Buffalo news

• Advocates reflect on a year filled with changes as WNY Pride Week kicks off

  31-05-2016 23:31 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — It has been nearly one year since the Supreme Court ruled marriage equality the law of the land. Since celebrations rang out across the country, including in Buffalo, many things have changed for the LGTBQ community.
  Tuesday afternoon, as Pride Week began, members of that community took time to look back at what has happened over the past year. The Supreme Court ruling was action on the federal level; statewide, Governor Cuomo created an executive order protecti
  
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• Cheektowaga man arrested following fatal fight over girlfriend; Teen dies in brawl

  31-05-2016 23:07 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Cheektowaga man is facing charges following a fatal fight over a girlfriend, police confirmed.
  Authorities have been investigating the hospitalization and death of 19-year-old Justin Vanderwalker, a Cheektowaga teen, since his hospitalization on May 25 for injuries sustained in a fight. Those injuries, later determined to be blunt force trauma, led to his death.
  Investigation led police to arrest 21-year-old Cody Jeffords, saying he fought with Vanderwalke
  
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• Cheektowaga man arrested after fatal beating over girlfriend, charges to be upgraded

  31-05-2016 23:07 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Cheektowaga man is facing charges following a fatal beating that resulted from a dispute over a girlfriend, police confirmed on Tuesday.
  Authorities have been investigating the hospitalization and death of 19-year-old Justin Vanderwalker, of Cheektowaga, since he was taken to ECMC on May 25 for injuries sustained in a what police described as a fight. Specific details of the assault were not released. Those injuries, later determined to be blunt force trau
  
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• General Mills recalls flour over possible E. coli link

  31-05-2016 22:48 via wivb.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — General Mills is recalling about 10 million pounds of its flour over a possible link to an E. coli outbreak in 20 states.
  The recall is for several varieties of Gold Medal and Signature Kitchens flour that were sold at Safeway, Albertsons and other supermarkets. General Mills said E. coli hasn’t been found in any of its flour products, but is still recalling them out of “an abundance of caution.”
  The company said Tuesday 38 people were sickened from mid-De
  
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• Eastern Hills Mall could see major transformation

  31-05-2016 22:44 via wivb.com
  
  CLARENCE, N.Y. (WIVB) — A proposed plan could breathe new life into the Eastern Hills Mall and turn it into a mixed use development in the future.
  Joan Kirch has been shopping at the Eastern Hills Mall since it opened, but says since then it hasn’t been the same.
  “Not as many people. Not in competition but, with Boulevard Mall because everyone went to Boulevard Mall it was very nice and then they started here and it just slowly declined,” said Kirch.
  Just a couple months
  
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• Victim killed in Pendleton business crash identified

  31-05-2016 22:22 via wivb.com
  
  PENDLETON, N.Y. (WIVB) — A crash victim is dead in Niagara County following a one-vehicle collision into a building.
  Niagara County Sheriff’s Deputies say a person driving a truck may have had a medical emergency, leading the driver to leave the roadway and slam into a Campbell Boulevard business at about 2 p.m.
  The truck continued through the building and eventually came to a stop nearby. First responders rushed to the scene but say Pendleton resident Kevin Taylor, 61, per
  
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• Victim dies as vehicle slams into Pendleton business

  31-05-2016 22:22 via wivb.com
  
  PENDLETON, N.Y. (WIVB) — A crash victim is dead in Niagara County following a one-vehicle collision into a building.
  Niagara County Sheriff’s Deputies say a person driving a truck may have had a medical emergency, leading the driver to leave the roadway and slam into a Campbell Boulevard business at about 2 p.m.
  The truck continued through the building and eventually came to a stop nearby. First responders rushed to the scene but say the victim perished in the crash.
  No employee
  
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• Serious crash in Cheektowaga kills elderly woman

  31-05-2016 22:08 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Authorities in Cheektowaga closed down Losson Road in Cheektowaga for multiple hours after a serious crash left an elderly woman dead.
  Cheektowaga Police say two cars collided just before 2:45 p.m., drawing the response of police, fire and medical personnel. Authorities say medics rushed one driver away for various minor injuries, but confirmed an elderly woman died on the scene.
  Preliminary accident investigation suggests a medical emergency led to the cras
  
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• SPCA officers arrest, charge Buffalo woman for death of dog

  31-05-2016 22:01 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Following the death of a dog due to heatstroke on a Buffalo porch, officers arrested a Buffalo woman.
  Officers with the SPCA Serving Erie County arrested and charged Fabiola Castro on Tuesday, days after an investigation began into the death of a female dog on the upper porch of her Pleasant Place home.
  First responders were called to the scene of the home on Thursday, May 26, to attempt to assist the dog, but officials say it had died by the time Buffalo F
  
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• Local man charged with sexually abusing 10-year-old boy

  31-05-2016 21:21 via wivb.com
  
  CITY OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A local man faces a litany of charges following an investigation into sexual abuse involving a 10-year-old boy in the City of Tonawanda.
  City of Tonawanda Police announced they arrested 63-year-old Philip Kohler after they say they uncovered sexual abuse against the boy over the past six months. Officers say they received the first tip on April 17, prompting their investigation.
  Now Kohler faces charges of second-degree course of sexual conduct against
  
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• The Choice: Local Priest speaks about “married priesthood”

  31-05-2016 20:55 via wivb.com
  
  AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) – News 4 first introduced you to Frank and Mary Ann Endres earlier this month. The former Priest and Nun met in a Buffalo catholic church more then 45 years ago. They made the decision to leave the Catholic Church. Now they’re fighting for the “married Priesthood.”
  Frank Endres is just one of a couple hundred “married Priests” across Western New York. He says the number of men who want to be Priests is dwindling. We spoke with one loc
  
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• Local grandmother admits to peddling pills out of home

  31-05-2016 20:54 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Cheektowaga grandmother admitted to selling drugs from her home in front of a New York State Supreme Court Justice on Tuesday.
  Officers first arrested 46-year-old Wanda Winfield in April when a tip led police in Cheektowaga to investigate the sale of opioid pills from her home. The investigation led police to arrest her on charges of criminal sale of a controlled substance.
  In court on Tuesday, she admitted to third-degree criminal sale of a controlled sub
  
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• Scajaquada Creek clean-up extends into Forest Lawn

  31-05-2016 19:30 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) —If you’ve ever taken a walk along the portion of Scajaquada Creek that flows through Forest Lawn Cemetery you know the problem — sewage dumped into the creek upstream means odor and contaminated water within the cemetery.While work continues to stem the sewage overflows, friends of the creek Tuesday launched a plan to improve conditions inside the cemetery.
  The first phase will cost $2 million– and will be carried out by the Buffalo Sewer Authority.
  
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• Sheriff: Man shoves ranger after refusing to stop climbing Akron Falls

  31-05-2016 18:11 via wivb.com
  
  AKRON, N.Y. (WIVB) — Trouble allegedly ensued when authorities tried to stop a Newstead man from climbing the Akron Falls.
  The Erie County Sheriff’s Office says Brandon Taylor, 25, was climbing the falls at Akron Falls Park when a park ranger asked him to stop.
  Deputies say Taylor refused to get down, so the ranger tried to intercept him along a trail.
  When the ranger did this, deputies say Taylor shoved the ranger, and so, law enforcement officials were called in for help.
  Afte
  
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• SUNY Chancellor Zimpher to step down after 1 more year

  31-05-2016 17:43 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (WIVB) — SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher will spend just one more year in her position, the school system announced Tuesday.
  During her seven years with SUNY, Zimpher, 69, helped create partnerships that resulted in programs like Open SUNY, SUNY Excels, SUNY Smart Track and NYSUNY 2020.
  “The State University of New York is the greatest, most impactful system of higher education in the country, and being chancellor of SUNY is a highlight of my career,” said Chanc
  
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• Peach Street shooter sentenced to 25-to-life in prison

  31-05-2016 17:15 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Just days after Christmas of 2014, a man was shot to death on Peach Street. Tuesday morning, his killer learned his fate — a lifetime potentially spent in prison.
  DeShawn Harris, 27, was sentenced Tuesday for fatally shooting Denell Baker eight times, hitting him twice in the head. Baker was a father of six.
  Due to a previous weapon possession charge, Harris was on parole and forced to wear an ankle bracelet at the time of the incident. The bracelet t
  
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• Erie County deputies make first drinking while boating-related arrest of the season

  31-05-2016 16:02 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Boats are out on the water, and operators are drinking yet again, according to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.
  The Sheriff’s Office said they netted their first boating while intoxicated (BWI) arrest of the season on Monday night.
  Deputies noticed the boat of Andrew Bodack, 49, on the Niagara River sometime before 10 p.m. They say his vessel was being driven without proper navigational lights.
  When deputies confronted Bodack, they say he was drunk
  
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• Hurricane hunters fly into treacherous winds for data

  31-05-2016 15:07 via wivb.com
  
  HOUSTON (WNCN) – Meteorologists use a variety of tools when it comes to forecasting hurricanes but two of the most important may be the NOAA G4 and Air Force C-130 aircraft, which fly into and around each developing storm.A U.S. Air Force hurricane hunter at a media exhibition in Houston (WNCN)“They fly into everything from a system trying to become the next tropical depression up to Category 5 hurricanes,” said Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center.  &ldqu
  
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• On cutting-edge voter data, Trump critically behind Clinton

  31-05-2016 15:01 via wivb.com
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Donald Trump trails Hillary Clinton by months, even years, in using fast-evolving digital campaigning to win over voters, data specialists working with the GOP say.
  The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has dismissed the science that defines 21st century political campaigns, a tool that President Barack Obama used effectively in winning two terms and the Clinton campaign has worked on for nearly a year.
  And while it is too early to tell whether the late start
  
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• Woman run over by her car at McDonald’s drive-thru

  31-05-2016 14:57 via wivb.com
  
  UNITY TOWNSHIP, Penn. (WKBN) – A freak accident at a McDonald’s in the Pittsburgh area occurred over the weekend.
  A 76-year-old woman was run over by her own car at the drive-thru. It happened in Unity Township in Westmoreland County.
  The woman dropped her order on the ground and opened the car door to try and reach her food when her car went forward.
  She fell out of the car when it hit the restaurant. Then, when the car hit a wall it went backwards, running over the woman.
  The
  
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• Iraqi forces in Fallujah repel IS attack

  31-05-2016 14:47 via wivb.com
  
  CAMP TARIQ, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi forces battling their way into Fallujah repelled a four-hour attack by the Islamic State group in the city’s south on Tuesday, a day after first moving into the southern edges of the militant-held city with the help of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.
  Also Tuesday, a leading aid group raised alarm over the unfolding “human catastrophe” in Fallujah, where an estimated 50,000 people remain trapped as the fight intensifies and renewed calls on war
  
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• Buffalo PD trying to solve 1983 murder

  31-05-2016 14:38 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A case of homicide from the 1980s is being looked into by the Buffalo Police Homicide Squad Cold Case Unit.
  Police say Roy White was killed January 31, 1983 on Trowbridge St.
  Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call the Cold Case Office at 851-4511, or anonymously to 847-2255.
  
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• Police find man at Va. Beach Oceanfront with items used to make meth

  31-05-2016 14:14 via wivb.com
  
  VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A narcotics investigation was started after police came across a man with items used to make methamphetamine on the Oceanfront.
  Around 4:16 p.m., officers with the Virginia Beach Police Department’s Oceanfront bike patrol found a man in a tent on the beach at 40th Street and the boardwalk. As officers interacted with the man, they discovered items that can be used to make meth.
  Police say this was not an active meth lab.
  &ldq
  
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• Band that survived Paris terror attacks to rock out in New York

  31-05-2016 13:55 via wivb.com
  
  CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The band that survived the Paris terror attacks will be performing in the Capital Region Tuesday night.
  “Eagles of Death Metal” are gearing up to play at the Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park later Tuesday night at 7 p.m. They were performing at the Bataclan in Paris when the attacks happened.
  89 people were killed, but all the members of the band made it out safely.
  The band has since returned to Paris and is now on a North American tour.MORE |
  
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• Driver runs over 2 people on motorcycle in apparent case of road rage

  31-05-2016 13:43 via wivb.com
  
  TAMPA, Fla. (WIVB) — Two people who were on a motorcycle in Florida are okay Tuesday morning, but they easily could have been in a hospital…or worse.
  A driver ran over a motorcycle with two people on it in what police call a case of road rage.
  The incident occurred after a Memorial Day bike ride for veterans. Police say Robert Paul Vance, 31, who has an apparant history of road rage, was the driver.
  Vance faces several charges, including hit-and-run.
  
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• US archers, including WNY native, earn Olympic spots for Rio de Janeiro

  31-05-2016 13:14 via wivb.com
  
  NEWBERRY, Fla. (AP modified) — Brady Ellison and western New York native Jake Kaminski are heading to another Olympics in archery after earning spots through an arduous U.S. qualification process that concluded on Monday.
  Kaminski brought home a silver medal in archery after competing in the 2012 London Games four years ago. Before moving away from western New York at the age of 17, Kaminski attended Iroquois High School in Elma.
  Ellison also helped the Americans capture a silver
  
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• Polish justice minister revives Polanski extradition drive

  31-05-2016 13:05 via wivb.com
  
  WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s justice minister on Tuesday revived an effort to have filmmaker Roman Polanski extradited to the U.S., where he is wanted in a nearly 40-year-old case involving sex with a minor.
  Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro’s office said he asked Poland’s Supreme Court to annul a ruling in October by a court in Krakow which found that Polish law forbids Polanski’s extradition. In November, prosecutors said they found no grounds to challenge t
  
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• Town of Tonawanda Police looking for 7-Eleven robber

  31-05-2016 12:52 via wivb.com
  
  TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police are still looking for a man who robbed a 7-Eleven in the Town of Tonawanda.
  Authorities say the robbery of the Lincoln Park location happened sometime between 12:30 and 12:45 a.m. Tuesday.
  After the incident, Town of Tonawanda Police say the robber ran south through the Sheridan/Parkside neighborhood.
  News 4 will have more information on the active investigation when it becomes available.
  
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• Police: Drugged driver found with narcotics, stolen electronics in West Seneca

  31-05-2016 12:38 via wivb.com
  
  WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police patrolling Clinton St. in West Seneca say they found a drugged driver that also turned out to be thief.
  At 4 a.m., Michael Lawicki, 26, was driving recklessly and showed signs of being on narcotics, according to officers.
  After testing him, West Seneca Police subsequently charged Lawicki with operating a vehicle impaired by drugs and other traffic violations.
  The charges did not end there though, as police say they discovered narcotics and multiple st
  
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• Missing kayakers found safe

  31-05-2016 11:29 via wivb.com
  
  CATTARAUGUS, N.Y. (WIVB) — After two kayakers went missing in Zoar Valley near Collins Monday, authorities have confirmed they have been found safe.
  The two unnamed kayakers went missing sometime during the night hours, but were found without injury before midnight. The scene was cleared shortly after this.
  Multiple agencies including those of law enforcement, fire rescue, and forest rangers were involved in the search.
  Officials in Collins were one of the first to be notified, and au
  
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• Memorial for Maksym Sugorovskiy unveiled at Delaware Park

  31-05-2016 05:58 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- Only feet from where three year old Maksym Sugorovskiy died one year ago, his family gathered to remember his short life.
  “It’s not about Maksym’s death, it’s not about what happened here or even how it happened,” said Mary Sugorovskiy, Maksym’s mother. “This is about Maksym and Maksym’s life.”
  On May 30, 2015 Maksym walked along Ring Rd. with his mother and sister, Stephanie. A driver went off the 198 and hit the f
  
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• Local volunteer group donates 100+ quilts to military members and families

  31-05-2016 04:46 via wivb.com
  
   
  KENMORE, N.Y. (WIVB) — A group of local volunteers found a crafty way to give thanks to the people who are currently serving in the armed forces.
  The “Piecemakers” is a group of 25-30 women who donate their time to make quilts at the Kenmore United Methodist Church. As part of an annual tradition, they made over 100 quilts this year for our military, as a way to say thank you.
  Sally Grove, a member of the church and the group, said, “Quilting is my passion. Ev
  
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• State DOT planning Southtowns bridge implosion this week

  31-05-2016 01:44 via wivb.com
  
  SPRINGVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) – An old bridge that’s been a safety concern for years is set to come down this week. The old Route 219 bridge over Cattaraugus Creek was closed last month, and a detour was designed to ease the confusion for drivers who use the old span.
  This was the first holiday weekend since the old Cascade Road bridge, connecting Erie and Cattaraugus counties closed, and reactions have been mixed in Springville and the Town of Concord.
  South Cascade Drive, the former Ro
  
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• Town of Alden unveils new war memorial

  31-05-2016 01:01 via wivb.com
  
  ALDEN, N.Y. (WIVB) —  The Alden community gathered for a ceremony in front of a new war memorial. It honors more than 70 residents in the town who paid the ultimate price for their country.
  The memorial honored the fallen who fought wars right here on American soil, and to those who died in Europe, Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  The event started with the Armed Forces Medley – which honors the 5 military branches. It was pe
  
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• “Project Ramadan Buffalo” starts building food baskets for needy families

  31-05-2016 00:37 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) —  In Islam, Ramadan is a holy month of fasting, soul searching and prayer. It starts next week, and Muslim families spend the month from sunrise to sunset fasting.
  On Monday, Project Ramadan Buffalo started building and collecting donations for the food baskets at the Tops Market on Amherst in Buffalo.
  The group of volunteers say that the baskets will have enough food in them to support 4 to 5 people for 1 month. The baskets will have things like rice, cereal, pa
  
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• Threat of Zika keeping local pest companies busy

  31-05-2016 00:01 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The two types of mosquitoes known to carry the Zika virus are not found in western New York, at least according to the latest observations by the CDC.
  But with Memorial Day acting also as the official kick off to summer, more more people will be spending time outside and in their backyards. That’s keeping local pest companies is busy.
  Business is booming for Mosquito Joe. The North Tonawanda-based family franchise specializes in ridding local back yards and bus
  
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