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WJTN News Headlines

A Vermont man is jailed on half-a-million dollars bail after police found six guns inside his vehicle after a motor vehicle crash in the Cattaraugus County town of Machias last night...  
 
Sheriff's deputies in Little Valley responded to the accident at 8 p.m. on Route 242 and, identifed the driver as 36 year-old Thomas Ledford.  Officers allegedly found Ledford in possession of five handguns without a New York State pistol permit and a rifle that was non-compliant with safety laws.  He was arraigned on charges of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of marijuana and 5 counts of criminal possession of a weapon. 
 
 
The Trump administration is looking to cut federal spending by some $15-billion, with almost half coming from the Children's Health Insurance Program...  
 
In the past six months, Congress and the White House have enacted tax cuts and spending increases that will raise the federal deficit by more than a trillion dollars.  To compensate, the administration announced a package of proposed cuts Monday night that would take $7-billion from CHIP.  Families USA's Shawn Gremminger says the cut would hinder the program's ability to respond to increased demand.  Gremminger says the cuts are intended to calm fiscal conservatives who are concerned about the huge projected deficits that are coming in the years ahead.
 
The proposed rescission package is less than one-half-percent of total government spending for the year, and the administration has promised several more proposals.  Gremminger adds that Congress must approve the cuts for them to take effect.  The rescission package also calls for $800-million in cuts to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
 
 
Local Congressman Tom Reed says -- if the move eliminates waste and programs no longer in place -- he supports a plan to cut $15-billion dollars in federal spending...  
 
The proposals were outlined by Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, who says seven-billion would come from the Children's Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP.  Earlier this week, Mulvaney and others said that the reductions would not have an impact on the program, which has an enrollment of roughly nine-million people.
 
Reed says more recent changes in federal spending still include appropriations that can't be spent.  He says there is also apparently some old federal "stimulus money" that's in the package of cuts being considered.  Congress must approve the measures by a simple majority for them to take effect.  Reed made his comments during his weekly telephone conference call with Southern Tier Media.
 
 
State tax incentive and direct funding programs have helped some parts of the Southern Tier begin turning the corner economically, but more can be done on the federal level...  
 
Those are the feelings of the five Democratic candidates for the 23rd Congressional seat... who debated several issues in Mayville last night.  Ithaca's Ian Golden says programs like the "Buffalo Billion" help the region.  However, he also noted they're had their problems.
 
Golden says the state's help has been instrumental in bringing companies like Athenex, to the region's door in Dunkirk.  However, a couple of the candidates noted the region needs the infrastructure to support those jobs.  One was Owego's Max Della Pia, who says it's the federal government that should foot that $2-trillion to $4-trillion bill.  Linda Andrei agreed, noting that such a measure could be paid -- over 10 years -- by closing corporate tax loopholes.  Last night's League of Women Voters forum was held at Chautauqua Lake Central School.  The Democratic Primary is June 26.
 
 
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of abuse by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman...  
 
Cuomo late Tuesday said Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas will investigate and possibly prosecute "any and all matters concerning the public allegations" against Schneiderman.  The state's top legal officer resigned after four women accused the Democrat of physical violence in a New Yorker article.
 
 
The city of Jamestown just received some very good news on first-quarter sales tax from Chautauqua County...  
 
City Comptroller Joe Bellitto says he got a check last Friday for just over $1.45-million for the first three months of 2018.  Bellitto told City Council members at this week's work session that's nearly 84-thousand dollars more than they received for the first quarter of 2017, which is a more than 6-percent increase.  That's just over 24-percent of the year's totals.  Typically, city officials say, the city gets most of it's sales tax revenues during the final two quarters of the calendar year.  The city of Jamestown has budgeted for about $6-million in sales tax proceeds for this year.