crime

Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• The United Memorial Medical Center could face a tough road ahead in getting its construction projects financed. "Organized labor," writes Dan Fischer, is blocking the state legislature's renewal of a law that allows non-profits to borrow from Industrial Development Agencies at low finance rates. The unions insist that the law include a provision that says projects funded through IDA financing must pay "prevailing union wages," which could put costs too high to manage. (This seems like a complex story. I would like to find out more about it. Such as: How can the labor unions block the law? And why wouldn't IDA-funded projects already be required to pay prevailing union wages?) UPDATE: Found more information here at the Buffalo News.

• A deck of playing cards illustrating 52 (unsolved) homicides and missing persons cases from around the state will be issued to prisoners across the state, including those at Genesee County Jail. Inmates may call a toll free number printed on the card if they have information.

• The Genesee County Legislature will meet tonight at 7:00pm at the Old County Courthouse.

From the Daily News (Tuesday):

• A book signing and talk with David Bellavia scheduled for tonight at the Holland Land Office Museum was cancelled. Museum Director Patrick Weissend told the Daily News that the event was cancelled because Bellavia had since declared his candidacy for Congress, and Weissend was worried about perceptions of unfairness of holding the event at a non-profit. (I would like to hear more about that. Who would feel that the event was unfair?) Bellavia is seeking the 26th Congressional District seat vacated by the retirement at the end of this term of Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds. No mention of Bellavia's party affiliation.

• A potential challenger of Bellavia's, Democrat Jon Powers, stopped by the Batavia Elks Lodge last night to get his message out. Reporter Paul Mrozek writes: "Powers, 29, of Clarence, is a retired Army captain and a decorated Iraq War veteran. He said the major issue of the campaign is that the country lacks the leadership to tackle tough problems, such as how to improve the economy and how to bring American troops back from Iraq." No mention in the article (from Powers) of what it would take to improve the economy or bring troops back.

• City police reported several arrests for unlawful possession of marijuana — no mention of where the infractions occurred — and two instances of driving while intoxicated: on Court Street and South Spruce Street.

• Agricultural reporter Tom Rivers covered the visit by Governor Paterson to Batavia yesterday. Both of his articles appear on the front page of today's paper.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

Twenty-three-year-old Rondell Breedlove was setenced to 15 years in prison at Genesee County Court today, according to the district attorney's office. Breedlove pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery in June following an incident in October, 2006, when a Batavia man was shot to death out front of his home on Dellinger Avenue.

One of four suspects involved in that robbery-turned-murder, Breedlove was initially charged with second-degree murder following the death of Desean Gooch, who was 23 years old when he was killed, according to the Daily News archives. Two of the other four men charged in the case have already been setenced.

Breedlove is a Rochester native who is currently serving a prison sentence on an unrelated matter. The sentence pronounced today will begin once he finishes serving his first term. The district attorney's office couldn't say for sure when that would be.

Check out WBTA for this and other stories:

• A 19-year-old Harvester Avenue resident was charged with menacing, city police said. Officers were responding to a report of an underage drinking party when the young man allegedly answered the door with a knife in his hand.

From the Daily News (Friday):

• Batavia police are still baffled by bloody clothing and a pillowcase that were found in March in a dumpster in back of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on North Street. Reporter Scott DeSmit writes: "None of the items had holes or cuts consistent with foul play and no other bodily fluids were found." One of the shirts found was "saturated with human blood," which would indicate a lot of blood lost.

• On the agenda for City Council's next meeting: revisions to the city code and a transfer of $10,000 to a "Dwyer Stadium reserve," plus a few other items. Before the regular meeting gets underway, the council will hold a public hearing for residents to comment on the proposal to remove a traffic light at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Ross Street. The meeting is at 7:00pm Monday in the Council Board Room on the second floor of City Hall.

• Larry's Steakhouse plans to open in July at 60 Main Street at a spot once occupied by Harry's and Prato's. On the menu: steak, seafood and pasta.

• Mothertime Marketplace opened today at Batavia Downs. At the weekend event, vendors will be selling used toys, clothes, furniture and other items. It is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm today, from 10:00am to 5:00pm Saturday, and from 8:00 to 10:00am Sunday. Admission is $2 for adults. Visit www.mothertimemarketplace.com for more information.

• A Genesee County Chapter of the American Red Cross benefit raffle held Saturday at LeRoy Country Club drew a crowd of nearly 200. No mention of how much money was raised for the association.

• The Genesee County Business Education Alliance will hold a Spring Breakfast Meeting at Bohn's Restaurant in Batavia at 7:15am May 16. It costs $15. Call Melinda Chamberlin at (585) 343-7440 for more information.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

Can't seem to dredge up anything of great import in the way of news this afternoon. Whenever that happens, I head out into the community, into the shops on Main Street and elsewhere, into the parks...

Batavia police tell me they don't have anything to report — I've called them twice today so far. We should probably consider that good news. Strange though, since a city councilman told me that the city was already 300 calls above where they were this time last year.

Still not much luck connecting with the busy city manager. I did get a couple City Council members on the phone today, but didn't make it much further than that. I'll be meeting with Sam Barone next week. Looking forward to it. Sam mentions fishing, bowling and reading under special interests on the city's Web site. I'm a fan of all three myself, though I'm only good at the last one.

Also, I found this fine shot of the bend in the Tonawanda River in my camera. Have those bulbs popped yet?

Then I met with Hal Kreter over at the county's Veterans Service Agency. He's a great guy — a longtime U.S. Marine himself — who works for an organization that fills the gap between the American veteran and the no doubt intimidating bureaucracy of the federal government.

That's about all for now. But here's a note before I go: The Batavian's MySpace is humming along. We've picked up 30 friends so far — honestly, I don't know if that's very many, but I'm excited about it. For those of you interested in that, please stop by and check it out. We'd be happy to be your friend. For those who aren't interested or just don't know much about the site, it's a social networking hub where anyone can register and create a personal profile for themselves, meet other folks, keep up remotely with friends. Music is big on MySpace, so we're hoping to link up with a few bands, maybe even put together a music video from time to time to bring back here to our site. Look for that in the future.

There have been a few postings about the state of our neighborhoods and people’s opinions of the rate of decline. From someone new to the area or familiar with big city living, some missing paint and a little litter are not anything to be concerned about. People in big cities have had to live with falling property values, absentee landlords and drug activity for years. The obvious question is, why wouldn’t the people of Batavia point to the precursors of decline and pull together to keep the quality of life we have always enjoyed?