Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz issued the following statement on the adoption of the 2017 Erie County Budget by the Erie County Legislature: “Today, following negotiations with my administration, the Erie County Legislature (“Legislature”) voted unanimously to adopt my proposed 2017 Erie County Budget (“Budget”) with very few changes, demonstrating that my initial proposals were sound, accurate and in the best interests of the residents of Erie County. It is satisfying to see that the months of hard work by the Erie County Division of Budget and Management and our department heads in devising this responsible budget were recognized and affirmed by the Legislature today, which also supported my proposal to lower property taxes by two cents to $4.94 per thousand dollars of assessed value. With this move Erie County retains one of the lowest tax rates in New York State while still providing the services and programs that residents expect. Out of my proposed budget of $1.69 billion, the Legislature today made amendments totaling only $2 million, or 0.001%, which is one one-thousandth of a percent of the overall budget. This reflects real support for the direction Erie County is headed in and shows that government can productively work together to do the people’s business. I thank the Legislature for their bipartisan support of this common-sense budget and for working with me to develop this practical plan. Among numerous agencies receiving county funding is Visit Buffalo Niagara, which will be receiving a total of $3,504,818 in the approved 2017 Budget, or a $150,318 increase from the adopted 2016 Budget. Included in the total for 2017 is $100,000 to be used by Visit Buffalo Niagara to assist in various tourism-related promotion endeavors, including, but not limited to promoting ridesharing. Further refinement of how this additional amount will be spent will be discussed by my administration and Visit Buffalo Niagara next month during the normal annual process of preparing a contract for all vendors who receive appropriations from the County. It is important to note the decision to authorize ridesharing in Erie County and western New York resides with leaders in state government. While there are important issues to resolve regarding whether drivers for ridesharing companies are employees, residents and tourists in New York City can use various ridesharing companies and it is more than past time for upstate to join the rest of the world and do the same. My hope is that the governor, assembly and senate can resolve this issue very soon so Visit Buffalo Niagara can use the additional resources allocated in the 2017 Budget for purposes which will generate additional revenue to our region by attracting additional tourists.”]]>
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‘Uncharacteristically messy’ Trump seen napping for third time in 4 days: Maggie Haberman
Eagle-eyed New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman once again caught former President Donald Trump dozing off during a hearing related to his hush-money trial in New York on Friday.
In an update posted to the New York Times' live blog of the proceedings, Haberman wrote that "Trump appears to have fallen asleep in court again," and then added that "it happened several times just now" as "his eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice."
Haberman also had some observations about Trump's appearance as he entered court on Friday.
"His hair is uncharacteristically messy," she wrote. "Like the wind hit it on the way into court."
Multiple reporters this week have observed Trump nodding off during his criminal trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to his 2016 hush-money payments of adult film star Stormy Daniels.
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Trump's sleeping through an event that could end with him becoming a convicted felon has led to widespread ridicule on the internet all week, as Twitter hashtags such as "#SleepyDon" and "#DonSnoreleone" have trended at various times.
Although Trump appears to be subdued inside the courtroom, his behavior is markedly different outside of it, where he has gone on extended tirades against Judge Juan Merchan, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and even trial witnesses such as former "fixer" Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump's trial related to hush-money payments is far from the only legal trouble he faces, and many legal experts have called the other charges that have been leveled against him — including allegedly trying to defraud the United States with a scheme to illegally stay in power and allegedly obstructing government efforts to retrieve top-secret government documents from his Mar-a-Lago resort — as significantly more serious.
