News

EPHRATAH, N.Y. (AP) — Rescuers are searching for the pilot of a volunteer Angel Flight that crashed in upstate New York, killing two passengers.

A dispatcher for the Fulton County Sheriff's Department says divers went to a large pond Saturday morning where the bulk of the plane was found submerged in Ephratah, west of Albany. Investigators are also combing nearby woods.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane departed from Bedford, Mass., and was headed to Rome, N.Y., when it crashed Friday night.

A fund has been established in the effort to honor a local Marine who was killed in Iraq. Assemblyman Bill Reilich says that there is now a fundraising effort to pay for signage on the exterior of the Greece Post Office to honor Lance Corporal Brian Schramm.

Schramm died in October 2004 while serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. The sign fund has been established at M&T bank and donations can be dropped off at any local M&T branch or at the district office of Assemblyman Bill Reilich at 2496 West Ride Road.

If you are traveling this holiday weekend, you’ll have plenty of company. The AAA projects nearly 35 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home. But that is down about one percent from last year.

AAA officials say lower gas prices compared to last year and some improvement in the economy is still not strong enough to spur an increase in travelers.

Breaking down the numbers, automobile travel is expected to increase slightly over last year, but air travelers are expected to decline.

On this edition of Need to Know Rochester:

• A look at the potential charter school boom in Monroe County and how that may impact students and the Rochester City School District
• A profile of Hope Hall, a local private school that caters to students with special learning needs
• A new behind-the-scenes look at sculptor Albert Paley’s latest work

A glory lilac tree on a Pittsford elementary school yard has been dedicated in honor of a first grader who was tragically killed in the Newtown, Connecticut Shooting.

The Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival Ticket shop opens Tuesday, May 28th at 10:00 a.m.

It's located at the corner of East Avenue and Gibbs Street, and it's a place for festival-goers to pick up tickets for headliners, exchange club pass tickets for a laminated pass (from June 17th on), and get an official festival brochure and schedule.

This year's jazz fest runs from June 21st to the 29th, and features over 1200 artists performing in more than 300 concerts.

The hours for the ticket shop are:  

If you missed Monroe County Executive Maggie Brook's State of the County address, you can watch it here:

A key member of the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference says the group does not foresee joining with the rest of the Democrats to overcome Republican resistance to a number of end of session issues, including public financing of campaigns.

Senator Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat, is part of the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway faction of Democrats that has formed a governing coalition with the Senate’s Republican members.

Governor Cuomo has been traveling the state promoting a plan to allow new businesses to go tax free for up to a decade if they locate near a State University campus.  The plan, which is yet to be drafted into bill form, has raised some questions.

Governor Cuomo has been to several key upstate cities in recent days, promoting a plan to declare tax free zones around state college campuses, in hopes of attracting new businesses.

There are reports that there may be a buyer for Bausch & Lomb. The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and The New York Times are among the media reporting that a Canadian company called Valeant Pharmaceuticals is getting close to finalizing a deal to buy the Rochester-based eye care company for about $9 billion.

B & L is now owned by the private-equity firm Warburg Pincus, which had entertained offers for the company earlier this year.