phone call to city's animal control officer, James Sheflin, about a large colony of cats in the area.

That began a five-week effort to organize and coordinate the task.

"One of the keys to success for this was that this colony manager, which is what the industry calls them, if you will, really took responsibility for the cats," DiFante said. "That makes it a lot easier. Unfortunately, we don't have that kind of ease in attacking some of these colonies."

The animals were all treated at State Street Animal Hospital.

Because he also authorized income verification, the city was able to use available grant funds to pay for the veterinary care. 

"We were able to use that grant and we'd love to use that grant more, but that's not usually how it works," DiFante said.

Eric Almeter sent in this photo of a fox he spotted trotting through Le Roy at Route 19 and Union at about 8:30 this morning.

An oven fire is reported at 42 Rochester St., Apt. #15, Bergen.

Bergen fire and Le Roy's ladder truck are dispatched.

UPDATE 9:23 a.m.: Churchville was also dispatched, was canceled, but a minute later, they were already on scene, so the Bergen chief canceled his department's ladder truck. Le Roy can proceed non-emergency.

UPDATE 9:32 a.m.: Burnt food, ventilation in progress.

A reader sent in this picture from Sunday afternoon of a young bald eagle that he spotted feasting on a fawn that was dead near the side of the road on Dodgeson Road near Ridge Road, Alexander.

Buffalo News: License plate camera data’s private use raises questions

Three weeks ago, it could be argued, it looked like Donald Trump had the GOP nomination for president all but locked up.  

If he could come across as a bit more presidential, he would likely seal the deal.

Then came a flap about candidates' wives and pictures posted to Twitter, and a statement about punishing women who have illegal abortions, and the campaign started to unravel some.

Even Trump admits he made mistakes.

Trump lost to Ted Cruz in Wisconsin and the fight to secure the nomination has gotten more intense.

The key  thing, said Rep. Chris Collins said yesterday at Genesee Community College after handing awards to local high school artists, is that Trump is learning from his mistakes.

Collins is one of only two members of Congress to openly support Trump and is, along with Carl Paladino, Trump's campaign co-chair in New York.

"I can't sugarcoat the last couple of weeks," Collins said. "The fact is, he's laying low right now. He's going to have a big win in New York. That momentum will propel him forward. He's putting together a little more depth on his team. 

"I think, perhaps, two weeks ago, the bad week, may have set the stage for him to realize that people are hanging on his every word, every nuance. As a private-sector guy, on the golf course with your buddies, you can say anything you want to say, but not in front of 80 million Americans. I'm proud to support him for all the reasons we stated earlier, and I'm confident he is going to grow from the missteps."

Collins supports Trump because he likes his private-sector background, his business leadership experience, his positions on trade, immigration and foreign policy, but also said some of those positions need some finessing.

"As a guy coming out of our private sector, what are we used to?" Collins said. "Ask me a question and I answer it directly without any other thought. He's had some missteps and I don't agree with him on every issue.

"I certainly would not ban all Muslims, but I would certainly, and have said, we need to make that those who we don't know who they are, whether Syrian refugees or not, we don't know their background, they're not coming here until the director of the FBI can certify who they are. So I'll nuance, perhaps, Mr. Trump's statements in that regard.

"On the immigration issue, I certainly don't think we would ever put 12 million people on a bus and take them back across the border, but we can process the illegal immigrants in a way that (at) the end of the processing it's 'you come in this door, go out that door,' you have legal work papers, a Social Security number. We know you're a law abiding citizen, now you don't have to hide in the shadows. There are nuances to what he's said that I would take the edge off a little."

A recent column in the Chicago Tribune criticized Trump and Bernie Sanders on trade because they seemingly don't understand that a trade deficit in goods makes America stronger because it generates foreign investment and the U.S. benefits from an export surplus in services. A trade war or a trade surplus in goods could be economically disastrous.

Even so, Collins said he thinks Trump understands well the issues around trade and that America needs a trade policy that is fair and levels the playing field.

"If a manufacturer in China or India or Mexico has a 30, 40, 50 percent advantage, we're going to lose all our manufacturing jobs, and every manufacturing job creates five or six other jobs, so what happens with a tariff is we level the playing field and a lot of jobs are going to come back," Collins said.

"We're going to see some inflation," Collins added. "The good news about inflation at a reasonable rate, the debt we have is paid back in cheaper dollars down the road. We do have a goods / trade imbalance. We're going to have a lot more manufacturing.

"The thought that someone else might retaliate...the fact is, we're 25 percent the world's economy and less than 4 percent of the world's population. They want us to be 4 and 4, not 4 and 25. We're going to have to fight to keep 4 and 25. And I would also suggest many of the services and many of the high-tech goods we export are provided because the other countries don't have the ability (to make them) themselves. So they may not like that we're going to make underwear and socks and radios again here, because they want  to make it in China and Mexico, but when they need our jet engines and they need our aircraft and they need some of our other service, they're still going to buy them from us because they have no choice.

"To me, that's called a win-win. I hope it's not a trade war. I would say it's leveled the playing field and I would hope through it all, you would have other countries paying better attention to the environment, paying better attention to worker safety, paying better attention to what we would call wages and currency, because if their currency floats, if they're paying higher wages, if they're respecting the environment, if they're respecting workers' safety, then we don't have to (impose) a tariff.

"We're not going to have a tariff with Germany. We're not going to have a tariff with the European countries we are playing with on a level playing field. But if we don't stop the theft of our jobs through unfair trade with Mexico, Vietnam, China and the like, we're going to lose all our jobs."

Trump would be the closest thing the United States has had to a noninterventionist president in any of our lifetimes, and Collins fully supports that vision of foreign policy, he said.

"He is spot on when he says our country, which is broke, $20 trillion in debt, is running deficits and we can't take care of our infrastructure. The thought that we are protecting and watching out for the rest of the world, and they are not paying a fair share, not that we're going to turn a blind eye to atrocities, but let's face it, there are countries taking advantage of America and it's not that we have surpluses," Collins said, "We're running deficits. So I'm 100 percent in line with what he's saying. It is time for them pay their fair share. If we're going to defend them, they're going to pay for it. We can't get involved in every regional conflict. The rest of the world doesn't want us to. It's not our role to play, so I'm 100 percent with Trump on that."    

After his recent blunders, Trump has revamped his campaign staff with an eye toward being more strategic about securing delegates. He's put Paul Manafort into a key campaign role to take on that task.

Collins said, as a private-sector guy himself, he understands the need to learn on the job and adjust. Judging how Collins mingled with the high school students and their parents Saturday at GCC, he's grown into the job of Congressman himself. Compared to a couple of years ago, he's much more relaxed and he deftly displayed an individual interest in every student he spoke with.

Trump, Collins said, is learning, will learn and will make sure he's surrounded by nothing but the highest-caliber talent if he occupies the West Wing.

"I come back to the need to have a chief executive in office and there's only one left standing, and that's Donald Trump," Collins said. "Private-sector guy, 40 years experience making tough decisions knowing how to manage people, hiring the best and brightest. I'm convinced he will have the best cabinet that's ever been assembled by a president. There are no hangers-on. There are no retreads. He is going to hire the best people he can hire because they're the best people. He's not going to say are 'You're a Republican, a Democrat. What is your party affiliation? How much money did you give to the party?' That's not Donald Trump.

"It harkens back when I was county executive (in Erie County). When I had to hire my commissioners, all I wanted was the best and brightest who believed in serving the taxpayers, who understood the need for efficiency and the like. After the fact, it turned out, my deputy county executive was a Democrat. It turned out my head of economic development was a Democrat. I didn't ask those questions and neither will Mr. Trump. When it comes back to the president with his cabinet, I think you will have the best ever.

"What does the president do? He sets the 30,000-foot vision, not unlike Ronald Reagan, and this vision is clear. We're going to take our jobs back that were stolen by Mexico and China. We're going to stand tall against foreign adversaries whether it's Russia, North Korea or Iran. We're going to defeat ISIS. We're going to make sure we deal with immigration; keep our borders secure. That's his top-level focus. He's going to have advisors who make all that happen, with him as the conductor and the leader. He's a born leader and that's what we haven't had for seven and a half years."

Whoever becomes president will have a lot of power. If that's Trump, well, Trump has displayed his ego and controlling personality, but Cruz, Clinton and Sanders all might be tempted by the lure of easy executive orders. Asked if Congress should take action before the end of the year to curb the use of executive orders, Collins said he didn't think so.

"Executive orders have always been part and parcel of the executive powers of the president," Collins said. "There are lawsuits and judicial remedies for overstepping, which this president (Obama) has been slapped down on on more than one occasion. I don't really think there is a role for Congress to play other than for the public to understand executive orders are the lay of the land and Hilary Clinton is saying 'If you think Obama did a lot of executive orders, wait until I'm president.' It's a concern, but it's part of history and I think the court system will hold people in check."

NOTE: Chris Collins' views on the issues related to his support of Trump are consistant with what he said to us during his campaign in 2012.

The DSP Jazz Trio (Derek Reiss, Skip Taylor and Pete Mark) played a benefit concert today at City Church for Crossroads House.

It was the girls turn for a change to race pinewood derby cars at St. Joe's this afternoon. Traditionally a Boy Scouts event, the ladies held their own "Race Like a Girl" event this afternoon.

Local Boy Scout leaders, and some scouts, who have the equipment and experience hosting such events, set everything up and the girls raced away.

Photo of winners submitted by Matt Landers. Alexandrea Mann, first place, Bianca Gregory, 2nd, and Casey Tatarka, 3rd.

The vehicles filled with electronic waste were lined up and down Route 5 this morning, and by this afternoon, trailers were stuffed and bins were gorged with has-beens of the Digital Age, all destined to appropriate recycling facilities rather than a landfill.

The event outside the county's Social Services building was organized by Assemblyman Steve Hawley and his staff with a heaping trove of help from the Batavia High School Track Team.

Angelina Miconi, a Batavia High School student, was announced this morning as winner of the annual Congressional Art Contest for New York's 27th District, represented by Chris Collins.

Miconi was tops among 85 entrants (more than 30 attended today) from high schools throughout the district.

While each district in the United States has 750,000 residents, Collins said the NY-27th has one of the highest participation rates in the contest. Some districts get as few as 10 entries, he said.

The winning pictures will be displayed in the halls of Congress for the next 12 months and Miconi and a parent will be flown to Washington, D.C., for an art show opening.

The reception today was held at Genesee Community College.