A minor injury accident is reported on West Main Street at Woodrow Road, Batavia.
Mercy EMS asked to respond to evaluate a child.
The accident is blocking.
City fire also responding.
UPDATE 3:41 p.m.: The turn lane and one eastbound and one westbound lane are blocked.
The Genesee Wind Ensemble performs at the Oakfield-Alabama Auditorium at 4 p.m., Nov. 18. It is located at 7001 Lewiston Road, Oakfield.
Featured works include "Beguine for Band," "Blue Moon," highlights from "Camelot," "Entry for Gladiators," "Procession for Nobles," "Abracadabra," and Symphony No. 3 by Clifton Williams.
Visit geneseevalleywindensemble.org for more information.
Photos are from last night's rehearsal.
A vehicle fire is reported by the Thruway Authority in the area of mile marker 401.8 with a person still inside the vehicle.
Flames reportedly showing.
Pembroke Fire and Indian Fall Fire dispatched.
It's possible that the person doesn't even realize the vehicle is on fire. There is no indication the person is disabled or that the fire is the result of an accident.
UPDATE 12:09 p.m.: Pembroke and Indian Falls back in service. Unfounded.
Statement from Craig Yunker, CEO of CY Farms and a former county legislator:
Proposal #1 on the Nov. 6th ballot authorizes extending the terms of Genesee County legislators from two to four years with staggered terms. I served on the Legislature for 13 years. As the former Chair of the Genesee County Legislature I strongly support this proposal.
The learning curve for a new legislator is a minimum of two to three years. To expect new legislators to be competent in two years is unreasonable. For example, capital projects extend over years and losing legislators is a deterrent to their successful completion. Staggered terms that are included in this proposal diminishes the possibility of a complete turnover in one year. Such a turnover would likely result in a period of less effectiveness of the legislature during the ramp up as the newly elected body find their sea legs. The cost of running elections is not a trivial matter. This proposal has the potential to reduce election expenses for the county.
Political parties have difficulty recruiting candidates for public office. Not having to campaign, with the related expense, every two years will make the positions more attractive to the kind of candidates that want to be effective at running the county instead of playing politics.
Most towns and villages have recognized these issues and extended the terms for elected officials to four years. No significant negatives for this proposal have been presented and there are many other positives. So I ask your support for Proposal 1.
Renee Smart, owner of Moon Java Cafe on Harvester Avenue, talked during a women-in-business meeting hosted by the Mancuso Business Development Group at her coffee shop last night.
The gathering was a chance for local women business owners to meet and share their experiences and how they took their businesses from concept to reality. The hope is that other women might be inspired to open local businesses.
Bev Mancuso, background in the top photo, led the discussion.
Diana Kastenbaum, owner of Pinnacle Manufacturing in Batavia.
Kim Argenta, whose business, Art Ah La Carte, is in its 10th year.
Once again, more than 400 cancer survivors and friends turned out at Batavia Downs for UMMC's annual Pink Hatters dinner.
The annual event, started more than 15 years ago, honors those who have survived cancer, primarily breast cancer, and supports those facing cancer and their friends and families.
The guest speakers this year included Lisa Lavrey, a physical therapist who spoke about lymphedema and reducing risks and managing symptoms, and Debbie Weiss, a cancer survivor.
The event also included vendors and a basket raffle.
A former Batavia resident who was arrested on drug dealing charges in August of 2017 will be allowed to miss his County Court date for sentencing because it will conflict with federal prosecution he's facing in Maine.
Until recently, local authorities were unsure where Quintin L. Spinks, 34, had gone. He was located in a federal detention facility in Maine where he faces an indictment involving other individual accused of dealing drugs and trafficking in weapons.
Spinks, in the federal indictment, is named in only count one of the indictments, for conspiracy to distribute a mixture of heroin and cocaine.
Attorney Thomas Burns told Judge Charles Zambito in County Court today, where Spinks appeared, escorted by state corrections officers, that his client sought a delay in sentencing for "strategic" reasons related to his pending federal case and a pending case in Monroe County.
While the delay might help his other cases, it may mean he can't make it back for his sentencing once those cases are resolved, so today he waived his appearance for his eventual sentencing. He will allow Burns to accept a sentencing on his behalf.
How the delay might help Spinks with his federal case was not discussed in open court.
Under a plea agreement, he can expect a prison term of under two years but there is no cap on his post-release supervision. He will also be required to pay the standard fines and make a $200 restitution to the county before he is sentenced.
He was arrested by the Local Drug Task Force on two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.
He was arrested by federal authorities in Maine in June. His co-defendants are Rashaad McKinney, Deondray Warren, Sharoz Haywood, and Demario Boler. All face drug charges but McKinney and Warren also face federal weapons charges for making straw purchases of firearms -- buying guns using a fake name.
No date was sent for Spinks to be sentenced.
A person is apparently chasing a bike-theft suspect northbound on Walnut Street, Batavia.
There's no description of the bike thief.
UPDATE 8:43 p.m.: Police are out with the original caller on Walnut Street. No word on the bike thief.
UPDATE 8:48 p.m.: The suspect was last seen westbound on Main Street riding a pink and purple Roadmaster 10-speed.
Press release:
Nate McMurray, Democrat and Working Families Party candidate in NY-27, was joined today by Vice President Joe Biden at The Olive Tree Restaurant, where the two greeted voters and talked about McMurray’s campaign for Congress.
Former Vice President Biden is the most high-profile leader to stump for McMurray, who has been gaining momentum as two recent polls showed a virtual dead heat following the incumbent Chris Collins’ indictment.
“I grew up with people very similar to the residents of this district, not that far from here,” said former Vice President Biden. “Hardworking middle-class families who just want leaders who understand their challenges and work to make their lives better. It’s about creating jobs that the working families of New York can live on. Making sure their kids have safe streets and good schools, and the opportunity for a decent life.
"Folks here put country before party because they know that it’s the right thing to do. And that’s why I’m proud to support Nate because he’ll fight for those families, every day, and give them the kind of Representative they deserve.
“Vice President Biden is a prime example of a leader who has dedicated his life to serving our country and always standing up for working and middle-class families like ours. It’s an honor to have his support,” McMurray said.
With less than two weeks to go, McMurray’s campaign has generated excitement across New York and the country as he takes on the indicted incumbent Chris Collins. Last week, the race was added to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” list as two polls confirmed that it is neck-and-neck.
Press release:
Pro-Trump Reform Party candidate Larry Piegza showed up to the Steve Bannon rally in Elma with a cardboard cutout of Chris Collins dressed in a prison jumpsuit.
"I knew that Collins wasn't going to show his face at the rally, and I wanted people to know exactly how he might be representing our district," Piegza said. "My internal polling shows that Collins has already lost this election.
"The fact is, many people are too moral to vote for someone who has most likely to have broken the law. The only question that remains is if enough people vote for me or if we let the district go to a Democrat."
While police had told Piegza that he must stand with the rest of the protesters, Piegza stated that he doesn't want to be counted as a protester due to the fact that he supports the rest of the Republican ticket.
"I'll be voting down-ballot red this election," Piegza said. "I recommend that others do the same, except obviously for NY -27. Voters are going to have to make a choice on whether they want to vote for a potential criminal in Chris Collins or for an ethical Republican.
You can find out more about Piegza's campaign at FixItLarry.org or hear about him at the upcoming debate at Saint Joe's Collegiate Institute on Oct. 30th or at the League of Women Voters Candidates Forum on Oct. 30th at the Aurora Senior Citizens Center in East Aurora.
Evening Standard: Gene genie: Robert Plomin on his new book exploring how DNA makes us who we are
CBS News: Inside the genetic genealogy being used to solve crimes
New York Post: My ancestry test revealed a genetic bombshell
The Independent: Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test fact check: What journalists got wrong about senator's Native American ancestry
If you take Nate McMurray at his word, he often sounds a lot more like a conservative, or even a populist, than the progressive he sometimes claims to be.
He says, for example, that he's a capitalist. He believes in an American work ethic. He worries about deficit spending. He's concerned about any increase in middle-class taxes. He decries over-regulation of business. He's a gun owner who says a homeowner has a right to use a firearm to defend himself and his household. He lists Ronald Reagan as one of his childhood heroes.
On the populist side, he says Donald Trump is right about some things -- he's right about unfair trade deals and he's right that much of America has been hurt by recent economic policies and that the system has become fundamentally unfair to working Americans.
If McMurray goes to Washington, he promises to be his own man. He won't be beholden to Nancy Pelosi and he won't owe anything to any special interests.
"I am not controlled by anybody, especially not Nancy Pelosi," McMurray said Monday night during a meeting with about 50 undecided voters at Noblehurst Farms in Pavilion. "I have no relationship with her whatsoever. ... I don’t know anything about Nancy Pelosi. I’m going to go (to Washington) and I’m going to be an independent voice. If Nancy Pelosi is right about something, I’m going to say that’s right. If she’s wrong, I’m going to say that’s wrong."
Rise from underdog to legitimate challenger
When Nate McMurray announced his intention to run for Congress in New York's 27th District, he wasn't even the favorite among the five others expected to vie for the seat. Once he emerged after a few weeks as the lone Democrat still interested in running, Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried putting pressure on Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to drop her bid for reelection and run against Rep. Chris Collins, whom she lost to in 2012. Hochul refused to switch races and has since endorsed McMurray.
Early on, McMurray adopted the hashtag on social media "#NateWillWin" but remained at best a long shot as July dragged into August. Even though ethics questions hung on Collins like bright red lights on a Christmas tree, the GOP said Collins was their man. His credentials included a first-in-Congress endorsement of Donald J. Trump in 2016 and a $1.4 million war chest. Loyalty to Trump in the 27th runs deep (the president's approval rating is 62 percent, twenty points higher than the rest of the nation) and Collins has never wavered from his support for the sometimes embattled president.
The incumbent seemed invincible.
That all changed when the multimillionaire businessman was arrested Aug. 8 and charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and lying to the FBI, in connection with a series of stock trades his son Cameron and others made in June 2017 after Collins learned that a critical drug trial had failed for Innate Therapeutics.
Collins is accused of illegally providing confidential information about the drug trial's failure to his son during a phone call Collins placed from the lawn of the White House.
Since then, Collins has said he was running for reelection, then not running for reelection, and then was back in the race. In the intervening weeks, he has largely avoided the public and reporters while dumping campaign funds into TV commercials that portray McMurray as a Pelosi-backed extremist out to destroy the presidency, destroy the economy, and take away your guns.
None of that is true, McMurray told the crowd at Monday night's meeting.
"Every independent news outlet that has looked into these things is saying the advertisements are false," McMurray said. "The fliers are false. The advertisements are false. If the stuff (Collins) is saying is so true, he would have the guts to stand on stage and say it to my face."
McMurray has worked hard. The criminal charges have hurt Collins. While Trump supporters are steadfastly behind their man, other members of the GOP are expressing doubt and the race has tipped from a sure thing for Collins to a toss-up, according to a recent Siena poll.
Contrasting backgrounds, different messages
McMurray, a barrel-chested, 6'3" former high school bodybuilder, makes much of his working-class background, both to burnish his populist image (though he said he never thought of himself as a populist until asked about it) and to contrast his upbringing to that of Collins.
McMurray was born in Tonawanda. His father was a proud union member, a painter, and McMurray said the chemicals in the paint at the time were more dangerous. His father died of cancer at age 39, leaving his 35-year-old wife to raise McMurray and his six siblings on her own.
He said finances were a struggle. He worked his way through Erie County Community College. He studied hard and became a Fulbright Scholar and earned his law degree and passed the bar. He's been a corporate attorney most of his adult life, most recently with Delaware North in Buffalo. He is currently the supervisor in the Town of Grand Island.
Collins, in McMurray's narrative, grew up in privilege. Where McMurray is a working-class Western New Yorker, Collins is the son of a well-to-do business executive, able to attend a four-year university in North Carolina. Where McMurray made his own way, Collins benefitted from his family's wealth. Where McMurray played by the rules, Collins thinks the rules don't apply to him.
"If we win this seat, we don’t just win for Western New York," McMurray said Monday night. "We send a message to this entire country that a guy who started at a community college, who worked every day, worked his way through law school, is able to beat maybe the richest and perhaps the most corrupt man in Congress."
McMurray also thinks his background and his attitudes, especially his full-throated support for capitalism and his support of Second Amendment rights, puts him in conflict with the mainstream of the contemporary Democratic Party.
"I do not want to run to impeach President Trump," McMurray said during an interview with The Batavian early this month at WBTA's studio. "I don't support the SAFE Act. I mean there are things about me that most Democrats when they hear me, they cringe. The reason why I'm a Democrat however is I think we need some fairness in our society.
"I think some things got out of whack. I think we need to fight for working people again. I want to restore the Democratic Party -- not of Nancy Pelosi, but the Democratic Party of my dad, who wore a union jacket with pride and believed in labor and believed in working families, and that's who I am and that's what I'm fighting for."
In our interview, we talked about issues and policy. McMurray said it was the first time a reporter had sat down and talked to him in depth about what he really believes and not just the horse race angle of a political campaign.
The economy & trade, capitalism vs. socialism
We spent most of the time talking about economics: the nature of capitalism, the threat of socialism, and Trump's trade policies.
"I want to save capitalism from where we are," McMurray said. "I think capitalism is in danger. I think we're moving towards oligarchy. I think we're moving toward a society where a few people have all the power and control the democracy and control the vote and control the propaganda that we see every day about who to vote for.
"I can see that in my own race. We have potlucks and picnics where it is very successful it seems but unless you're going into that corporate till and getting those $50,000 dollar checks, it's almost impossible to compete."
McMurray defends capitalism from a populist viewpoint.
"Right now, those rules are dominated by a clique of corporations and powerful elites," McMurray said. "It makes sense. Think about it. Why would a major corporation hire lawyers? I'm one of those lawyers they've hired in the past. Why would they hire lobbyists to shape and manipulate laws to their benefit?
"Everything from labor standards to environmental laws to everything else. They're passing the risks on to us. A congressperson is supposed to be in there making sure those laws are also fair to help people who don't have that power, not the lobbyists. We're supposed to be an advocate for regular people."
Big Pharma, economic elites and the forgotten
It's the crony capitalist controlling the system, McMurray said. The problem is perhaps most acute, in his view, in the pharmaceutical industry.
"We have to shorten (drug patents)," McMurray said. "They're almost indefinite right now so they can rake everybody over the coals. That's why we got people in Batavia driving to Canada to get medicine because we pay more than any (other country). So that's what I'm talking about. They say why aren't you a capitalist? Yeah, I'm capitalist but we have to have a capitalistic system that makes sure all stakeholders are considered and not just ones with the money to buy lawyers they can make the laws for them."
It's this sort of populist resentment of the economic elite setting the rules to benefit themselves that fires up Donald Trump's base, McMurray said, and they're right.
At 43, married for 20 years, with two sons, Moses, 10, and Luke, 7, McMurray says he wants to represent the working families of Western New York, not corporate interests.
"I also believe that the message of President Trump is a strong message," McMurray said. "People have been forgotten in this country. Now I don't agree with his answers but I agree with that message. I believe that we have to remember there's a forgotten America. We can see that in the 27th District. Look at our population decline. Look at how things have gone downhill for so many people. We need someone to advocate for them.
"We know who is advocating for the big corporations," McMurray added. "I'm not taking any corporate money. I've denied corporate money. Look at my background as a business person. That money is accessible to me and it's been painful. It's tested my values not to take that money but we're doing everything to try to run this the way the Founding Fathers intended, from a grassroots perspective."
Trade creates opportunities for Americans
On one hand, McMurray says he shares Trump's views that the United States has gotten itself trapped in unfair trade deals based on naive and utopian views of the world. On the other, when pressed, he acknowledges NAFTA has benefitted the United States and that KORUS (the free-trade agreement with South Korea) has opened up a new market for U.S. companies (in one of his corporate jobs, McMurray helped U.S. companies find customers in South Korea, helping to create jobs in the United States, which is the exact opposite of what Collins claims in one of his campaign commercials).
The United States needs trade, McMurray said, to create opportunities for America's farmers and manufacturers.
"The biggest populations are in Asia," McMurray said. "They're in India and China. Those are growing economies where people are hungry for new items. Listen, I'm someone who has been over there for awhile. They would kill for our Fords or a nice big truck. Many Chinese guys would love to drive a brand new F-150.
"We've got to make sure they have access to it. You know many people in China would love clean milk from Batavia or clean yogurt from Batavia. To put up a wall and say we're not going to sell to these people, that's lunacy."
Again, while saying he agrees with Trump on trade, he opposes tariffs. It's hard, after all, to call yourself a capitalist and support tariffs.
"I think tariffs are bad," McMurray said. "I think that it depends on the situation. I mean a tariff is a tax, essentially. It's a tax on whatever business is being poked. Right now it's a tax on soybean farmers. (It's a tax on consumers, The Batavian interjects) Yes, it's a tax. I mean they call it a tariff but a tariff is a tax. Go back and look at our history. Go back to the Boston Tea Party. A tariff is a tax. So in principle, I'm against it."
Regarding McMurray's economic populism, in our interview, we raised the issue that much of the resentment expressed by many Americans about their economic status is driven by political rhetoric. The left in particular, for a decade or more, has decried wage inequality and wage stagnation. The message has stuck even though it doesn't fully account for how every American at every level of society is actually better off than 10, 20, even 30 years ago.
Some inequality is needed to power the American Dream. It's what drives entrepreneurs to create new things and new jobs. Complaints about wage stagnation ignore the fact that overall compensation has continued to rise, driven mainly by employers paying ever-increasing health care costs (costs that eat up potential raises), and that consumer purchasing power has increased decade by decade (see this chart from humanprogress.org).
McMurray replied that he worries that the sense of resentment people feel when the boss makes so much more than they do is an overall threat to the survival of capitalism. That perception, whether based on reality or not, needs to be addressed, he said.
"There is definitely some truth that capitalism over time is consistently (better)," McMurray said. "This is why I'm a capitalist. It consistently improves the lives of people. It consistently does so. I think if you're making the long-term argument things have gotten better over time for a lot of people. It certainly has, but I think there's also the truth that on the top what they have is getting larger and larger. And I think that's a threat to the overall system."
In 2018, McMurray finds himself in a Democratic Party that is unlike the Democratic Party of his father. The socialists are surging. Bernie Sanders remains popular and a possible 2020 presidential contender. In New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a congressional candidate, Julia Salazar, a State Senate candidate, are avowed socialists Ten more self-identified socialists across the nation have won state house races, while more than 50 percent of Democrats polled say they've lost faith in capitalism. The Democratic Socialists of American, whose adherents include Ocasio-Cortez and Salazar, now has more than 50,000 members, up from 7,000 less than two years ago.
Given a chance to talk to socialists in his midst, McMurray says he would tell them how misguided they are in their support of socialism, which has cost countless millions their lives over the past 100 years and has led to economic ruin everywhere it's been tried. He said the idea that capitalism is inherently evil is extremely dangerous.
"(To) the people who want to embrace socialism, I would ask them to look at our history and see the failures of the last 100 years in the world and the many, many people who died from these experiments," McMurray said. "You have to be very cautious about trying to use these social experiments to fix all the -- there's no magic wand to fix all the world's problems. Human beings, there are many challenges to human life. There are things we can do better, but I would ask them to remember how great our success as a country has been for the last hundred years."
Opposes 'unwinnable wars'
On foreign policy, Donald Trump campaigned as a non-interventionist. He's governed like a neo-conservative. If elected, McMurray said he would oppose unwinnable wars.
"Well, obviously, we don't we don't use U.S. troops unless we're sure about what we're doing and we have a clear goal," McMurray said. "I would never send my children to war, to death, to violence without having a clear goal and a clear understanding what we're trying to achieve. I think what we are not the world's police. I think that's a mistake. "
If elected, McMurray said it will not be his goal to impeach Donald Trump but he does think Congress needs to reassert its rightful place in our system of checks and balances and reclaim some of its power from the executive branch, though he pivoted in his answer to a state issue, the SAFE Act, to illustrate how unchecked power causes people to distrust government.
"We're creeping towards the unintentional destruction of our of our separation of powers system," McMurray said. "I think the way the executive order has been used by past presidents, like President Obama, has been gratuitous and wrong. I think the way we force -- listen, when people feel they're forced to do something or it's not done through the proper process or system they get angry. They get apathetic. That's why people hate the SAFE Act, more than anything else, because they feel it was forced upon them in an undemocratic way. They are angry about that. I agree with that. They should be angry about it."
Guns and the Second Amendment
On guns, McMurray supports the Second Amendment, though he won't side, he said, with the absolutists on the left or the right of the issue.
"I believe the extreme positions on both sides are wrong," McMurray said. "I believe in universal background checks. We have to look at certain weapons and who gets to hold them and how they get to hold them but I can promise you, I will not take action without listening to the 2A groups that oppose me now. I will talk to these guys. I will listen to them because there are a lot of experts. I am amazed at the amount of detail and research that has been done on this issue and I believe in the Second Amendment."
The gun issue in this campaign came up in a unique way a couple of weeks ago when Grand Island Republican Councilman Michael Madigan complained to local media that McMurray threatened him. He produced a recording where McMurray said, “I think you’re sick. I think you really are. I have a gun. Don’t come to my house.”
Rather than defend McMurray's Second Amendment rights, the Collins campaign used it as an opportunity to attack him, according to a statement released to the Buffalo News.
“This obnoxious and borderline violent behavior displayed by Nate McMurray is nothing out of the ordinary,” said Collins campaign spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre. “Whether it be his off-putting comments on social media or his unprofessional conduct during town meetings, it’s clear Nate needs to learn how to keep his emotions in check. This audio is deeply disturbing and further shows Nate is unhinged.”
After Monday night's event, McMurray defended his reminder to Madigan that he owned a gun. The right to defend yourself, your family, and your home is a fundamental right most NY-27 residents support, he said. He's surprised the Collins campaign would attack him over it.
"This is a guy (Madigan) who digs through my garbage and hides in the bushes," McMurray said. "I told him, you come near my house again, I’m going to defend my family. I would say it 100 times. It’s the way I believe."
The NRA has given McMurray an F rating. On Twitter yesterday, McMurray complained that the NRA has no voting record on which to judge him and didn't even bother to ask him a single question about gun rights.
He called the NRA "corporate hacks."
The attack on his position on guns by Collins, he said, is just another way Collins lies about him.
"Some people on the other side (the left) say I’m way too pro-gun, so I think I’m OK," McMurray said. "I want reasonable steps like universal background checks but I would never do anything to take away the Second Amendment."
New York voters have been disappointed a couple of times by Democrats who campaigned with conservative and populist themes only to transform into standard-issue progressive Democrats once they obtained statewide office (Kathy Hochul, Kirsten Gillibrand), so you will have to decide for yourself whether to take McMurray at his word when he espouses conservative values.
For McMurray's part, he says he wouldn't be where he is, living in Grand Island, serving as town supervisor, if he wasn't at least a little red.
"We have a very red town and we're proud of that," McMurray said. "We're proud of what that means. We believe in conservatism from a traditional perspective, which means you hold onto your traditions and your values and you hold them as important because they're valuable to you. They define who you are as a community. In that sense, I would call myself also a conservative.
"I mean, again, I grew up as an Eagle Scout. I grew up in a very very Christian household. I grew up reading very conservative authors. I grew up respecting and loving Ronald Reagan, like any kid in the '80s. That's who I am and I think we need to get away from this paradigm of Republicans versus Democrats. First and foremost we're Americans and Americans do not want to be taken advantage of by people like Mr. Collins."
A two-car accident with unknown injuries is reported at 8132 Buffalo Road, in front of the 7-Eleven, in Bergen.
Bergen fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 5:26 p.m.: Minor injuries.
An unidentified individual broke into Chesley's Auto Service & Tire two nights ago and removed items from the business, according to Batavia PD.
Investigators are asking the public's assistance in identifying the individual.
The person who broke in approached Chesley's through the parking lot of a neighboring business, smashed a window out at Chesley's and entered the building.
What items were removed is not being released at this time.
Anyone with information in reference to the case may contact Detective Thad Mart at 585-345-6372 or the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350, the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370.
Press release:
Nate McMurray, the Democratic and Working Families Party candidate in New York’s 27th Congressional District, today released his multi-point Clean up Corruption Plan to crack down on corruption in Washington, D.C.
Corruption on both sides of the aisle is all too familiar to the people of Western New York, from Chris Collins’ recent indictment for insider trading and lying to the FBI, to the guilty pleas of former Erie Democratic Chair Steve Pigeon.
“Elected officials should work on behalf of the people they represent and no one else -- not corporate boards, not special interests, their constituents. It’s that simple,” McMurray said. “We know the consequences of a man like Mr. Collins all too well in this region: their greed robs us as taxpayers and their betrayal undermines our faith in democracy. It is the antithesis of public service. In Congress, I will fight for this to limit special interests’ influence on our leaders and elections. We deserve better.”
McMurray’s “Clean up Corruption Plan” is outlined below:
- Enact far stricter limits on political contributions from special interests, lobbyists and wealthy special interests. McMurray has voluntarily imposed a ban on corporate PAC money for his campaign, but this should be the law for all candidates;
- Prohibit members of Congress from sitting on for-profit corporate boards;
- Pass tougher campaign finance laws and more transparent disclosures of outside political spending;
- Overturn the disastrous Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for unlimited, untraceable spending in our elections.
McMurray has been a consistent voice for good government throughout the campaign. He has refused to accept corporate PAC money and has been endorsed by End Citizens United, a group dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics.
McMurray has funded his campaign the right way: 5,700 different people contributed to McMurray’s campaign in the last three months; more than 4,600 of them gave $50 or less. In fact, the average donation was under $70.
As a matter of precaution, the county's Emergency Response Team was called to a residence on Lewiston Road in the Town of Batavia early this morning to help arrest two men who were accused of threatening another person in the Town of Alabama earlier in the morning.
The incident meant Route 63 was closed to all traffic, and residents in the area were told to shelter in place, from about 5:30 a.m. until 10 a.m.
Taken into custody were Kevin M. Fossum, 52, and Charles L. Beach, 50. Both were charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd, and menacing, 2nd.
Fossum is the primary resident at the house where he was arrested, and Beach is apparently a friend and a roommate.
Fossum is accused of threatening a person over the phone at about 2:30 a.m. and then a short time later showing up at that person's home in Alabama with Beach and making specific threats against that person. That person claims Fossum possessed a firearm during the confrontation.
Since that subject knew Fossum, deputies responded to his residence on Lewiston Road. They approached with caution because of the possible presence of a firearm.
When deputies did not make contact with the men inside, even though Fossum's car was in the driveway, ERT was dispatched.
Sgt. Andrew Hale said Fossum has become known to deputies recently because of other calls to his residence. He is a retired Army Ranger and a black belt.
"He has serious credentials," Hale said.
Hale said that because of the possibility of a firearm, Fossum's recent behavior, and Fossum's background, ERT and extra officers were called in as a matter of caution, not that an actual threat was made against officers or a more serious immediate conflict.
At some point, while the incident progressed, Fossum, apparently unaware of the police presence, got in his vehicle with an apparent intent to leave the residence. At that point, he was taken into custody.
Officers were unable, however, to make contact with Beach. They were unsure of what Beach was doing inside the house. He could very well have been sleeping, Hale said.
Eventually, officers made contact and Beach exited without incident and was taken into custody.
A search warrant was obtained, and the house, yard, and car were searched. No weapons were recovered.
Neighbors told investigators, Hale said, that Fossum was not known to possess firearms.
Fossum was jailed on $7,500 bail, and bail for Beach was set at $5,000.
The Sheriff's Office was assisted by Batavia PD, ERT, the Orleans County Emergency Response Team, and the State Police.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
In "Kitchen Confidential," Anthony Bourdain famously advised diners, "never order fish on a Monday."
That works out well for Todd and Grace Fannin, who over the summer opened a new seafood restaurant in Batavia with a plan to make sure their fish is always fresh by buying it from the fish market in Buffalo on Wednesday and Thursday and serving it all by Saturday night.
"That's advice we live by because when we do have our liquor license and we are open seven days a week, we are going to have a tighter menu," Todd said. "Our menu is going to be a shorter menu the days we're closed now, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday."
With a little over two months in business under their belts, Todd and Grace like the way things are going and the response they've received from local diners so far.
"We wanted to bring something that Batavia had a need for," Todd said. "There was a customer base here that nobody tapped into. There are the burger joints and the pizzerias and the Smoke House and the Italian restaurants. We thought Batavia had a need for something of this nature that would appeal to a certain audience and we found that audience."
This is the fourth restaurant the couple has opened over the past 30 years. The previous ones were on the shores of Lake Ontario and while they also specialized in seafood, they were seasonal. Fishtales is their first attempt to run a seafood restaurant year around.
The location is 107 Evans St., Batavia, the same location as The Little Ridge and Delavan's previously.
Even without a liquor license yet and little marketing, people are finding the restaurant and the crowds are growing.
"We've had a couple of really great Friday and Saturday nights recently," Grace said. "The best we’ve had. I would say the business is building right now and that was our goal."
In recent weeks, flounder and snapper have been popular, along with tuna, cod, trout, and scallops (there's also steak and chicken on the menu).
"Last Friday, it was not your typical Friday fish fry crowd," Todd said. "It was a younger crowd, a full house and they were going for more of the sauteed and the broiled dishes. Our crowd is changing and yet it's growing."
Some local restaurateurs have shied away from seafood because customers demand freshness and they feared Batavia might not support seafood sufficiently to manage the product properly, but Todd said it's all about listening to your customers and paying attention to what they want. He felt confident he could make it work in Batavia.
"We don’t cut corners here; we try to put a good product out and I think people are starting to notice that," Todd said. "At least that's the feedback we get."
Press release:
Yesterday the New York Post issued their Congressional endorsements for races in New York State and New Jersey, and the sole Democrat to earn their support is Nate McMurray in New York's 27th Congressional District.
The right-leaning paper today made clear that Chris Collins’ indictment made him an unacceptable choice for voters.
Said the New York Post, "After first agreeing to drop out, Collins changed his mind and plainly means to use the seat as a chip in plea-bargaining…voters should return the incumbent’s contempt."
The same day, the Buffalo News reported on a lack of enthusiasm among Republicans in NY-27.
Earlier this week, the McMurray campaign announced Republicans for Nate, a steering committee of Republican supporters committed to reaching out to fellow GOP voters to support McMurray.
“Voters from all backgrounds can’t run away fast enough from Chris Collins,” McMurray said. “Every day I meet more regular folks who believe in putting country over party. They’re sick of the fighting, sick of being lied to, and embarrassed to be represented by a man out on bail. Voters are smarter than Mr. Collins gives them credit for.
"My commitment was never to any one party, it was always to families like mine, and hardworking women and men worried about health care and Social Security, who feel like the system is rigged against them. We don’t all agree on every issue, but I will always listen and truly represent the people of our region.”
Since the August indictment, national and local Republicans have been turning their back on Collins. The Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan stripped him of all his committee assignments. The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee said they would “not give a dime” to this race. And the House Ethics Committee voted unanimously to investigate him.
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