Summary:
This Thursday the (27th), the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) is voting on a purchase agreement with US Stream Data Centers. This is after GCEDC voted to approve Project Double Reed, a data center, to occupy the STAMP site on Route 77 despite significant public outcry. Before their vote to approve Project Double Reed, GCEDC received more than 800 public comments opposing the data center, with over 600 of those comments received in just a two-day period. GCEDC still has the opportunity to say no to moving the region’s largest data center into Genesee County.
GCEDC claims that it selected Project Double Reed because it would have the smallest environmental impact of the data centers it was considering. That does not mean its environmental impact will be small. It will be $472 million public dollars allocated to a project with no public benefit that will cause light and noise pollution, traffic on Route 77, increase fire risks from the 60,000 gallons of of diesel fuel stored on site, increase brown and black outs from the massive amounts of energy data centers require, and generally decrease the quality of life of those living in the surrounding communities.
Stream Data Centers is also trying to attract a Fortune 50 company worth $100 billion – why should a company like that get the 250 mw of low-cost hydropower it’s been offered?
GCEDC currently argues that the data center will bring money and jobs to Genesee County. Plug Power moved into the STAMP site in 2021 but is still under construction, and was supposed to bring in 68 jobs, none of which exist yet. I don’t believe a data center will deliver on any of what GCEDC is promising – it will not have a small environmental impact, and it will not bring anything good to the community.
GCEDC can still listen to the local residents who it serves by voting no to a purchase agreement with Stream Data Centers.
Shelby Green
From Town of Shelby
Matt Landers, my good man, is your "so we changed the narrative," and "it didn’t change, in our opinion, the content of the program whatsoever" (in reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion within Genesee County programs and policies, covered by Joanne Beck's article on 3/19/25), the same as "flipping the script"? "Having it both ways"? Sir, you tell me! I'm confused. Why not stand your ground, keep the narrative unchanged since you're not changing the program?
You know, Matt, among the generation before yours, if you got caught dissembling, you didn’t attempt to change your story, your narrative. You confessed that you dissembled, you admitted to being a dissembler, then made an effort to not do so again! And I'm certainly not accusing you of being that. But I think the example is worth contemplating when considering your reaction to the U.S. President's executive order, which in my opinion, only muddies further the "hot potato" of DEI with your words. It sounds to me like you "want to have your cake and eat it too." Or "potato," in this case.
Apparently, times have changed since the days of earlier generations, but please, please stop playing fast and easy with words, with language. After all, that's what compose stories, narratives, scripts, and just give us the truth. Tell us what you really think, what you really feel, and why! Be "authentic," as the generation after, not before, yours says! And don't give us a lot of rigamarole and rhetoric, my hands are tied, I really believe this but have to say that, it's all in the interest of dollars and cents for the county, because eventually you're gonna start to believe your changeable and constructed narratives, and how they can lead one down a "slippery slope."
You're the County Manager, not the County Waffler.
Thanks.
Donald Weyer, Batavia NY
A Data Center in the Midst of Alabama’s Cornfields? “Gift” or Trojan Horse?
The greatest bone of contention about mega industries like data centers on the STAMP site was, and remains, the call for a new Environmental Impact Statement or EIS - a document required by federal law that outlines the potential environmental impacts of a proposed project. The only one issued was back in 2012 before STAMP had even broken ground at the site. Since 2021, when more specifics about the types of mega-industrial developments STAMP was considering for the site became known, the Chief of the Tonawanda Seneca and concerned citizen groups have repeatedly called for a new EIS and SEQR - a law requiring state and local agencies to consider environmental impacts when making discretionary decisions. They argue that, as the agency involved in a project’s development and in line to profit from it, it is a potential conflict of interest for GCEDC to have oversight of the environmental stipulations informing the EIS and the SEQR. GCEDC stands to gain tens of millions of dollars in fees from the data company they choose.
Not Just Any Old Data Center. By any contemporary standard, an updated EIS would seem to be a reasonable request. Data centers, in particular, have changed a lot since 2012. Massive data centers needed for AI applications are currently being built at sites around the world. As noted in recent Wall Street Journal, New York Times, MIT articles data centers consume the most energy of all high tech industries, needing tons of electricity and water to cool stacks upon stacks of on-site computers. Approval of proposals like Project Double Reed by the GCEDC would give the go ahead for a mega center that fuels high end AI computing chips by drawing 250-350 MW of power. Supported by New York State taxpayer dollars to the astounding tune of over 472 million dollars in subsidies, this boils downs to a subsidy of 3.9 million for each of the 122 jobs that Double Reed promises to bring. As a point of comparison, according to GCEDC’s website, their support of light manufacturing at AppleTree Acres near the rural hamlet of Bergen will generate 60 new full time jobs with a salary range of $45 to 65,000 annually plus benefits. GCEDC’s report states this was launched with only 42 million in taxpayer dollars, about 1/ 10th of what is at stake with Double Reed at STAMP. a center that is laden with pertinent ethical questions regarding its potential effect on the neighboring Tonawanda Seneca Nation, the Wildlife Refuge and Oak Orchard Watershed.
Whom would the servers serve? In a paper that uncovers “how utilities are forcing ratepayers to fund discounted rates for data centers,” Ari Peskoe, Director of Harvard University’s Electricity Law Projects observes that “Artificial intelligence is one technology driving the number and size of data centers which don’t need subsidized energy rates if they are already receiving other incentives from a state to locate. We’re all paying for the energy costs of the world’s wealthiest corporations.” In effect, a mega data center at the STAMP site would require enough energy to power a city of 50,000 people in the Alabama cornfields. Placed next to the Wildlife Refuge and Tonawanda Seneca Nation, a massive data center of this type would forever alter the character of the region and bring a host of potential consequences.
What the Trojan Horse could bring: The public might well consider what happens if the computers in a data center overheat, which they are known to do. They can cause a huge fire and explosion. Local EMS services and the Alabama fire station would be hard pressed to deal with an emergency of this magnitude. What happens if the new substation with electrical power that a data center would use to cool their super fast and hot computer systems went down during an extreme weather event? For their part, a data center would stand to lose millions of dollars every hour, so they have generators on site along with 20 to 30 thousand gallons of diesel fuel. There are 40 known cancer-causing organic substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and 1, 3-butadiene released in the burning of diesel fuel, which is classified as "carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which links its emissions to lung cancer and bladder cancer. OSHA warns that workers exposed to diesel exhaust face the potential risk of health effects ranging from irritation of the eyes and nose, headaches and nausea, to respiratory disease and lung cancer. Based on warnings about health effects attached to the release of diesel fuel in the air, what the purported “gift” of a mega- industrial Trojan Horse of a data center could release on wildlife as well as humans would be equally toxic.
Due Deliberation? Fast Tracking the Vote on the Double Reed: Notwithstanding these weighty public concerns and their implications, on Feb 28, less than a month after the Feb 3 hearing, GCEDC posted a 116 page “Staff Report’ on their website addressing some of the objections raised at the public hearing of Feb 3 that generated a large such an outcry of public concern. Dismissing Tonawanda Seneca Chief Roger Hill and the public’s call for a new EIS and SEQR, in an interview with Mark Masse published on March 3 in the Batavian Masse tentatively stated he “felt” and/or “anticipated” Project Double Reed Data Center would meet the environmental thresholds of the 2012 EIS. “So the facility that they're going to be building (in STAMP) is going to be brand new. It'll have all of the lessons learned from previous projects […} So we anticipate it to fit within the parameters of what was analyzed for the EIS, and we would anticipate them to propose and follow through on any potential mitigation that we would suggest for noise or that the town board planning board may suggest for noise.” However, what is not clear who the ultimate user of a data center would be, as Double Reed would build the facility and lease the server capacity to one or more technology companies.
Within a matters of days - between the time GCEDC’s “staff report” came out on Feb 28 and the Executive Meeting of GCEDC held on March 5 (when it was recommended that their staff bring the vote on the Double Reed Project to the GCEDC Board at a meeting the following day on March 6) - a flurry of 210 comments were sent to GCEDC board members. Among the comments was a letter from the lawyer for the TSN protesting the fast tracking of the vote on approval of Double Reed and stating that the Tonawanda Seneca Nation needed more than a couple days before it could meet with Masse or GCEDC to discuss Double Reed, especially since the actual tenant for the site was still unknown.
On March 6 GCEDC committee members met to vote on the proposal to move forward with Double Reed at the STAMP site. Leaving work early once again, over a dozen, Genesee, Orleans, Niagara and Monroe County residents went to great lengths to attend the meeting. Complying, once again, to the rules of order that no one but committee members could speak, concerned citizens stood silently against the back wall by the table where five board members cast their vote on behalf of welcoming Double Reed, a project that would affect generations of Tonawanda Seneca and other human and environmental communities in the region. The protesters held placards that expressed both their objections to the data center as well as the way the vote was fast tracked without respecting to the requests of Tonawanda Seneca Nation. Shortly after the meeting was convened, a frustrated mother wheeling a baby carriage with a young child called out members of the board for the potential harm to the region and future generations.
Learning from Past Mistakes Infamously known for years as “the Silo” the Batavia Mall on Main Street stands as a testament to what many generations of local people have agreed was an unfortunate, short-sided decision made in the 1970s to capitalize on urban renewal funds. A city block featuring century-old downtown buildings, historic structures and heritage architecture on Batavia’s Main Street was demolished to make way for the Genesee Country Mall and City Centre. The character of the city was irrevocably altered and the mall has been bleeding taxpayer and tenants’ money ever since. Documenting the consequences of this decision, in 1991 Bill Kauffman, the popular author of “Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette” wrote: "The city fathers rushed headlong into urban renewal, whereby the federal government paid Batavia to knock down its past {…]all of it Batavia tore out - literally - its five-block heart and filled the cavity with a ghastly mall, a dull gray sprawling oasis in a desert of parking spaces. The mall was a colossal failure, but it succeeded in destroying the last vestiges of our home-run economy.”
The Iroquois Wildlife Refuge and the ancestral lands of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation make this region unique. There is still time to RETHINK STAMP and ask whether a Mega Industrial project like a Data Center at STAMP is a “gift” to our region or a dull gray sprawling Trojan Horse misallocating millions of taxpayer dollars and releasing a swarm of lawsuits, ethical, social, health and environmental problems.
Christine F. Zinni, PhD
Cultural Historian
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-staggering-ecological-impacts-of-computation-and-the-clo
By Wendy Wasner, West Seneca, NY
It’s that time of year when Oliver’s Candy Store in Batavia starts to fill up with cute chocolate bunnies. I love to visit Oliver’s Candies in Batavia during the springtime and walk around and just admire all the chocolate cuteness of the season. I love to look at the brightly colored foil eggs and other fun Easter treats. Fruity jellybeans fill the shelves and all sorts of fun chocolate figures and chocolate suckers. Perhaps you love white or ivory chocolate or maybe orange flavored chocolate. For me, I don’t think I ever met a chocolate I didn’t like.
Recently, I went into Olivers Candies Store and found a great price on after Valentine’s Day chocolates. I did have to get a milk chocolate heart that was wrapped so pretty with a red bow. It contained a red foiled heart as well as about six pieces of milk chocolate sponge candy. I was in chocolate heaven.
You know you’re a chocoholic when your T.O.P.S. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group is on the way to their State Recognition Day Events and you stop or insist that you stop at Oliver’s Candies on the travel route to the event. Yes, I instigated the stop at Oliver’s and it was worth every morsel of chocolate. I love pecan turtles, coconut clusters, orange chocolate, sponge candy and most chocolates! I especially love Oliver’s Candies milk chocolate peanut butter cups! I sometimes try to give up chocolate during the Lenten season, but I usually don’t succeed as the chocolate temptation is too much for me to not give in.
I also love the ice cream counter at Oliver’s Candies that always makes me think of spring and summer. When I think of Batavia, Oliver’s Candy store is the first thing that comes to mind. I daydream of the Easter chocolates displayed on all of the shelves and i can almost taste it! Yes, I love Oliver’s Candies in Batavia!
What, we're supposed to shut up and forget about those veterans and that war? Fifty-60 years ago, and most of those veterans approaching end of life? "Out of sight, out of mind"?
Donald Weyer
Batavia, NY
Vianiliz Rivera, Coordinator, CSP of Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, and Niagara *Supported with funds from the State of New York
As March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the Cancer Services Program of Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, and Niagara would like to make sure everyone knows the facts about this disease. Here are some common beliefs that are just not true:
- Colorectal cancer is a disease of old age. This is false. It is true that most cases are found in people over the age of 50, but there has been a steady increase in colorectal cancer among people ages 20 to 49.
- All people who get colorectal cancer have a family history of the disease. This is false. While family history is a risk factor for colorectal cancer, family history accounts for only about 5 to 10 percent of cases. Eating a diet high in red and processed meats, smoking, and drinking alcohol are some other risks for colorectal cancer. These are risk factors you can change to lower your risk.
- Colorectal cancer is not preventable. This is false! Colorectal cancer can be prevented. Regular screening can find the growths that lead to cancer. These growths can then be removed. This prevents cancer! There are often no symptoms of colorectal cancer until the cancer has spread. That’s why getting screened on a regular basis is so important. It can help prevent colorectal cancer — or catch it early when it is easiest to treat.
If you are age 45 or older, talk to your health care provider about getting screened.
If you do not have health insurance, the Cancer Services Program is ready to help. We offer free colorectal cancer screening to uninsured people ages 45 and older. Now that you know the truth about colorectal cancer, don’t wait. Call us today at 716-278-4898.
It was 1988, and our youngest daughter came home from Batavia Middle School all excited about an author she had met as a guest speaker in her English class. She was telling us about a murder that happened not far from us. As a result, we got in the car and drove to Linden to see where this murder took place. She still has a copy of his book, Linden Murders: UNSOLVED, first published in 1984. This author inspired her to be excited about reading mysteries.
The first time I met the author, Bill Brown Jr., was when we were on the Holland Purchase Historical Society Board. After meeting him, I asked if he would be a guest speaker in my fourth-grade class. That began our friendship. He was an excellent addition to my classroom. He talked about being a writer and answered the children's questions. He then would return weekly to work with the children.
That year, when my class did their Famous Batavian Project, they chose Bill to be their class's famous Batavian. Part of their project was to draw a picture related to their person. The child, who was researching Mr. Brown, drew an image of the home he lived in with his family using an Opaque Projector. I just found out the picture hangs in the house of Bill's daughter, Betsy.
In 2000, I met someone very special to me, Ida Spiotta, a neighbor, and we would talk about what it was like to work on the muck. That gave me the idea to interview people and hear their stories. That was when I contacted Bill, and we worked together to write the book The Story of the Muck As Told by Those Who Worked There.
For those that have not heard of the muck, it was a part of Batavia's history that spanned from 1932 to 1952, when hundreds of men, women, and children worked on the muck, planting and nurturing crops and, months later, harvesting lettuce, spinach, onions, potatoes, and carrots. I presented my idea for a book to Bill, and he said, "You research it, I will write it." That was the beginning of a very special friendship with Bill Brown. I learned so much from him as we created this book together. The book was published in 2003.
These are the books Bill authored:
William F. Brown Jr. was born October 25, 1923, in Batavia, the son of William F. Brown Sr. and Monica Sellinger Brown. He graduated in 1941 from Batavia High School and graduated from Canisius College. He also studied at Yale and Fordham Universities. He served in WW II and worked for the Armed Forces Radio Service in Kokura, Japan.
He worked as public relations director for Batavia Downs and Buffalo Raceway for several years before becoming co-owner and manager of WBTA radio in 1968.
He won 16 statewide best editorial awards in his career from the New York State Broadcasters Association. He was a United States Harness Writer Association member for over 55 years, introduced into the Hall of Fame in 1991. He was the first chairman of the Board of Trustees for Notre Dame High School, a Saint Jerome trustee, and a board member of the Catholic Education Diocese of Buffalo. He was a lecturer and Eucharistic Minister at Resurrection Parish.
Mr. Brown married the former Elizabeth Farrell in Stamford, CT in 1947. She died in 1993. He was the father of four children, William F Brown III, survived by his wife Deborah, Elizabeth A. McGee (John), Robert F. Brown (Katie), and Bonny Peacock (Bob).
After a brief illness at 91, Bill passed away on Nov. 29, 2014.
Bill will be remembered by my daughter, my students, and myself as a very special friend. His involvement in many civic organizations, his awards, and the books he authored truly made him a famous Batavian.
By Angela Larmon of Batavia
“The enemy doesn’t come by boat; he arrives in a limousine.” These words feel especially relevant when considering the renewed push for the STAMP project.
If you grew up in Oakfield, like me, the term “STAMP Project” might stir faint memories from years past. But those memories never truly faded. Now, the project is ramping up again—despite a disastrous history of pipeline spills, covert dealings, and broken promises.
As adults, it’s our responsibility to ask tough questions of these polished businessmen who promise jobs and prosperity. And as we do, we must remember who has been consistently protecting the land—the Indigenous peoples. They are the guardians of 80% of the world’s biodiversity, including the sacred lands of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, where their stewardship is critical.
When it comes to matters of land and environment, siding with the protectors of biodiversity is not just wise — it’s necessary for the well-being of future generations.
Let’s take a closer look at STAMP’s recent track record.
The STAMP Pipeline Spills
In August and September 2023, there were three ‘fracouts’ of hydraulic drilling fluid—a mixture of water and clay slurry—from the STAMP pipeline. These spills resulted in hundreds of gallons of fluid contaminating federally protected wetlands in the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.Mark Masse, Vice President of Operations for the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) tried to downplay this environmental fallout by dismissively referring to the spilled material as “mud.” This attempt to minimize the severity of the situation is a red-flag. Such language demonstrates a fundamental disconnect from the principles of environmental science and the reality of the harm caused by these spills. This tone fosters divisiveness and undermines the collaborative efforts needed to protect both our natural resources and our communities.
In response to the frac-out spill, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revoked a critical permit for constructing the wastewater pipeline in September 2024, following months of pressure from the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and its allies. Adding to this, the DEC reprimanded the GCEDC and its contractors for failing to promptly notify the proper authorities about the spills. While the contractors informed DEC staff on the day of the incident, they neglected to alert the Bureau of Ecosystem Health immediately, leaving drilling fluids in the wetlands for over two weeks. Cleanup didn’t begin until September 22, and wasn’t fully completed until recently.
Given this, it’s astonishing that local leaders would even consider continuing to work with contractors who have already demonstrated incompetence at best—or reckless dishonesty at worst.
At least Orleans County has had enough. In September 2023, they took legal action and filed a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court against the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). They’re asking the court to stop the construction of the wastewater pipeline meant for the Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP).
The lawsuit claims that the GCEDC broke state law while trying to build the pipeline. It says that they created the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corp. (GGLDC) and STAMP Sewer Works in an illegal way. Orleans County also argues that the pipeline would seriously harm Oak Orchard Creek, which is important to the county’s fishing and tourism businesses.
The lawsuit further states that, because the GCEDC couldn’t get Orleans County’s permission to build the pipeline, it started illegally acquiring the necessary easements from property owners in Orleans County to build it.
“They started construction without having all their ducks in a row and did so at their own risk,” said Jennifer Persico, an attorney representing Orleans County. “This behavior is entirely consistent with their actions throughout this entire process.”
She’s right. The residents of Genesee County are supporting this pipeline at their own risk — risking the beautiful wetlands that are integral to the rural life we cherish here.
Are we really so desperate? So gullible?
The Fox Guarding the Henhouse
This brings us to an even larger issue: the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) itself. Steve Hyde, the former head of the GCEDC, made a suspicious amount of money while priming the STAMP location and courting big businesses to the area. He retired recently, but it’s worth questioning the motives behind this entire operation.The real problem lies in the GCEDC’s unchecked power over this situation. The GCEDC has been allowed to act as the “lead agency” for all aspects of the state’s SEQR environmental review process. Think about that for a moment: the same organization profiting from pushing the STAMP project is also responsible for overseeing its environmental compliance. This is a bold case of the fox guarding the henhouse.
Unsurprisingly, the environmental review process under the GCEDC’s leadership has been sloppy at best and negligent at worst. An independent review revealed Hyde’s salary and bonuses increased significantly during periods when he aggressively lobbied businesses to consider the STAMP site. Their profit motive creates a glaring conflict of interest, especially when you factor in their lackluster oversight.
Are we really supposed to trust the judgment of an agency that cuts corners on environmental protections while padding its own bottom line?
The Hollow Promises of Jobs
Politicians love making promises, especially the enticing kind. They’re not fools— they know Western New York is struggling, just like much of the working class across the country.So, when businessmen roll into town claiming the STAMP project will create 9,000 jobs, it’s easy for folks to trade their common sense for a sliver of hope. Senator Chuck Schumer and Governor Kathy Hochul, heralded STAMP as a beacon of high-tech opportunity, even going so far as to pressure the regulators to issue permits necessary -- causing violations of federal law and a state policy.
That was then. Now, they’re pivoting. Instead of the promised 9,000 high-tech jobs, the site will likely employ just a few hundred people—and it won’t be in advanced manufacturing. Instead, the focus has shifted to data centers.
Why the change? Because the developers have failed to attract tenants in advanced manufacturing or semiconductor production. As a result, they’re pivoting to data centers, which bring far fewer jobs but come with immense environmental costs.
Data centers come with massive environmental footprints. They consume staggering amounts of energy and water, emit greenhouse gases, and generate disruptive noise, light, and air pollution. These facilities are notorious for being terrible neighbors, degrading quality of life while straining local resources like the power grid.
But, of course, the suits insist their data center will be different. They assure us they can be trusted.
Sure — just like we could trust the pipeline’s construction.
GCEDC has even described their current process of reviewing applications from three different data center investor groups as a “sweepstakes.” But let’s be honest—there are no winners here, not for local residents, not for the community, and certainly not for the local environment.
This is the same gamble they’ve been selling for years. And based on STAMP’s history, the odds aren’t in our favor. Is it really worth risking the land, your home, and your community for a vague promise of development and jobs? In the future, will the data center be sold to another company? Will jobs be downsized as more automation makes human workers irrelevant?
It seems the developers have failed to attract advanced manufacturing tenants and are instead offering us this pivot—one that benefits them more than it ever will us.
A Call to Action
It’s time for local residents to step up and demand accountability. Attend your Town Board meetings and ask the hard questions: Who is truly benefiting from this project? Why are we continuing to partner with organizations that have already proven to be careless and self-serving?For those looking to get involved, check out the work being done by the Allies of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation. They’ve been tracking the STAMP project closely and advocating for the protection of our region’s natural resources and quality of life.
In closing, I anticipate that the Genesee County Economic Development Center will dismiss any significant concerns as hysterical or misinformed — after all, their primary objective is to quell worries and push business forward.
One cannot claim to care about the environment while continuing to disregard and disrespect the rights of Indigenous peoples. They are on the frontlines, combating the disastrous industrialization and destruction that directly fuel the climate crisis we face today. Ignoring their warnings is a grave mistake — they have been fighting to protect this land far longer than any of us.
Thus, it should go without saying: when it comes to matters of environmental preservation and land sovereignty, ensure you stand with the true guardians of biodiversity—the people of the land.
Time is ticking. Spread the word by informing others — let us not have businessmen pull the wool over our eyes.
All babies, and my house plants, in Batavia city, protest the nocturnal sonic and vibratory disruptions of the ether caused by the helicopters on their training missions.
The babies and their parents,as well as my house plants, have nothing against military preparedness; it is the timing of the training.
Couldn't the Genesee County helicopters join their brother drones in the skies over New Jersey for their "training" in the dark of night?
Donald Weyer
Batavia, NY
Letter to the Editor by Karyn Winters is Director of the Genesee County Business Education Alliance and Angela Grouse is Director of Education to Employment with the Livingston County Area Chamber of Commerce. Both served as Co-Chair of this year’s event:
Thanks to the dedicated volunteers, vendors, and students from across Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties, the 6th annual GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing was once again another successful demonstration of hands-on career exploration for local students.
This workforce development program is designed to educate the next generation of employees in the skilled trades, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and food production workforces.
The 6th annual event on September 24 welcomed 1,100 students and chaperones from 30 school districts across the GLOW region who connected with 200 representatives from more than 70 agencies, trades groups and businesses in hands-on activities and demonstrations that provided an exploration into careers and pathways into them.
Launched in 2019 with 800 students, GLOW With Your Hands Manufacturing has grown into the premier workforce development program in the region and continues to grow. With the addition of GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare, a hands-on medical careers program held annually in March, more than 5,000 students have participated in GLOW With Your Hands events since 2019.
With the mounting student debt, it is essential that we educate students on cost-effective pathways into careers.
GLOW With Your Hands introduces students to careers that can be entered immediately after high school, as well as economical ways to pursue careers that require post-secondary training and education.
We continue to witness a significant influx of private sector investment across the region, fostering growth and innovation that is bringing in-demand, economically rewarding careers right to our backyards. This surge not only creates jobs but also enhances local economies, encourages workforce development, and attracts talent, ensuring that our communities thrive in an increasingly competitive workforce landscape.
We have built a workforce development ecosystem that equips students with the necessary skills that connect them to desirable careers resulting from company relocation and expansion projects. That ecosystem is on display annually at GLOW With Your Hands Manufacturing and Healthcare events.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our committee members, volunteers, and vendors, students interacted with local company representatives learning about careers and industries they may have never been aware of previously.
Our vendors are subject matter experts with on-the-job experience, and they were well-equipped and excited to answer students’ questions.
One of our participants highlighted the passion displayed by our company representatives “It is inspiring to see the number of businesses and representatives who are passionate about sharing their professional experience with us, a lot of students do not know what career they want to pursue, and this helped me get an idea of what companies are a part of the community.”
This is what GLOW With Your Hands is all about; there are so many great careers and companies available, and students deserve to learn what is possible right here in their own backyards as they move onto the next chapter of their lives.
The awareness and education that results from GLOW With Your Hands, has spurred an influx of increased enrollment in local apprenticeship and BOCES programs, where students can take their skillset to the next level, participating in earn-as-you-learn type programming.
We take pride in being the premier workforce development event in the region. Thank you to our platinum sponsors, National Grid, LandPro Equipment, and Rochester Davis-Fetch, and the dozens of other companies, unions, and agencies whose significant investment generated a successful event.
The third annual GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare is just 5 months away from coming back to Genesee Community College where we welcome hundreds of GLOW region students to explore the opportunities available in the local healthcare industry.
Stay tuned for more details to come!
Letter to the editor from Joseph J. Zambon:
In her letter to "The Batavian," Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY24) wrote, "…the Biden-Harris administration and the Democratic party are trying to stifle American energy production, increasingly relying on imports from our adversaries”.
In reality, the U.S. has reduced its reliance on energy imports from adversaries due to increased domestic oil and natural gas production. Most energy imports come from friendly countries, with Canada accounting for the majority in 2022 and Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil.
Before the Ukraine invasion, Russia represented about 3% of U.S. crude oil imports, but those imports are now banned. While the U.S. imports oil from OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, it banned imports from adversaries like Iran since the late 1970s. Venezuelan imports have also plummeted due to sanctions against the Maduro regime.
Though the U.S. does not rely on China for oil or gas, it does depend on China for rare earth minerals essential for renewable energy and electronics, raising concerns about future supplies of these critical materials.
In summary, the U.S. has reduced, not increased, energy imports from adversaries.
By: Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24)
The United States is the largest producer of petroleum, natural gas, and nuclear energy in the world, yet the Biden-Harris administration and the Democratic party are trying to stifle American energy production, increasingly relying on imports from our adversaries to keep our economy afloat. To continue leading the world in innovation and finding new, cost-effective, and efficient ways to harness our natural resources, we must diversify our energy production and consumption while ensuring consumers are not priced out by regulations or government overreach.
In 2019, under the Trump administration, our country became energy independent for the first time since the 1950s— a significant accomplishment for our nation's prosperity and national security. Yet, progressives in Washington and Albany have taken an anti-American approach todomestic energy production. Somehow, their unscientific Green New Deal agenda has pitted them against the expansion of nuclear power and domestic production of natural gas. American natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel produced in the world, and nuclear power yields the highest megawatt-per-hour output of any form of energy at zero carbon cost. Democrats' opposition to these two in the name of climate change is not only hypocritical but dangerous.
American carbon dioxide emissions are now lower than they were in 1990, almost entirely due to domestic natural gas and nuclear power. Meanwhile, China has been ramping up its use of coal and importing larger quantities of crude oil by the year. China is now by far the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, and the climate alarmists in Washington and Albany could seemingly care less. Maybe that’s because Governor Hochul employed a Chinese Spy? Instead, they continue to point fingers at Republicans trying to find realistic solutions to our nation’s energy needs.
The reality is that the fight against green policies has only ever been about one thing: control. From banning gas stoves to combustion engine vehicles, Democrats want to control every aspect of American's way of life through their Green New Deal agenda.
We do not have to choose between clean, affordable energy and protecting our environment. We can and must do both. In Congress, I am supporting a robust package of legislative initiatives to do just that—expand safe, clean, reliable American energy while continuing to be a good steward of our environment. Through common-sense conservation and pro-energy policies, we can do our part to preserve our planet's natural beauty for future generations while unleashing economic growth and prosperity.
Letter to the editor from Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check Youth Outreach Coordinator.
Every year on October 13, we observe Seen Enough Tobacco Day to raise awareness about the impact of tobacco marketing on youth and minorities. The day of action was established by members of Reality Check, a youth-based program in New York State.
Locally, Reality Check youth from Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming (TF-GOW) used their creative talents to express startling statistics and health outcomes that will inspire their community to protect children like them from the billions of dollars of tobacco marketing in places where kids can see it.
The tobacco industry has spent decades avoiding the truth to sell their products. Juul Labs, an American e-cigarette company, recently settled a lawsuit that exposed its role in fueling the youth vaping epidemic. The company’s deceptive and misleading marketing glamorized vaping using fruity flavors that appealed to youth. They even claimed their products were safer than cigarettes.
To date, the FDA has authorized 34 tobacco and menthol-flavored e- cigarette products, yet more than 6,000 illegal, often fruit-flavored, vapes are still widely available online and in stores—many targeted at minors.
And menthol is more than just a flavor in tobacco products. It is used to addict young people by making nicotine easier to inhale and harder to quit. It’s no wonder that 22.5 percent of high school youth use e-cigarettes and over half of youth smokers between
12 and 17 use menthol cigarettes.There are resources to help teens quit. Programs like "Drop the Vape" provide free, 24/7 support through text messaging, proven to increase quit rates. In fact, adolescents with a history of vaping are 35 percent more likely to quit after using a text message-based program. To participate, teens can anonymously text "Drop The Vape" to 888709. The American Lung Association also offers essential tools to help break the addiction cycle at lung.org/quit-smoking.
I hope parents, teachers, schools, elected officials and all the members of our community will join me and our Reality Check youth in declaring that we’ve Seen Enough Tobacco and Vaping. By working together, we can build a tobacco-free generation -- on October 13 and every day.
Letter to the Diocese of Buffalo:
Where to begin? Angry? Disappointed? Heartbroken? No one word seems to sum it up. And I am not trying to describe how I feel about the decision to close Ascension, I am trying to describe how I feel about THE WAY the decision was handled. The fact that the only church I have known for my entire life, that my parents AND GRANDPARENTS have known is closing, yes that's sad, but it's a story that every parish has right? It's one that I am sure the Diocese of Buffalo has grown numb to. While this fact is still true and valid, that's not exactly the point. What is the most upsetting is how the Diocese communicated this decision to us -- they didn't. At no point did the Bishop or any front-facing Diocese person say the following, "We are PRAYERFULLY considering all counter proposals, if your parish wasn't on the initial list of closures, be ready because it may happen." You gave us NO warning at all that this would take place. Now yes, did everyone know that the counter proposals were being reviewed? But there was no transparency to our Parish regarding this closure, at least other parishes had time to absorb the fact that they were on the initial list and pray for a different outcome, we don't get such an opportunity.
I am not naive enough to pretend I don't understand. There is another Catholic church less than a mile away from us. Why are other parishes closing and those congretation members having to drive 20 minutes or more when we in Batavia don't have to? I get that side of it, I do. But our church is financially solvent and structurally sound thanks to it's congregation and previous leadership. We have never had boiler issues, foundation cracks, bats in the belfry or any other problems.
Letter to the Editor by Michelle Hadden, Assistant Executive Director of Program at the New York Council on Problem Gambling
“We Know Who They Are”, said New York Council on Problem Gambling, Executive Director, Jim Maney. “We know who is losing 120 million dollars in just two weeks in New York to Mobile Sports Betting. The question is how much do we care?”
If we had a registry of those who were struggling with opioid addiction in New York state, a clearly identified list of names with contact information, what would we do with it? Would we reach out with educational information for those who were just beginning to use it? Would we reach out with harm reduction and treatment tools for those who were showing signs of more frequent use?
Every Mobile Sport Betting licensee has this information. A list of account holders, how much they spend, their gambling activity and more. And yet we do little to address those New Yorkers who are losing 70 million in a week, 200 million in a month. Recent analysis of national data from the four largest US online operators shows that those aged 28-43 account for 60% of all players and money lost. The second largest group is those under 28 years old.
We are advertising and sending promotions, enticing people, vulnerable people, to participate in an activity that we know comes with the risk of addiction. For most of that second largest group of players, those under 28, their brains either aren’t fully or have just finished fully developing, making them at higher risk than the general population. On average the typical college student receives 25 credit card solicitations a semester. Twenty-five opportunities to stay “in action” placing bets with money they don’t have.
This downward spiral from fun and entertainment to problem gambling, to devastating financial and emotional consequences is heard in the voices of individuals, parents and spouses who reach out for help not knowing what to do next. It’s heard in the stories of those who’ve recovered, but never forget that their addiction brought them to the brink of family ruin, suicide, crime and despair.
If we care enough, New York will do what it takes to mitigate the impact of expanded gambling opportunities. This will take true partnership between the State and the gambling industry to find solutions to assist those players who are struggling. Because we DO know who they are, we know how to reach them, and we know how to offer assistance that puts them on the path to a healthy lifestyle free from gambling addiction.
Danielle Hausen - Member, Genesee County DSA
Today marks the two-year anniversary since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, changing how reproductive rights are viewed in our country. We carry the same passion we did two years ago, standing up for everyone’s right to safe reproductive healthcare, which includes the right to have an abortion. This issue remains crucial. Since the Supreme Court's decision, 14 states have made it extremely difficult to get an abortion, pushing individuals into situations where they can not receive abortions or must resort to dangerous alternatives.
Adding to this challenge are crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), institutions known for offering biased and incomplete information to discourage individuals from getting abortions. Despite appearing helpful, many CPCs have been criticized for providing misleading details and steering people away from abortion, even when it is medically warranted. It's vital for us to stay alert, ensuring that everyone has accurate information on reproductive health and can make informed decisions about their bodies and futures. You may be interested to know that there are several CPCs right here in the GLOW region.
The conservative majority in the Supreme Court has taken away our rights and raised concerns about the future of reproductive rights. Their lean towards conservatism has the potential to further endanger reproductive autonomy and limit access to crucial healthcare services nationwide. The Supreme Court, however, is not the be-all and end-all of the fight for reproductive justice; we know that actors like conservative politicians and crisis pregnancy centers are going to fight against our reproductive rights and bodily autonomy regardless of how the court rules. As we navigate this landscape, it's crucial to continue organizing for reproductive justice, ensuring that the rights and dignity of all individuals are protected and upheld.
We will not go back.
Lauren Berger - Member, Livingston County DSA
Well, here we are.
It has been two years since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Heath, when the Supreme Court ruled that Roe v. Wade, court-accepted guidance for 49 years (a fifth of the time that our country has existed), was unconstitutional. For two years, anti-abortion legislatures have ramped up the dictation over the lives of people who can bear children – a paternalistic and violating overreach for people seeking life-and-death medical care. For two years, a country that says we have no right to universal healthcare has also decreed that we have no rights to our own uteruses either.
People have had to flee their home states to seek abortion care – almost 172 thousand in 2023 alone, according to USA Today (and that’s just who made it onto the report). The people who couldn’t afford to travel, or couldn’t take time off work, or didn’t have a ride…those numbers aren’t captured.
For two years, Democrats have been promising they’ll protect abortion – if we stay under their thumbs where we belong. The problem is, they had nearly fifty years to enshrine Roe into federal legislation before 2022, and failed to do so. I know there’s a list of excuses (there always is), but the truth is that trusting “business as usual” politicians is exactly what led us here. I say that not to deflate the hope any of us might still have in our institutions, but to remind us that this is not the time to be complacent.
The Court’s protection for Mifepristone from the other day rings empty and hollow to those who see it realistically, analogous to placing a single band-aid on a collapsing dam. Our lives and our futures are being debated by not medical experts and researchers, but politicians and lobbyists whose foundation on medical knowledge is the King James Bible, the majority of whom haven’t had to consider a potential pregnancy since I’ve been alive. Anti-abortion advocates are not relenting, and neither should we.
How do we remain relentless? Turning out to events like this, give yourselves a round of applause. We relentlessly mobilize against Crisis Pregnancy Centers – the fake clinics like the Pregnancy Resource Center of the Valleys in Mt. Morris and All Babies Cherished here in Batavia that manipulate and guilt people seeking abortion even though do not provide genuine medical care.
We also relentlessly grow our networks and continue learning – look around, are there people here you don’t know yet? Are there resources we can share? The more we learn, the more we understand how our struggles – for abortion access, for racial equity, for disability justice – are all connected. Even today, I haven’t said the word “women” in reference to those who are affected by anti-abortion policies – because abortion restriction affects all genders. We are relentless in our compassion. Our struggles are connected – but so is our liberation. Together, we are stronger. Together, we win.
Letter to the Editor from Diane Armbruster, GLOW ARC Board of Directors and a parent
Since 1961, Arc GLOW has been serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in our region.
It started with the Arc of Livingston Wyoming in 1961, followed by the Genesee Arc in 1966 and Arc of Orleans County in 1970. In 2016, Genesee Arc and the Arc of Orleans County merged to form Arc of Genesee Orleans. In 2021, the Arcs of Livingston Wyoming and Genesee Orleans merged to create Arc GLOW, which we are known as today. Yet across all iterations, our mission has been the same; empowering and support people of all ages with a broad spectrum of emotional, intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Today we serve over 2,000 individuals with IDD across the GLOW region and employ over 1,100 staff dedicated to our mission to help our individuals in realizing their full potential and finding happiness and meaning in life through programs such as vocational, educational, residential, clinical, recreational, and day habilitation.
Yet in order to help individuals with IDD, we need you, the community’s support.
The best way you can do that is through membership, which is open to everyone over the age of 18. While any amount of donation for membership is welcome, the base cost is as little as $1 per person.
And this $1 goes a long way.
The higher membership we have, the more power we have in our advocacy at state and national levels, giving Arc GLOW and the families and individuals we serve a more influential voice in legislative matters. Your membership has a direct impact on our federal and state funding. Membership contributions also help to fund programs that government funding does not provide.
Investments in services over the past 10 years have increased only 10.5 percent in comparison to 30 percent inflation. This has caused a critical staffing shortage, especially considering that the Arc Direct Support Professional (DSP) staff receives a fraction of the salary of staff working in facilities operated by the state for the same work.
Finally, membership is a statement that you believe in the importance of what Arc GLOW does and you support our mission.
I am writing to you as a parent of a son who has lived in an Arc GLOW group home since 2006. I can honestly say how happy he is in his home as well as with the day program he attends.
We as parents are so very thankful for this as well as the sense of security it brings to us. I have also been a member of various Arc GLOW committees and then the Board of Directors for about 15 years now. I know how deeply members care about our individuals and spend a great deal of time to guarantee what is the best possible life for them in all respects.
Arc GLOW is truly a family to join, and you can do so by visiting our website at ArcGLOW.org and clicking our membership button. While you are there, please check everything we are doing between programs and events.
Letter to the Editor from Katelyn DiSalvo, Tri-County District Director, Catholic Charities
The need today is real and Catholic Charities is, as it has been for the last century, here to meet the challenge. HOPE is central to the work we do every day. HOPE for our neighbors when they are homeless, hungry, in need or troubled. Everything starts with HOPE, thanks to the generosity and support of those who give through the annual Appeal.
Now underway through June 30, Appeal 2024, the agency’s 100th campaign, helps fund many programs and services administered by Catholic Charities along with several ministries through the Fund for the Faith.
In just the past year, nearly 1,900 neighbors of all ages, faiths or no faith throughout Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties were given HOPE by the programs and services offered by Catholic Charities. These include basic emergency assistance such as support for food and finding housing resources, working with domestic violence offenders for systemic social change, and parents who want to reduce conflict and parent effectively for their children. In Genesee and Orleans counties, our home visitation and friendly phones programs bring a sense of connectivity and quality of life to homebound seniors.
Thank you for choosing to give HOPE by supporting this year’s Appeal. Please visit ccwny.org/donation.
And if you or someone you know needs HOPE in Genesee, Orleans or Wyoming counties, call us at 585-343-0614. We have offices in Batavia, Albion, and Perry.
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