Buffalo news

• Comptroller says City of Buffalo responsible for collecting money BMHA owes

  16-03-2016 23:51 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- News 4 is working to learn more about a big debt owed to the City of Buffalo. They City’s Comptroller said the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, BMHA, owes the city millions of dollars.
  “Taxpayers fronted this money, it never got paid in return from the BMHA,” said Comptroller Mark Schroeder.
  His office decided to look into BMHA after it asked the Common Council for a $250,000 grant on March 8.
  “Soon as I knew that the Council was putting in
  
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• Bells ring out on bridge at Canalside for cancer survivors

  16-03-2016 23:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Dozens of bells will make a bridge at Canalside in Buffalo slightly more musical, with every ding representing a future of hope without cancer.
  A bridge at Canalside will furthermore be known as the Bridge of Hope, established in a partnership between the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Canalside.
  Roswell Park invited cancer survivors and patients to the naming ceremony, in which dozens of bells were tied to the fencing on the newly named bridge. Officials say
  
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• Significance of 60th Senate District seat, who may run in November

  16-03-2016 23:44 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — All eyes are on who will run for the 60th Senate District now that Senator Marc Panepinto announced he won’t seek re-election.
  “The Senate right now is split right down the middle and control of it is critical, especially for people upstate,” said Canisius College Political Science Professor Kevin Hardwick.
  That’s why the race for the 60th Senate District seat will be competitive.
  “The leadership of the State Assembly is from downstate i
  
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• Merrick Garland’s resume is lengthy, strong

  16-03-2016 23:31 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- President Obama named Chief Judge in U.S. Court of Appeals, Merrick Garland, as his Supreme Court nomination Wednesday.
  “For me, there can be no higher service than sitting on the Supreme Court,” 63-year-old Merrick said following the announcement.
  If approved by the Senate, Garland would replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
  Republican leaders have vowed to block any nomination until after the November election.
  So who is Merrick Garland?&
  
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• Local expert talks Garland’s nomination, Constitution

  16-03-2016 22:50 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- Controversy continues to brew in Washington following President Obama’s nomination of 63-year-old Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.
  National experts have said Garland faces an uphill battle in actually landing the job; Senate Republicans are working to avoid replacing the late Antonin Scalia, a Conservative, with a nominee who should shift the Court’s balance.
  Several Republican leaders have announced they will not support any nominee until after the 20
  
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• Police re-route traffic after rollover on Delaware near downtown

  16-03-2016 22:49 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo Fire and Police officials responded to the scene of a serious accident near downtown on Wednesday during rush hour.
  Officers responded to the scene of a rollover just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday on Delaware near Virginia, closing down the street between Virginia and Allen Streets.
  Firefighters utilized the jaws of life to extricate a woman from the vehicle that rolled over, rushing her to the Erie County Medical Center thereafter.
  Officers have yet to say
  
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• Two arrested on felony drug charges in Erie County

  16-03-2016 22:30 via wivb.com
  
  Angola, N.Y. (WIVB) — A raid by multiple police forces on a home in the Village of Angola led to two arrests and a list of charges against the residents.
  Officers say they raided a Lake Street home, locating many drugs, including meth, cocaine and various pills. Police immediately arrested 36-year-old Michael Penvose and 27-year-old Laura Park.
  Both face charges of felony fourth-degree and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor criminal use o
  
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• Cheektowaga Police Chief: Use of deadly force was justified

  16-03-2016 22:29 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Cheektowaga Police Chief said the use of deadly force in this incident was justified. David Zack said the surveillance video captured from the hotel and the officer’s dash cam speaks for itself.
  He said, “Video footage helps. It’s clear that the officer was in an extremely difficult position,”  Video shown from the hallway of the hotel shows Daryl Bosell, 34, come up and point a handgun. Then, you see inside his room with kn
  
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• Young girls approached by suspicious men in van Wednesday

  16-03-2016 21:50 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Officers are on the lookout for two men who approached young girls and offered them a ride in a van on Wednesday morning.
  Officers say they received complaints from two girls who were approached by men driving in a van in the north Buffalo area on Sanders Road. The girls described the men as between 30- and 40-years-old. The driver is reportedly a tall, thickly built bald man with a goatee and the passenger is slim, average height and wore a black hat.
  Buffalo P
  
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• Corrections officer sustained head injury in scuffle with inmate

  16-03-2016 21:18 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Corrections Officer in Alden needed treatment after officials say he was attacked by an inmate on Saturday.
  Officers say Dayshawn Hopper surprised an officer by attacking him in the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, leading to head injuries for the corrections officer and charges against the inmate.
  Fellow correctional officers sprang to the aid of the officer, restraining Hopper, later charging the 25-year-old with assault.
  Originally serving a thre
  
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• General says Army at high risk in hypothetical war against China, Russia

  16-03-2016 20:38 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army’s top general says military forces on the ground face a high level of risk if the United States gets into a large-scale conflict against a power such as Russia or China.
  Testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley says years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, constrained budgets and troop cuts have had a cumulative effect on the service.
  Milley says the Army is ready to fight the Islamic State group and other terrorist organiz
  
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• Buffalo man sentenced to 25 years in jail after fatally beating mother

  16-03-2016 18:57 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Dodge Street man was sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision after fatally beating his mother in February of last year.
  Prosecutors say William Tyes, 39, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after killing 68-year-old Lenora Tyes.
  Lenora was beaten on the face and head sometime between Feb. 7 and 10 inside their home.
  As he attempted to flee the area, prosecutors say William hid his mother’s body in a front foyer, draped
  
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• Amherst Police looking for missing person

  16-03-2016 17:40 via wivb.com
  
  AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police in the Town of Amherst are looking for a missing person.
  Samuel Sly, 34, has not been seen since March 12.
  Sly is described as white, standing at 5’7″, and having brown hair, blue eyes and a medium build.
  Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Amherst Police at (716) 689-1349.
  
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• Chautauqua County school superintendent pleads not guilty to DWI

  16-03-2016 17:19 via wivb.com
  
  LAKEWOOD, N.Y. (WIVB) —  An attorney representing Chautauqua Lake Central School Superintendent Benjamin Spitzer pleaded not guilty for Spitzer after the Superintendent was charged with DWI last month.
  Spitzer had been accused of drinking and driving after being pulled over on the evening of Feb. 21 in Lakewood. Witnesses said he was driving erratically.
  After appearing in court, it was revealed that Spitzer will be attending a rehabilitation program and had asked for &
  
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• PHOTOS: Lightning strikes, red and pink skies rise over WNY

  16-03-2016 14:17 via interactives.wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Lightning and a beautiful red and pink sunrise were seen across western New York Wednesday morning.
  APP USERS | See the gallery here.
  
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• Keyboardist Keith Emerson’s death ruled a suicide

  16-03-2016 13:53 via wivb.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — A coroner’s official says the death of keyboardist Keith Emerson, co-founder of the seminal progressive rock group Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has been ruled a suicide.
  Los Angeles coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said Tuesday the determination was made after an autopsy showed Emerson shot himself in the head. He says there were also signs the 71-year-old man had a heart condition.
  Emerson’s body was found early Friday by his longtime partner.
  Authorities su
  
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• Move to legalize mixed martial arts advancing in New York

  16-03-2016 13:39 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Mixed martial arts appears to have escaped the chokehold that kept the professional version of its cage fights outlawed in New York.
  The state Assembly, where the legislation has stalled while the Senate approved it for seven years, plans to vote on the bill next week.
  Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, says there are votes to pass it.
  New York is the only state that still prohibits professional matches, though fighters train at many gyms around the state
  
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• NY Assembly votes to exempt tampons from state sales tax

  16-03-2016 13:35 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s Assembly has passed legislation to exempt tampons and other feminine hygiene products from state sales taxes.
  Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the bill, says the state exempts from sales taxes other medical necessities like bandages, medicine and even condoms.
  There are more than 10 million women of child-bearing age in New York, each paying 4 percent state sales tax on their monthly purchase of tampons.
  Companion legi
  
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• Erie Community College resolves female athletics complaint

  16-03-2016 13:29 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Erie Community College has agreed to resolve a complaint that it doesn’t provide equal access to female athletes.
  The settlement announced by the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday ends an investigation by the department’s Office of Civil Rights. The investigation showed that while women make up about half the students at the Buffalo college, they represent only about a third of athletes.
  Under the voluntary resolution, ECC says it will have a new proc
  
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• Doctor: Some babies simply just sleep better than others

  16-03-2016 13:21 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Maybe you’ve tried sleep training for your baby, getting them on a schedule or making sure they eat what the books say they should eat for a good night’s rest.
  A doctor is putting parents minds at ease when it comes to feeling guilty about how your baby sleeps.
  She wrote a blog for the New York Times that basically says some babies sleep better than others, and there’s not much you can do about it.
  The doctor has two children. Her first was a h
  
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• Obama nominates Judge Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

  16-03-2016 12:24 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Wednesday he would nominate appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, urging Republicans to approve a long-time jurist and former prosecutor known as “one of America’s sharpest legal minds.”
  Garland, 63, is the chief judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a court whose influence over federal policy and national security matters has made it a proving ground for potenti
  
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• Obama: ‘I’ve made my decision’ on Supreme Court nominee

  16-03-2016 12:24 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he’ll announce his Supreme Court nominee in a Rose Garden ceremony on Wednesday morning.
  He’s not naming the pick before the 11 a.m. announcement, but the subject line of an email to supporters says: “I’ve made my decision.”
  There’s a vacancy on the nine-member court due to the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
  Sources have told The Associated Press that Obama has narrowed the list to three appeals court
  
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• Man in custody, charged after morning Batavia standoff

  16-03-2016 12:07 via wivb.com
  
  BATAVIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — An early morning standoff in Batavia led to one man being taken into custody by police.
  Batavia Police say a domestic situation had occurred between two brothers where one came after another with a large kitchen knife.
  One of the brothers retreated from the home after an officer arrived, and the other barricaded himself inside. The one inside then refused to answer police questions or calls.
  After this, the Emergency Response Team was dispatched to the scene.
  As
  
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• More than 1,000 events planned for National Kick Butts Day

  16-03-2016 11:17 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Wednesday is the day people are encouraged to kick the habit — National Kick Butts Day.
  The day is dedicated to activism that empowers youth to stand up to Big Tobacco.
  It is organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. According to the group, more than one thousands events in schools and communities are planned today.
  The first ‘Kick Butts Day’ was held in 1996.
  
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• North Buffalo fire forces residents from home

  16-03-2016 11:02 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Two people were forced out of their home after a fire broke out on Voorhees Avenue overnight.
  A man and a woman ran out of their home and into the street around midnight. Firefighters say the blaze began near the kitchen and spread to the second floor.
  The flames caused at least $80,000 in damage.
  Investigators have not yet determined what caused the fire.
  
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• Math, momentum point to Trump, Clinton nominations

  16-03-2016 10:44 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The day after high-stakes contests in five states, the math and momentum point to a Donald Trump Republican presidential nomination as GOP officials grapple with whether to embrace the billionaire businessman or rally behind a longshot alternative.
  It wasn’t a question for Democrat Hillary Clinton, who took aim at Trump on Tuesday night after strengthening her position against rival Bernie Sanders with another batch of primary victories of her own.
  “Our comman
  
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• City Comptroller says BMHA owes Buffalo more than $3 million

  16-03-2016 04:59 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- City leaders are investigating whether the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority owes the city millions of dollars.
  The BMHA went before the Common Council Finance Committee on March 8 to ask for $250,000 to help low income tenants at Frederick Douglass.
  “Some residents pay 30 percent of their income and some can’t afford to do that so the subsidy level is a direct rental assistance, to help with their portion of the rent,” said Executive Director Dawn
  
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• Woman brings 2 children to bar, leaves 1 behind for a while

  16-03-2016 04:39 via wivb.com
  
  PINELLAS COUNTY, FL (WFLA) – A woman is in jail for child abuse after she brought two children to a bar with her and left one there with a stranger for over an hour, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies said.
  The bar she went to was Kahuna’s located on Gandy Boulevard on St. Pete side. According to the arrest affidavit, Rickquel Kehoe, 36, brought a 6-year-old and a 7-year-old to the bar with her at about 6 p.m. on Sunday. She drank “to the extent of extreme int
  
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• NY Assembly approves limits on outside pay, LLC donations

  16-03-2016 04:34 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s Assembly voted Tuesday to limit legislators’ outside income to about $70,000 annually and to treat limited liability companies like other businesses that can give a candidate only $5,000 a year.
  Both ethics measures, similar to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposals, are intended to curb the influence of outside money on state government.
  Senate Republicans have opposed those measures. A bill to close the loophole allowing LLCs to donate up to $150,0
  
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• ‘Indiana Jones’ to return with Ford and Spielberg

  16-03-2016 04:32 via wivb.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — “Indiana Jones” is swinging back into theaters with Harrison Ford reprising the iconic role and Steven Spielberg directing.
  The Walt Disney Co. announced that the fifth film in the action adventure series will open July 19, 2019. The last “Indiana Jones” movie was 2008’s poorly received “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which co-starred Shia LaBeouf as Indiana’s son. It followed a nearly 20-year gap in the
  
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• Starbucks tries out serving alcohol, small plates on ‘Evenings Menu’

  16-03-2016 04:30 via wivb.com
  
  BRANFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Starbucks is working on an evening menu that would include alcohol and small plates, and a Connecticut branch may be home to that menu soon.
  Starbucks officials say the Starbucks Evenings Menu includes all of the coffees and teas that customers are used to, but also features wine, craft beer and small plate dishes.
  Multiple Starbucks locations around the country are being considered, based on laws and permits. Officials say it is a long process and there are n
  
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• Clinton sweeps Ohio, Florida; Trump, Kasich split; Rubio out

  16-03-2016 04:08 via wivb.com
  
  CLEVELAND (AP) — Hillary Clinton triumphed Tuesday in the Florida, Ohio and North Carolina presidential primaries, putting her in a commanding position to become the first woman in U.S. history to win a major party nomination. Donald Trump strengthened his hand in the Republican race with a big win in Florida but fell in Ohio to that state’s governor, John Kasich.
  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio ended his once-promising campaign after his devastating home-state loss, so the GOP primary is n
  
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• Local elections: Voters head to the polls

  16-03-2016 03:57 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Voters cast ballots in five counties in western New York on various elections and propositions.
  In Erie County, the following elections were held:
  East Aurora Village Election, with three Village Trustees being elected to two year terms.
  Ernest Scheer: 216
  Patrick Shea: 194
  Raymond Byrnes: 156
  Randolph West: 155
  Richard Daminski: 74
  East Aurora Mayor Alan Kasprzak ran unopposed, netting 220 votes and securing his position.
  Village of Hamburg elected a Village Tr
  
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• Buffalo to host free Narcan training sessions

  16-03-2016 03:20 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — In a move that only reinforces how much of an epidemic heroin and opioidis have become in western New York, the City of Buffalo is offering its citizens free Narcan training.
  In four different sessions, medical professionals will help the general public learn how to administer a life-saving drug that can bring back drug users from fatal overdoses.
  “As the epidemic of heroin and opioid drug overdose deaths continues in our city, our region and cities a
  
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• Rubio ends White House quest after humiliating Florida loss

  16-03-2016 01:42 via wivb.com
  
  MIAMI (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio dropped out of the race for president on Tuesday, ending his White House bid after a humbling loss in his home state to Donald Trump.
  “It is not God’s plan that I be president in 2016 or maybe ever,” Rubio told a crowd of supporters in Miami.
  While he didn’t name winner Trump, Rubio warned against embracing his brand of divisive politics: “I ask the American people, do not give into the fear, do not gi
  
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• Walmart feeling the heat to admit buses onto property

  16-03-2016 00:35 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is expecting a spike in ridership for its Buffalo to Lancaster Route #46 when the new Walmart Supercenter on Walden Avenue opens next month.
  “We added 12 trips on Saturday, and 11 trips on Sunday,” said NFTA spokesman C. Douglas Hartmayer, “knowing that this was going to be a very, very popular route.”
  But as things now stand, those riders would be getting off the Metro bus out on Walden Avenu
  
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• Five states to choose primary candidates; Trump, Clinton look to cement their leads

  16-03-2016 00:05 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The presidential hopes of two of Donald Trump’s remaining rivals were on the line in five big states voting Tuesday in the wild but winnowing Republican slugfest, while Democrats in those states decided whether Hillary Clinton will be harder to catch.
  Ohio Gov. John Kasich battled it out for a home-state victory to stay alive in the 2016 campaign, however Senator Marco Rubio suspended his campaign following a loss of his home state in Florida. The suspension of
  
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