Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is cited in the Buffalo News as saying the Obama Administration will give serious consideration to construction of a high-speed rail line connecting Buffalo and Albany.

The project could be part of an $8 billion stimulus bill set-aside to modernize passenger rail systems.

“This is a very bipartisan effort that includes a project that represents 60 percent of the state,” LaHood said after a meeting with the state’s upstate congressional delegation. “This part of the state is hurting, and obviously this would be an economic engine, and we obviously will take all of that into consideration.”

...

Several members of the upstate caucus attended the meeting, including two Republicans: Rep. Chris Lee, R-Clarence, and Rep. John McHugh, R-Watertown.

“We are getting nice bipartisan support here, and the secretary seems to be on board with it,” Lee said.

What Batavians need to be concerned about is whether Batavia is a stop along the route.

To a California boy like me, you would never think of New York being a hot spot for regional food.  That seems like a Southern thing, not a Yankee thing.

Now that I've lived her a while, I see that I suffered from a profound misconception. The rest of the nation may not know about New York's various delicacies, there there are plenty of specialty items throughout New York.

A TimesUnion.com food blogger started a conversation about NYS regional food, and our own Pok-A-Dot popped up in the conversation. Karen Seward leaves the comment:

Roast Beef on Weck from the Pok-A-Dot in Batavia
White Hot from Pok-A-Dot in Batavia
Pontillo’s Pizza in Batavia (they are now closed :-(

We should note, of course, that Pontillo's in LeRoy remains open and does deliver to Batavia.

Other regional foods mentioned:

• Buffalo: Anchor Bar Buffalo Wings
• Rochester Garbage Plate (Nick Tahoe’s was the 1st and is still the best)
• Utica: Greens Romano (Escarole sautéed in Olive Oil & Garlic, seasoned with Prosciutto, Bread Crumbs, Romano & Hot Peppers).
• Grape pie in Naples, NY.
• Cider donuts - I’ve lived all over the east coast and never saw one till I went to Goolds.
• Plattsburgh and North Country: Michigans (you’ll see these as Coney’s elsewhere, but they are very different from your standard chili dog)

What would you add?

Jacob J. Meinhold, 18, of Alexander, was arrested Tuesday for 2nd degree menacing after allegedly pointing a rifle at a female and threatening to kill her. The reported incident occurred at his residence at 5:30 p.m. Meinhold was arraigned in Alexander Town Court and released on his own recognizance.

Three teenagers were arrested Tuesday at 7:55 p.m. for alleged shoplifting at K-Mart. Taken into custody were Brandy A. Christopher, 18, Shyla J. Travis, 18, Cynthia A. Zayas, 19. All three are from Batavia.

We ran into a technical glitch with the planned server switch last night. We will attempt again tonight.

Press release from Batavia Police:

The Batavia Police are advising Local residents to beware of a scam that starts with a letter and a personal check for up to $4,500, 

We get reports of one or two of these scam attempts a day. Some of the names on the letters are Shadow Shoppers, Secret Shopper or Shoppers Club. A “grand prize” might be offered to the recipient for participating. Nationally known retail stores names may be displayed on the letter without the consent of companies that are named.

The letter states, with improper grammar, “our company is a ‘SECRET SHOPPER’ employment firm that specializes in conducting research to assist corporations evaluates and improves the quality of customer service provided to their clients.”

The letter goes on to say that as one of the people selected to take part in the program “you will be representing our firm as Research Personnel or Customer Service Evaluator of selected merchant outlets and service providers in your area.”

This is a new spin on old check scams. So far, the majority of these scams have been from Nigeria and are rerouted through Canada and then to the U.S.
The problem is that people might think it’s a scam, but the amount of money the check is written for is so significant that even people who are suspicious are tempted.

The letter that accompanies the check seems legitimate, even to the point of breaking down how the money should be spent in the process of “secret shopping.”
The letter states, “Employee Probation Training Pay + Expenses, $360.94.” It goes on, again with improper grammar, “You’re tasks are as follows: Burger King - $20; Western Union Transfer - $2,165; Service Charge by Western Union - $149; Money Gram Transfer - $1,765; Service Charge by Money Gram - $75; Wal-Mart - $45.”

The scammer makes money because the would-be “secret shoppers” wire more than $3,000 through Western Union and Money Gram Transfer from their bank account with the belief that the checks will clear and cover it.

In fact, the checks are fraudulent, and when people deposit them and spend money in the prescribed manner, they are often out not only the amount of the check when it bounces, but also the amount that they spent of their own money.

By the time this check goes through the system, people have already taken the money out and sent off the fee by Western Union or Money Gram Transfer. The majority of the time they are out the check amount and any money that they withdrew from their account.

The best thing residents can do is to destroy the check. The Federal Trade Commission has a place on their web site to report these scams.  The best way to protect yourself is to be educated on this type of scam, and remember, “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.”   
 

It’s that time of year again. As the days grow warmer and the nights stay cold, the sap starts to flow.  Did you know that New York State is the third largest producer of maple syrup in the world? Maple producers are celebrating that fact at this year’s 14th Annual Maple Weekend™. This year the event takes place on March 21-22 and 28-29 from 10am - 4pm each day. Maple producers throughout New York State will open their sugarhouses to demonstrate the making of maple products "from the tree to your table." Almost 50 maple producers throughout

Western New York will participate. You can check this website for a list of participants: http://www.mapleweekend.com/locations.htm.

This free, family-oriented event gives you a chance to see how New York maple producers make some of the world's finest maple syrup and maple products. Visitors can see all aspects of maple making, from tapping the trees to get the sap, to boiling sap into maple syrup. Some producers will also demonstrate the making of maple syrup into other products including maple cream, maple cotton candy and maple sugar.

The public is encouraged to visit more than one farm as some producers use traditional methods while some employ new methods. Many of the farms will also have a variety of other activities including horse and wagon rides, snowshoeing, guided walks in the woods and kids' corners.

Mark your calendars for March 21-22 and 28-29, 2009 and take the family out to experience New York State maple!

We received this press release from Don Burkel at the BID:

Downtown Batavia –  The Square Is Back!  “Jackson Square Inside” Concert will be on Friday, March 13th, Batavia City Centre (former Genesee Country Mall) from 7:00-9:00 pm,  featuring  The Ghost Riders.  This is the first of two “Inside” concerts to bring people downtown and to get everyone ready for the June concert series outside.  This concert is sponsored by: Batavia Business Improvement District and the Batavia City Centre Merchants Association.

The next “Inside” concert will be on Friday, April 24th featuring The OHMS Band (6:30 pm-8:00 pm).  This performance will be in conjunction the Genesee County Chamber’s Small Business Week Showcase.

For more information about this and other downtown events visit the B.I.D. website at   www.downtownbataviany.com  or call 585-344-0900. 

 

We're migrating The Batavian to a new server tonight. The switch is scheduled for 10 p.m.  This could lead to some down time. The site might be unaccessible for up to an hour.

Douglas Tuner of the Buffalo News speculates that Western New York could be ideally suited for to receive stimulus funds to build a passenger rail system between Buffalo and Albany (hat tip, Dan Jones for the link).

In one month, Obama has proposed sending $13 billion into the cause. And if Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, has her way, upstate New York should get a good share of it.

Slaughter’s goal is what aides call “a third track” dedicated to passenger rail running 300 miles from Buffalo-Niagara to Albany along the current CSX right of way.

The economic stimulus plan contains $8 billion for engineering, tracks, passenger cars and other infrastructure for intercity rail. This money should be spent in the next three to four years.

Last week, Obama proposed spending an additional $5 billion for high-speed passenger rail in his 2010 federal budget outline.

I don't know my CSX right of ways, but this seems like Batavia would be on the rail line.

That would be good news for commuters who live in Batavia and work in either Buffalo or Rochester, it seems.

It might even encourage more people to call Batavia or the surrounding rural communities home.

Ten union fire fighters are among Batavia's higest 15 wage earners, according to documents obtained by WBTA.

Topping the payroll list is Craig Williams, a fire captain, who earned $116,629 in 2008.

Dan Fischer reports that the figures include "base salary, overtime, holiday pay and other cash benefits," but not including health care.

Fischer posted audio quotes from Charlie Mallow. Mallow is also quoted accusing the union of scare tactics.

Fischer reports:

In a paid insert in yesterday’s Daily News the fire fighters union accuses the city council of “targeting” public safety by eliminating the ambulance service.

WBTA posted a complete list of the city’s top 15 wage earners.  City Manager Jason Molino is eighth on the list as the top non-emergency personnel wage earner at $84,449.

Tune into WBTA by 12:30 for more information.

STAFFORD, N.Y. -- It seems like it was a bad morning for Santino Baliva.

According to a Sheriff's Office port, Baliva, 20, was a passenger in a car struck by a train. There's no word from the Sheriff's office yet on how serious that accident was, but it apparently wasn't as serious as it might sound.

Baliva survived, only to be arrested for criminal possession of a weapon. He was carrying a switch blade knife.

We'll see if we can get a little more information about the incident.

If there is anyone on council that is sad over the decision to eliminate that ambulance service it is me. This was a service I learned about it at a NYCOM meeting many years ago and the State that had the service was Maryland. I brought it back to the city when Keith Hunt was our fire chief. It is unfortunate that the service was never set up in a way that the city was going to be responsible for most of the cost. Our city medics have demonstrated an exceptional high quality service for all county residents. I well reiterate this decision was very personal and tough for me to eliminate this service.

The county has definitely made a decision to have ambulance service by September 1st   and working all the details out with private providers.

The union has misinformed you of putting the blame on council when the blame from the union’s greed has brought us to where we are. Their salaries are out of control and they want more. Let me shed some light on the cost of retiree health care benefits that are over a few million dollars and that will continue until age 65. That does not include the outrageous salaries.

The towns are also to blame for this mess because, they did not want to come up with their fair share of this service.  It just was not feasible to have the majority of city residents to have most of the financial burden

I also want to say it’s a dirty shame to scare our elderly residents the way this union has portrayed this decision.

I want to thank all of the elderly and those for calling me and expressing your concerns. THERE WILL BE AMBULANCE SERVICE IN BATAVIA.  All of council wants a service here.

Rose Mary Christian

BATAVIA, N.Y. Units have been dispatched to 3207 Pratt Road for a reported trailer fire. Medics are responding, as well.

View Larger Map

UPDATE: 2:12 p.m.: Minor fire. According to Asst. Chief  David Winters, the homeowner was trying to heat frozen water pipes with a propane salamander heater when flames shot from it and ignited the underside of the trailer. The fire was contained to under the trailer. There were no injuries.

 I fully understand the feelings of the EMTs and no one on Council was happy to have to come to a decision to end county wide ambulance service as of September 1st. There is no question that our city medics have provided and continue to provide a high quality service for all county residents. Although, recently the union has brought forth information from a questionable paid source that they describe as "fact". I want the public to understand that the use of fabricated information, fear tactics and targeting of Council is not going to shake our resolve. Council has taken every imaginable step we could find to make the city based service viable. This financial decision was made based on years of public discussions as well as input, with all the information we required being presented. 

The county has made it clear that they have a process in place to see that the entire county will have ambulance service by September 1st. There is no reason to believe the hysteria being asserted by the union that there will be no one to provide ambulance service after September 1st. Moreover, there have been at least five ambulance providers that have contacted the County or the City that are interested to providing ambulance service to this region.  Should one of these providers be selected they would be responding to ambulance calls from within the City just as they currently do now. 

As directed by Council, I have sent a letter to all county municipalities terminating all our inter-municipal ambulance agreements as of September 1^st. These are the agreements that allowed the city to provide ambulance service county-wide. During the last public meeting of the GAM, Council as a whole publicly informed all the members that the city is not getting back into the business of providing ambulance service. Council has made it clear that we will not under any circumstances "go at it alone" by entering into an agreement with a private provider. The city is just one of many municipalities that is looking to the county to provide a county wide ambulance service and that decision about a provider is one for the county as a whole to make.

We received this press release from the city:

Please be advised that the Charter Review Commission for the City of Batavia will hold a meeting on Monday, March 2, 2009.  The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room on the second floor of the Batavia City Centre.  

The public can speak at the meeting by signing in prior to the start of the meeting. 

John, can you add more detail on what might be discussed tonight?

Five people were arrested early Sunday morning for allegedly entering the United States illegally. The five people were found by police during an investigation into suspicious activity in Town of Bergen. Arrested were Efrain Jose Cruz-Hernandez, 22; Jose Morolas-Perez, 18; Hector Perez-Rameriz, 42; Mateo Torres-Ramos, 24; and, Valentin Campos-Baltazar, 32. All five individuals were handed over to the Border Patrol.

Christopher Ball, 26, of LeRoy, was arrested following a single-car traffic accident on Batavia-Stafford Townline Road on Sunday morning. Ball was charged with misdemeanor DWI, a violation for driving lef of pavement marker and speed not prudent, and aggravated DWI with BAC of .18 percent or higher. Police were called to the scene of the accident and discovered Ball was not in his vehicle. He was later found Ball at a nearby relatives house.

Joseph M. Armstrong, 51, of Medina, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor DWI following a two-vehicle accident at Route 5 and Route 63. The Sheriff's office reports that Armstrong was reportedly attempting to make a left-hand turn when his vehicle struck another car.

Mark E. Yasses, 48, of Bethany, was arrested early Sunday morning for harassment, 2nd degree, after allegedly getting into an fight with another individual.  Yasses allegedly pushed the other person to the ground. The incident occurred at Yasses' residence.

Brett Blair, 25, of Batavia, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance (hyrocordone) and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, alcohol related after being stopped on Oak St. Saturday afternoon after officers noticed his vehicle with a broken tail light and loud exhaust. Officers report that Blair was driving with a revoked drivers license because of a previous DWI conviction. Blair was arraigned and remanded to Gensee County Jail on $750 bail.

Robert W. Mitchell, 30, of Pittsford, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuna Friday. Police arrested Mitchell during an investigation into suspicious activity. After contacting Michell, police discovered he was wanted on an arrest warrant from the Rochester Police Department. During a search of Mitchell, Mitchell told police he had a small amount of marijuna on his person.

Arielle R. Orlikowski, 19, of Batavia, was charged with speeding and DWI on Saturday after being stopped for speeding on Pearl Street.

James D. Kavanaugh, 19, of Batavia, was charged with "driving while ability impaired by alcohol" after being stopped on E. Main Saturday for driving without headlights. Kavanaugh was also charged with failure to notify DMV of an address change.

Sara E. Schimley, 19, of LeRoy, was arrested for tresspass Thusday after a homeowner in Pavillon told Schimley to leave his or her residence and Schimley refused. Schimley was released on an appearance ticket.

Robert Cummings, 22, of Pembroke, was arrested in Corfu Friday and charged with unlawful possession of marijuna.

Ruben BeCoates, 55, of Rochester, was arrested Saturday after he was allegedly spotted driving erratically. BeCoates was charged with driving while impaired, unlawful lane change and consuming alcohol while in a motor vehicle.

BATAVIA, N.Y -- Last week, Philip was right on top of an announcement by Sen. Charles Schumer's office of a nearly $1.7 billion package of stimulus money coming to New York for schools.

About $2.5 million will flow to Genesee County schools, including nearly a million dollars to Batavia schools.

Philip asked Patrick Burk for a response, and we received this via e-mail:

I am thrilled and excited that our district is receiving this investment in our City of Batavia Schools.  It will allow us to continue our level of excellence in the areas of educational programming and student services as well as employee training.  We will be able to maintain a higher professional/student ratio that has been extremely successful in promoting higher test scores and outcomes.  Rest assured this investment will be used wisely to do what we do best, educate ALL the children of the City of Batavia.

This morning, the Daily reports on "earth-friendly" plans for the new Wal-Mart in LeRoy.

Le Roy's store also will include what is known as "daylight harvesting," he said.

A sensor on the floor determines how much sunlight is entering the store. If it's a significant amount, the sensor automatically turns the lights down "so we don't use that energy," Serghini said.

Of course, not all environmentalist buy into a Green Wal-Mart.

This cannot be dismissed as greenwashing. It's actually far more dangerous than that. Wal-Mart's initiatives have just enough meat to have distracted much of the environmental movement, along with most journalists and many ordinary people, from the fundamental fact that, as a system of distributing goods to people, big-box retailing is as intrinsically unsustainable as clear-cut logging is as a method of harvesting trees.

Here's the key issue. Wal-Mart's carbon estimate omits a massive source of CO2 that is inherent to its operations and amounts to more than all of its other greenhouse-gas emissions combined: the CO2 produced by customers driving to its stores.

The post asserts that big box stores encourage us to drive further -- an average two miles longer each trip -- to do our shopping.

I've taken over The Batavian as my full-time and only job.

Over the next week, I'll be moving the site to a new server. I don't anticipate any disruption in service.

I want to thank Philip Anselmo and Brian Hillabush for all the great work they've done on the site. They're a huge part of the site's success. Philip is moving on to another reporting position.  Brian and I are discussing how we'll be able to continue working together.

Next week, I'll be in our Batavia office ready to cover the news and sell advertising.  As time goes by I'll have more announcements about what we'll be doing with the site. I still have new features to add, many of which will please local advertisers.

My wife and I are listing our house in Pittsford for sale and as soon as it sells, we will rent a place in Batavia (or maybe elsewhere in Genesee County).  I expect we'll see my wife's byline in The Batavian before too long.