Photo courtesy of Gillibrand’s office: U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand speaks during a new conference in Washington on Monday.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a press conference with several of her Senate Democratic colleagues on Monday to announce a new wave of War Powers Resolutions that can be used to force a vote to stop President Trump’s reckless and unconstitutional war in Iran, which is endangering American troops, jeopardizing national security, and raising costs for New York families.
Specifically, Gillibrand’s resolution directs the president to remove the U.S. armed forces from hostilities with or against Iran unless military force is explicitly authorized by Congress.
War Powers Resolutions are privileged, meaning they can be brought to the Senate floor for a vote by any senator ten days after they are filed. Gillibrand joins Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) in putting forth these new resolutions, which come in addition to those filed over the past several weeks by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
“President Trump chose to start a war knowing it was going to raise gas prices on Americans already struggling to get by,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The president, and his party, just don’t care about anyone other than themselves. They lie, cheat and steal to enrich themselves and leave regular folks with the bill. It is long past time for Republicans in Congress to stand up and do their job.”
Senator Gillibrand has long advocated for ending unauthorized forever wars and reasserting Congress’ responsibility over the use of military force. In 2019, Gillibrand introduced the War Powers Reform Resolution, which would require the president to provide Congress with a clear objective for military action, as well as evidence that the use of the United States’ armed forces is necessary, appropriate, and proportional to the mission; a finite list of adversaries; and the names of the countries where the U.S. military will deploy.
Since President Trump began his reckless war of choice in Iran in February, Senator Gillibrand has repeatedly called for an end to the war and highlighted the harm it has done to the American people.
“As the administration’s reckless war of choice spirals further out of control and Americans face even greater costs here at home, the need for the Senate to do its job and stop this war is intensifying,” said Senator Booker. “I am proud to stand with my Democratic colleagues in this effort to use every tool at our disposal to uphold our constitutional responsibility, check a power mad president who has plunged our nation and world into chaos, and stop this unconstitutional war.”
ALBANY – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) recently sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul once again calling for decisive action and a full investigation following a second troubling incident involving protesters at the New York State Capitol.
In a letter sent this week to Gov. Hochul and the New York State Police, Hawley detailed an encounter on April 1 in which he was aggressively confronted while trying to enter the Assembly Chamber on the third floor of the Capitol. The incident mirrors a similar situation that occurred just a week earlier on March 24, when he was prevented from entering the building by protestors.
According to Hawley, a large group of individuals were inside the Capitol under the pretense of an organized protest, only to become disruptive and confrontational. As he attempted to enter the Chamber, Hawley was surrounded and physically impeded by individuals attempting to force him to answer questions and engage on their terms.
“After just weeks ago experiencing a similar situation outside the capitol, I was once again prevented from freely entering the Assembly Chamber,” Hawley said. “The protestors also prevented an individual in a wheelchair from entering. This type of behavior is unacceptable. No elected official—nor any staff member or visitor—should feel intimidated or unsafe while conducting business in the Capitol.”
Hawley also raised concerns about security protocols and the handling of protest activity within the building. He noted that while peaceful protest is a fundamental right, the line was crossed when individuals disrupt operations or threaten the safety of others.
“I will always support the right to protest, but when that right is abused to harass, intimidate or obstruct, it becomes a serious security issue,” Hawley added. “The Capitol must remain a place where public servants and visitors alike feel safe.”
In his letter, Hawley urged state officials to conduct a thorough review of both incidents and to implement stronger safeguards to prevent future occurrences. He specifically called on the New York State Police and Capitol security to reassess procedures and ensure accountability.
“New Yorkers expect their government to function in a safe and orderly manner,” Hawley said. “It is imperative that immediate steps are taken to ensure this never happens again.”
Hawley has received comment from the New York State Troopers but has not received a response from the governor at this time. He has reaffirmed his commitment to protecting both the integrity of the legislative process and the safety of all who work in and visit the Capitol.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 April 2026 at 8:36 pm
Elba nipped Barker 3-2 in a non league softball game this afternoon.
Madilyn Marks, Brooklyn Jachimowicz and Kaelin Ball each had 2 hits for Elba while Brea Smith scattered 7 hits and struck out 8 in the circle.
Madelina Pavlock and Elise Monaco both had 2 hits for Barker.
Batavia 13, Albion 3
Lux Froman had 2 hits and 2 RBIs, Aaliyah Jones 2 hits and Aubrielle Barry registered 7 strikeouts for Albion in the 13-3 non league loss to Batavia.
Pembroke 13, Holley 5
Taylor Bischoff had 3 hits, including a double and a home run, and Jayden Hootman registered 16 strikeouts in the circle for Pembroke in the `13-5 Genesee Region League win over Holley.
Charli Gearing had 2 hits and Madison Bonacci 8 strikeouts for Holley.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 April 2026 at 7:52 pm
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Gavin Heideman had 3 hits and 3 RBIs to help the host Rams score a come-from-behind win over visiting Albion this afternoon.
A late inning rally earned Roy-Hart a narrow 5-4 come-from-behind win over visiting Albion this afternoon in the Niagara-Orleans League baseball opener for both teams.
Trailing 4-1, Roy-Hart rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-run single by Gavin Heideman and a two-run double by Isaac Smith to claim the narrow win.
Heideman, who had a total of three hits on the day, also drove in the Rams only other run with an RBI single in the fourth inning.
Albion built up a 4-0 lead by scoring once in both the first and second innings on wild pitches and twice in the fourth on RBI singles by Nate Gibson and Kaiden Froman.
Gibson had three hits on the afternoon.
Albion next hosts Roy-Hart on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m.
Albion catcher Kaiden Froman puts the tag on Roy-Hart’s RJ Townsend at home plate. The tag out completed a double play started by a catch and on target throw by centerfielder Alakai Colmenero.
Roy-Hart shortstop Sean Mettler makes a throw to first base for an out as Isaac Smith backs up the play.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 April 2026 at 7:30 pm
Undefeated (6-0) Kendall rolled to a five inning run rule 12-1 Genesee Region League baseball win over Attica today.
CJ D’Agostino earned the win on the mound allowing only 2 hits and striking out 7 over the five innings.
Jonny Conte banged out 4 hits and drove in 4 runs and Jacob Abrams had three hits to lead the Eagles at the plate.
The Eagles scored in each of the five innings ignited by a three run uprising in the first on a groundout, an error and an RBI single by Abrams.
Kendall added four runs in the second on RBI singles by Conte and Andrew D’Agostino, a sacrifice fly by Nic Cole and an error; two in the third on a single by Conte and a wild pitch; two in the fourth on a two-run single by Conte and one in the fifth on a home run by Vinnie D’Agostino.
Kendall next faces Livonia in a non league contest on Wednesday.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 April 2026 at 7:13 pm
One big scoring inning proved to be just enough to earn Barker a 6-5 win over visiting Wilson in the Niagara-Orleans League baseball opener for both teams this afternoon.
The Bulldogs scored all six runs in the fourth inning on a two-run single by Grayson Prynn, RBI singles by Dominic Cimato and JJ Prynn and a pair of errors.
Wilson did make the finish exciting by rallying for two runs in the top of the seventh on a triple by Colten Nashwinter before Barker got the final out.
JJ Prynn pitched the first six and two-thirds innings for the Bulldogs allowing 4 hits and striking out 12.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 April 2026 at 6:59 pm
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Preston Woodworth hurled a no hitter to lead defending champion Medina to a 10-0 win over Akron in the Niagara-Orleans League opener at Vets Park this afternoon.
Highlighted by a dominating pitching performance by junior Preston Woodworth Medina opened defense of its Niagara-Orleans League baseball title by blanking Akron 10-0 at Vets Park this afternoon.
Woodworth hurled a no hitter with 16 strikeouts over the six innings of the run rule contest.
Woodworth also had a big day at the plate banging out three doubles and driving in a pair of runs. Hadrain Batista also had three hits including a double and two RBIs and Jimmy Dieter had a pair of hits and an RBI.
Medina moved on top to stay by scoring three quick runs in the first inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by Aidan Papaj and Woodworth followed by an RBI single by Batista. A leadoff double by Vinny Gray ignited that uprising.
The Mustangs added two runs in the third on RBI singles by Batista and Kolton Fletcher and two more in the fourth on a groundout and an RBI double by Woodwoth.
Ryan Pegelow belted a solo home run in the fifth inning for the Mustangs which closed out the win with a pair of runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Cam Fike and an RBI single by Dieter. The frame was also aided by doubles by Woodworth and Batista.
The Mustangs are next scheduled to host Akron at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Vets Park in a game that was originally slated to be played at Akron on Wednesday.
Medina’s Ryan Pegelow celebrates hitting a home run as he rounds second base.
BASOM – In response to today’s rally in Batavia led by those in opposition to the Stream Data Center project, we would like to offer you the following statement:
We have consistently prioritized transparency and community engagement, proactively hosting multiple informational sessions to ensure that residents and concerned stakeholders have direct access to our team and the facts of this project. Our goal is to demonstrate how this project represents our approach in the industry, blending innovative technology with a minimal environmental footprint and significant economic benefits.
We recognize that many concerns are based on legacy technologies or alternative approaches to this type of facility. We strongly believe this project represents a best-use, compatible development located within Genesee County’s designated area for such projects. For instance, we understand that water usage is a significant concern for the community. By utilizing a closed-loop cooling system, this new facility will consume less water than a standard warehouse or a large grocery store, requiring only a fraction of the capacity used by traditional manufacturing or agricultural processing companies.
Stream is proud of this project’s modern design, which ensures the campus will remain a quiet, clean, and high-value neighbor. We invite you to review the accompanying fact sheet to see firsthand the care and responsible planning invested in this initiative—one that secures substantial economic benefits for the residents and taxpayers of both the Town of Alabama and Genesee County. We look forward to being an active, difference-making member of this community for decades to come.
Bradley Wells
Senior Project Development Manager
Stream Data Centers
Editor’s Note: Stream says the project will have an economic benefit of more than $1.9 billion, including $285 million in direct local payments, $7 million in annual revenue to the Oakfield-Alabama school district, 125 permanent jobs with average salaries topping $100,000, and approximately 1,200 construction jobs at peak. For more on the project, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 April 2026 at 4:26 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Firefighters work to stop a fire and vent smoke from a house at 1544 Oak Orchard Rd. in Carlton. Jerry Bentley, the deputy fire coordinator, is on the aldder breaking a window to let out smoke.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at about 2:45 p.m. The house is located on Route 98 near the intersection with Park Avenue.
There was heavy smoke coming from the house and flames on the back side of the structure when firefighters arrived on scene, said Chris Standish, the Carlton fire chief.
“Firefighters could hear the crackle and popping coming from inside,” he said.
Standish said the fire is under investigation.
Carlton was assisted at the scene by firefighters from Albion, Kendall, Murray, Clarendon and Medina as well as the Orleans County Emergency Management Office.
Tonia James lives at the house with four cats and three dogs. Six of those pets perished in the fire. She is thankful her dog Sadie survived.
Sadie gets oxygen from the Mercy Flight medics who responded. Sadie suffered smoke inhalation and rebounded. She was up and walking with James.
Jayden Allport, an EMT with Mercy Flight, checks on Sadie. The dog was carried out of the house by firefighters and Mercy Flight gave her oxygen at the scene.
Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke
ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of multiple individuals following a series of investigations conducted in conjunction with the Department of Social Services into alleged public assistance fraud.
As a result of these investigations, several subjects were charged with offenses including Welfare Fraud, Petit Larceny, Grand Larceny, Criminal use of a public benefit card and Offering a False Instrument for Filing.
The following were charged: Hunter Green, David Savage, Kayla Twiss, Suzanne Adams, Felicia Gaddis, Tammie Sanchez, Brenda Dukes, Lisa Mcdaniels, Stephanie DeRosa and Ashley Chambers.
It is alleged that the individuals collectively received $17,236.41 in public assistance benefits to which they were not entitled.
All subjects were issued appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear in the Town of Albion Court at a later date.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work closely with the Department of Social Services to investigate and prosecute fraud-related offenses.
Photo courtesy of Medina Triennial: This is a production still for Two Waters, 2026, by Tania Candiani. It is a new commission for the Medina Triennial.
Press Release, Medina Triennial
MEDINA – The Medina Triennial is pleased to unveil the full list of artists of its inaugural edition, All That Sustains Us, taking place June 6 to Sept. 7 in the Western New York village of Medina, along the Erie Canal.
Co-Artistic Directors Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo have invited 39 artists and collectives from across five continents to create a free, walkable, village-wide exhibition featuring over 100 works, including new site-specific commissions by 18 artists shaped in response to Western New York’s communities and ecosystems—many created in collaboration with local residents.
Following a year of on-the-ground research, Conte and Laansoo developed a curatorial framework rooted in the intersection of art, ecology, architecture, and rural contexts, while prioritizing local production to minimize carbon-intensive shipping.
Bringing artists from across the globe into dialogue with Medina and Western New York, the Triennial unfolds amid the histories, materials, and social worlds of the region. The works on view approach maintenance through linked themes: land relations and extraction, waterways and water stewardship, labor and repair, public life and community building, and the visible and hidden systems that shape everyday life.
Moving across different scales, the exhibition brings together building blocks and ruins, folklore and industry, farming and food security, interspecies kinship and ecological grief, as well as broader questions of conflict. Throughout Medina’s buildings, canalfront, parks, and former industrial sites, visitors encounter works that embody both endurance and fragility.
“All That Sustains Us echoes a question artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles posed in 1969 and never stopped asking: what does it take to keep things going? The Medina Triennial asks what forms of labor, knowledge, and commitment sustain civic life, ecological systems, and the built environment, especially under conditions of strain,” said Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo, co-artistic directors of the Triennial. “The works gathered here emerged from research and dialogue with artists and offer many distinct positions. What connects them is a shared attention to the forces, materials, and ideas that hold communities together, and to the conditions under which those structures begin to break down.”
The Triennial’s sites span the full breadth of the village. Situated in a former sandstone hotel overlooking the canal, the Medina Triennial Hub will serve as a welcome center, a home for education and residency programs, and a site for two major commissions—48 Collections from the Erie Canal by Futurefarmers and Reflection by Asad Raza.
The main exhibition site is 25,000 square feet of the Catherine Street Old Medina High School building, which has been closed to students and the public for more than three decades and recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, where new commissions include A Good Wall by James Beckett, Two Waters by Tania Candiani, INT. HOME(S) by Ash Arder, THE TELL by Matt Kenyon, and Between Blossom and Core by Kärt Ojavee.
Works will also be presented at the Medina Railroad Museum, Orleans County YMCA, Medina Memorial Hospital, Rotary Park, State Street Park, and Sacred Heart Church, as well as installations directly on the Erie Canal.
Anchoring the outdoor program is a new site-specific commission by Lina Lapelytė, Faithfully Recording, a durational performance where singers and construction workers collaboratively build a public sculpture from reclaimed Medina sandstone on the Medina Railroad Museum’s grounds.
Scott Hocking presents a new commission in the empty lot beside the historic Medina Theater on Main Street. Further highlights include Anne Duk Hee Jordan’s water purification sculpture I travelled 66 million years to be with you and then you came, to be shown at State Street Park; Community Toolshed for the Birds by Richard Ighby & Marilou Lemmens, an interspecies collaboration installed at Rotary Park; Jane Jin Kaisen’s Sorrow Waters This Land; and Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge’s multimedia installation All the hours, presented at the Medina Memorial Hospital.
The Triennial also marks the first U.S. presentation of works by Deirdre O’Mahony and Tokyo-based collective SIDE CORE, whose large-scale installation at Sacred Heart Church brings their distinctive engagement with construction infrastructure and public space to an American audience for the first time.
New works were produced under the Medina Triennial Fieldwork Residency, an initiative that gives artists time, space, and resources within Medina—including a cohort of local scientists, architects, farmers, and small business owners from across Western New York—to support research, foster collaboration, and deepen community connections. The program is designed to tailor commissions to the region through immersion in the village and its surroundings.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Mary Mattingly is shown in September on a canal barge that she will be turning into a floating garden that should bear fruit this summer as part of the inaugural Medina Triennial. Mattingly will transform the 27-by-80-foot barge into a showcase for plants and nature. She led a similar initiative in New York City, and that repurposed barge drew 350,000 visitors and more than 900 guided tours.
In Fall 2025, Mary Mattingly and James Beckett began their residencies to create new commissions for the Triennial. Mattingly developed Floating Garden, a barge-based living artwork built with local residents and students from the Rochester Institute of Technology led by architect Amanda Reis, while Beckett explored how architecture carries local history, material intelligence, and slow instability, in collaboration with the University of Buffalo.
This Spring, Selva Aparicio and Michael Wang are in residence in Medina—Aparicio at work on Maintenance, a broom carved from anthracite coal, while Wang develops Future Sugarbush, a nascent sugar bush grove planned by the artist, and Sugarbush Energy, a canned maple sap drink that will be available for free throughout the Triennial, and at select businesses across Medina.
The Triennial also creates a space for recontextualization of existing works. Alice Bucknell’s Staring at the Sun, a sci-fi documentary about solar geoengineering and the limits of rendering the atmosphere as something wholly knowable, will be shown in the U.S. for the first time.
Buffalo-based Nigerian artist Victoria-Idongesit Udonian, also presenting at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, will show a new configuration of her large three-part installation, exploring the links between bodies and transit within global labor economies. AKI INOMATA presents How to Carve a Sculpture—an ongoing series of wood carvings produced by beavers enlisted by the artist’s collaborators at zoos across Japan. The Triennial will also honor Jay Carrier—an essential presence in Western New York’s artistic community, who passed away in 2025, presenting three of his mixed media works, The Children Will Heal Us (2018), American Landscape (2015), and Night Dancer (2019) throughout the Catherine Street main site.
The Medina Triennial was initiated with major support provided by the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation, conceived as part of a broader strategy to showcase the Erie Canal as active civic infrastructure.
Further programming and event details forthcoming. For more information and to sign up for the official newsletter, please visit medinatriennial.org.
Medina Triennial 2026 Artists
Ash Arder (she/they) b. 1988, Flint, MI; lives in Detroit, MI
Selva Aparicio (she/her) b. 1987, Barcelona, Spain; lives in Alfred, NY, and Chicago, IL
James Beckett (he/him) b. 1977, Harare, Zimbabwe; lives in New York, NY and Amsterdam, Netherlands
Taysir Batniji (he/him) b. 1966, Gaza, Palestine; lives in Paris, France
Alice Bucknell (they/them) b. 1993, London, UK; lives in Los Angeles, CA
Tania Candiani (she/her) b.1974, Mexico City, Mexico; lives in Mexico City, Mexico
Jay Carrier (he/him) Onondaga/Tuscarora Nations, Wolf Clan; b. 1963, Six Nations reservation in Ontario, Canada; d. 2025, Niagara Falls, NY
Harun Farocki (he/him) b. 1944, Nový Jičín, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czechia); d. 2014, Berlin, Germany
Jeneen Frei Njootli (they/them) b. 1988, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada; lives in Old Crow, Yukon, Canada
FIBRA – est. 2019, Lima, Peru; Lucia Monge, b. 1983; Gianine Tabja, b.1983; Gabriela Flores del Pozo, b. 1979
Futurefarmers – est. 1994, San Francisco, CA; including Amy Franceschini, b. 1970, Patterson, CA; Michael Swaine, b. 1971, Buffalo, NY; and FS Bàssïbét, b. 1997, Elmina, Ghana
Terike Haapoja (she/her) b. 1974, Helsinki, Finland; lives in Berlin, Germany
Greg Halpern (he/him) b. 1977, Buffalo, NY; lives in Rochester, NY
Carole Harris (she/her) b. 1943, Detroit, MI; lives in Detroit, MI
Scott Hocking (he/him) b. 1975, Detroit, MI; lives in Detroit, MI
Gözde İlkin (they/them) b. 1981, Kütahya, Türkiye; lives in İstanbul, Türkiye
Richard Ibghy (he/him) & Marilou Lemmens (she/her) b. 1964, Montreal, Canada; lives in Durham-Sud, Canada b. 1976, Ascot Corner, Canada; lives in Durham-Sud, Canada
AKI INOMATA (she/her) b. 1983, Tokyo, Japan; lives in Tokyo, Japan
Anne Duk Hee Jordan (they/them) b.1978, South Korea; lives in Berlin, Germany
Jane Jin Kaisen (she/her) b. 1980, Jeju, South Korea; lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, and New York, NY
Matt Kenyon (he/him) b. 1977, Baton Rouge, LA; lives in Buffalo, NY
Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge (she/they) b. 1981, Maria, Quebec, Canada; lives in Rochester, NY
Dionne Lee (she/her) b.1988, New York, NY; lives in Columbus, OH
Lina Lapelytė (she/her) b. 1984, Kaunas, Lithuania; lives in London, UK, and Vilnius, Lithuania
Matthew López-Jensen (he/him) b. 1980, CT; lives in Bronx, NY
Cathy Lu (she/her) b. 1984, Miami, FL; lives in Richmond, CA
Mary Mattingly (she/her) b. 1978, Rockville, CT; lives in New York, NY
Deirdre O’Mahony (she/her) b. 1956, Limerick, Ireland; lives in Cork City, Ireland
Abraham O. Oghobase (he/him) b.1979, Lagos, Nigeria; lives in Toronto, Canada
Kärt Ojavee (she/her) b. 1982, Rakvere, Estonia; lives in Tallinn, Estonia
Asad Raza (he/him) b. 1974, Buffalo, NY; lives in Berlin, Germany
Gamaliel Rodriguez (he/him) b.1977, Bayamón, Puerto Rico; lives in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
Selma Selman (she/her) b. 1991, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina; lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Finnegan Shannon (they/them) b. 1989, Berkeley, CA; lives in New York, NY
Jean Shin (she/her) b. 1971, Seoul, South Korea; lives in Hurley, NY
SIDE CORE – est. 2012, Tokyo, Japan; based in Tokyo, Japan
Victoria-Idongesit Udondian (she/her) b. 1982, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria; lives in New York, NY, and Lagos, Nigeria
Mierle Laderman Ukeles (she/her) b. 1939, Denver, CO; lives in New York, NY and Jerusalem, Israel
Michael Wang (he/him) b. 1981, Olney, MD, USA; lives in Upper Grandview, NY
Press Release, Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge
Photo shows screenshot taken from Pixcams. The second and remaining chick is being fed.
BASOM – A second eaglet has died in the bald eagle nest being watched at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.
The eaglet, the third chick to hatch, died at about the same age as the first one and in a similar manner.
In this case, the chick ended up falling out of the nest after getting going in the wrong direction.
“We are wondering if perhaps this being a newly built nest means it is shallower than most of the more established nests that are seen on cameras,” said Emma DeLeon, vice president of the refuge Friends group. “We could be seeing things happen that occur in nature regularly, but are not usually observed.”
The moderators of the eagle cam are sad about this unfortunate event but are rooting for INWR2, the second chick to hatch, who is still doing well.
INWR2 is almost twice as old as either of the chicks who died, so hopefully it is beyond the most dangerous phase.
“Please remember that what seems tragic to us is part of life for these eagles, and that the parents and remaining chick will continue on as before,” said DeLeon.
“Nature has its own way, and we can’t change that,” said Friends group President Richard Moss. “But we can continue to watch and learn from INWR2 and its parents.”
Egg 1 was laid on February 20, hatched April 1 and died April 6. Egg 3 was laid February 27, hatched April 7 and died April 12.
The remaining eagle chick was laid February 23 and hatched April 3, making it 10 days old today, or twice as old as its two siblings were when they died.
The Friends group’s Eagle Watches on Saturdays at the Cayuga Overlook are drawing a crowd — over 100 people this past weekend. And the Friends Facebook page, which tracks developments on the nest camera, has seen a dramatic increase in views and comments, Moss said.
A link to the bald eagle nest camera can be found at the Friends website, FINWR.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 April 2026 at 9:35 am
National price up a penny to $4.13 while state sees average increase of 6 cents
Photo by Tom Rivers: A gas station in Pembroke next to the Thruway was selling regular unleaded at $4.19 and diesel at $6.05 on Saturday. The average price for diesel in the state is at $5.95 today, up 5 cents from a week ago.
The average price for regular unleaded gasoline took another big jump Orleans County over the past seven days, a 17-cent increase to $4.178 today, AAA is reporting.
The increase was as steep nationally and state-wide. The national and state averages for gas is $4.13, up a cent nationally from last Monday and up 6 cents in new York State, AAA said. A year ago the national average was $3.20 a gallon while the state average was $3.11.
“Crude oil prices remain high, coming in at $101-$103 per barrel this morning, as the conflict in the Middle East continues,” AAA said. “The price for a barrel of crude dropped below $100 but then rose again, highlighting the volatility of oil markets and fluidity of geopolitical events. In 2022, gas prices remained elevated from March through August, after Russia invaded Ukraine, peaking in June when the nation average reached a record of $5/gallon for one week.”
Here are the average prices in counties around Western New York:
Orleans, $4.178
Genesee, $4.126
Monroe, $4.181
Niagara, $4.100
Erie, $4.167
Wyoming, $4.141
Livingston, $4.181
Chautauqua, $4.102
Cattaraugus, $3.885
Allegany, $4.084
The highest price in the state is at $4.339 in Manhattan (New York County).
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 April 2026 at 9:17 am
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Led by this quartet of veterans, Albion will begin defense of its Niagara-Orleans League tennis title at Akron on Wednesday. The Purple Eagles veteran foursome includes junior Jillian LeBaron, senior Hanna Kumalac, senior Bradyn Whittier and senior Landon Graybill. Graybill earned first team N-O All-League honors last spring while LeBaron was an Honorable Mention selection. The Purple Eagles graduation losses include first team N-O All-League honoree Leo Bolton and Honorable Mention pick Oliver Beach. Coach Jay Kovaleski’s Purple Eagles posted an 11-1 record last spring to capture the N-O championship for the second year in a row.
Press Release, Allies of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation
TOWN OF ALABAMA – Concerned local residents are calling attention to a new third-party report that undermines claims regarding the supposed economic benefits associated with a proposal from developer STREAM US Data Centers and its financial backer, multinational private equity giant Apollo Global Management, for a sprawling data center complex at the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) being developed by the Genesee County Economic Development Center in the town of Alabama.
The Applied Economics Center, a non-profit consulting group that offers expert services in the areas of energy, environment, consumer protection, and equity, reviewed the financial incentives application from STREAM for $1.46 billion in sales tax and mortgage tax abatements and produced a report (click here) that addresses the claimed costs and benefits for the local community. Concerned local residents will gather today at 12:30 p.m. at the Batavia City Center to draw attention to the report findings.
Among the report’s key findings:
STREAM does not provide any supporting materials for its cost-benefit analysis (CBA), which fails to meet standards expected in a public decision-making process and is insufficient to determine whether the proposed project would provide net benefits for the local community.
STREAM failed to address potential costs associated with the project, including: effects on property values, effects on tourism and recreation, utility bill impacts, public health impacts, the cost of public infrastructure required for the project, or the local disturbances associated with project development such as placing cables and fiber optic lines.
STREAM’s job creation estimates exceed values found in publicly available data and information, average publicly available estimates indicate that the proposed project would create about 4,100 fewer direct temporary jobs than the company claims, and 1,300 fewer indirect temporary jobs than the company claims.
STREAM has requested a local sales tax abatement and mortgage recording tax abatement, which – taken together – are worth 25 times more than the benefits provided by the proposed PILOT/Host payments. In other words: STREAM has requested tax abatements worth 25 times more than the promised benefits.
STREAM’s proposed data center may negatively impact local tourism and recreation, which are an integral part of the community and economy.
STREAM has submitted three CBAs to GCEDC. The CBA results differ substantially from one CBA to the next: total costs increased from $472 million to $781 million to $1.4 billion, and total benefits vary from $1.2 billion to $2.6 billion. STREAM has provided minimal documentation to explain or justify these differences.
The project would require 500 megawatts of electricity, approximately four times the total generation capacity currently operating in Genesee County (122 MW).
The STAMP data center proposal from STREAM and Apollo has faced strong local opposition. More than 300 people attended a March 19 public hearing on the requested financial incentives package. Over the course of more than 5 ½ hours, only two speakers expressed support for the data center proposal.
Due to a glitch with the livestream and videorecording, the hearing did not qualify as the legally required public hearing pursuant to Article 18-1 of the General Municipal Law. GCEDC has scheduled a supplemental public hearing for April 16 at 4 p.m. at the Town of Alabama Fire Hall and extended its written comment deadline to April 17. The Town of Alabama Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the Site Plan Application from STREAM on April 20 at 6 p.m. at the Alabama Fire Hall. Both hearings are open to all members of the public.
