Buffalo news

• Man wrongly jailed for 10 years, sues DA, city

  10-05-2016 23:50 via wivb.com
  
  WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — Josue Ortiz knew he was innocent. And he had 10 years and 22 days in a prison cell to think about it. First wrongly accused and then wrongly incarcerated, more than two years since, he’s still living his life day by day.
  “I just prayed to God,” Ortiz said of his decade of incarceration. “I became a man of faith, and it was not easy.”
  Appeals denied, locked up and fearing for his life, according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Distri
  
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• Monitoring children’s cell phones as parents

  10-05-2016 23:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Parenting in the digital age is a balancing act. More moms and dads are struggling to find a way to keep up with their kids at not feel like they’re spying on them.
  Teen Safe is a service that allows parents to see what their kids are texting, googling and doing on apps, co-founder Scott Walker says, it’s to help parents help their kids make smart decisions.
  “Kids are sexting, kids are cyber bullying, and there are real world consequences for t
  
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• Former court clerk fails to appear to be sentenced in complicated small-town scandal

  10-05-2016 23:29 via wivb.com
  
  CASTILE, N.Y. (WIVB) — After pleading guilty to stealing $36,000 from her town, former Town of Castile Court clerk Katherine Ryan is wanted again.
  Court officials say Ryan, who was set to be sentenced on Tuesday, did not appear to hear a judge’s decision on her case. She pleaded guilty to grand larceny, tampering with public records and official misconduct.
  Her case is complex, unfolding in July when a judge stepped down after police issued official charges against Ryan. Police
  
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• 114 skaters invited to NHL Scouting Combine

  10-05-2016 20:38 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Ahead of the NHL Draft, set to take place June 24-25 at the First Niagara Center, 114 of the best prospects will take to FNC ice. All 30 NHL teams will be invited to the scouting combine to asses players physically and medically. The event will take place from May 30th-June 4th. The HarborCenter will be used for fitness testing.
  The following list was posted on NHL.com on Tuesday afternoon.
  PLAYER, TEAM, LEAGUE, POSITIONVITALY ABRAMOV, GATINEAU, QMJHL, RWFREDERI
  
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• Facebook officials respond to allegations of suppressing conservative stories

  10-05-2016 20:11 via wivb.com
  MENLO PARK (AP) — A Facebook official says the company has found no evidence to back up allegations that Facebook contractors suppressed stories of interest to conservatives in its “Trending” section.
  Facebook vice president of search Tom Stocky writes in a post, “There are rigorous guidelines in place for the review team to ensure consistency and neutrality,” adding that the guidelines don’t permit political perspectives to be suppressed or one viewpoint
  
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• George Thorogood & The Destroyers to perform at Riviera Theatre in September

  10-05-2016 19:51 via wivb.com
  NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — George Thorogood & The Destroyers will be playing at the Historic Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda this Fall.
  The band, which is most well-known for their 1982 song “Bad to the Bone,” will play September 21 at 8 p.m. as part of their Badder Than Ever Tour.
  Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, May 13 at 10 a.m., but pre-sale tickets are on sale now.
  Prices for them are $43 and $50. $1 from every ticket will be donated to The Leuk
  
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• Report calls bullying a serious public health problem

  10-05-2016 19:35 via wivb.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A panel of experts says bullying is a “serious public health problem” that cannot be ignored.
  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says bullying is not a normal part of childhood and shouldn’t be dismissed as merely kids being kids.
  The researchers say bullying behavior can be seen as early as preschool, and that it peaks in the middle school years. And they say the problem has morphed from the traditional bully-in-the-schoolyard
  
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• This stings: Winter death rate for America’s bees jumps

  10-05-2016 19:33 via wivb.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — After two years of improvement, America’s honeybees had another tough and deadly winter, probably because of mites, according to a new federal survey released Tuesday.
  The annual survey of beekeepers showed the winter colony loss rate was 28 percent, up from 22 percent. That’s about average over the past decade but higher than the 17 percent that beekeepers call acceptable.
  But it is still lower than the peak rate of 36 percent nine years ago.
  “They cont
  
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• Star-spangled suds: Budweiser temporarily changes beer name to ‘America’

  10-05-2016 19:11 via wivb.com
  ST. LOUIS (MEDIA GENERAL) – On Tuesday, Anheuser-Busch announced it is taking its summer branding campaign to new starred-and-striped heights. The brewer is temporarily changing the name of Budweiser lager to “America,” first reported by Fast Company.
  The beer’s iconic label is getting plenty of tweaks, too. With America written in recognizable Budweiser script, the brewer also added patriotic touches to the label, including “E Pluribus Unum” in place of &ldqu
  
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• Paladino to remain on Buffalo School Board following recount

  10-05-2016 18:55 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The only race in last week’s Buffalo School Board Election that was too close to call is now over.
  Last week, voters in the city’s park section decided whether to re-elect Carl Paladino to the School Board or replace him with an 18-year-old named Austin Harig.
  About 3,000 people cast their votes. Paladino had about 100 votes more than Harig, and there were 153 absentee ballots.
  News 4 was at the Board of Elections Tuesday morning as workers counted t
  
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• Czech citizen accused of trying to illegally swim from Canada to US

  10-05-2016 17:57 via wivb.com
  NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — United States Border Patrol officers say a Czech man has been detained after he tried to illegally swim from Canada to the U.S. via the Niagara River.
  On April 30, boaters spotted Jindrich Koudelka, 38, clinging to a log in the lower portion of the river. They then took him to the Lewiston boat ramp, where police were waiting for him.
  Once they had arrived on land, Koudelka was taken to Mount Saint Mary’s Hospital for treatment.
  At the hosp
  
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• Volunteers needed for Gardens of Compassion initiative

  10-05-2016 17:36 via wivb.com
  NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) – Local gardening enthusiasts are invited to put their green thumbs to use to help break down barriers in our community.
  Community Missions and Saint James United Methodist Church in Niagara Falls are looking for volunteers to work in the Gardens of Compassion raised beds this summer.
  MORE | Learn more about how you can get involved in the Gardens of Compassion program and sign up to volunteer.
  The program grows food for the Community Missions soup kitchen and th
  
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• Cheektowaga Assemblywoman Wozniak will not seek re-election

  10-05-2016 17:28 via wivb.com
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Angela Wozniak, the Cheektowaga Assemblywoman who faced fierce criticism for having a relationship with a staffer, says she will not run for re-election to her position.
  Wozniak, 29, was previously accused of sexual harassment in September of 2015. The allegation stated that Wozniak sexually harassed one of her (now former) male staffers.
  The Republican assemblywoman was elected this past fall, replacing Dennis Gabryszak — a politician also a
  
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• Missing music found after nearly 60 years

  10-05-2016 16:49 via wivb.com
  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — It’s a story that started nearly 60 years ago when an Indiana woman lost her favorite sheet music.
  Marilu Brunson and her band, Musical Memories, play in nursing homes every month. They play songs of the past, but not her favorite song. That’s because she lost the sheet music for Repasz Band March Two Step 58 years ago, or so she thought, until she bought a used accordion from Triple C music store. It came with some old music and a stand.
  “O
  
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• Local corrections officer charged after allegedly buying clothes for inmate

  10-05-2016 16:16 via wivb.com
  ALBION, N.Y. (WIVB) — A corrections officer in Albion has been accused of inappropriately interacting with an inmate.
  New York State Police in Albion say Andrea Benke frequently spoke with an inmate via prepaid phones at the facility during business hours. Authorities say she also bought them clothing.
  State Police did not specify where the inmate was being held.
  Benke was charged with official misconduct and will appear in Town of Albion Court later this month.
  
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• Germany: 1 dead, 3 wounded in stabbing at train station

  10-05-2016 16:01 via wivb.com
  GRAFING, Germany (AP) — A German man was arrested after several people were stabbed at a train station near Munich early Tuesday, authorities said. One victim died in a hospital and three other people were wounded.
  The assailant made “politically motivated comments” as he attacked, Ken Heidenreich, spokesman for the Munich prosecutor’s office in charge of the case, told The Associated Press. He said his office was investigating witness reports that he yelled “Allahu
  
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• Sinclairville residents warned to boil water following major leak

  10-05-2016 15:26 via wivb.com
  SINCLAIRVILLE, N.Y (WIVB) — Residents of the Chautauqua County village of Sinclairville have been asked to boil and conserve any water they use for drinking or cooking until further notice.
  The warning follows a major leak that happened on Monday.
  The leak developed in one of the village’s water mains, resulting in a drop in pressure and partial loss of water in the village’s system. The low pressure in the mains and pipes heightens the risk of harmful microbes and un
  
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• Qdoba to donate percentage of opening day sales to Food Bank of WNY

  10-05-2016 15:02 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Qdoba is celebrating the opening of its first location in Erie County by holding a “burrito cutting” on Tuesday morning.
  The new “fast-casual” Mexican restaurant is located at 2013 Walden Ave., near the Walden Galleria mall. Known for its free guacamole, Knockout Tacos and 3-Cheese Queso, restaurant patrons can also enjoy free wifi and comfortable furnishings in the building.
  The first Qdoba restaurant opened in Denver in 1995.
  On Tue
  
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• Obama to pay historic visit to Hiroshima this month

  10-05-2016 14:48 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will travel to Hiroshima this month in the first visit by a sitting American president to the site where the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb.
  The White House says Obama will visit along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a previously scheduled visit to Japan.
  Obama’s visit will bolster his call for denuclearization and honor victims of the bombing that killed 140,000 Japanese on Aug. 6, 1945.
  The president’s visit had long been a
  
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• Erie Co. deputies investigating nearly 20 recent larcenies

  10-05-2016 14:41 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Over the past few days, members of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office have responded to nearly 20 larceny calls in Boston, Concord, Elma and Grand Island.
  Among the stolen items are purses, change, mail, credit and debit cards, checkbooks, driver’s licenses and other personal or valuables items.
  The thieves have been getting into the vehicles through unlocked doors or by breaking windows.
  The Sheriff’s Office has taken the recent larcenies as a t
  
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• Investigators piecing together Niagara Falls motorcycle crash

  10-05-2016 14:23 via wivb.com
  
  NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police in Niagara Falls are wondering if another vehicle was involved in a motorcycle crash from Monday night.
  Around 7:30 p.m., a motorcyclist was ejected from his vehicle on the 10100 block of Niagara Falls Boulevard. Police say he lost control of the bike before the accident.
  He was treated at ECMC for leg injuries and is currently in stable condition.
  Police are still trying to piece together what happened, as the Crash Management Team tries to figure out i
  
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• ‘Animal lover’ found dead, mauled by dogs

  10-05-2016 14:03 via wivb.com
  
  BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — A woman described by neighbors as an animal lover was found dead and her body mauled by dogs inside an Indiana home Sunday evening, according to the Hendricks County coroner.
  A Brownsburg Police Department official said it happened at a home in the 3200 block of North County Road 800 East. The coroner identified the woman as 61-year-old Lola Endres.
  Her son left the house around 6 p.m. Mother’s Day and returned shortly after midnight Monday to find Endres de
  
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• Prom photo accidentally captures tornado — from a safe distance

  10-05-2016 13:54 via wivb.com
  
  WRAY, Colo. (AP) — Teens in the small Colorado plains community of Wray were getting ready to head to the prom when a powerful tornado clouded the picture.
  The twister with winds up to 130 mph tore a path across the landscape about three miles away as seemingly everyone stopped to watch and take photos Saturday.
  Clint Marintzer said his wife, Heidi, took pictures of their daughter Ali with her date Charlie Bator as the menacing tornado formed a backdrop, though a safe distance away. The im
  
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• Tornadoes hit Plains; 2 dead, homes destroyed in Oklahoma

  10-05-2016 13:50 via wivb.com
  
  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tornadoes destroyed homes, overturned vehicles and stripped the bark from trees as they churned across Oklahoma, part of a strong series of storms that hit the Plains.
  At least two people died Monday in weather so violent that forecasters declared a “tornado emergency” for communities in the path of one of the twisters.
  “You are in a life-threatening situation,” forecasters declared while warning the communities of Roff, population 725, and Hick
  
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• Texas vehicle fire caused by children’s light-up shoes; parents nationwide concerned

  10-05-2016 13:32 via wivb.com
  
  HOUSTON, Texas (WIVB) — Chances are good that if you have a toddler, he or she has light-up shoes. A story in Texas is making parents everywhere consider throwing them in the trash.
  A Houston mother woke up over the weekend to find her SUV on fire. Officials found her two-year-old son’s light-up shoes charred inside the vehicle.
  “I’m just glad that my son wasn’t wearing it at the time, and if he had been wearing it, I don’t know if he
  
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• Scientific basis for laws on marijuana, driving questioned

  10-05-2016 12:42 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Six states that allow marijuana use legal tests to determine driving while impaired by the drug that have no scientific basis, according to a study by the nation’s largest automobile club that calls for scrapping those laws.
  The study commissioned by AAA’s safety foundation said it’s not possible to set a blood-test threshold for THC, the chemical in marijuana that makes people high, that can reliably determine impairment. Yet the laws in five of the six
  
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• Kidney microchips could save hospital patients’ lives

  10-05-2016 12:27 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A microchip for kidneys could save lives in the ICU.
  If you end up in the hospital, doctors may use drugs to save your life. Those drugs can be dangerously toxic to the kidneys, and often, it is difficult to predict how each patient’s kidneys will react.
  Scientists at the University of Michigan developed a “kidney-on-a-chip” that should make testing these effects more efficient, and more reliable.
  The kidneys control waste management, regulate
  
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• 2 drivers hospitalized following Scajaquada crash

  10-05-2016 11:59 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Almost two hours after midnight Tuesday, two vehicles crashed head-on while on the Scajaquada Expressway.
  Buffalo Police are investigating the incident and say that the two collided at Route 198’s Main Street off-ramp.
  The two drivers were both taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
  After a brief closure, the expressway was reopened.
  
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• Early morning arson lights up Northampton St. house

  10-05-2016 11:44 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Northampton St. house will have to be demolished as a result of an early morning arson.
  Firefighters arrived at the scene sometime before 3 a.m. thinking there were people in what turned out to be a vacant house, but no one was found.
  Tense moments were laden throughout the firefighters’ battle with the flames.
  “We don’t like to put anyone in unnecessary danger,” Division Chief Peter Kertzie said. “The problem here was most of the
  
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• Buffalo leaders to tackle poverty through state-funded initiative

  10-05-2016 06:07 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- Members of a new task force will tackle poverty in the Queen City. The NYS 2016-2017 budget includes $2.75 million for an anti-poverty initiative in Buffalo.
  Mayor Byron Brown said he plans to meet with state representatives and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz this week to start working on a plan.
  The initiative will bring together lawmakers, local non-profits and people living in poverty. The goal is to collaborate on a plan to reduce poverty by looking
  
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• High School Highlights

  10-05-2016 06:04 via wivb.com
  
   
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- The Williamsville North boys lacrosse team knocked off Williamsville East 14-8 to capture the Williamsville Cup on Monday. Joel Giambra had 4 goals to lead the Spartans to the win. The Williamsville North girls lacrosse team also picked up a win over Clarence 10-9. Elsewhere, the East Aurora and West Seneca East boys lacrosse teams posted wins on Monday. The Lancaster softball team squeaked past Frontier 4-3.
  
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• Cheektowaga man charged with drunken driving twice over legal limit

  10-05-2016 03:55 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — New York State Police in Buffalo say a Cheektowaga man faces charges of driving drunk twice over the legal limit.
  Officials say they pulled over Matthew Hooker, 31, on the I-190 for dangerous driving. Subsequent interviews led police to believe Hooker drove under the influence of alcohol, and testing led police to learn he drove with a .19 percent blood alcohol content — over twice the legal limit of .08 percent.
  Hooker faces charges of aggravated DWI and
  
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• 30-year-old woman injured in fire at Buffalo home dies, vigil held

  10-05-2016 03:45 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — One of two people injured in a house fire in Buffalo last week has died.
  Buffalo Fire Department officials say 30-year-old Gladys Bonner died at the Erie County Medical Center.
  Fire crews were called to a house on Moselle Street on the city’s east side Friday morning. Bonner and a 30-year-old man were found at the scene. The man suffered serious burns but is expected to recover.
  Officials first reported Bonner’s death on Sunday. She suffered burns to roughl
  
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• Fire scorches Buffalo home, sends firefighter to hospital

  10-05-2016 03:35 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A south Buffalo home is burnt out following an early evening fire that sent one firefighter to the hospital.
  Officials say Buffalo Fire responded to 27 Red Jacket Parkway to respond to reports of smoke billowing from a home. Firefighters responded around 5 p.m. and began jetting flames that ripped through the inside of the home.
  The family inside the home was able to escape along with two cats, however a firefighter was taken to the Erie County Medical Center fo
  
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• Radon is found to pose a risk for blood cancer

  10-05-2016 01:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A new study links a higher risk for women contracting blood borne cancer from radon in counties with the highest concentrations of the radioactive gas. The study, based on a sampling of 140,000 people was published in the journal Environmental Research.
  Radon is a radioactive gas that naturally occurs from the decay of uranium in the ground, and as the gas seeps out of the ground, it gets into your home. It has been identified as the leading cause of lung cancer in
  
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• Uber bill before Senate committee, could progress this session

  10-05-2016 01:02 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Ridesharing service Uber said over the weekend they’re putting the brakes on services in Austin, Texas, after the legislature there approved a requirement fingerprinting drivers.
  The regulation keeping Uber from operating in western New York isn’t about fingerprinting — it’s about insurance. And lawmakers say this could be the year to green light a bill paving the way for ridesharing services to operate beyond New York City.
  As the legislative
  
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• Roughly 10,000 pounds of drugs destroyed after drop off event

  10-05-2016 00:37 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Erie County officials are branding a recent drug drop-off event on April 30 as a success, raking in more than 13,000 pounds of expired or unneeded drugs to be destroyed.
  The larger drop-off event followed a month-long push to raise awareness about the program and a county-wide active drop-off at the end of the month. In the seven years that the program has existed, officials say they’ve collected over 100,000 tons of unneeded drugs.
  They added to that tota
  
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• Show ranks Buffalo as a “somewhat walkable” city

  10-05-2016 00:09 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A new study ranks Buffalo as “somewhat walkable” city. The study, through Walk Score, looks at the proximity and ease for people to walk to amenities like grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants, as well as how pedestrian friendly a city is.
  Buffalo residents say they find the Queen City becoming more walkable.
  “We walk every lunchtime we get a chance,” said Kim Grant, who works at the medical campus and ties on her sneakers every ni
  
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