Trouble in Lucy-ville:
Lucille Ball's children, Lucie and Desi Jr., along with Wanda Clark
(Ball's secretary) and sponsor Mary Rapaport have walked away from the
board of directors of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown,
citing unresolvable disputes. Local residents have taken their places (Jamestown
Post-Journal)... (12/5)
HERE WE GO AGAIN: Spitzer to commission a research group to
"help New York develop a UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE
coverage plan" (Associated
Press)... (12/5)
New York State tax revenue
bailing out the stupid: And all at the hands of our very own state
senator, Catharine Young (WLEA)...
(12/3)
An announcement regarding winter
ski reports:
Yes, we at Fullervision do plan on returning to the winter ski slope
reports for the 2007-08 season. Because this season has been
surprisingly normal, most of the ski slopes will be opening at their
normal time next weekend. Thus, for those slopes that will be open next
weekend, we will be running slope reports. (12/2)
AP writer Michael Gormley is
pissed-- and for good reason: "Despite gloomy forecasts, NY's budget
poised for busting — again" (Associated
Press)... (12/1)
Well,
this isn't good news: Landslide causes a stop in I-67/US 219
construction (Ellicottville
Villager)... (11/30)
One
of the little gems in the farm bill (thank you, Chuck the Schmuck):
stealing private land for public use via legislation. Now, don't get me
wrong, I support game hunting as much as anyone here (my brother even
has a hunting license), but Chuck Schumer's plan to spend federal money
and force landowners to give up their land for the practice is not
worth it! (Jamestown
Post-Journal)... (11/30)
Backwardraugus County Republicans:
Raising your taxes (Salamanca
Press)... (11/30)
I don't tend to talk much about goings-on in the city of Olean (never
really felt a need), but what's been going on there for the past couple
of weeks has been nothing short of amusing: mayor David Carucci decided
a couple weeks ago to install a nativity scene in front of City Hall,
and the council got its knickers in a huge twist... then the Wiccans
demanded "equal space" and Carucci said "be my guest." A month of
articles from the Olean
Times Herald should explain the amusing sequence of events very
well. (11/30)
Here's
something that may have been missed: The Seneca Nation this week
tried to apply to the FCC for a license for a radio station in Irving,
presumably to spew propaganda. Unfortunately for them they were knocked
out by several religious broadcasters (Scott Fybush)...
(11/27)
Guess
who's involved in cigarette smuggling? You guessed it-- the
Indians (AP)...
(11/24)
Surprise, surprise... Bush
Industries to lay off 75 at its Jamestown plant, only 6 months after
closing its Little Valley plant and supposedly transferring those jobs
to Jamestown. An excellent writeup on this bait-and-switch from the Jamestown
Post-Journal. (11/22)
BUSTED... ARE THE LONGS THE NEXT
RIGASES?: Lloyd Long, a member of the Long family (owners of the
Cattaraugus County Chronicle, the Huggies Coin Laundry, the now-closed
Uni-Mart and the Island Tan in Little Valley) was arrested this past
week for tax evasion after ATF officials determined that the two
now-closed Salamanca Uni-Marts that were supposedly "native owned and
operated" were not in fact owned by an Indian as Long had claimed but
solely by Long himself. Furthermore, their house was reportedly
searched, sources close to Fullervision say, for any and all documents,
which were seized, leaving only the "food, dishes and clothing." (The
Seneca Nation is claiming credit for this
as well although if they were involved with this, I'm not sure how much
jurisdiction they would have, plus it just shows how much ego these
self-privileged jerks have for their precious unfair advantage. So much
for egalitarian ideals in America.) (Jamestown
Post-Journal)... (Salamanca
Press)... (11/21)
-- P.S. WIVB, please get your facts straight. The Uni-Marts have been
closed since August, they weren't closed yesterday.
OBIT:
Dick Wilson, 91. Better known as "Mr. Whipple" from Charmin
commercials. (11/19) OBIT: Jim Ringo, 75. Hall of
Fame NFL centerman for the Green Bay Packers, one-time head coach of
the Buffalo Bills, and possibly the inspiration for the stage name of
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. (11/19)
There are a lot of sites reporting
this, but I think the summary from WYSL puts it
just about as well as I could: Thruway tolls to spike. But hold the
phone: Thomas DiNapoli, the comptroller, has commissioned an audit, and
according to WLEA,
it was at the request of State Senator Cathy Young. (Personally,
I don't think it's a good idea for her to be pushing this-- higher
thruway tolls would push more drivers to the free Southern Tier
Expressway, which just happens to run right through most of our area.
There is, however, a piece of I-90 that runs through northern
Chautauqua County. Also, I'm a little surprised DiNapoli, a Long Island
Democrat, actually took advice from Young, an upstate Republican. I'm
starting to see why Spitzer opposed him so vehemently...)
(11/19)
HUNTING
SEASON BEGINS TODAY...
(11/17)
Irony: It's funny how the
Senecas like to scream "sovereignty" when they don't want to pay
taxes... but when they get their cigarettes stolen... yep, you guessed
it... they call in the Cattaraugus County Sheriffs. (Last I checked,
the Senecas do have their own police force, too.) (WESB)...
(11/14)
HOT OFF THE AP WIRE:
SPITZER
ABANDONS ALIEN DRIVER LICENSE PLAN (AP)
(Joe Mahoney, NYDN)
(Kenneth Lovett, NYP)...
(11/13)
I love headlines like this:
From the Jamestown
Post-Journal: "Drivers beware: Bambi’s on the loose..." (Also a
heads-up: deer season starts Saturday.) (11/13)
SENECAS DELINQUENT ON CASINO PAYMENTS
TO STATE, CITY OF SALAMANCA SUFFERS (Sharon Turano, Jamestown
Post-Journal)... (11/12) (Gee, and with Moe John, who won't
pay his federal taxes, at the helm of the SNI too... who'd have
thought??)
Apparently there's been some snow in Cattaraugus County (Olean
Times-Herald)... (11/9)
Like we needed an audit to state the
obvious: Government education spending far outpaces inflation,
according to comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (WYSL)... (11/8)
This quite possibly could be the
dumbest idea I've ever heard: trick-or-treaters... getting
stoned (WYSL)...
(11/8)
Do you know who you're voting for on Election Day? (This was posted on
11/6.) If not, click
here for the list of candidates in Cattaraugus County-- also check
there for results as they are announced. Please note: As this is an odd
year, there are no state or national elections this year (other than
"state supreme court" justices, of whom we know next to nothing), and
county legislators and town board members are the predominant offices
up for grabs this year. UPDATE: In District 3, with 6 of 8
precincts reporting, Fullervision projects Norm Marsh and Robert Neal,
both Republicans, to win the race. All incumbents won in the Town of
Little Valley. A full report from the Salamanca
Press. EDITOR'S NOTE: I find
it outrageous that Democrat James Griffith, who's going along with
Spitzer's license plans like a lap dog, is running unopposed. If I had
known this I would have mounted a write-in campaign sooner...
Sheldon Silver: Spitzer's compromise driver's license plan not good
enough (New
York Daily News)... (11/5)
STANDARD TIME BEGINS...
HAVE YOU SET YOUR CLOCK BACK YET??Check here to see if you have the
right time. (11/4)
Now this is precious:ABC
News claims it was censored by the White House... (11/3)
Don't disco and do dental work:
Such was the lesson learned by a Syracuse area dentist, who was sued
after he lost a drill bit in a patient's head while dancing to the song
"Car Wash." (Syracuse
Post-Standard)... (11/3)
Cattaraugus County man killed in accident involving county DPW truck (Associated
Press)... (11/1)
Spitzer backs down on taxing the
Seneca Mafia (Associated
Press)... (10/31)
Spitzer's budget buster bombshell
(why am I not surprised?) (Associated
Press)... (10/31)
New York State Fall Foliage Report: FINAL REPORT, Week of November 1
Most all of upstate New York has now progressed well past peak, save
for a few isolated spots. However, the state has pointed out several
points in the state where there is still significant color remaining;
Little Valley is cited as one of them.
With this report comes the end of Fullervision's reporting of the fall
foliage season. It was truly a beautiful display of foliage this year
particularly in this area, with a broad mixture of oranges, yellows and
reds predominant when I was back at the World Headquarters in Little
Valley for the weekend two weeks ago. I thank you for visiting
Fullervision for the fall foliage viewing information.
SOURCE: ILoveNY.com
A map showing the weekly progression of New York's colors is in the
works.
OBIT: Robert Goulet, 73. Baritone lounge singer and Broadway star.
(10/30)
A little laugh for your day: In
Westfield, NY, a misunderstanding led to a rumor that a proposed camp
for "nature buffs" would be in fact a camp for "nudists in the buff;"
the founder wants to clear the air that no, he's not turning his
property into a nudist colony (Jamestown
Post-Journal)... (10/30)
I wonder if anyone sees this as a
problem: 1 in 5 New York tax dollars comes directly from levies
on Wall Street (Associated
Press)... (10/29)
Only in a small town is this
considered front-page news: Barn silo collapses in Randolph,
thousands in grain lost (Jamestown
Post-Journal)... (10/29)
Now this is too rich: Spitzer
compares a "driver's license" to the Metro bus pass (New
York Daily News)... (10/29)
Note: I am aware that there was
supposedly an agreement this past Saturday between Spitzer and Michael
Chertoff regarding this issue that will impose a multi-tiered ID
system. I don't buy it. First off, Spitzer is Jewish. Jews don't work
on Saturday. Second, this seems like a plan for creeping incrementalism
to implement this policy. Third, and this is the very reason I did not
vote for Spitzer in the first place, is that this plan has no realistic
way of being implemented in the short order that Spitzer so desires.
I'm not buying it, and neither should you. Hence, why I'm not listing
it.
OBIT: Porter Wagoner, 80.
Legendary country musician and ambassador for the Grand Ole Opry.
(10/28)
Indian tax wars update: This
one with the Oneidas-- the state of New York is threatening to stop the
catering of alcohol onto the Turning Stone Casino, which the state has
ruled to be operating illegally (Syracuse
Post-Standard)... (10/26)
It's unanimous: Cattaraugus
County legislature votes against Spitzer's plan... but the county clerk
falls for Cuomo's lies (Olean
Times-Herald)... meanwhile, Erie and Niagara counties have a plan:
if you're illegal and you apply for a driver's license, you're getting
reported reported to the authorities. (Buffalo News)
(10/26)
Hurt in a car? Then don't call this
guy: OK, I'm rehashing this headline from two years ago when
Ross Cellino was suspended, but chances are you won't be hearing from
"auto-injury attorney" William Mattar because all of his underlings
have quit, claiming he pressured them into settling cases (Buffalo News)...
(10/25)
New York State Fall Foliage Report: Week of
October 25
While the area is now listed as "past peak," much of New York State
between Buffalo and Albany is still well in the near-peak-to-peak color
range. Also, the text report notes that those hillsides in the area
that face the south (i.e. those to the viewer's north) are still very
much at peak (and, upon my inspection, were near peak this past
weekend). Colors in the mountain regions have long passed. FoliageNetwork.com
continues to list near peak foliage along with moderate leaf drop.
Source: ILoveNY.com
Andrew Cuomo and Sheldon Silver:
Siding with Spitzer on the driver's license issue. Cuomo even has the
gall to lie through his teeth regarding the legality of this initiative
(New
York Daily News)... (10/24)
Remark from Cattaraugus County tourism
head on fall colors: "I don't remember the leaves ever being
this brilliant" (Olean
Times-Herald)... tourism in the area has also increased remarkably.
(10/23)
The growth of "big government" in New
York schools continues: ...as New York plans on creating a
universal pre-kindergarten (Jamestown
Post-Journal)... (10/23)
GOODBYE
UNI-MART: The Uni-Mart in Little Valley, which has been in
business at the intersection of Routes 242 and 353 for the past 25
years, shut down this past Sunday after a week-long clearance sale.
Sources close to Fullervision report that new ownership is attempting
to purchase the convenience store from Pirshlo (the company that also
operates the Cattaraugus County Chronicle and is owned by the Long
family, who is reportedly heavily in debt) and that several of the
former employees are trying to re-earn their jobs with the new
ownership. In the meantime, Brooks Supermarket on Main St. and Railroad
Ave. has extended its hours on weekdays to 6 AM ET and has begun
offering a line of breakfast sandwiches to fill the void caused by the
store's closure. Lottery tickets can be purchased at the Crosby
Dairyland on Erie St. (Route 353) between 8th and North 9th Streets. (FV Exclusive) (10/22) UPDATE 10/26: If the
scenario followed by the Uni-Mart in Kane, Pennsylvania is the same as
the one in Little Valley, then the Uni-Mart Corporation itself is
taking over the store (Kane
Republican)...
Add Allegany County to those who oppose Spitzer's foreigner license
program (Olean
Times-Herald)... kind of makes Cattaraugus County's clerk, who's
still supporting this, look a little stupid, doesn't it? Especially
since the county itself, along with both Assemblyman Giglio and Senator
Young (I'm shocked, I tell you), are opposing this. (Salamanca
Press) (10/22)
Another "only in a small town" news report: Car hits two cows
outside Little Valley, 49-year-old Barbara Beckman had to be removed
using Jaws of Life but was unharmed, the two cows were killed (WESB)...
(10/18)
Man to sue over damages to house in Ralph Phillips manhunt (WKBW)...
(10/18)
OBIT: Joey Bishop, 89. The fourth member of the "Rat Pack" and host of
a long-running variety show in the late 1960s.
New
York State Fall Foliage Report: Week
of October 18
We have some good news: this week is going to be perhaps the best time
for leaf color in the area. While the Catskills and Adirondacks have
progressed past peak, the Southern Tier is reaching peak color, while
most of the rest of the state sits at near peak. (And yes, that's
Little Valley dotted out at supposedly "past peak" color. When I make
my trip home this weekend I'll see if I can verify or deny this. FoliageNetwork.com
continues to give "near peak" status to area foliage.
Source: ILoveNY.com
Latest AP "but monkey" agriculture piece (apologies to Laura
Ingraham): Milk prices high, buoying farmer's paychecks, but like
Chicken Little, it won't last. We can't say when it'll end, but it
will. Trust us. (Associated
Press)... (10/17)
...oh, and while they're at it: A ride on the WAAAH-mbulance as
ski clubs complain about not enough immigrant labor (AP)...
(10/17)
Eliot Spitzer's solution for those who disagree: cut off
healthcare funds to their district (New
York Post)... (10/17)
The end of the NLL? The National Lacrosse League, whose members
include the Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks, failed to reach
an agreement with its player's union and thus have cancelled the 2008
season, which was scheduled to take place in January, three months
ahead of time. (What are they thinking? Pretty much every other league
tries to negotiate straight up into the regular season. Cancelling
three months in advance??? That's foolish. Why negotiate when it
doesn't matter?) (10/17)
Now this is one big-@$$ pumpkin-- 1403½ pounds, to be exact (Olean
Times-Herald)... and no, for those who are wondering,
they're not edible. (Nice foliage in the background of the picture, by
the way.)
(10/15)
Malcolm Smith, man in the crossfire of Eliot Spitzer's meddling (New
York Post)... (10/15)
First the school, now the Catholic church: Little Valley to
merge into Cattaraugus, orders Catholic diocese (Buffalo
News)... also closing will be churches in Perrysburg and South
Dayton; West Valley, however, will keep its church but share a pastor. (Words
of note: apparently these bozos are going by school district...)
(10/15) UPDATE 10/17: Reason given for the Little Valley closure is
supposed "central location" of Cattaraugus; both parishes have
approximately equal congregations. (Olean
Times-Herald)...
It's not just Social Security: The Buffalo News reports that
Eliot Spitzer, a few weeks ago, is going to make it even harder to
identify temporary legal residents by removing the "sticker" that
identifies them as such (Buffalo
News)... (10/15)
Eliot Spitzer, partisan hack: Deciding that going on campaigns
against his state's own Congressmen was more important than actually
doing his job, Eliot Spitzer decided to take a trip to Elmira, NY,
located in the 29th Congressional District, to say that Rep. Randy
Kuhl, one of Spitzer's most outspoken critics, "can't make a coherent
argument" against the $35-billion SCHIP expansion proposal (Spitzer
dubbed it a "little bit of extra money"), which Kuhl opposed on the
grounds of excessive size and redundancy. (AP)
(WETM) UPDATE: From WPIG's Gary Nease: Kuhl is not budging on the
issue, according to his latest media conference call. (10/14)
Silence: After news that we've heard that the Erie County and
Chautauqua County clerks plan on continuing to abide by state law and
refusing licenses to those who cannot produce a Social Security card,
the word out of Cattaraugus County has been silence. More to come...
(10/14) UPDATE 10/15: Not so fast, says county legislator Charles Krause
(Olean
Times-Herald)... UPDATE 10/17: ...and of course... our county clerk says "it's
not really a big deal." (Olean
Times-Herald)...
Something you should note: While my father was out of town attending to
some personal business, the High Horsemen pounced at the village board
meeting. (Salamanca
Press) (10/14-- meeting took place 10/9)
Heads up for bowhunters: bowhunting
season for deer and bear began this past Saturday, 10/13 (WETM)...
meanwhile, shotgun season begins next month. (10/13)
VIOLATION OF EQUAL TIME
LAWS?
Radio station WHHO 1320 in
Hornell, New York has apparently given two hours per week to 29th
Congressional District candidate (and MoveOn.org darling) Eric Massa to
host an "entertainment" radio show on the station. It appears this is
not paid advertising. More to come... (10/12)
How
big are these boys' bladders, because this is one of the longest
p!$$ing contests I've ever seen: Now it has been revealed that
Eliot Spitzer not only sought to sic the State Troopers on Joe Bruno,
he tried to get the IRS in on the act as well! (New
York Post) (10/12)
Well, this is embarrassing... welcome to Malone, New York--er,
Vermont...? (AP) (10/12)
New York
State Fall Foliage Report: Week
of October 11
Something fishy about this week's report if you ask me: while most of
the state either stayed the same or moved one category up, Cattaraugus
County jumped from "mid-point" to "peak" in one week (even though the
text report only cites "near peak" foliage). The rest of the state lies
at mid-peak or near peak, with the outer mountain areas at peak foliage
and the inner parts of the Catskills and Adirondacks well past peak. FoliageNetwork.com
gives "near peak" status to area foliage, fairly close since the State
of New York usually projects their maps a few days in advance (for
weekend sightseers). Weather.com seems to be
painting a very broad brush, putting all of New York State north of
Binghamton in "peak foliage" so I wouldn't trust them for local details.
Source: ILoveNY.com
About time: Taylor Law under review (AP)...
(10/8)
Alan Hevesi is not out of the woods just yet (AP)...
(10/8)
Categorize this under "something you don't see everyday in a small
town:" a high-speed chase on Route 417-- 96 in a 55. (WESB)
(10/8)
Sheldon Silver: "Remember me...?" Apparenty disappointed by the
loss of attention caused by Eliot Spitzer's escapades, Assembly Boss
Speaker Sheldon Silver is now advising Spitzer to subpoena his
archnemesis Joe Bruno just for the heck of it (NY
Daily News)... (10/8)
Reviews not good for Spitzer's alien driver's license plan (AP)...
(10/6)
For stories dating from
August through early October 2007,
please see this page.
Fullervision.net