Morning Edition: Sunday, April 10th
Starbucks locations unionize, Geneva IDA approves Trinity Inn project deal, federal court plea deal reached in California-to-Geneva drug trafficking ring.
Welcome to your Morning Edition!
There won’t be any Debrief Podcast this week, so let’s get you caught up with the biggest headlines of the weekend!
Three Starbucks in Ithaca vote to unionize
The results of Friday’s NLRB elections made Ithaca the first city to have all its Starbucks stores represented by a union (not including the Cornell University campus location, which is operated by the school).
Geneva IDA approves Trinity Inn PILOT: Developers will save around $2M
The Geneva Industrial Agency has given the green light to an incentive package to rehabilitate an historic church. The Trinity Inn project saw its incentive package approved on Friday by the city’s Industrial Development Agency. Developers plan to convert the property into an inn, events center, and restaurant.
No viable town manager candidate yet: Seneca Falls launches second search
No viable candidate. That was the message delivered by the selection committee tasked with choosing the first- and next town manager of Seneca Falls. Supervisor Mike Ferrara told the rest of the board last week that a second search would be launched.
Auburn woman still awaiting extradition to face murder charge after shooting
Law enforcement and prosecutors hope that the person currently in custody in South Carolina will be back in Cayuga County to face a murder charge. Shameek Marie Copes, of Auburn turned herself in after an arrest warrant was issued in her name.
Geneva man pleads guilty to trafficking drugs from California to Ontario County, faces 10+ years in prison
Brumfield was the leader of a cocaine-trafficking organization in Geneva and other parts of Ontario County, according to prosecutors. The network ran across the United States- with Brumfield obtaining cocaine from sources in California.
Waterloo man arrested on warrant after crashing school bus
The arrest stems from a 2021 incident where Reese unlawfully operated a school bus and crashed it, causing damages.
Backyard composting program should make return in Ontario County
Ontario County is expected to move forward with a backyard composting program. The first backyard composting program has been popular, and is expected to be offered again.
State budget: New York really only giving up 50% of gas tax collection, alcohol-to-go comes with strings attached
Lawmakers agreed to terms of a new state budget, but New Yorkers are hardly satisfied with the outcome. The budget, which was days late, leaves significant gaps — especially for the business community. The state had a surplus of funds to work with because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn’t mean lawmakers were eager to make things easier for the New Yorkers hardest hit over the last 18 months.
College students struggle to meet basic needs despite tuition programs in New York
New York has multiple state-run student financial aid programs to ensure the cost of tuition and fees is not a barrier to higher education for economically disadvantaged residents. However, experts at the state’s colleges and universities, especially minority-serving institutions, said many students struggle to meet their basic needs.
Seneca and Yates counties investigating this week’s 911 outage
Officials are investigating the cause of a 911 outage that impacted centers in Seneca and Yates counties this week. The outage impacted Motorola and Frontier Communications, and resulted in 911 lines in both counties to shut down for more than an hour.