Buffalo news

• U.S. Attorney’s Office in WNY recovers $88M in funds in 2015

  03-12-2015 23:54 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office of western New York recovered millions throughout 2015, sharing millions with local police and victims of crimes.
  Officials announced thus far in 2015, they’ve seized $88,246,428 through their efforts in criminal, civil and asset forfeiture cases. U.S. Attorney William Hochul praised the hard work and dedication of the staff in his office that helped curb profits in crimes.
  According to Hochul, his office distributed $9 mil
  
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• Record for latest measurable snow in Buffalo continues to grow

  03-12-2015 23:53 via wivb.com
  
  It’s hard to believe, but we haven’t had measurable snow this season in Buffalo. Some spots in Western New York have already achieved their measurable snow, but from a climate standpoint we haven’t seen .1″ or more at Buffalo Niagara International Airport yet this season.
  This is more than unusual, it’s record-breaking. December 3rd, 1899 was the latest Buffalo has gone without measurable snow, and on December 3rd, 2015, there has been no snow in sigh
  
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• AP Source: Social media may have allowed California shooters to contact extremists

  03-12-2015 23:20 via wivb.com
  
  SAN BERNARDINO, CA. (WIVB) — According to sources with the Associated Press, social media may have allowed extremists and the shooter in San Bernardino to communicate.
  The latest details according to the source suggest the shooter utilized social media to reach out to extremists under scrutiny of the FBI. Officials with the FBI have yet to say the attack is a terrorist attack, however.
  Fourteen people died and at least 21 people were injured in the attacks, carried out by two shooters
  
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• Gowanda non-profit seeks holiday miracle

  03-12-2015 22:34 via wivb.com
  
  GOWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB)- If you live in Gowanda, you know Love INC as the place you can go for help. Well, now the non-profit is asking the same people they serve, to help them this holiday season.
  The non-profit still needs $8,000 to complete the expansion of it’s new building on Main Street, and can’t afford to pay contractors.
  The community is answering the call, from every corner.
  Several inmates from Collins Correctional are taking on painting and drywall.
  The donated bui
  
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• Bills tighten security for Sunday

  03-12-2015 22:00 via wivb.com
  
  ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB)- “Our fans will see a noticeable increase in security, and they should not be alarmed by that.”
  That’s the message from Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard who says increased manpower will include additional K9 units, uniformed and plain clothes security in and around the stadium
  He encourages fans who see something suspicious to tell police. “The calls may seem simple or seem to cause us irritation, but it’s quite the opposite. We need to k
  
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• State Police looking for witnesses to fatal Thruway crash that sent semi over barrier

  03-12-2015 21:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A serious crash held up traffic for miles on the I-90 just before rush hour, lasting for nearly six hours, near exits to Route 33 and the I-290.
  Police say a semi truck and two other cars collided in a crash, which jammed traffic just after 3 p.m. New York State Police say Cheektowaga resident Jason Askew, 34, was trying to merge onto I-90 from the Cleveland Drive ramp, before he was cut off by another vehicle.
  State Police say Askew was then struck by a Vo
  
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• Fatal Thruway crash sends semi over barrier, kills Niagara Falls man

  03-12-2015 21:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A serious crash held up traffic for miles on the I-90 just before rush hour, lasting for nearly six hours, near exits to Route 33 and the I-290.
  Police say a semi truck and two other cars collided in a crash, which jammed traffic just after 3 p.m. New York State Police say Cheektowaga resident Jason Askew, 34, was trying to merge onto I-90 from the Cleveland Drive ramp, before he was cut off by another vehicle.
  State Police say Askew was then struck by a Vo
  
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• Fatal crash on Thruway sends semi over barrier, closing east & westbound lanes

  03-12-2015 21:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A serious crash held up traffic for miles on the I-90 just before rush hour near exits to Route 33 and the I-290.
  Witnesses say a semi truck and two other cars collided in a crash, which jammed traffic just after 3 p.m. Police have yet to comment on how the crash occurred, but confirmed one person perished in the accident.
  Click here for a traffic map, detailing the crash located in the box on the I-90.TRAFFIC | See a map of where traffic is congested here. 
  
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• Crash on Thruway sends semi over barrier, closing east & westbound lanes

  03-12-2015 21:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A serious crash held up traffic for miles on the I-90 just before rush hour near exits to Route 33 and the I-290.
  Witnesses say a semi truck and two other cars collided in a crash, however police sources have yet to comment on the accident, which jammed traffic just after 3 p.m.
  The crash shot the involved semi truck over the barrier, closing left lanes of both the I-90 eastbound and westbound. Traffic backed up for miles in both directions, however both roadway
  
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• Radio Shack gift card holders can file claims in settlement

  03-12-2015 21:03 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York holders of gift cards bought from the former retailer RadioShack can now file claims seeking to recover the unused balance on their cards under a bankruptcy settlement.
  Consumers can go to the website OldRadioShackGiftCards.com to obtain a claim form to submit by Dec. 2, 2016.
  New York joined 23 other states and the District of Columbia in supporting the settlement.
  Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says nobody associated with the settlement should contact con
  
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• A day after conviction, Silver puts in for pension

  03-12-2015 21:02
  
  With his career in public service over, ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver promptly filed for retirement Tuesday — a day after his conviction on corruption charges.        
  
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• Buffalo is no stranger to World Junior Hockey Championships

  03-12-2015 20:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The World Junior Hockey Championships are returning to Buffalo in 2018. And this time, they’ll include an outdoor game to be played at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
  Two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that USA Hockey officials will make the formal announcement during a news conference on Friday. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision has not been made public.
  One of the people added that one of the tournament games
  
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• Attackers in California shooting had thousands of bullets

  03-12-2015 19:27 via wivb.com
  
  SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — The two attackers who killed 14 people in a rampage at a banquet fired as many as 75 rifle rounds at the scene, left behind three rigged-together pipe bombs with a remote-control device that apparently malfunctioned, and had over 1,600 more bullets with them when they were gunned down in their SUV, authorities said Thursday.
  At their home, they had 12 pipe bombs, tools for making more explosives, and over 3,000 rounds of ammunition, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan
  
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• Buffalo to host USA Hockey World Junior Championships in 2018

  03-12-2015 18:36 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A major hockey event is coming to the Queen City.
  Officials with the USA Hockey World Junior Championships have chosen to hold the 2018 tournament in Buffalo.
  Pittsburgh and St. Louis were the other two cities in the running. There will be an outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
  New York’s Senior Senator released the following statement on winning the Championship:
  “Securing the World Junior Hockey Championship is a power play goal for America&rsquo
  
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• Carter telling military to open all combat jobs to women

  03-12-2015 17:56 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that Defense Secretary Ash Carter will order the military to open all combat jobs to women, and is giving the armed services until Jan. 1 to submit plans to make the historic change.
  Carter’s announcement is expected later Thursday.
  It rebuffs arguments from the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman that the Marine Corps should be allowed to exclude women from certain front-line combat jobs, citing studies showing that mixed-gender uni
  
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• Cuomo sets renewable energy mandate

  03-12-2015 17:55
  
  A statewide conversion to renewable energy– a commonly stated goal for the Cuomo administration – is about to become a mandate.        
  
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• Massacre could be tied to terrorism, Obama says

  03-12-2015 17:26 via wivb.com
  
  SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — President Barack Obama says it’s possible the mass shooting in California was related to terrorism but that authorities still don’t know. He says it’s possible it was workplace-related or that there were mixed motives.
  Obama spoke in the Oval Office. He’s assuring Americans that authorities will get to the bottom of what happened. The president also is calling for people to wait for facts before making judgments.
  Obama says ma
  
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• San Bernardino shooting suspects left behind 6-month-old daughter

  03-12-2015 17:03 via wivb.com
  
  SAN BERNARDINO, CA (WIVB) – As investigators continue to search for a motive behind Wednesday’s mass shooting which left 14 people dead and more than a dozen more injured, a picture is beginning to emerge of the couple authorities say is to blame for the attack.
  The suspects have been identified as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27. Officials say the two were married, and left their six-month-old daughter with Farook’s mother on Wednesday before the attack.
  CNN rep
  
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• Russian, Turkish foreign ministers meet in Serbia

  03-12-2015 16:48 via wivb.com
  
  BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A Turkish Foreign Ministry official says the Turkish and Russian foreign ministers have met on the sidelines of a European security meeting in Serbia’s capital.
  Thursday’s meeting in Belgrade between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu was the first between the countries senior officials since Turkey downed a Russian plane near its border with Syria, touching off a crisis between the two states that previously
  
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• Hungary: Paris fugitive recruited men amid Budapest migrants

  03-12-2015 16:06 via wivb.com
  
  BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s government has confirmed that Salah Abdeslam, a fugitive suspected in the deadly Paris attacks, was in the Budapest train station before mid-September and left with men who had been traveling amid a wave of asylum-seekers trying to enter Europe.
  Janos Lazar, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, says Thursday at a press conference that the Hungarian secret services had confirmed information about Abdeslam they had received from foreign
  
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• A Look Back With 97 Rock's Larry Norton

  03-12-2015 15:51
  
  On the eve of his retirement, 97 Rock's Larry Norton reflects on 4 decades on the radio in Buffalo.        
  
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• Radio Shack card holders can now recover their cash

  03-12-2015 15:46 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York holders of gift cards bought from the former retailer RadioShack can now file claims seeking to recover the unused balance on their cards under a bankruptcy settlement.
  Consumers can go to the website OldRadioShackGiftCards.com to obtain a claim form to submit by Dec. 2, 2016.
  New York joined 23 other states and the District of Columbia in supporting the settlement. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says nobody associated with the settlement should contac
  
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• Eichel to be Tim Hortons spokesperson

  03-12-2015 15:42 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Tim Hortons Cafe & Bake Shop has announced that Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel will spend two years as a spokesperson for the company.
  Along with being a celebrity spokesperson, Eichel will also serve as an ambassador for Tim Hortons.
  “Buffalo is thrilled to have Jack Eichel playing for the Sabres, and that’s exactly how we feel about having Jack on our team at Tim Hortons,” said Felipe Athayde, president, Tim Hortons U.S.A.  &
  
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• Holiday cheer with a taste of snark

  03-12-2015 15:38 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Some holiday traditions are wholesome, and some bring the snark. “The Santaland Diaries” is a play that satisfies audiences who enjoy taking a sarcastic look at the Christmas season.
  The show follows an out of work writer living in New York City, who decides to pursue a career as a Macy’s elf. The man quickly becomes battle-weary and bitter with his new job. It’s a true story by Comedian David Sedaris.
  Kevin Kennedy stars in the Road Less Trav
  
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• Pit bulls kill 4-year-old boy in Detroit

  03-12-2015 15:26 via wivb.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — A pack of pit bulls yanked a 4-year-old Detroit boy from his mother, dragged him away and mauled him to death Wednesday, police said.
  The boy died from his injuries after the attack in his neighborhood. Police killed three dogs and had a fourth pit bull in custody, Sgt. Cassandra Lewis said.
  The attack occurred while the boy was walking with his mother. The dogs crawled through a gap at the bottom of a fence and pounced.Detroit Police Chief James Craig speaks with reporters
  
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• Holiday season can be emotionally challenging for many

  03-12-2015 15:21 via wivb.com
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – We are now in the thick of the holiday season, with Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas on the horizon, but for many this time of year can be emotionally challenging, and that can lead to depression.
  “It’s the connection that we are all looking for that’s the part of the holidays, that’s the most important, but if you are not doing that, then feeling alone and uncared for is very dangerous,” Beth Diveley with Centerstone explained to
  
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• Wellsville woman accused forgery, possessing stolen property

  03-12-2015 15:01 via wivb.com
  
  WELLSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Wellsville woman is facing charges for felony forgery, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
  Sara Golish, 23, was arrested Wednesday and committed to the Allegany County Jail on $500 bail following arraignment.
  She will appear in Village of Wellsville court on December 8.
  
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• PHOTOS: December snowfall in WNY

  03-12-2015 13:24 via interactives.wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Snow hit the Southern Tier and surrounding areas on the morning of December 3.
  APP USERS | Tap here to view the gallery.
  
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• Building the Food 2 Families Can-Creation

  03-12-2015 12:57
  
  BUFFALO, NY - For the last several years you may have seen a large structure of food items brought together to depict a wintry scene at Tops.        
  
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• Toy Drive Donations Needed

  03-12-2015 12:56
  
  ELMA, NY - A woman from Elma is leading an effort to make sure no child in Western New York wakes up Christmas morning without a gift from Santa.        
  
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• PHOTOS: The Santaland Diaries coming to Buffalo

  03-12-2015 12:39 via interactives.wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Santaland Diaries is coming to the Road Less Traveled Theater on Pearl Street in Buffalo.
  Performances are from December 4-19 (excluding December 17).
  APP USERS | Tap here to view production photos.
   
  
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• The Evolution of Active Shooter Training and Protocol

  03-12-2015 05:43
  
  Training and protocol for active shooter situations have evolved significantly in Western New York and beyond.        
  
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• Buffalo School Board Approves Using Grants to Fight Absenteeism

  03-12-2015 05:41
  
  Buffalo School Board Approves Using Grants to Fight Absenteeism        
  
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• Former federal agents react to San Bernardino shooting

  03-12-2015 05:36 via wivb.com
  
   
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — “You’re not talking about a lone wolf sort of thing,” said Peter Ahearn, a former FBI agent in charge in Buffalo.
  Police say there are possibly three people involved in the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. Two suspects, a man and a woman, were killed Wednesday.
  “Worst case scenario – it was a terrorist attack,” said Steven MacMartin, a former Homeland Security agent.
  The San Bernardino Police saying Wednesda
  
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• Still no movement on Niagara Falls hotel project

  03-12-2015 05:24
  
  NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - about this Hyatt Place hotel project in Niagara Falls... that's been more than two years in the making.A spokesperson for Mark Hamister told us... there is no update on the project.In October...        
  
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• Another Water Problem Surfaces In Niagara Falls

  03-12-2015 04:44
  
  Apparently leaking line resulted in a bill to the city which is more than 17 times the norm        
  
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• Toronto developer has plan for Buffalo’s Central Terminal

  03-12-2015 04:36 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) –He’s done big projects before, and now he’s setting his sights on Buffalo’s Central Terminal.
  Toronto developer, Harry Stinson has a plan to restore and use all of its half million square feet. He wants to use the tower for apartments, and the sprawling floor level for events and hospitality. “We have no intention of knocking anything down. In fact, we want to use it as it is to have as much public access.”
  He knows it will cost tens of m
  
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• Alleged crack cocaine dealer arrested, charged with drug and gun crimes

  03-12-2015 04:23 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A local man who has previously been convicted of a felony is facing additional charges after police raided a home on Olympic Avenue.
  Officers say they raided the home Monday after 3 p.m. on the suspicion of drug dealings. Police say they located a quantity of crack, a loaded semiautomatic handgun, a loaded 12-gauge shotgun, scales and packaging material.
  That led police to charge Anthony Thompson, a 34-year-old Buffalo man, with felony criminal possession of a c
  
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• Arrest made after police raid car of suspected burglar

  03-12-2015 04:13 via wivb.com
  
  DUNKIRK, N.Y. (WIVB) — After a home in the City of Dunkirk suffered a burglary, police made an arrest.
  Officers say they investigated a burglary on West Howard Street, and a neighbor may have helped solve the case. Police say the neighbor spotted items from the home in a vehicle and gave police a call.
  Responding police used a search warrant to enter the vehicle and found items stolen in the burglary.
  Officers then arrested the owner of the vehicle, identified as Earvin Ezell, 22, and
  
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• Man steals charity container from local restaurant

  03-12-2015 04:08 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The theft of a box of charitable donations at a local restaurant has police searching for a suspect.
  Officers say they captured images of the suspected thief on a security camera in the local restaurant in the City of Tonawanda. Police are asking the public for help in their search.
  Anybody with information is asked to call police at (716) 692-2121 ext. 308.
  
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• Black Friday breaks record for gun background checks

  03-12-2015 03:46 via wivb.com
  
  ARTESIA, N.M. (KRQE) — Apparently Black Friday wasn’t just about smartphones and Star Wars Legos. It also may have been a record-breaking day for gun sales.
  About two every second, that’s how many firearm background checks the FBI processed on November 27.
  “Every year it’s been higher and higher and higher and higher, every year there is just more background checks run on Black Friday,” said Dale Rutherford, owner of First Street Firearms in Artesia.
  As t
  
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• Rent prices on the rise nationally and locally

  03-12-2015 03:43 via wivb.com
  
  GREENVILLE, NC (WCNT) — Rent prices are up from the last year across the country. Property managers say it’s because less people are buying homes.
  ECU professor Jim Kleckley said, “People are not buying homes and if you’re not buying a house and you want to move you got to move to an apartment.”
  Average rental prices in the US are rising. In just one year the price for a one bedroom apartment rose 4.9 percent and 4 percent for a two bedroom. Kleckley says a lot of t
  
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• New technology helping to make dentist appointments pain-free

  03-12-2015 03:39 via wivb.com
  
  NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Feeling anxious about going to see your dentist?
  Some dental procedures can be painful. Now there’s a way to eliminate that fear all together.
  No needle – no drill- no pain.
  “If you have any issues at all, just raise your hand,” said Dr. David Fantarella.
  Jessica Holeva now looks forward to undergoing dental treatment.
  “I explained to him,” said Jessica. “That I felt really anxious aboput coming to the dentist. I was afr
  
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• Anxious family members await word on safety of loved ones

  03-12-2015 03:12 via wivb.com
  
  SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Sherry Esquerra held back tears Wednesday as she desperately tried to reach her daughter and son-in-law after shooters killed 14 people and wounded as many more at the building where her daughter works with children with disabilities.
  Esquerra had Thanksgiving with her daughter last week and expected to see her Friday. She was hoping the two turned up safe at a community center where people who were unharmed were being bused, but she was having no luck reachin
  
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• Millions in foreclosure funds could be coming back to Buffalo

  03-12-2015 02:09 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – When Buffalo holds its auction of tax delinquent properties each year, bidding wars often drive the sale price well above what is needed to cover the back taxes, but the city is only entitled to keep the amount that is owed.
  The surplus–everything over and above what is owed in back taxes and user fees–by law, belongs to the former homeowners, and as News 4 reported on November 4, millions of dollars is owed former Buffalo homeowners who lost their prope
  
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• Officers attempt to locate local man

  03-12-2015 01:53 via wivb.com
  
  NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police in Niagara County are on the hunt for a person who they say hasn’t made contact with friends or family in multiple days.
  Officers say they’re asking for help in making contact with Stanley R. Dikcis, a local man who is known to have friends and family in the Niagara Falls area. Police say Dikcis was last located in the North Tonawanda area, however.
  Dikcis was last seen in a black Carhardt jacket and is described as a 28-year-old white
  
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• North Tonawanda Police investigating murder-suicide case

  03-12-2015 01:32
  
  NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. - North Tonawanda Police are investigating the death of two individuals at 51 Jesella Drive.        
  
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• Westwood property could see first movement in over a year

  03-12-2015 00:50 via wivb.com
  
  AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — The fate of the former Westwood Country Club has been hung up for close to a year and a half. But the players involved — the town, the developer and the residents — could see the first movement in more than 17 months on Monday night, when an environmental plan is again submitted to the town board.
  “I think it’s the biggest land use issue the town has faced for years, and will probably ever face,” said Town Councilman Mark Manna.
  But it&r
  
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• Winter weather no match for solar panels, expert says

  03-12-2015 00:31 via wivb.com
  
  WEST SENECA, N.Y (WIVB)- Unlike last November, when roofs were pounded with heavy snow and ice, this year solar panel owners in Western New York put energy in the bank.
  “Some of our models are showing 190 percent compared to last year. So yeah, we’ve seen some substantial increases in production,” said Darrin Harzewski of CIR Electric.
  One home owner in West Seneca racked up almost 400 kilo watts of solar energy during November, well above the readings from Octob
  
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• ATM robber on the loose in Hamburg

  03-12-2015 00:10 via wivb.com
  
  HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) –Hamburg Police are hoping you recognize a surveillance photo of the man who got away with $200 of someone else’s money Tuesday night.
  It happened at the M&T Bank drive thru ATM on Milestrip Road near McKinley Parkway. A customer was trying to withdraw money when a man accosted him and ran off with his money.
  The robber is described as about five foot six inches tall, medium build, wearing a dark jacket with a hood. If you know where to find him, call Hamburg
  
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