Finger Lakes Times Local News: FLTimes.com

CANANDAIGUA — City Police Chief Mathew Nielsen is defending the conduct of a patrol officer who stopped an autistic man on the street while he was playing a Pokémon game on his phone with his young son. The officer saw…

LYONS — Republican State Assemblyman Brian Manktelow, R-130 of Lyons, has officially announced he will not seek reelection for a fifth two-year term.

GENEVA — Three men charged in a gang assault that occurred Dec. 31, 2024, in the city had their cases dismissed by a judge in Ontario County Court Thursday.

ALBANY — During slower seasons or unexpected business shifts, your team shouldn’t be the first thing you lose. The New York State Department of Labor’s Shared Work Program gives employers the flexibility to reduce hours — without losing valuable employees.

LYONS — The Wayne Economic Development Corporation has launched the 2026 KickStart Wayne County Adult and Student Pitch Competitions.

CANANDAIGUA — At a recent meeting of the Canandaigua Rotary Club, three new members were inducted.

DRESDEN — Sometimes, the stars line up to take people in directions they never imagined.

SENECA FALLS — Beginnings Credit Union has opened applications for its annual Richard V.V. Stringham Scholarships, Walter Bazyldo Scholarships, and Community Service Awards.

GENEVA — New York State Electric & Gas will hold Home Energy Assistance Program awareness and educational outreach events in its Binghamton, Brewster, Elmira, Geneva, and Lockport offices throughout the month of January.

GENEVA — The internationally acclaimed Doug Varone and Dancers have arrived on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges for a three-week residency.

ALBANY — In her election year State of the State address Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul touted her efforts to make New York more affordable and her plans to build on that agenda in the coming year.

LYONS — Three Republicans have announced interest in succeeding New York State Assemblyman Brian Manktelow, who said earlier this week that he will not seek reelection to a fifth two-year term representing the 130th District.

WATERLOO — The Seneca County Board of Supervisors has appointed Melissa Taylor as its county manager through the end of 2029.

WATERLOO — The man who killed his cellmate at Five Points Correctional Facility in December 2024 could spend the rest of his life in prison.

PENN YAN — At its first meeting of the calendar year, the Yates County Legislature adopted a basic policy regulating the use of artificial intelligence.

ALBANY — There is $25 million available for projects that will help New York’s farmers to support agricultural water quality conservation projects.

ROCHESTER — On Jan. 8, New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball delivered the State of Agriculture Address at the 194th New York State Agricultural Society Annual Forum, outlining the agricultural industry’s progress in 2025 in several key priority…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revised the Farm Service Agency county committee voting period, and eligible agricultural producers and private landowners across the country should have received ballots last week.

LYONS — Already home to the second-oldest operating nuclear power plant in the nation, Wayne County officials have made it clear for years they’d welcome another facility.

WATERLOO — An incident last spring involving a sheriff’s deputy who resigned after a breath test showed he may have driven his patrol car drunk has come into public view.

BRISTOL — 4-H Camp Bristol Hills has been awarded a state grant that will allow it to build a new pool.

LYONS — Republican Assemblyman Brian Manktelow announced earlier this week that he will not seek re-election to a fifth two-year term in the 130th district in November.

WATKINS GLEN — Residents, scientists, and business owners from across the region rallied outside the Schuyler County Courthouse before the regularly scheduled Legislature meeting the night of Jan. 12. They decried the bid to site a small nuclear reactor at…

GENEVA — City police have charged a Rochester man with selling drugs in Geneva.

The Trump administration announced last week that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services froze approximately $10 billion in federal childcare and family assistance funds to five states run by Democratic governors.

EAST PALMYRA — State Senator Pam Helming recently joined athletes, families, and community members at the East Palmyra Christian School trap team banquet at Grace Baptist Church in Marion.

GENEVA — The Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association has reached 82% of its fundraising goal.

GENEVA — New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation can slash landfill methane emissions 46% by 2050 by making practical improvements to landfill management standards, according to new research by Full Circle Future.

GENEVA — Finding a new owner for a vacant Five Star Bank building on Seneca Street downtown has been a challenge.

CANANDAIGUA — Ahmad Whitfield, the Geneva city councilor arrested on drug charges last week, has been released from the Ontario County Jail, District Attorney Jason MacBride said Monday.

CANANDAIGUA — Town of Phelps Supervisor William “Bill” Wellman will chair the Ontario County Board of Supervisors in 2026.

HOPEWELL — A Richmond resident was apprehended Sunday, one day after an incident that occurred on the Finger Lakes Community College main campus.

CANANDAIGUA — The Ontario County Board of Supervisors and the District Attorney’s Office are marking Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

SENECA FALLS — The Town Board voted Jan. 6 to extend the employment of Town Manager Peter Soscia until a replacement is selected and in office.

PENN YAN — While the flu season is in full gear and Yates County is adjusting to cuts from the federal government, there were some bright spots in the first Human Services Committee meeting of the year Jan 5.

Once your heart finds true love, it never leaves you. It may morph into memories, but it doesn’t leave.

GENEVA — As a member of the Hobart College men’s basketball team, Niko Lutz and his teammates have had a little time on their hands during the winter break.

SENECA FALLS — Property owners will pay more in town taxes in 2026.

GENEVA — Crisis management is a key to strong leadership, and new Mayor Jim Cecere has received an early test in his brief tenure leading City Council.

NEWARK — The village said it is getting $120,000 in federal funding to improve roadway safety.

GENEVA — Before new Mayor Jim Cecere could move on to business at his first meeting Wednesday night, he acknowledged what he called “a rather unique circumstance.”

GENEVA — New Mayor Jim Cecere wanted to make one thing clear before opening a public hearing on the potential sale of Loomis Woods, a 15-acre city-owned park on the north end of the city that a resident has offered…

GENEVA — The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County Master Gardener volunteers are offering several programs via Zoom, beginning next week.

Jennifer Kuplinski Wick attended her first Seneca County Board of Supervisors’ meeting recently as a newly elected supervisor-at-large for the Town of Seneca Falls. Here’s what she had to say to Louise Hoffman Broach about her interest in local government…

ROCHESTER — Goodwill of the Finger Lakes has recently launched a Google AI Essentials training course. With support from Google.org, this innovative program is available online at no cost to interested learners.

GENEVA — One week after taking the oath of office, new City Mayor Jim Cecere is urging Councilor At-large Ahmad Whitfield to consider resigning his post after he was arrested on three felony drug charges Wednesday afternoon.

ROCHESTER — ESL Federal Credit Union announced it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Generations Bancorp NY, Inc., the holding company of Generations Bank (Generations) on Jan. 1.

PENN YAN — For 75 years, the narrative of what makes the Finger Lakes region a top-tier vacation destination has been carefully curated by Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance — America’s longest-continually operating regional destination marketing organization.

PENN YAN — After turning herself in to answer charges that she abandoned her 13-year-old child and two dogs for two weeks in September 2023, Ashley Montgomery has been released under a pre-trial program.

CANANDAIGUA — The Ontario County Planning Department is alerting municipalities, applicants, and members of the public to recent fraudulent email communications falsely claiming to be associated with the county Planning Board.