I'm very pleased to announce the premier episode in our new video series: Cooking with the Dairy Princess, with Byron's own Anika Zuber. Each month Anika will prepare us a seasonal dairy delight, starting with a strawberry sorbet smoothie for August. Please enjoy, and check back this time next month for episode two.
We're less than an hour shy of the start of Batavia's biggest downtown festival of the year: Summer in the City. Vendors take up their posts at 5:00pm tonight along Center, School and Jackson streets—all of which are closed off between Ellicott and Main streets.I just took a stroll down Center Street and spotted some barbecue smoke, popcorn kettles and the sugary promise of a fried dough stand.
Tonight's music selection features the Genesee Valley Band form 5:30 to 7:00pm, followed by Kindred from 7:30 to 9:00pm. Both shows will be on the main stage in Jackson Square.
The festivities continue tomorrow with more music, more vendors, plus crafts and the Rotary KidZone. Saturday's fun starts at 3:00 and runs to 9:00pm. Ghost Riders kick things off from 3:00 to 4:30, followed by Westside Blues from 5:00 to 6:30 and Popshow from 7:00 to 9:00.
Court Street will also be host to a car show tomorrow: Classic Cars & Cycles at 2:00pm, followed by the Super Cruise from 3:00 to 9:00pm that could feature several hundred vintage vehicles. Kids will have plenty to do, as well, from bicycle decoration to tennis lessons and sand art to carnival games.
Check out the Web site for the Batavia Business Improvement District for a full schedule of events. Or just head downtown anytime this weekend. It shouldn't disappoint.
Color me surprised when I read the headline at the top of the local section in today's Daily News: Lawyer: Ethics issue will be addressed. Now that can't be right. That can't be the very same lawyer I telephoned yesterday and asked if he could please comment on that issue, only to be told that no, he could not and would not comment. But lo and behold, there was that very lawyer's name in today's article: George Van Nest, and a quote from him that's almost an inch thick.
I called Van Nest yesterday to ask him a simple question: Why did he request the county board of ethics to look into a potential conflict of interest if it's stated in the policy for that county board that it will not act on an issue for a municipality that already has its own board of ethics? Van Nest said quite flatly that he would not comment on anything related to the county or city ethics boards.
Nevertheless, in today's article by Joanne Beck, he had this to say of the future ruling on City Councilman Bob Bialkowski's potential conflict of interest:
"It will be addressed in due course," Van Nest said Thursday. "I was aware of the process in Article 18, and discussed it with representatives of the county board before (submitting a request for the board to review the issue). The county board may review it but does not have to."
That's a pretty long no comment. When I called Van Nest again today to ask him why he said he would not comment on this issue and then was quoted in the newspaper doing just that, I was transferred to his voice mail. I left a message.
Also, the question still remains: Will the county board of ethics meet to discuss the conflict deemed unethical by the city attorney?
Van Nest was not certain whether the county board would take his request or not. He had not heard anything official as of Thursday, he said. Carolyn Pratt, clerk of the Legislature, said the request could not be discussed in public, per board rules.
What we can tell you is that the City Council released its agenda for its meeting Monday, and included in it is the appointment of five individuals to the city's board of ethics, which, if approved by a majority of council, would constitute a quorum. That would make the request for the county board to meet a moot point.
In a recent post about low attendance at Muckdog games, some suggested getting players out into the community in order to get more people to fill the seats at Dwyer Stadium. We do have player appearances scheduled. Last Friday, pitchers Arquimedes Nieto and Hector Cardenas and catcher Christian Rosa were at Denny's from 11:30-12:20 signing autographs and meeting fans.
Muckdogs Arqumedes Nieto, Hector Cardenas and Christian Rosa.
Players sign autographs for young Muckdog fans.
We have three other player appearances set-up in the near future:
-Friday, August 22: Denny's from 11:30-12:30 and Oliver's Candies from 12-1.
-Friday, September 5: Denny's from 11:30-12:30
These are some great opportunities to get to know the Muckdogs and ask them questions and get some autographs. So, on your lunch breaks, get out to grab a bite to eat and meet some of the team, and then come cheer them on as they fight for a playoff spot this season!
After winning three and losing three on their six game road trip, the Batavia Muckdogs now have a record of 32-23 which puts them 1 1/2 games back of Pinckney Division leader Jamestown and 1 game up of Auburn. Here's a quick look of each of the six games:
Batavia now comes home for a big weekend series against Auburn. Tonight's game starts at 7:05 with Launch-a-Ball and fireworks after the game. After traveling to Auburn on Saturday, they finish up the series back at Dwyer on Sunday at 1:05. Going into tonight, here is a look where some of the Muckdogs stand statistically in the NYPL:
*Also of note, the Muckdogs have acquired new infielder Alex Castellanos who is being brought up from Johnson City. While there, Castellanos was batting .298 with 7 homeruns, 31 RBI and 20 stolen bases. The Miami, Florida, native with be wearing jersey number 24.
Lisa Neary from Attica will assume the position of deputy director of finance for the city of Batavia, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Neary fills a vacancy left by the unexplained departure of Shelly D'Alba earlier this summer. She will earn about $52,000 per year and starts September 5. Neary holds a degree in accounting from the Rochester Institute of Technology and had previously worked as the finance director for Wymong County Community Action.
Summer in the City kicks off tonight in Batavia. Check back in with us later today for a full list of events.
This is submitted to address the issue of representational fairness in regard to the election of at-large city council members. Currently, if a sitting council member who was elected to represent an individual ward runs for an at-large seat and wins, someone is then appointed to the vacated ward seat from the winning party. Since this appointment is voted on by the city council instead of the ward's voters, it dilutes the power of each ward resident's vote. By replacing the member who initially won the ward's vote with a candidate who only needs approval from elected officials outside of the ward, this effectively means that the ward's representation is then decided by the whole city instead of by the wards' voters. Additionally, in a ward election, party affiliation doesn't mean as much as it does in other elections, so limiting the council's choices to just one party even further deprives the ward voters of choice.
I would propose that a sitting member should be required to serve notice of their intention to resign their current seat to run for an at-large seat so that their ward can make the decision on who represents them instead of leaving it to the city council members to decide for the ward. This resignation would take effect at the end of the current council year. In the interest of fairness, the announcement should be required to be made sufficiently in advance of the election so as to provide interested candidates the time necessary to file and gather sufficient petition signatures. By allowing sitting members to make a horizontal move to an at-large seat, it also reduces the pool of interested candidates for the ward seat, thereby additionally depriving ward voters of further choice in their representation.
This proposal is made in regard to fairness and outside of any partisan considerations.
Since we launched The Batavian in May, we've heard a recurring question: What about advertising?
The question has come from two quarters: Business people interested in advertising, and people wondering how the heck we're going to make this adventure into a paying business.
Starting this week, we get serious about the business side of the business. The traffic is now strong enough, we have an engaged audience, the name of the site is spreading fast -- we now have a good, fair value to offer the businesses of Genesee County.
We have two sales reps who start calling on area businesses this week.
They're going to offer the standard banner ads, of course, but what we're really excited about are the text ads we will offer.
Ten percent of the revenue from these text ads will go to The Batavia Players, Inc., Summer Youth Theater Program. On top of that, we are sending $500 to the program.
As we've said from the start, the goal of The Batavian is to be more than a news enterprise. We want The Batavian to help our communities grow stronger and enhance an area that is already a great place to live and work.
To that end, we're concentrating our sales efforts on local businesses (the big chains, not so much) so we can help those businesses thrive, and we're giving back to the community through donations and sponsorships.
Meanwhile, here's something you can do to support the youth of Genesee County, and more specifically, the Youth Theater -- go see Jesus Christ Superstar. It opens tonight and runs through Saturday. Patrick Burk tells us ticket sales have done well, but there's still plenty of seats left. You should go.
Our ad reps are Melissa McIntyre and Vanessa Haar. They, along with me and Philip, will be at Summer in the City on Friday and Saturday. We'll have balloons, water bottle kozies and bumper stickers. If you come by and say, "hi," we may even put you in a video. Look for us on Jackson Street on Friday and Main Street on Saturday.
Le Roy photographer Darrick Coleman shares his thoughts on what makes a photograph, how he takes one and why he's drawn to the nature of western New York. Coleman's show, DETAILS: An Intimate Look at Western New York, opens August 18 in the Lobby Arts Gallery in the Stuart Steiner Theatre at Genesee Community College. Check out our earlier post for the details.
Robert J. Kotarski Jr., 39, of Alabama, was charged with a felony county of criminal sexual act in the second degree Wednesday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said.
Kotarski is accused of performing oral sex on a female under the age of 15 on five separate occasions between 2005 and 2006. He was released under the supervision of Genesee Justice and will reappear at a later date to answer the charges.
Joseph A. Hernick, 59, of Stafford, was charged with second-degree harassment Wedensday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Hernick allegedly punched his neighbor in the head while he was mowing his lawn. An order of protection has been issued on behalf of the victim.
Twenty-one-year-old Joseph J. Alba, of Akron, was charged with petit larceny Monday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Alba is accused of reaching into a Dip-N-Dot vending stand at Darien Lake and stealing a handful of Dip-N-Dots valued at approximately $1.
All above releases were reported in published releases by the sheriff's office.
Consolidation between the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the City of Batavia Police should go through by the end of the month, according to the Daily News. The county legislature approved a $76,000 capital project at its meeting last night—$9,926 of that will be paid by the county, the rest covered by a state grant.
In an article by Joanne Beck, City Council President Charlie Mallow says that a question initially posed for the city's board of ethics—does Councilman Bob Bialkowski have a conflict of interest regarding votes on the mall—will now be taken up by the county board of ethics. City Attorney George Van Nest "submitted the matter to the county's board within the last week, Mallow said. However, the county's Clerk of the Legislature Carolyn Pratt says that the county board cannot act "on any issue from a municipality that has already established an ethics board," and the city has its own board. I called Van Nest to ask him if this means that the county board will not hear the matter, but he declined to comment. It was the most simple question I thought to ask, and really beats at the heart of the whole article. If the county board of ethics can't meet to discuss this: first, why is it news? And second, why would Van Nest ask them to meet?
For more fun and informative articles just like these, be sure to get out and pick up your very own copy of the Daily News. Or, better yet, subcribe at BataviaNews.com.
Endorsed Democratic Congressional candidate, Jon Powers, held the first in a series of planned conferences with local educators at Main Street Coffee on Tuesday, August 12th. The meeting gave Powers a chance to hear concerns and solutions directly from educators. Among those attending the forum were principals Charles Herring of LeRoy high school, Jim Thompson, an assistant professor at Medaille College and a retired elementary principal, elementary teachers Christine Frew and Debbie Karas, art teacher Lorie Longhany, ELA teacher Sue Bell. The candidate has more of these conferences planned throughout the district, along with meetings with other residents intended to give the voters the voice in their government that they deserve.
Powers said he was grateful for the time the participants shared with him and took many good ideas from the event. His keen interest in education originates from a source close to home. His mother, Sue Powers, is a career educator and attended Tuesday's meeting. Jon credits her as being his biggest influence in developing a passion for education.
The participating educators were equally impressed with Powers. Past principal at Leroy Elementary School and current assistant professor of education at Medaille College, Jim Thompson, gave this reaction when asked his impression of Powers and the campaign's effort at gathering voters' input.
More at The Albany Project http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4007
http://www.powersforcongress.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpNews&category=Press&htmlID=10129&s=powers
HarnessLink reports that local barber Joe Gerace will be honored August 23 at Batavia Downs as "Italian-American of the Year."
This is the first such award given by Batavia Downs, and HarnessLink says the gaming facility and race track is planning other ethic awards this year.
The life-long Batavia native is the 2008 Humanitarian of the Year for United Memorial Medical Center and the Jerome Foundation, 2006 City of Batavia Volunteer of the Year, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Genesian of the Year in 1993 and was honored for his community service by the Paolo Busti Foundation Scholarship Committee.
The active 72-year-old grandfather of six is the former president of the Batavia Youth Bureau, co-chair of the Genesee County Cancer Society's Festival of Hope, a director of the Batavia Muckdogs (where he is also on the team's Wall of Fame), member of the Batavia Rotary Club and St Nick's Social Club and sat on the City of Batavia zoning board of appeals for 12 years.
Also a licensed realtor and military veteran, Gerace and his wife, Lois, have been married 48 years and are the parents of three grown children.
That's an impressive resume.
Daily News reporter Scott DeSmit profiles the city police department's new patrol cars in an article on today's front page. His take: they're all about "keeping a low profile." That means no flashy lights on the roof. Why? Officers hope the bare car top will "allow them to blend in more with traffic in an effort to catch violators."
"People engaged in criminal activity or violating traffic laws tend to scan traffic looking for that light bar," Officer Wayne Fenton said. "Taking the light bar away allows the car to blend in with the rest of traffic."
Except, of course, for the flashy lettering and block-letter 'POLICE' decal on the side of the car. For catching drivers who only get that cursory glance over traffic, I suppose it could help fight the speeders on residential streets. The $23,000 cars do come with lights, it should be noted: strobes.
Of course, no slick, pseudo-undercover makeover is going to make a cop's life any easier.
Take their stroll through the junior rapids of Tonawanda Creek this morning in pursuit of an alleged shoplifter. Just shy of 9:00am this morning, police responded to a larceny call at the Sugar Creek Store on West Main Street. On scene, Scott DeSmit tells us, one of the officers "shagged the man from a grove of trees behind the store"—fantastic description. The man then ran into the muddy, burbling Tonawanda Creek. Lt. Eugene Jankowski said the man nearly drowned! But they picked him up and brought him down to headquarters for processing.
What was he accused of stealing? Two beers.
For other fascinating news stories, be sure to pick up your own copy of the Daily News wherever they are sold. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.
The Rochester Red Wings have done everything that the team was told was needed to improve attendence at Batavia Muckdogs games, General Manager Dave Wellenzohn tells David Hibbard of the Daily News, and the team is drawing no better this year than last.
Fireworks don't help. A better field doesn't help. More marketing hasn't helped. Even a winning record and exciting pennant race aren't putting more people in more seats.
In May, Wellenzohn predicted that 60,000 people would pay to see the Muckdogs this year. At the current rate, only about 45,000 people will come through the gates.
"They've kept their word. They've invested a lot of money into the franchise," Wellenzohn said. "Rochester's (Red Wings) kept their promise 100 percent, even more. They're spending more money than I thought they would -- an maybe even should. Because they're thinking, 'Well, maybe if we do this, this will trigger more attendance.' It hasn't."
Wellenzohn says the team is likely to stay in Batavia next season, but if attendance doesn't improve, he isn't sure how long the Red Wings will keep investing in the team.
So here's the thing: Batavia is damn fortunate to have a minor league baseball team. In fact, having lived in major league cities, I'm not sure Batavians realize how fortunate they are to have a minor league baseball team. It's a hell of a lot of fun to watch these developing players in a small venue with your friends and neighbors.
So what will it take to get Batavians to support their home town team?
We've been trying to do our part -- The Batavian is a team sponsor and we carry as much team coverage as we can -- because we believe sports teams serve a civic purpose of promoting community and local pride.
In an era of high gas prices and higher and higher costs of everything, isn't a $5 general admission ticket quite a bargain for such great entertainment?
So what else can we do, what can we all to do, get more people at the games?
And, FWIW, kudos to Hibbard for a fine article.
In big, bold, stop-the-press-size font the headline at the top of today's front page of the Daily News reads: Mall merchants vote to sue city. Sure, that may be accurate, but that "vote" came about two months ago. Hardly worth the quart of ink used to splash it across today's paper as if it were commandment number eleven... just announced. That being said, reporter Joanne Beck does a fine job in the article of clearing up a few ambiguities about the raging debate over the mall, its sign, its merchants and the city's fed-uppness with all of the above—all the while raising a few more questions in the process.
Beck spoke with Mitchell Chess, Charlie Mallow and Jason Molino in the article. Chess and Mallow have made frequent contributions to The Batavian on the topic this week, and most of what they say to Beck was already reported first-hand by them here. As for the city manager, Beck must have the sweet touch, because I can't get him to return any of my messages—I've left several with him and his office this week.
Here are a few highlights from her conversations:
"The merchants have sued twice before and they won," (said Chess). "We're going to win. We decided to sue after the last meeting. We're trying to take the high ground here. Every time we try to do that, (City Council President Charlie Mallow) comes in with ... broad, general statements without any basis. We've told our attorey it has to be filed before the next council meeting."
Mallow is then quoted later in the article as saying that "he felt the group was going to sue all along," and he no longer plans to shop at the mall. "Anyone who sues the city is suing me personally, and suing my neighbor and my kids," he tells Beck.
As for the controversy over the mall sign, Chess tells Beck that, in fact, the mall did own the original sign, and the city had promised—though never in writing—to replace it. Further, he says, the city already set aside $20,000 in the budget to do just that.
Given that fact, Chess wants to know why the purchase has now become an issue for council's vote.
City Manager Jason Molino said the matter would not have had to go to vote. But a request made by Councilman Bob Bialkowski for a mall update during last month's meeting seemed to resurrect the sign as a question instead of a done deal.
Those who have kept with our coverage of this issue know that we're pretty clear in thinking that Bialkowski should recuse himself from the upcoming vote on that sign, and yesterday's editorial in the Daily News said the same. Nevertheless, I can't understand the logic here. Why does Bialkowski's request for a "mall update" equate to a resurrection of "the sign as a question instead of a done deal"? Maybe the problem is simply in the wording, I don't know.
Beck then tackles the claim made in one of Mallow's letters to the editor that said the mall merchants "want the taxpayers to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into the mall and then for the city to sell it to them for $1." Chess counters that, claiming that the idea didn't originated with the mall merchants, rather it was raised by the city in negotiations.
Molino couldn't confirm or deny that, he said, since the conversation was likely a few years ago.
Who can confirm or deny it? We're trying to find out.
In February, Present Tense Books, hosted a talk by Josh on Patti Pacino centered around old photographs Patti's father either took or collected of old Batavia.
The collection of photos is posted here.
It contains a number of photos related to the destruction of the north side of Main Street to make room for the mall many people, including City Council President Charlie Mallow, call an eyesore.
Here is a video slide show I put together of from those old photos:
I haven't found anybody so far -- long-time resident or not -- who has good things about the mall. Even Mitchell Chess, president of the Mall Merchant's Association, doesn't come across as a particular fan. With all of the conversation about the mall on The Batavian this week, not a single commenter has come forward to say it should be saved.
In a back-and-forth with Mallow over whether we were hyping his statement that parts of the mall (which, frankly, I too quickly turned into "all of the mall") should be razed, I quipped, "Mr. Mallow, tear down that mall," which was good for some comic relief.
But it can also serve as a rallying cry.
Not everybody is pleased that there is so much heated discussion over the mall, but sometimes in such discussions a vibrancy can be found for finding new solutions to old problems.
Nobody has a plan yet, and the city and the MMA are spending way too much time on signs, bird poop and whether Bob Bialkowski has a conflict of interest, but the community needs to move beyond these trivial matters and focus on a long-term solution to the eyesore of a mall.
A good plan will improve downtown, not waste taxpayer money, help the current merchants find new Main Street-facing shops and create jobs.
Mr. Mallow, tear down that mall.
Congressional hopeful Jon Powers released his "education policy" at a discussion at Main Street Coffee Tuesday afternoon. The Democratic contender for the seat in the 26th District said that college is too expensive, loans are too high and national education standards stifle teachers, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Powers calls for reform of No Child Left Behind—though no specifics are given—and wants to lower the interest on federal loans for students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent by 2011.
In other news... Genesee County has qualified for state disaster aid as a result of the devastating hail storms that wracked the region earlier this summer. Fifteen other upstate counties qualified. Some farmers could receive "permanent disaster payments," says Fischer.
The Genesee County Legislature will meet tonight at 7:00pm in the Old County Courthouse. The Batavian has a request into the clerk to get a copy of the agenda, which we have not yet received. We will post that when it becomes available.
Tune into WBTA 1490 AM for these and other stories throughout the day.
Brian Walton, writing for Scout.com, reports that six Muckdogs have made the NY-Penn League All Star roster.
They are:
Click the link above for details on each player's season and photos.
Last year, the Muckdogs had only three all stars.
The game will be played in Troy on Aug. 19.
A friend introduced me to the term "locavore" a couple of weeks ago. It stuck with me because being a bit of "locavore" was something my wife and I were already mostly doing without knowing there was a word for it or that it was a trend. The furthest thing from our mind was the environmental benefits. We just think locally produced bread, meat, milk and veggies taste better and last longer.
This week, McClatchy/Tribune news service has a story out on locavores. You can read it here.
Last month, Lenae Weichel embarked on an ambitious dietary experiment: to feed her family for a year with food produced within 100 miles of her Rockford, Ill., home.
Inspired by a Vancouver couple who wrote a book on their ‘‘100-mile diet,’’ she joined a community-supported agriculture program, visited her local farmers market and started growing fruits and vegetables in her backyard.
Weichel, 33, is an extreme example of a vibrant movement of ‘‘locavores,’’ or consumers who try to shorten the distance between their food and its origin, largely from a desire to eat fresher produce, support their local farmers and reduce the carbon pollution associated with transporting goods. Only a few set 100 miles as a strict limit; others might just seek produce from the Midwest. But eating locally grown food, an idea once limited to hard-core environmentalists, is gaining traction among mainstream consumers. Already the movement has inspired a slew of books, prompted restaurants to use local food as a selling point and established ‘‘locavore’’ as the Word of the Year for 2007, according to the Oxford American Dictionary.
So, if you're a locavore in Genesee County, where do you go for produce, milk, bread and meat? The Batavian would like to find out more about these businesses. What other locally produced goods and crafts do you prefer to buy from local merchants?
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