Stories from

The cause of death of 9-year-old Michaela L. Fidanza is still unknown, but school officials have notified parents of children attending John Kennedy Elementary School that New York health officials have not ruled out Meningitis.

Yesterday, the school had told parents that the Genesee County Health Department had determined it wasn't Meningitis.

Now the school is telling parents that "persons who may have exchanged saliva" with Fidanza in the past seven days should contact a physician.

WBTA obtained the letter to parents this afternoon and posted a copy on its Web site. The full text reads:

This is a message from the Batavia City School District for families whose children attend John Kennedy Elementary. You received a letter yesterday about the deal of a student at JK. In the letter, we indicated that the Genesee County Health Department had ruled out Meningitis as the cause of death. The NYS Health Department, because of the seriousness of the situation, feels that meningitis cannot be ruled out even though the tests are negative, because all symptoms support the meningitis diagnosis. The New York State health Department advises that persons who may have exchanged saliva with the patient during the last seven days should contact their physician. Any child who becomes ill with fever, rash or stiff neck, should be seen by a doctor immediately.

In today's edition of the Daily News, Scott DeSmit reports:

The ME's office looked immediately for signs of meningitis, a contagious viral disease.

"They were thinking that it was possibly meningitis but so far, the cultures have been negative for that," he said. "But they told us it takes four days to be sure. They don't think that's a cause but we don't know."

There's still a chance of snow in our immediate future, with light snow predicted for this morning and a chance of snow on Friday.  It looks like it we will have cold nights, mild to cold days the rest of the week.

Here's the National Weather Service forecast:

Today: Scattered snow showers, mixing with rain after noon, then gradually ending. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Breezy, with a west wind between 16 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. West wind between 6 and 13 mph.

Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 48. West wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind between 3 and 8 mph.

Friday: A chance of rain after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. East wind between 6 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Friday Night: A chance of rain and snow before 10pm, then a slight chance of snow between 10pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 47.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26.

A Conesus couple is charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree for allegedly stealing four chain saws from Morg's Sawz & Stoves in Pavilion. The crime allegedly took place March 26 in the afternoon. The suspects were picked up that day by the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. Arraigned yesterday in Pavilion Town Court were Michael G. Boggs, 31,and Jennifer R. Boggs, 26.  The couple remains incarcerated in Livingston County.

Kenneth Laird, 56, of Bethany, is accused of getting into a domestic dispute yesterday with a person he has been ordered not to contact. Laird reportedly threw rocks at this person's car as the person tried to leave the scene of the dispute. Laird is charged with criminal contempt in the 2nd degree and harassment in the second degree.

Buffalo attorney Jim Ostrowski lost the first round in his legal fight against New York State grants and government loans to businesses, but he's pushing forward with his crusade against "corporate welfare."

GCEDC's VP of marketing and communications, Chad Zambito is concerned that efforts such as Ostrolwski's could undermine economic development tools such as empire zones and damage efforts to bring business to Western New York.

"What it really does is it sends ends a message to site selectors nationwide that New York is really unfriendly to business," Zambito said. "It certainly sends a message to business people who might be looking at New York State that we might not be the most stable environment."

Zambito said Ostrowski's effort, if successful, would hurt the state because of New York's excessive tax burden.

Ostrowski doesn't buy it.

"That’s a really bad argument," Ostrowski said.  "If you look at Pennsylvania and Ohio, to reduce our taxes to their level, we would have to cut $40 billion out of the budget. Now corporate welfare only moves around about $1.5 billion per year, so it’s not an effective tool to compete with other states (with lower taxes)."

A lawsuit filed by Ostrowski on behalf of a number of people claims that New York's state Constitution forbids government loans and gifts to private enterprises, and for good reason.

Part of the lawsuit reads:

Prior to 1846, the State of New York provided large loans and grants to private
business allegedly for economic development.

When many of these projects failed, state taxpayers were left with a fiscally
unstable state government and much higher taxes to pay off loan guarantees.

To remedy this problem, the state constitution was amended in 1846 to ban loans
to private firms.

The voters approved the amendment, 221,528 to 92,436.

In 1874, the provision was expanded to include a ban on giving the money of the
state to private firms.

State lawmakers sought to amend the Constitution in 1967, but voters defeated the proposal by more than two million votes.

"In the years that have passed, state officials have acted as though the 1967 amendment had become law," the lawsuit reads.

Ostrowski lost his lawsuit, but the decision is now on appeal.

"There is no scientific or economic study that has ever shown these (economic development) policies to be effective," Ostrowski, adding later, "The main question is what gives these bureaucrats that run these agencies any expertise at all what business projects to pursue. Those decisions should be made by entrepreneurs in the market place."

The ECEDC has a number of promising projects on the board, however, has three major projects on the board, including Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, Upstate Med & Tech Park and Commercialization Center, and the Science, Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Park in Alabama. There is also the possible revitalization of the Harvester Center area, which could also potentially use some extra government funds.

Zimbito doesn't think the lawsuit is any threat to these ongoing projects, but he does think it runs counter to the stimulus incentives being laid out by the Obama Administration.  The suit, if successful, could prevent New York from getting further stimulus aid, with that money going to other states instead.

"The stimulus money is taxpayer dollars to spur investiment and stimulate the economy," Zambito said. "That’s based on a lot of grants and a lot of low interest loans. So I’m not sure how that’s going to play with all this stimulus money that’s coming through state channels. I think that would put a damper on it, and by the sound of it it would put a halt to stimulus dollars as well."

Naturally, given that this is New York, Ostrowski may not even need to win the appeal to achieve the same effect. According to this Dave Catalfamo column, the governor is doing his best to kill of empire zones by making them uninteresting to migrating businesses.

Manufacturers, which are already in danger of joining New York’s Karner blue butterfly on the endangered species list, are now required to generate $10 in economic activity for every $1 in state tax breaks. And the state is ... demanding non-manufacturers to deliver a 20-to-1 return.

Finally, when thinking about government money going to private enterprise for large scale projects, it's always best to keep the downtown mall in mind.

Ten voters showed up to the Village of Alexander election meeting last night, five of them were candidates for village offices.

The voters also approved a $373,450 budget. The tax rate remains unchanged at $1.66 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Elected unanimously to one-year terms by the 10 voters:

• Mayor: Richard Scharlau
• Clerk/Treasurer: Vera Antonucci
• Tax Collector: Nancy Bartz
• Constable: Ralph Robbins

William Wagner was elected to a two-year term as village trustee.

No Elba residents attended the Village Board meeting last night were the board unanimously approved a 2009-2010 budget.

General fund spending decreases by 5 percent, according to Village Clerk/Treasurer Beverly Hillabush. The water fund is down 5 percent and the sewer fund is down 1 percent.

"The decrease is due mostly to paying off a fire truck," Hillabush said.

Meanwhile, tax collections will be up slightly, to $73,275, though the village tax rate remains unchanged, at $3.25 per $1,000 of assessed value.

There was an increase in spending in the youth program, Hillabush said, because the village has decided to split its youth program from the Town of Elba's program. Hillabush explained that the town wanted to add more programs that the village didn't think it could afford. "We just couldn't come to terms," she said.

The village programs will be open to all students in the Elba Central School District.

I stopped in LeRoy today and spotted this scene and snapped a quick pic -- snow in LeRoy in April.

Lisa M. Derrett, 18, of Batavia, is charged with stalking in the 4th degree. Derrett was taken into custody following an investigation at Genesee Community College where she allegedly approached an individual she had been advised by law enforcement not to contact. She was released on her own recognize. An order of protection was issued.

So what do you think about the out-of-season snow fall? It looks like we will get a little more this morning:

... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM EDT THIS MORNING...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM EDT THIS MORNING.

PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE ADVISORY AREA TODAY... WITH ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES EXPECTED.

ALTHOUGH THIS SNOWFALL IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE SIGNIFICANT AS FAR AS ACCUMULATIONS GO... IT WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO IMPACT TRAVEL ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THIS MORNING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NORMALLY ISSUED FOR A VARIETY OF WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS INCLUDING SNOW. WHILE THE WEATHER WILL BE SIGNIFICANT... THE WORD ADVISORY IMPLIES THAT SEVERE WINTER WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

What is it with Republicans and posting on The Batavian? It seems not many of them post, and when they do, too often we figure out later that they are not using their real names.

• MIchael Barney
• Michael Farnsworth
• Maddie LaNova
• Niel Hamburger
• Robert Drewinski

And now Frank Michaels: All apparently fake names espousing conservative, if not overtly, Republican views.

I'm not interested in making this a partisan issue, but geez ... the trend here is disturbing. Why can't local Republicans do, as many active local Democrats do, and comment freely under their real names?

Michael Barney, of course, turned out to be County Legislator Jay Grasso.

Farnsworth and LaNova left pro-Grasso comments on the post about Grasso, such as:

This is so not cool! Everybody goes on line with other names! I sat in a high school class that Legislator Grasso came to when I was a Senior. It is a local government seminar. He was pretty decent. He talked about how to access your local government and things like that. He also helped some kids with their exit projects. He did not come accross as political and I did not know his party from it. If he was posting s**t like "vote for grasso", then you should hammer him. He did not do this. Not cool at all.

Farnsworth, LaNova and Frank Michaels all have one thing in common:  They're using the same Road Runner business account IP address.

Grasso, for his part, denies emphatically that he is Frank Michaels.

"I give you my word," Grasso said. "I don’t need the aggravation from the Dems. They would eat me alive."

So here's my plea to local Republicans: We want your comments as much as anybody's on The Batavian, we just ask that you use your real names. Is that too much to ask?

And apologies to the Republicans on the site who are posting under their real names, and there are a few, but I wish the attempts at fake names would stop.  It would be good to have more conservative voices on the site (we often get accused of being a Democratic haven). We just expect both conservatives and progressives to use their real names.  Why try to subvert that? We almost always figure it out.

I wanted to set up a system that would allow me to record some of my interviews and then post those MP3 files to The Batavian.

Today, to test out my new system, Brian Hillabush (whom I meant to refer to as the "once and future sports editor of The Batavian" in the recording) talk a little baseball.

You can download the MP3 audio file here. The file is about 10 minutes long.  We cover the majors, Muckdogs and our recent fantasy league draft.

Here's a good bit of writing and reporting from Scott DeSmit on the pinch, if not outrage, from local business owners over the fee and tax increases in the new state budget.

Great lead:

The New York state budget will be enacted this week and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who isn't harboring thoughts of revolution.

The print edition includes a good breakout box of 19 increases hitting consumers and businesses.

Among the largest, up to 5,000 percent increase in cigarette taxes.  As Scott writes, you read that right: 5,000.

Jeff Heubusch, owner of Southside Deli on Ellicott Street in Batavia, said he already knows what he's going to do about the new fee. He's not going to pay it.

"I definitely won't carry cigarettes," he said. "The profit margin just isn't worth it. If I stop selling them, so what? Our main business is food."

Heubusch said he would have to pay $2,500 to sell cigarettes.

"We used to sell 150 cartons a week in the 1990s," he said. "Now, we're lucky to sell 20 a week. I'm sure there's a motive for this. I think what's going to happen is you'll find that instead of 50 places to buy cigarettes, you'll be down to two or three."

Read the whole thing.

Is the City of Batavia ready to pony up $288,000 in back pay to Batavia's police officers?

That could be the price tag on an expected arbitrator's ruling this summer.

Or the amount of back pay could be zero, or somewhere in between. Nobody really knows at this point.

In an e-mail request for comment, City Manager Jason Molino said, "Yes the arbitration decision will most likely come out this summer or fall.  There is no way of determining what the settlement may be.  This makes budgeting extremely difficult and no money has been budgeted for retroactive payments.  Any substantial retroactive payment would severely set back the City's attempt to minimize future costs."

Molino addressed the back pay issue earlier this year in his annual budget message, when he said that no money had been budgeted to cover retroactive pay.

Other city unions have given at least one year of zero-percent adjustments over the past four fiscal years (including 2009-2010), with other annual increases ranging from 1.5 percent to 2.85 percent.

If the the arbitrator finds in favor of the police union, the city could be on the hook for five years of back pay. It could be less, and it may not be as high as 3 percent.

But if the officers are awarded a 3-percent increase, it would be compounded for two years. That second-year rate would also apply to any additional annual pay increases for three years.

Frank Klimjack, president of the Batavia Police Benevolent Association, e-mailed us this explanation:

As per the Taylor law, an arbitrator can only impose an award for two years, therefore, that would only get the contract situation to an expiration date of March 31st, 2007.  Whatever award is imposed, a ?% for March 1st, 2005 and ?% for April 1st, 2006 would be granted to the PBA membership. Then you would have to readjust the amount of earnings beginning April 1st, 2005 through the present day 2009 based upon those percentages to determine back pay due the PBA membership. Then it's back to the negotiating table.

That's a big question mark in Klimjack's statement -- we don't know if it is 1 percent, 2 percent or 3 percent or more.  If the arbitrator imposes a rate as high as 4 percent, and five years of back pay, the total would be $317,800.  Two percent would be $258,000.

The BPA has been without a contract, and its members have not received a raise since 2005. Batavia police officers earn from $32,942 to $48,406 (most officers make $48,406), with detectives earning $53,164, sergeants $55,552 and lieutenants $63,775.  Two years of consecutive 3-percent raises for police officers earning $48,406 would bring their annual salaries to $51,354.

By comparison, the starting pay for a Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy is $47,798, and a typical deputy with three years on the force is earning about $52,832, according to Sheriff Gary Maha.

Unsure if the Batavia officers could really get a full five-years worth of back pay, I asked Klimjack to clarify and he replied: "Five years of back pay is correct.  Then beginning April 1st, 2007 through the present is negotiable."

I take that to mean that any additional annual increases from 2007 would be negotiable.  While, a total of five years of back pay for PBA members could still be award at whatever rate the arbitrator sets, per the Taylor law for the covered two years.

For a cash-strapped city, six-figures in back pay is a significant chunk of change. Asked where that money would come from, City Council President Charlie Mallow said, "I’m going to wait for the arbitration to be completed before I speculate on what steps the city will need to take to lesson the impact on our future tax burden. It is clear to me that it would be impossible to pass on a substantial tax increase to city residents at this point. I am confident Council as a whole will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure a stable tax rate."

You may remember that earlier this year the city decided to use $425,000 in Video Lottery Terminal to help land $4.5 million in Federal stimulus funds. Could that money have been better spent on police officer back pay?

"VLT aid was one-time revenues," Molino said. "Funding operational annual expenses with one time revenues would leave the City with significant shortfalls once the revenue stops."

Roberta King, killed in Binghamton on Friday, was born in Batavia, but grew up in Syracuse, according to Syracuse.com.

King, 72, was a substitute teacher that day.

People who knew her in Binghamton talked of her extensive doll collection and how she generously donated them for the annual Hanukkah museum at Temple Concord in Binghamton. Some of her dolls are on permanent display there.

On the Binghamton newspaper's Web site, many of the people commenting had her as a teacher and substitute teacher, and spoke glowingly of how she touched their lives.

...

Syracuse classmates from Roberta King's high school and college years in Syracuse were shocked Saturday to learn the gentle, sweet woman they remembered died Friday at the head of a classroom in the American Civic Association in Binghamton.

Marcos Juan Gomez, 31, of Rochester (pictured, right), is being charged with robbery in the 1st degree after allegedly being caught shoplifting at Target, and when security personnel there tried to stop him, he reportedly pulled a knife and fled. He was subsequently apprehended in the Home Depot parking lot. He is being held in Genesee County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Michael F. Geer, 18, of Batavia, is in jail on $5,000 bail and charged with harassment in the second degree and menacing in the second degree after allegedly wielding a knife and threatening to kill his mother. He is also charged with possession of a controlled substance He was taken into custody yesterday at around 5 p.m.

Benjamin Muntz, 20, of Oakfield (pictured, left), is accused of forgery after allegedly trying to pass forged checks at a local bank. He was arrested Thursday by a Sheriff's deputy while at Batavia City Court. He allegedly possessed two forged checks while at a Batavia bank in September. He is held in custody in lieu of $5,000 bail.

A 17-year-old girl from Stafford is in custody and held on $1,000 bail after allegedly entering a residence and taking $300 worth of property. She is charged with burglary in the second degree, a felony, and petty larceny. An order of protection was also issued.

Clint L. Stafford, 27, of Basom, was charged with DWI and felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle early Sunday morning. He was also ticked with an improper left turn and an open container.

A 17-year-old from Bergen is being charged with possession of a controlled substance in the 7th degree. A K-9 reportedly found hydrocodone in the teenagers possession in November and a subsequent lab test confirmed the substance was hydrocodone. The teenager was issued an appearance ticket.

A 17-year-old girl involved in a motor vehicle accident in Stafford last week was allegedly found with a switch blade knife and several marijuana pipes. She is being charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the 4th degree and unlawful possession of marijuana.

We received this advisory this morning:

... WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON...

A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

OCCASIONAL RAIN TODAY WILL GRADUALLY MIX WITH... AND CHANGE TO WET SNOW LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE CHANGE TO WET SNOW WILL INITIALLY TAKE PLACE ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS SOUTH OF BUFFALO LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... THEN THE CHANGE OVER WILL BE EXPERIENCED ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS AND FOR SITES ACROSS THE GENESEE VALLEY AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES.

SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TONIGHT WILL RANGE FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS TO AS MUCH AS 6 INCHES ACROSS THE HILLTOPS SOUTH OF BUFFALO AND BATAVIA. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS WILL TAKE PLACE DURING THE DAY TUESDAY... ESPECIALLY OVER THE ELEVATED TERRAIN SOUTH OF BUFFALO WHERE LAKE EFFECT ENHANCEMENT IS EXPECTED.

THIS OUT OF SEASON SNOWFALL WILL LIKELY IMPACT TRAVEL ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT AND TUESDAY... SO MUNICIPALITIES SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR LATE WINTER CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THAT HEAVY SNOW AND/OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE. IF YOU ARE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA... REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

More Information

... SIGNIFICANT OUT OF SEASON SNOWS EXPECTED TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY...

.DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE NEAR ERIE PENNSYLVANIA AT DAYBREAK WILL SLOWLY DRIFT ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK TODAY... THEN WILL MAKE ITS WAY ACROSS THE ADIRONDACKS TO SOUTHERN QUEBEC TONIGHT. COLDER AIR WRAPPING IN BEHIND THE STRENGTHENING STORM SYSTEM WILL CHANGE OUR RAIN TO WET SNOW FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE COURSE OF TONIGHT. THIS WILL RESULT IN WIDESPREAD SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE REGION WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT FORECAST TO BE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN SOUTH OF BUFFALO AND BATAVIA.

THE WET SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEW YORK ON TUESDAY... ALTHOUGH SOME LIGHT RAIN MAY MIX BACK IN ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR ALL AREAS AS A RESULT... WITH THE HIGHEST SNOWFALL AMOUNTS STILL BEING FOUND OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN.

THE WIDESPREAD GENERAL SNOWFALL ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEW YORK WILL TAPER OFF TUESDAY NIGHT... EXCEPT ACROSS THE WESTERN SOUTHERN TIER AND TUG HILL PLATEAU WHERE MORE FOCUSED AREAS OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW WILL LIKELY GENERATE EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS.

THE UPCOMING HEAVY WET SNOW WILL LIKELY IMPACT TRAVEL ACROSS THE REGION MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY... AND THERE COULD EVEN BE SOME SPOTTY POWER OUTAGES ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN DUE TO THE HEAVY WET NATURE OF THE SNOW. UNLIKE THE OCTOBER 2006 EVENT WHERE FOLIATED TREES CONTRIBUTED TO THE HIGH IMPACT... THE REGION IS FORTUNATE THAT OUR GROWING SEASON HAS YET TO BEGIN.

We've had some discussion on The Batavian about "where are the local Democrats on the state budget." I've made at least one similar statement, and it's also come up in comments.

As part of an e-mail exchange today with Genesee County Democratic Chair Lorie Longhany, I asked Lorie for her statement on the budget.  Below is her statement, but she also said her teaching duties have been pretty full the past week or so.

Here's her statement:

While the budget has been controversial and has been the subject of much criticism, what needs to be considered is the unprecedented fiscal crisis that New York is facing. 

The budget closes the largest spending gap in state history -- 17.7 billion, 12 billion including the stimulus.  It includes 6.5 billion in spending cuts, nearly twice the amount of cuts as any governor from either party has ever proposed.

From the budget itself on the STAR rebate: The Enacted Budget eliminates the STAR rebate program as well as the corresponding enhanced NYC STAR tax credit, producing savings of $1.5 billion in 2009-10. Even after this action, the STAR exemption program and NYC STAR credit will continue to provide $3.3 billion in property tax relief.

Additionally, the Executive Budget proposal to decrease the “floor” reduction – the maximum reduction in STAR benefits that can occur as a result of changes in assessed value or market value –from 18 percent to 11 percent is not included in the Enacted Budget.

Cuts to health care waste and inefficiency, reforming the Rockefeller Drug Laws, the bottle bill and a temporary increase in personal income tax that progressively targets those making over $300,000 + help to reduce the gap.  The increase in spending is the result of stimulus money that will be redistributed throughout the state for infrastructure and job creation.

The budget is painful and not perfect, with some targeted cuts that I personally didn't agree with, but the situation that led us to this place culminated long before Governor Paterson and the newly elected Senate Democrats took over.  Tough times call for shared sacrifice and shared solutions. 

Now is the time for New Yorkers to come together and find viable solutions, not waste time with talk of division and secession.  Bringing high speed rail to fruition and creating a linkage between our upstate agri-businesses and downstate markets can bridge the divide and help both areas of the state to connect and flourish.