Morning News Now Headlines For Thursday, January 19, 2017

Town Responds To Removal Of Drug Task Force Officer

Lots of questions for Ellicott town supervisor Patrick McLaughlin this afternoon as WNY News Now sits down with him to ask why the board decided to cut a police officer out of the Jamestown Metro Drug task force. On Tuesday, Ellicott police chief William Ohnmeiss called the board’s decision to cut the position “narrow-minded.”

Start-Up News York Starts New Year With New Name

A program dubbed Start-Up New York may be getting a new look. Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to change the name of the program after spending more than fifty-million-dollars on advertising for it. The program promises a decade’s worth of no taxes to companies that locate in specific zones. The proposed name change was included in the governor’s budget proposal last week.

Trump’s Inauguration

The Nation’s Capital is getting ready to swear in the 45th president of the United States.  The inauguration ceremony will take place Friday at noon, but the preparations have been months in the making.

Stand-ins for the first family did a dress rehearsal on the steps of the Capitol last weekend. The real version will be in front of an estimated 700,000 to 900,000 people.

A wide range of law enforcement agencies comprising thousands of officers is taking on the massive security challenge. Their work is creating its challenge to getting around the city.

For all the preparation, the event itself will be a more modest affair than those in recent years. Fewer big-name performers, a shorter inaugural address, a parade lasting just 90 minutes — not several hours, and only three inaugural balls, down from Obama’s ten in 2009.

The celebrations are also expected to be met by around 100 different protests. Some may be peaceful; others may be more controversial. One group plans to hand out more than 4,000 joints; another has plans to block checkpoints and cause headaches.

Weather Forecast

Areas of drizzle before noon otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 40. Patchy fog late tonight, otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 30.