Your Morning Edition for Friday, November 11th
Auburn mayor announces retirement, new local ambulance service takes over, drama in Gorham, advocates call for Greenidge closure, and Fingerlakes Mall has new owners.
Our editors have been busy curating the most-important news for today’s Morning Edition newsletter. The Morning Edition is a daily digest of the biggest stories that matter to your life in the Finger Lakes. Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Canandaigua Dentistry. Learn more about them and other FingerLakes1.com partners by scrolling down.
What’s News Today? Get Caught Up Fast!
RETIRING FROM PUBLIC OFFICE: Auburn Mayor Michael Quill will not seek re-election. There comes a time when you have to step away, he said at a city council meeting on Thursday. He didn't provide any additional context, but Quill has served as mayor since 2008. The mayor made it clear he wouldn't put the city in the position of some others in the region - exiting before his term concludes. However, his message of 'the time being right' was received by the rest of city council. [READ MORE]
NEW AMBULANCE SERVICE: Dissatisfied with response time, availability, and quality of service - the Schuyler County Legislature voted 7-1 to enter a three-year contract with Cayuga Health for ambulance service. The rural county had previously been serviced by the Schuyler County Volunteer Ambulance Association. The new contract, and dispute over service that led the legislature here shines a light on the issues surrounding rural ambulance service. Local officials feel like this solution is the right fit. Cayuga Health operates an array of health services in the southern Finger Lakes, including hospitals and medical offices. The new contract begins December 1st. [READ MORE]
UPDATE ON BUDGET: The Gorham Town Board has again decided to hold off on passing the 2023 tentative budget after getting even more pushback and questions about it from residents. Wednesday's meeting started off with privilege of the floor. One of the first people to speak was Tax Collector Adrienne Smith, who was one of the only town employees left out of a 4% raise in 2023. Smith said the the town isn't a great place to work, calling it a toxic environment. Supervisor Fred Lightfoote fired back saying Smith hasn't been showing up to Town Hall when she should, and that he'd been trying to contact her, but those calls went ignored. Also during the meeting - the town passed a resolution to allow a wedding venue called Chateau Olivia on County Road 18 to go to the Planning Board. But residents have voiced concerns about traffic connected to the new business. The proposal still needs a Special Use Permit. All-in-all, Councilor Jake Chard said it was a productive meeting, even if the budget didn’t move forward. The board has until November 20th to pass and submit the budget. [READ MORE]
GREENIDGE PUSHBACK: Local wineries and environmental groups held a press conference two days after Governor Kathy Hochul’s gubernatorial victory to ask for action on cryptocurrency mining. They gathered to urge Hochul to sign a cryptocurrency mining moratorium, which would prevent future crypto-mining operations from opening. They also asked for steps to be taken to shut down Greenidge Generation in Dresden. Greenidge employs around 50 people. While that is a lot of employees for rural Yates County, advocates say it doesn’t compensate for the damage being done to the overall economy. So far, the Governor has not announced any plans to move forward with the moratorium. [READ MORE]
BURNING OVERNIGHT: A wildfire in Steuben County prompted a heavy response from area fire departments. Altogether nearly a dozen agencies were dispatched to an area between Jasper and Canisteo. The call came in around 2 p.m. and smoke could be seen from around the area. No other information was immediately available about the fire. [READ MORE]
NEW OWNERS: Fingerlakes Mall has new owners. The purchase price was $3.6 million, according to Sutton Real Estate Company. Vachi Fingerlakes, LLC purchased the mall from Fingerlakes Mall Acquisition, LLC. Sutton will serve as the mall’s property management team. The new owners first action was to ensure a lease extension for Bass Pro Shops was signed. The company called it an 'encouraging first step' to have a 15-year lease secured for Bass Pro, which remains the only anchor tenant at Fingerlakes Mall. Multi-stage redevelopment plans are being considered to revitalize the mall. [READ MORE]
NO VICTORY YET: Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor isn’t celebrating just yet. He has a 28-vote lead in the race for mayor. He has a 28-vote lead in the race for mayor. While it would be a challenge for DavidChristler to mount a comeback through absentee ballots, Taylor said it would be premature to claim victory now. Right now, Taylor is up 1,061 to 1,033. There are roughly 75 to 95 absentee ballots awaiting to be tallied. His challenger, David Christler said he was pleased about making it close, but conceded that “It’s going to be a hard road,” when it comes to victory. [READ MORE]
MISSING: Police are still searching for the missing Jamesville man who was last seen on October 20th. David Benz, 68, of Janesville left his home on October 20th. He had his cell phone at that time, but his vehicle was found in Wayne County near a hiking trail. Police said he may be wearing a dark-colored long-sleeve top, light-colored jeans or khakis, dark-colored footwear, and a ball cap. He's known to frequent state forests, according to deputies, who say he was last seen on foot in the New Hartford Street area. His vehicle was recovered at the Family Dollar in Wolcott. [READ MORE]
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