Flames destroy garage on W 12th Street in Jamestown...
Fire has destroyed a stand-alone garage on Jamestown's westside and the blaze remains under investigation.  City fire officials say crews were called to the scene at 36 West 12th St. shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday... and, found the structure fully-engulfed in flames.  An off-duty shift was called in... and, crews had the blaze under control quickly.  They were there just over and hour... and, investigators were called in.  No one was hurt and the nearby home was not damaged.  

JPS board approves $120.8-million budget for 2026-27 to go before district voters in May...
Voters in the Jamestown Public School district will vote next month on a $120.8-million, 2026-27 budget that again includes no tax levy increase.  Assistant Superintendent for Operations, Brittany Spry, adds, though, that the budget does include more than a dozen new positions... including administration at the district's Innovation Center at the former Rogers School.  An assistant principal and secretary would be added there... along with 14 others to include art, music, special ed, and middle school teaching positions.  Spry says they're able to add those positions because of additional state aid projected in New York's proposed budget.  She says they are going off the Governor's budget proposal since a final budget is not yet in place.  Spry adds that they also have plenty of reserve funds in case there is any kind of aid cuts in the future.  She says district officials are optimistic, though, because the legislature's final budget tends to include more school aid than the governor proposes.  She says the budget will be up for a public vote on May 19.  A public hearing on the budget will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12 at Persell Middle School.
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Also on the ballot that day will be two propositions for voters to act on.  Spry says one has to do with selling a piece of district property on Harrison Street to the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities.  The other proposition is one to adopt a budget for the James Prendergast Library that includes an increase.  Spry says the other side of the ballot on May 19 will include the candidates running for three seats on the Jamestown school board.

Dunkirk school board approves district budget for vote on May 19...
The Dunkirk City School District is moving ahead with a budget proposal that increases its tax levy by nearly 2%.  The school board this week adopted a $61.7-million, 2026-2027 spending plan... which increases spending by 1.86%, and includes a tax levy of just over $11-million.  Superintendent Brian Swatland says the district is using about $2.5-million in fund balance in order to close its budget gap for the coming year.  Swatland says it would be one of the smallest budget increases for the district in recent years.  He adds there's still uncertainty on how much state and federal funding the district will receive.  At the state level, Swatland says he's hopeful that a change in the state's Foundation Aid formula, which has been approved by the full legislature, gets included in the final spending plan.  The Dunkirk Budget hearing will be held on May 5 at 5 p.m., and the district-wide vote will be on May 19.

Pa. man arrested for allegedly choking another person during incident in Jamestown...
A man from Pennsylvania has been arrested for allegedly strangling another person during a domestic dispute on Jamestown's southside.  City police were called to the scene shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday... and spoke with both people involved.  Officers say their investigation found that 36 year-old Jared Eisenbrown had choked the victim during the incident to the point of almost losing consciousness.  Police say when they tried to take Eisenbrown into custody... he became combative and resisted.  After a brief struggle... officers say they arrested him without further incident... and, he was taken to the city jail pending arraignment on charges of second-degree strangulation... and, resisting arrest. 

Borrello blasts Hochul, and State DOCCS over former Lakewiew inmate now attacking six COs at Attica...
State Senator George Borrello is blasting Governor Kathy Hochul over a second attack in the past few weeks by an state corrections inmate.  In a press statement this morning... Borrello said the inmate most recently assaulted six officers at the Attica Correctional Facility... sending one to the hospital.  The Sunset Bay Republican adds this comes just weeks after the man "brutally attacking an officer and a civilian counselor" at the Lakeview Shock Incarceration Facility.  Borrello adds the inmate had not even been indicted for the first assault before he struck again.  He said -- quote -- "Two violent assaults. Two months.  And not even an indictment before it happened again.  Let that sink in.  Once again... the Governor fails to protect the very people who keep our correctional facilities running.  If any other employer in New York allowed employees to walk into conditions this dangerous, knowing the risks, ignoring repeated warnings, they would face serious consequences."  Borrello added that "it's time to stop ignoring warnings, repeal the HALT act, and restore accountability before someone pays an even higher price."