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WJTN Headlines for Thursday Dec. 7, 2017

A city woman is now listed in critical condition following a domestic violence incident on Jamestown's eastside Tuesday night in which her husband allegedly doused her with lighter fluid, and set her on fire. 
 
City police were called to the scene at 210 Thayer Street about 11:40 p.m. on a report of a domestic incident.  Officers say they found the victim, as well as the suspect identified as 37 year-old Luis Castro-Mojica. 
 
The unidentified, 27-year-old victim was rushed to UPMC Chautauqua WCA Hospital, then flown to the burn unit at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. 
 
Police say Castro-Mojica is charged with first-degree assault, and other charges are pending.
 
 
Western New York is in the midst of the first major lake effect snow event of the season. 
 
The National Weather Service is continuing a Lake Effect Snow Warning for Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Southern Erie counties until 7 AM Friday.  Meteorologist Bob Hamilton with the Weather Service's Buffalo Office said the lake effect snow fired up to the north yesterday afternoon.
 
Areas north of Chautauqua Lake to Little Valley and southern parts of Wyoming County saw two to four inches. Hamilton says those same areas could see an additional three to six inches today, and another three to six tonight. He says Jamestown may see less than two inches in the next 24 hours.
 
Hamilton says the most affected areas will be north of Jamestown. Total snow accumulations of six to 11 inches are expected in the most persistent lake snows.
 
 
The Jamestown City Council will vote later this month to sell a small piece of West Second Street to the Northwest Arena for an expansion project for the facility. 
 
That after council members discussed a resolution to sell the property, contingent on the arena addressing seven to eight areas of concern. 
 
Some of those were brought up by Planning Commission citizen member Jeff Nelson, who spoke before lawmakers at this week's work session.  Nelson says the preliminary plans so far are rather incomplete.
 
At least one member of the city council echoed Nelson's concerns especially regarding traffic on the city's westside when major events like the recent Christmas Parade take place. 
 
While Nelson called for the proposal to be sent back to the planning commission for further discussion Mayor Sam Teresi noted that this measure is just on the sale, which is contingent on addressing the issues raised by the commission.
 
While the city council will vote on the sale at it's December 18 meeting, it was not stated when the planning commission will meet again on the project.
 
 
New York state lawmakers are back in Albany to discuss their plans for the 2018 legislative session, and they're already warning of difficult decisions in the months to come. 
 
Members of the state Assembly's Democratic majority gathered at the state Capitol Wednesday.  Senate Democrats held their own private meeting outside the building. 
 
Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx says federal funding cuts to health care programs, probably changes to the federal tax code and a projected $4-billion state deficit will likely force legislators to make tough choices when it comes to the state budget. 
 
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo is also preparing for the new year, announcing Wednesday that he'll deliver his state of the state address on the opening day of the session January 3.
 
 
A conference committee of the U-S Senate and House of Representatives will now begin work on a final tax reform proposal now that the Senate has approved moving it to the joint panel. 
 
Some GOP lawmakers have been critical of the overall measure, but local Congressman Tom Reed says he's pushing hard for some items and, is willing to compromise on others. 
 
The Corning Republican says he continues to push to keep the local property tax deduction in place up to $10,000.  That's something here's heard a lot about from peple in his 23rd Congressional District.
 
Reed says while he's not a member of the conference committee he's been able to "wield" some influence as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. 
 
The House bill approved last month includes a deduction up to $10,000, but the Senate bill does not.  There's also been some concern over possible loss of tax credits to purchase health insurance from the New York Exchange. 
 
However, Reed says the legislation only repeals the individual mandate.
 
 
The governors of California and New York are mounting a final effort to derail the GOP tax plan, which they say would devastate their states and the national economy. 
 
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, California Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Phil Murphy of New Jersey, all Democrats held a conference call with reporters to discuss the tax overhaul's impacts on their states. 
 
They're particularly upset with a provision that eliminates the deduction for state and local taxes.  Cuomo and Murphy said opponents are examining potential legal challenges to the tax bill when and if it is signed into law. 
 
Cuomo says he will call for its repeal as soon as it is enacted.  Brown said the immediate focus is on convincing Republicans to reconsider before approving the bill's final version.
 
 
After starting up an anonymous online bullying report form earlier this Fall, the Jamestown school board addressed the bullying issue in the school district again at Tuesday night's meeting. 
 
Superintendent Bret Apthorpe says the actions by the school and community are designed to provide a "safe climate" for students.
 
Apthorpe says since the beginning, 85 reports have been made and 33 have been deemed "material" by professionals, meaning legitimate bullying or harrassment events.  He says that it's reassuring that the reporting systems build connections between professionals and students to help work through their situations. 
 
Additionally, Apthorpe says that students have started an anti-"Bully Club" in the high school are currently reviewing apps that students can use on their phones to report instances of bullying.