Stories from

Mike Barrett, owner of Barrett's Marine and Sporting Supply, says he's seeing more first-time gun buyers in his store these days, and County Clerk Don Read reports that the most recent gun permit class had 42 people in it.

The increase in local gun ownership matches a national trend.

"I don't think it's one element that is behind the increase," Read said. "It's everything put together."

And everything means fears of new federal and state legislation restricting gun and ammo sales, the recession and increases in crime, and the usual reason -- newfound interest in hunting and target shooting.

Whatever the cause, Barrett said distributors' warehouses are bare and it's more difficult to get inventory.

Barrett and his staff where a little upset with Read this afternoon, after hearing that Read blamed the increase of permits on "scare tactics" by the NRA and other gun advocates. Conservative commentators have been raising concerns about President Obama's anti-gun positions and legislation being introduced at both the state and federal levels.

"I heard that (Read's comments) today and almost blew a gasket," Barrett said. "A lot of people are down playing what's going on and it's nothing to be played down. I don't say that just because I'm a business man  There is a train coming down."

Barrett handed over information on five state bills that would limit gun ownership, make it harder if not impossible to buy certain kind of guns and obtain ammunition.

Anti-gun legislation has been introduced before and didn't pass. Read said he thinks this round of legislation isn't likely to pass either.

"I don't attribute it to scare tactics, but there is an aspect that people are afraid there will be more restrictions," Read said. "Personally, I don't see that happening, but often perception of an issue is more important than reality."

The surge in gun permits goes beyond the specter of stricter legislation, Barrett said. The recession is also driving concerns about a rise in crime and the need for self protection.

A member of his staff, Jack Taylor, said a 70-year-old woman walked out of the store 20 minutes earlier with her first rifle.

"She bought it for target practice and to keep around the house," Taylor said.

Read tells a similar story: "We just had a lady in, a well-known lady, who is retired now and her husband enjoys target practice and she wanted to be able to enjoy it with him."

Asked about more gun ownership in Genesee County, Sheriff Gary Maha responded:

"Those persons obtaining gun permits are law-abiding citizens and are not
a concern to law enforcement.  I believe in the Second Amendment -- 'the right to bear arms.' It is the illegal guns and illegally obtained guns that I am concerned about."

For more information on the proposed legislation in New York, visit the SCOPE Web site.

Two ambulances are responding to a single-car rollover accident on the westbound Thruway at mile maker 382.6 in the Town of LeRoy.

The extent of any injuries are unknown, but an original dispatch of Mercy Flight -- which was 90 miles away -- has been canceled.

All occupants are out of the vehicle.

Author Lorna Bartlett was the guest of Present Tense for a book signing on Saturday, and she left an apparent fan of the charming shop on Washington Avenue.

She writes in her blog:

What a terrific store! Housed in a gorgeous old Victorian home, the shop (inside and out) is painted in wonderful colors. There are several rooms filled with books, a selection of coffee and teas, children's toys (and books!), candles, hand-sewn purses (I was really tempted by those), pretty teacups, a gallery of original photographs, magnetic poetry kits, and lots of other marvelous things. I admit, I did succumb to temptation and bought a package of Who Dunn-Its sticky notes.

If you missed the signing, Bartlett left some signed books at the store. 

Check her post for more details about her afternoon at Present Tense and some pictures she took of the store.

Earlier this month, a group of regional Democratic leaders traveled to Buffalo to meet with newly minted U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Steven Israel.

Among the issues raised by GLOW Democrats was the dairy farm crisis, which we covered previously.

The Democrats discussed with Israel possible candidates to run against Congressman Chris Lee in 2010.

The full press release from Judith Hunter after the jump:

Members of the GLOW Democratic Coalition traveled to Buffalo on Saturday, April 4, to meet with New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Steven Israel (NY-2) and discuss the needs of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties.  “Now that our Democratic committees are working together across our region, we’re getting opportunities to speak up and be heard.  This was a great morning for our coalition,” said Lorie Longhany of LeRoy, Chair of the Genesee County Democratic  Committee.

Geneseo’s Phil Jones, Livingston County Democratic Chair, emphasized the importance of meeting with Senator Gillibrand.  “It was crucial for us to meet with our new Senator, because our federal Senators are our only legislators who are members of the majority.  Every legislator we have below that level is in the minority caucus and, of course, less powerful.”  The first issue the GLOW leaders raised with Senator Gillibrand was the crisis in dairy farming, with Harold Bush of Gainesville, Wyoming County Democratic Chair, stating that his county is projected to lose $60 million this year because dairy prices have fallen so drastically.  “I was very impressed with the Senator’s response.  She is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and understands this issue and its importance very well.  She explained the problem was structural and that the pricing system has to be changed so that you don’t have the current situation of the price level being set lower than the cost of the production of milk.  She had some great ideas.”

The GLOW Democratic leaders also met with Representative Steven Israel, who asked them to come and discuss possible Democratic candidates for the 2010 Congressional race in New York’s 26th District.  Congressman Israel is in charge of recruitment for the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee).  Suzanne Coogan of Warsaw, Wyoming County, noted that “the rural counties are crucial to our Congressional election.  It’s a great development that the people guiding our national strategy want our input.”

One of the things that came up in both meetings was the new GLOWDemocrats.com website.  Senator Gillibrand’s staff was especially complimentary of the site, which tracks and analyzes developments that affect the GLOW region.
 

Reminder: We've created the ability for you to receive e-mail updates from The Batavian. We have two e-mail subscriptions available now:

News Updates: Periodic news updates as needed, with usually a 5 p.m. daily e-mail. Don't miss the news on a busy day.

Deal of the Day: Daily specials from local businesses -- usually half off on a gift certificate.

To subscribe, click here.

Today's Deal of the Day: A $25 gift certificate from Vingtage and Vogue Inspirations in LeRoy. The Batavian's Good Deal Price: $12.50 -- HALF off!

If you've not been in Vintage & Vogue yet, it's a new store in the village that is well worth a visit. It features great handcrafted goods for the home.

The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value and is non-transferable.

Rules: E-mail me at howard (at) thebatavian dot com. First e-mail wins, but the winner must arrange to stop by my office on Main Street before 5:00 p.m. today to pay for the gift certificate. If the first e-mailer can't or doesn't make it in, the certificate goes to the second e-mailer.

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Anthony W. Dachille, 23, of Henrietta, was stopped on Route 33 in Bergen early yesterday morning for alleged "multiple" traffic violations and after a short investigation, deputies concluded he appeared to be drinking and driving and the car he was in was stolen. Dachille's license had previously been revoked for a DWI violation in 2007. Dachille is charged with felony DWI, unlicensed operation of a vehicle in the 1st degree and criminal possession of stolen property.

Stephen Earle says his 24 years in the Navy have been fun and rewarding, but he often misses his home town of Batavia and thinks he might settle in Western New York when he retires in a couple of years. He and his wife purchased a home in Orleans County while he served as a recruiter in Batavia for a little more than two years.

Earle, whose mother still lives in Batavia, is currently serving in sonar aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Afghanistan theater. He called The Batavian today for an exclusive interview, at the request of U.S. Navy public relations personnel, to talk about his career.

We recorded the interview and you can listen here.

Earle said his two-decades-plus in the Navy have been great, but not without hardship. It's tough being away from his wife and two children, he said. Fortunately, long deployments are not common.

He's seen the world, too, and spent many years stationed in San Diego and Long Beach.

"I used to say that I missed the snow," Earle said. "And then moving back there for two-and-half years, I would say 'do I really miss the snow?'  I do miss the small town atmosphere. I've been at bases around large cities and San Diego was a great place and everything, but it never rained enough and the size of the town, I just sort of missed the small town atmosphere."

Bales of hay on a truck are reportedly on fair in Bethany at 6025 East Bethany Le Roy Road. Crews are responding. A second alarm has been responded.

UPDATE 4:21 p.m.: I'm on scene on Hawks Road, where the truck with burning hay was moved to after firefighters determined the only way to extinguish the fire was to dump the load in an open field. The load has been dumped and crews are now poring water and bulldozing dirt onto the burning fire. The flames are few but the smoke is profuse.  I should have some video edited and uploaded in an hour or two.

UPDATE 5:15 p.m.: The fire is reportedly contained and crews are returning to quarters; however, the fire is expected to burn for a couple of more days until it burns itself out, generating much smoke at times.

UPDATE 10:30 p.m.: At the scene today I met Scott M. Kibler, 4th assistant chief for the Stafford Fire Department, and it turns out he's a regular reader of The Batavian. He sends along the following report and pictures from the fire.

At 3:10 PM the Stafford Fire Dept was called out to assist the Bethany Fire Dept. at 6025 E.Bethany-Leroy Rd. for a tractor trailer loaded with hay that was on fire. First ariving trucks on scene deployed hand lines and attempted to put out the fire with little success. It was determined that the load needed to be dumped in order to get at the fire and put it out. A suitable dump site was located about a mile away on Hawks Rd. in a empty field. Pavilion Fire Dept. set up a draft site on Fox Place in the town of Stafford and tankers were filled from there. A front end Loader was brought in by A.D. Call & sons and when the load was dumped it was pushed around and spread out so it could be watered down. I have not heard how the fire started yet but my guess would be from the exhaust stack on the truck. Trucks from Stafford, Bethany and Pavilion Responded to this incident.

Today's Deal of the Day: A $25 gift certificate for the Grandstands Bar & Grille at the Batavia Downs Casino. The Batavian Deal of the Day Price: $12.50.  That's HALF off.

The Grandstands features an affordable menu, so this is a pretty valuable offer.

The gift certificate must be used by June 30, 2009. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value and is non-transferable.

Rules: E-mail me at howard (at) thebatavian dot com. First e-mail wins, but the winner must arrange to stop by my office on Main Street before 5:30 p.m. today to pay for the gift certificate. If the first e-mailer can't or doesn't make it in, the certificate goes to the second e-mailer.

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

You all remember Joe Mesi: The former boxer who lost his bid for the 61st State Senate seat now held by Mike Ranzenhofer.

It turns out, he came out of the election OK, according to the Buffalo News.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is handing Mesi a new job for him that pays $70,000 a year and will provide Mesi with a staff of up to 10 people.

“It will serve as a liaison for the majority leader with the local community, working with local community groups,” Shafran said. “It’s another mechanism of community outreach to make sure we’re meeting the needs of the broader community.”

The spokesman for Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith of Queens said the office will serve a different function than a previous operation maintained by Senate Republicans when they held the majority. While the GOP version centered around communications, Shafran said Democrats plan to make it a more representative presence of the majority conference in the community.

Well good for Joe that he made some friends in Albany, but how necessary is it for the Senate Majority office to have a community outreach office in Buffalo? Aren't there already elected representatives there to handle constituent issues?

A sheriff's deputy says he saw a bong fly from the window of a vehicle on Route 63 in Oakfield on Monday evening.

In the vehicle, which was stopped for allegedly having improperly tinted windows, were a group of young people and reportedly three more partially burned marijuana cigarettes.

Two Alabama teenagers were charged with unlawful possession of marijuana: Joseph D. Bauer, 18, of Oakfield, and a 17-year-old from Oakfield.

A third person was identified as the young man who threw the item from the window, which deputies say was a marijuana pipe.  The third person was not charged with a crime, nor were two other passengers in the car.

The 17-year-old reportedly told deputies the marijuana cigarettes belonged to him.

The two teenagers charged were issued appearance tickets for Town of Oakfield Court.

More jobs and a bigger tax base were the selling points in Batavia's council chamber last night as City Manager Jason Molino pitched a proposed redevelopment plan for the Masse Gateway Project.

To get the project going, the city, and property owner Mancuso Business Development Group, could use an immediate cash infusion of $2.5 million from a state program known as RestoreNY.

The application deadline for the program is fast approaching and by a unanimous vote, the council approved a resolution to hold a public hearing on the proposal on April 22 at 5 p.m.

“The Masse Gateway Project does meet the criteria of the program and the city is going to be in a fairly strong position to score well on the application," consultant Stuart I. Brown told the council.

To score well, Molino and Brown told the council, it is necessary to provide a 26 percent local match, or about $650,000 above the requested grant amount. A mere 10 percent, or even 17 or 18 percent, might not cut it because Batavia doesn't qualify, under RestoreNY guidelines, as a distressed urban area.

The entire project is expected to cost $3.15 million, with the matching funds coming from in-kind services ($50,000 in staff time for inspections and simliar services), $400,000 in prior work and in-kind matches from Mancuso, and $200,000 from the city's revolving loan fund for small-business start-ups.

The BDC loan funds were an area of some concern because Mancuso is not expected to pay any of that money back to the fund, but Molino explained that under terms of original grant that created the fund, using the money for a job-growth project such as Masse is acceptable.

He also explained that currently the BDC has $400,000 cash available and $200,000 in outstanding loans, so the BDC board felt confident that there would be enough money left in the loan program to fund future small business start-ups.

This is the second time Batavia has applied for RestoreNY funds. The first application was rejected, Molino speculated, because the city asked for only a 10 percent match and the plan submitted was not comprehensive enough.

Stu Brown added that the 10 percent match included in the plan was largely for planning work aready done and not new development work, which may have been a problem.

“In my experience and after looking over the RestoreNY guidelines, it is my strong recommendation that the city over match the requirements," Brown said.

Architect Ed Smart also explained a bit about the anticipated development, saying that the key to making the entire Central Corridor Project (PDF) viable was improving the edges. The edge work, he said, would make the entire 27-acre area more attractive to developers, investors and businesses looking for new locations.

“Each of the proposed uses would be more job-growth intensive than the previous uses, Smart said, later adding:  “When the business incubator first started, there were businesses looking for 20,000 or 30,000 square feet of space, but today’s businesses want much smaller spaces.”

Some council members asked about the immediate potential for residential uses in the project (which is part of the larger Central Corridor Project), and Smart said residential really wasn't part of the plan right now out of concern there simply wouldn't be demand during this phase of development.

"Building 16 is really versatile and could serve as business lofts or residential lofts," Smart said. "But there is a lot (as in other development) that would have to happen around the building to make it an attractive place for residents to want to live there."

Previously: City may seek $2.5 million state grant to help with Masse Gateway Project

After some discussion of whether the City of Batavia should apply to hire one or two new police officers through a Federal grant program, the City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday night to seek funding for one position.

The new position, if the grant is approved, would create an entry-level police officer to participate in a community-oriented policing program, and it would replace a position eliminated in the 2008-2009 budget.

The funding comes from U.S. Governments COPS Hiring Recovery Program and covers the first three years of salary and benefits for a new hire.

According to City Manager Jason Molino, the grant cannot be used to replace a retiring officer or to hire a new detective. It can only be used to back fill a position previously eliminated.

Community-oriented policing is a program developed in New York City in 1990s, and used with some success in San Diego. It involves officers being more involved in the community, developing relationships with people in local neighborhoods to solve problems and prevent crimes.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski suggested the city apply for two such positions, and made a motion to amend the resolution, but most of the rest of the council disagreed and voted it down.

In arguing against the motion, Councilman Tim Buckley said, "Let's apply for this one and be happy we get it," stating a concern that applying for two when the city may only qualify for one could cause the entire application to be denied.

The subsequent motion supporting the original resolution for one position was approved unanimously.
 

We're introducing e-mail updates to The Batavian.  These updates will allow you to get information e-mailed to you about new posts and our new Deals of the Day feature.

A good portion of The Batavian's audience visits the site at least daily, but for those who do not, we thought allowing people to subscribe to e-mail updates would help them keep abreast of news and information from the site.

• News Updates: This will mostly be a daily e-mail, which I'll try to get out around 5 p.m. each week day, but in the event of an important breaking story, I may send out an e-mail when that story breaks.
• Deals of the Day: You will receive an e-mail from this update list whenever we post a Deal of the Day.  This is a great way to quickly get notified when the deal is posted.

This lists are available to all registered users of The Batavian. You can access the lists any time from the "Mailing Lists register" link under "My Accounts" when you're logged in. If you're logged in now, you can get to the mailing lists page by clicking here.

For any Batavians who thought maybe Time-Warner Cable wouldn't test its new tiered broadband pricing plan in Genesee County, we have some bad news. We just received this message from Lara Pritchard, public affairs manager for Time Warner Cable, WNY Division:

Our trial for monitoring internet usage will rollout across our entire Rochester footprint. Batavia customers will also be enrolled to work with us and provide feedback on their usage /plans.

For those who haven't heard, TW is planning to switch Rochester-area customers from a flat-price service for broadband (cable modem, in this case) Internet service to one which offers different pricing plans, based on anticipated usage. Heavier users would be faced with potential monthly overage charges, or plan on spending up to $150 per month for unlimited usage.

WHAM 13 explains the tiered plan here:

The "trial" is expected to begin in August.

For it's part, this is what TW says about the need for the pricing scheme:

Time Warner Cable said that steady increase in use, along with massive bandwidth consumption by a small percentage of customers, is the reason it's testing the new pricing policy. The company said it needs to pay for infrastructure upgrades.

Commenting on the criticism of the plan, company spokesman Alex Dudley said, "Customer feedback is a critical part of the trial."

But not so fast. As others have noted, there isn't really a cost justification for TW's plan.

Ars Technica:

Britt's rationale for the change—infrastructure is expensive—is tough to understand. Cable's physical plant has been in the ground for years; even hybrid fiber-coax systems have been widely deployed for some time. Internet access simply runs across the existing network, and one of cable's big advantages over DSL is that speeds can be upgraded cheaply by swapping in new DOCSIS headend gear, with DOCSIS 3.0 the current standard. Compared to what Verizon is doing with fiber and AT&T with its quasi-fiber U-Verse, cable Internet is a bargain (well, for the operators).

But perhaps consumers are insatiable bandwidth hounds who are simply overloading TWC's system—or perhaps not. The BusinessWeek article notes that only 14 percent of users in TWC's trial city of Beaumont, Texas even exceeded their caps at all. My own recent conversations with other major ISPs suggest that the average broadband user only pulls down 2-6GB of data per month as it is.

A site called Stop the Cap dug through some of TW's communications for shareholders and found that TW is telling its investors its costs are actually decreasing. (via Fighting 29th)

High-speed data costs decreased for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2008 primarily due to a decrease in per-subscriber connectivity costs, partially offset by subscriber growth.

A Batavia teen has been charged with rape in the first degree, according to a report by Batavia Police.

Oliver Thomas, 17, is accused of forcibly raping a 15-year-old girl at his home on Feb. 16.

Thomas, who was taken into custody at 9:15 a.m. today,  was jailed without bail.

Sheriff's deputies are searching the area around Tops on West Main after a suspected shoplifter allegedly fled the area. The suspect was last scene scaling a fence near the store. 

The suspect is believed to be a thin, tall black male, possibly wearing a checkered jacket or vest. Police declined to provide any further description at this time.