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Bake Sale at St. Paul's: I stopped by the rummage and bake sale at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Stafford this morning. Pictured are Audrey Chessman, Mary Waterman and Betty Ward.

Rummage Sale Stafford: The rummage sale this morning at St. Paul's in Stafford. After a I took my first picture, a lady told me "I don't want my picture in the paper." So that's not the one I used.

We are ready for spring: Everytime I drive past this sign outside the Ace Hardware on Route 19 in LeRoy, I wonder: Is the store saying,"We've got all the products you'll need this spring -- we're ready for you"? Or, are they saying, "Man, glad winter's over!"? Or both?

State Senator Mike Ranzenhofer called The Batavian this morning to explain his co-authorship of legislation on the issue of separating New York into two states.

"This is essentially a statement about what's going on right now in Albany," Ranzenhofer said. "The state is being run by three New York City Democrats in a room, working behind closed doors, out of view of the public and the press, and it's very frustrating."

He doesn't hold much hope that the three men in a room will really act in the best interest of Upstate counties.

"What actually happens in the budget process is the counties outside of the New York City metro area are shut out," Ranzenhofer said. "Yet, they will suffer the repercussions of decisions I anticipate will be made."

The legislation, which we posted about yesterday, calls for counties to hold elections asking the question whether New York should separate into two states. Ranzenhofer said the same bill was proposed five different times from 2000 through 2004.

Amidst a negative employment report, Genesee County is a bright spot, according to a story in the Buffalo News.

While the region saw unemployment reach a 25-year high, Genesee County actually added .09 percent in new jobs, the biggest increase of any rural or metro county in the state.

The rest of WNY continues to struggle.

“Across the board, we have a lot of weakness,” said John Slenker, the labor department’s regional economist in Buffalo.

The job losses were widespread throughout all portions of the local economy, with particularly steep declines at local factories, where more than 5 percent of the region’s manufacturing jobs have disappeared over the last year. But service-providing jobs also took a hit, with the loss of 8,400 of those jobs, from banking to retail and hospitality.

UPDATE: The Daily News, like WBTA, is reporting different numbers than the Buffalo News. The Daily reports that unemployment in Genesee County rose from 9 per cent to 9.5 percent.

Students with an interest in the outdoors and the environment can win a week at an environmental education camp if they can compose the best essay in an environmental writing contest sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

The contest is open to students 12 to 17 years old.

The winner will be able to choose a week at one of four camps run by Department of Environmental Conservation.

Essays must be between 300 and 500 words long and submitted to Hawley's office by May 1.

Download a contest poster here (PDF).

Full press release after the jump.

Press Release:

As part of his ongoing constituent outreach program, Assemblyman Steve
Hawley (R, I, C - Batavia) is holding an essay contest to honor Earth Day
and to promote environmental stewardship.  The winner of the contest will
receive one free week at one of the Department of Environmental Conservation's
Summer Environmental Education Camps.

"As a child, I learned the importance of protecting our environment because
I was fortunate to grow up in Western New York where there are so many
beautiful places to enjoy the outdoors.  To continue that tradition, I am
proud to offer one student a free week at one of our state's fine
environmental education camps, where they can not only learn about
protecting our environment, but can develop a passion for the outdoors,"
said Hawley.

Students between the ages of 12 and 17 are eligible to enter the essay
contest.  Essays should be between 300 and 500 words and explain why the
environment is important to the student.  Last year's winner, Albion High
School student Rebecca Weller, used her essay to describe her passion for
spending time outdoors with her family and her efforts to protect the
environment, such as her innovative t-shirts promoting green living tips,
facts on global warming and Earth Day, in order to ensure the natural
environment is sustained for generations to come.

Assemblyman Hawley encourages educators to include the essay program as part
of their curriculum in order to highlight Earth Day on April 22.  Essays are
due to the Assemblyman's office by May 1, 2009.  The winner may choose from
the following four DEC summer camps:

a.. Camp Colby (near the Village of Saranac Lake in Franklin County)
b.. Camp DeBruce (in the southern Catskills near the Village of Livingston
Manor in Sullivan County)
c.. Camp Rushford (in the Genesee River Valley in Allegany County)
d.. Camp Pack Forest (north of Warrensburg in the southern Adirondacks)

For more information, visit the DEC Web site at www.dec.state.ny.us
(keyword: summer camps), call Assemblyman Hawley's district office at (585)
589-5780, or e-mail him at hawleys@assembly.state.ny.us.

Roland J. Reed, 37, of Batavia, was arrested Thursday for allegedly sending written letters to a person he was ordered not to contact by the Genesee County Family Court. Reed allegedly wrote the letters while in jail on a similar charge. The order was issued in January 2008. Reed is charged with 22 counts of criminal contempt in the second degree. He is being held on $1,500 bail.

Antoinette G. Fears, 18, of Holley, and Emilea G.Waters, 20, of Albion were arrested Thursday for allegedly possessing stolen property from K-Mart, Michael's Crafts and JoAnn Fabrics. The arrests came after the items were found during an investigation of an unrelated larceny dating back to March 5. Both women were charged with three counts of criminal possession of stolen property.

Cheryl J. Weber, 54, of Bergen, has been charged with identity theft, forgery and falsifying business records, all felonies. Weber is accused of using personal information of another person to secure credit cards and store credit over a five-year period. She allegedly forged the other person's signature on credit applications. Assisting in the investigation were the Experian credit reporting fraud/theft department and the Visa/Bank of America fraud department in Arizona. Weber was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Three students living at College Village on Batavia Stafford Townline Road in Batavia have been charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. According to a Sheriff's off ice report, deputies were at the housing complex on an unrelated matter when the investigation led to a dorm room. When security officers knocked on the door, "several subject fled the room by exiting our a rear window."  The three young men are suspected of smoking marijuana in the dorm room.  Charged where Patrick K. Wolff, 18; Anthony C. Timberlake, 20; and, Cody P. Mayer, 18.

Monday, a couple dozen downtown business people gathered at Generation Center on Center Street to discuss ways to improve the business environment downtown.

John Roche, owner of Adam Miller Toys, made an especially impassioned plea for businesses downtown to promote other businesses downtown.

He noted that often times people wind up in Batavia without knowing much about all that downtown has to offer. He talked about when he finds an unfamiliar face in his business, he is sure to tell them about other retailers or places to eat.  He said all of the businesses need to support each other this way.

He noted that a personal recommendation from one business owner about another business carries a lot of weight with customers.

Today, the Daily News, has a story about BID efforts to bring more customers downtown.

It's a fine story, but I wish I had taken notes on John's speech (I was there to be a businessman, not a reporter).  John's impromptu address was full of vigor and community spirit. John isn't mentioned in Joanne Beck's story at all.

As a complete aside, I finally made the Daily News, though quite accidentally, I'm sure and not at all noticeable to anybody but my mother, if she saw the picture, but I'm sitting in front of Don Burkel in this photo.

Genesee County's state senator Mike Ranzenhofer has put his name on a bill aimed at asking New York voters whether the state should be divided into two states.

Capitol Confidential has a few snarky comments about the bill as well as the full text.

I have a call into Ranzenhofer's office seeking comment.

Old Barn and Tractor on North Road, LeRoy: Driving down North Road in LeRoy today, I came across this old barn and broken down tractor.

Dan Fischer at WBTA is working on these and other stories this morning:

• The Genesee County legislature sold some health department services to a Rochester company for $1.4 million. Six nurses will lose their jobs and another will retire.
• More than $800,000 in Federal stimulus package money will be spent on repaving Batavia-Stafford Townline Road and R. Stephen Hawley Drive. County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens told WBTA why these roads were selected.

Tune in to WBTA 1490-AM for news updates throughout the morning.

Joy J. Bartel, 23, of Corfu, was arrested Tuesday for alleged shoplifting. She is accused of stealing $74.80 in items from K-mart. She is charged with petty larceny.

The Batavia Daily News got a little attention from the April edition of Reader's Digest, but maybe not in the way editors might appreciate.

In a feature called "Hold the Presses!" the Digest lists five headlines, with one of them being from the satirical publication The Onion.

Among such gems as "Smokers asked to keep butts off beach" and "Volunteers needed to hep abuse victims" is the Daily's surely unintended contribution: "Orleans seeks tenants for new jail."

(This item brought to The Batavian by an alert reader.)

Rep Chris Lee says he wants to help small businesses. His latest effort, announced in a press release today, is a tax break for start-up costs.  He co-sponsored the legislation with a Democratic congressman from Maryland.

Apparently, a small business can currently only write up $5,000 of its start up costs for tax purposes. Lee's proposal would bump the limit to $20,000.

That sounds good as far as it goes, but at a time when credit is tight for small business start-ups, is it really going to provide the needed stimulus for entrepreneurs? Just asking.

Click on "read more" to view the full press release.

Press Release:

H.R. 1552 endorsed by nation’s leading small business association: “Congressman Lee’s plan to jumpstart the small business sector of our economy is the right approach to getting our economy back on track.”

WASHINGTON – Congressmen Chris Lee (R-NY) and Frank Kratovil (D-MD) held a joint press conference call today to discuss bipartisan legislation they have introduced that would boost small business start-ups by expanding a critical tax incentive. This is one of two bipartisan initiatives Congressman Lee has proposed this month to jumpstart job creation and aid Western New York’s economic recovery.

Congressman Kratovil added: “The men and women who own and operate small businesses are the driving force behind job creation; employing half the nation’s private work force.  These entrepreneurs need encouragement and motivation to create jobs and spur innovation in these challenging times; giving them a start-up expense tax break will do exactly that. “

H.R. 1552 has been endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business association representing small and independent businesses.

Mike Elmendorf, state director of NFIB/New York, said in a statement, “Congressman Lee’s plan to jumpstart the small business sector of our economy is the right approach to getting our economy back on track.  His proposal to quadruple the start-up deduction will give thousands of small businesses the incentive they need to invest in growing their business and creating jobs.”

Last week, Congressman Lee joined with Congressman John Boccieri (D-OH) to introduce bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1545) to make the research and development (R&D) tax credit permanent. Unlike other proposals to make the R&D tax credit permanent, H.R. 1545 would also offer a bonus tax credit to companies who manufacture most of their products in the United States.


 

Blogger Stephan Lewandowski tells of his recent visit to Elba and Batavia, with the requisite visit to the Pok-A-Dot and search for a bookstore that sells Gardner and Kauffman.

On my way north on 63 near downtown I see the Pok-A-Dot is open for lunch business. The Pok-A-Dot is a 40s lunch counter, a tent of a building erected for temporary shelter but surviving into a new century. It must be nice in the summer because you can order your food, then sit under shelter off to the side of traffic to eat it up. In the winter, it seems to be made mostly of glass, and everybody crouches over the heat sources at the stove top, grill, and deep fryer. Almost all the patrons are men, and most have their coats and hats still on. All the cooks and servers are women.

In the Pok-A-Dot, there are six or eight tables and a counter seating twelve or fifteen that bends around the grill. I sit at the counter, nearer the heat. The waitress never offers me a menu. She just comes up and says, “What will you have?”