Buffalo news

• College “Paint A Bull” project gets political

  04-05-2017 23:46 via wivb.com
  
  AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) – The bull statue outside the student center at the University at Buffalo has become a divisive symbol on campus. Through an art project sponsored by the university, students and staff paint the bull. There are specific guidelines that students must follow.
  That includes, you must paint the bull by the cover of night. When the sun comes out, your masterpiece is revealed to the rest of campus.But some students say through this project, one important
  
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• Tourney Time: UB men’s and women’s tennis programs off to NCAA’s

  04-05-2017 23:45 via wivb.com
  
  AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) – After an undefeated conference slate, the UB men won the MAC tournament in thrilling fashion on Saturday, coming back from down 3-1 against Western Michigan to take the title for the second time in three years.2017 @MACSports Tournament Champions! #UBhornsUP pic.twitter.com/jYcElE1ily
  — Buffalo Bulls Tennis (@UBmenstennis) April 29, 2017
  “Now I am sporting a mohawk because I didnt expect them to do it and told them I would do it if they did,” men&rs
  
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• Fantasy Island will open for season May 13

  04-05-2017 23:16 via wivb.com
  
  GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) – Martin’s Fantasy Island will open for the season May 13, the park’s first full season under new ownership.
  California-based Apex Parks Group purchased the amusement and water park last season from longtime owners Martin DiPietro and his family.
  “We’re excited to carry on the tradition that Marty and the whole DiPietro family built here at Fantasy Island,” said Len Synor, the park’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “The
  
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• Prostitution “call service” discovered running out of City of Tonawanda apartment

  04-05-2017 23:08 via wivb.com
  
  CITY OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) – An investigation by City of Tonawanda police detectives uncovered a “call service” for prostitution in an Elm Street apartment.
  City of Tonawanda detectives executed a search warrant at 99 Elm Street Wednesday evening, arresting four people.
  According to Tonawanda City Police, the apartment was used as a call service and money obtained was used to purchase drugs. A quantity of heroin and marijuana, along with needles and other drug parapher
  
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• Excelsior scholarship information sessions take place at SUNY campuses across NY

  04-05-2017 22:48 via wivb.com
  
  FREDONIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — As of this fall full-time students from households making up to $100,000 annually will be eligible for free tuition at SUNY and CUNY schools.
  “I have friends who were not able to pay for the tuition and now they’re actually going to be coming back to Fredonia,” said Lauren Teeling, SUNY Fredonia student.
  “I know my sister is coming next year so it will be a good opportunity for my family,” said Tom Wilson, SUNY Fredonia student.
  The Exc
  
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• Orchard Park PD seeking help to identify grocery store shoplifter

  04-05-2017 22:26 via wivb.com
  
  ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) – Orchard Park Police are seeking the public’s help to identify a suspect who left Orchard Park Tops without paying for $367.06 worth of groceries on April 18.
  The suspect is described as a white female about 5’5″ and 140 lbs. Her age is unknown.
  Anyone with information is asked to contact the Orchard Park Detective Bureau at 662-6475 ext. 4016.
   
   
  
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• Gainesville man gets additional charges while incarcerated

  04-05-2017 22:19 via wivb.com
  
  WYOMING COUNTY, N.Y. (WIVB) – A Gainsville man facing charges for family offenses and first degree criminal contempt is facing more charges.
  Wyoming County Sheriff’s reports say that Ervin W. Delude, Sr., 45, was arrested both on Tuesday and Wednesday for violating an order of protection, while he was incarcerated in the Wyoming County Jail. Delude was arrested May 2 for placing over 60 phone calls since April 25 to a woman who is currently protected from him by a stay-away order of
  
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• Teenage girl facing charges for jumping on, damaging Cheektowaga Police car

  04-05-2017 22:06 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) – A 14-year-old girl is facing criminal mischief after a police investigation determined that she had jumped on a marked police car in April, causing damage.According to Cheektowaga Police, on April 16 at about 8:30 p.m. a group of teens exited the Walden Galleria outside of Regal Cinemas. As the group walked by a Cheektowaga Police vehicle which was parked unoccupied outside of the cinema, the girl ran up to the police car and jumped on the hood of the car before
  
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• Charge dismissed for Attica inmate accused in inmate slaying

  04-05-2017 21:44 via wivb.com
  
  WARSAW, N.Y. (AP) — A murder indictment has been dismissed for an Attica prison inmate accused in the recreation yard slaying of another prisoner.
  Wyoming County District Attorney Donald O’Geen says the indictment against 33-year-old Bruce Battle was dismissed Tuesday after purported inmate eyewitnesses recanted or refused to answer questions.
  Battle and two others were accused of fatally stabbing inmate Rodney Calloway in the heart in an Attica prison yard in May 2015. Prosecutors s
  
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• Google warns of email scam that impersonates Google Docs

  04-05-2017 19:08 via wivb.com
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google said it shut down an email spam campaign that impersonated its online file service, Google Docs.
  According to online reports — in particular, a detailed user thread on Reddit — clicking on an emailed share link, purportedly from a known source, was taking users to a site that asked permission for a fake app calling itself “Google Docs” to access their accounts. If they agreed, the app would then send additional copies of the original emai
  
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• Jamestown man who killed wife and stepson pleads guilty

  04-05-2017 18:46 via wivb.com
  
  JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Jamestown man who killed his wife and stepson pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Thursday.
  Deputies with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Civil Division entered the home of Allen Witruke, 53, on the morning of December 8, 2015.
  While there to execute an eviction, the bodies of Catherine Witruke and Eric Washburn were seen. They had been stabbed to death. Eric had also been beaten.
  “This case was tragic and heartbreaking. As with any domes
  
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• A dozen ducklings are getting a second chance after being rescued and cleaned up

  04-05-2017 17:57 via wivb.com
  
   
  WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Inside of an incubator in the back of the Wildlife room at the SPCA of Erie County, you’ll find a dozen ducklings, happily chirping and bouncing around. While they’re all cheeping and happily flapping away now, the baby ducks have had a harrowing first few days after being found in a grease pan left outside of a local restaurant.
  “Unfortunately all of these guys just jumped right in there and weren’t’ able to get out,&rdq
  
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• Tips to protect your identity on World Password Day

  04-05-2017 17:56 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Along with Star Wars Day, May 4 is also World Password Day.
  Best Buy says that last year, identity fraud hit an all-time high when “an estimated $16 billion” was stolen from more than 15 million Americans.
  The company said stolen credentials and weak login information led to digital accounts getting taken over.
  Best Buy’s Taryn Bitterly says “weak passwords contain fewer than eight characters, only lower or upper case letters, o
  
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• Police say threat made to West Seneca school not viable

  04-05-2017 17:27 via wivb.com
  
  WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police say a student made a threat to West Seneca East Senior High School on social media Thursday night.
  West Seneca police investigated the threat, and later determined it to not be viable after speaking with the student and his family.
  Extra patrol cars were sent to the school anyway on Thursday as a precaution.
  The school was determined to be safe as police continue their joint investigation with school officials.
  
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• Police deem threat made to West Seneca school not viable

  04-05-2017 17:27 via wivb.com
  
  WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police say a student made a threat to West Seneca East Senior High School on social media Thursday night.
  West Seneca police investigated the threat, and later determined it to not be viable after speaking with the student and his family.
  Extra patrol cars were sent to the school anyway on Thursday as a precaution.
  The school was determined to be safe as police continue their joint investigation with school officials.
  
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• Commissioner: No decision yet on Erie Co. 911 dispatcher schedules

  04-05-2017 17:23 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – 911 dispatchers for Erie County’s Central Police Services want to make sure they have a say about their schedules moving forward. They weighed in on a need for a vote during a meeting of the legislature’s Public Safety Committee at the old County Hall on Thursday morning.
  The discussions revolve around two options for scheduling models. One option would have the dispatchers continue working 12 hour shifts for two or three days in a row, as they have been
  
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• Paula’s Donuts creates special treats for Star Wars Day

  04-05-2017 17:13 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Wednesday, May 4, is a big day for Star Wars fans.
  Star Wars Day is also known as “May the Fourth Be With You.”
  To mark the special day, Paula’s donuts rolled out a trio of Star Wars-inspired doughnuts.
  “In the doughnut business, the weeks after Easter are like the eye of the hurricane, or should we say the hole in the doughnut. There is a lull. Everyone still has their Easter candy,” Christy Worthington, of Paula’s Donuts, explain
  
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• House passes GOP health care bill

  04-05-2017 16:21 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Relieved Republicans have pushed their prized health care bill through the House. The mostly party-line 217-213 vote advances a bill that addresses their longtime pledge to erase the 2010 Obama health care law.
  Thursday’s vote sends the measure to the Senate. Many senators consider the House bill too harsh and it’s expected to undergo substantial changes.
  The House measure collapsed in March due to opposition by conservative and moderate GOP lawmakers. House l
  
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• GOP health care bill begins its ride through the House

  04-05-2017 16:21 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans began pushing their prized health care bill through the House Thursday, as the GOP sought a victory for President Donald Trump six weeks after nearly leaving the measure for dead and days after support from GOP moderates seemed to crumble anew.
  A wafer-thin margin seemed likely, thanks to opposition expected from every Democrat and more than a dozen Republicans plus lobbying against the bill by the AARP seniors organization, doctors, hospitals and patient
  
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• Some cling to landlines, but cell-only homes now dominate

  04-05-2017 16:14 via wivb.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Deborah Braswell, a university administrator in Alabama, is a member of a dwindling group — people with a landline phone at home.
  According to a U.S. government study released Thursday, 50.8 percent of homes and apartments had only cellphone service in the latter half of 2016, the first time such households attained a majority in the survey. Braswell and her family are part of the 45.9 percent that still have landline phones. The remaining households have no phone ser
  
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• Indictment charging Attica inmate with other inmate’s murder dismissed

  04-05-2017 15:19 via wivb.com
  
  ATTICA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The indictment charging an Attica Correctional Facility inmate with murder has been dismissed.
  Rodney Calloway, another inmate, was fatally stabbed at the jail in May of 2015. This happened during a recreational period.
  “Although Mr. Calloway was a convicted felon serving time, he did not deserve the death sentence imposed upon him,” Wyoming County District Attorney Donald O’Geen said.
  The next year, in March, Bruce Battle, 33, Devin Gray, 22, a
  
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• Britain’s Prince Philip, 95, to retire from royal duties

  04-05-2017 14:51 via wivb.com
  
  LONDON (AP) — Prince Philip, the consort known for his constant support of his wife Queen Elizabeth II as well as for his occasional gaffes, will retire from royal duties this fall, Buckingham Palace said Thursday.
  Philip, 95, made the decision himself with the full support of the queen, the palace said in a statement. The royal, known as the Duke of Edinburgh, has suffered from heart disease and other ailments in recent years but has nonetheless maintained a vigorous public schedule.
  He s
  
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• You’re Doing It Wrong: Putting kitchen hacks to the test

  04-05-2017 11:57 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – We’ve all the seen the videos online of hacks that promise to change your life, especially in the kitchen. The message of most of them is that you’ve been doing it wrong your whole life.
  We’re putting a few of those hacks to the test on News 4 Wake Up on Thursday and Friday morning to see what works, what doesn’t work, and what’s not worth the extra work.
  Watch the videos below to see what the Director of Community Education at the Niaga
  
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• Williamsville residents express concerns about land swap proposal

  04-05-2017 04:45 via wivb.com
  
  WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — Neighbors that live near South Long Park could see as many as 120 new apartment units and town houses in the new future.
  It’s part of a housing development set forth by Natale Development.
  Last year, Williamsville residents were not in favor of the proposal and wanted to be part of a public input process.
  Now, residents are part of the development process, but this time, the proposal consists of a land swap with the Village of Williamsville.
  Natale Develo
  
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• Soggy spring could lead to abundance of mosquitoes

  04-05-2017 04:11 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Recent heavy rains throughout April and the start of May could have greater consequences than soggy backyards.
  The Erie County commissioner of health warned Wednesday that saturated soil and abundant standing water, as well as rising overnight temperatures, could lead to a significant mosquito increase.
  The National Weather Service recorded a monthly precipitation record of 6.38″ of rain for April, making it the wettest April on record. The rainfall has caused
  
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• Sentence will not be reduced for woman who provided weapons in 2012 firefighter ambush killings

  04-05-2017 03:34 via wivb.com
  
  ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) – A federal judge has denied a request to reduce the sentence of a woman who  provided the firearms used by a Rochester man to fatally shoot two firefighters on Christmas Eve 2012.
  Dawn Nguyen was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2014 after pleading guilty to providing guns to a known felon. A U.S. District Court judge in Rochester recently denied a motion by Nguyen’s lawyer to reduce the sentence.
  Nguyen, 28, is currently serving time in a detention fa
  
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• Tonawanda foot bridge—replace it, fix it, or tear it down?

  04-05-2017 02:25 via wivb.com
  
  TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) – A pedestrian bridge in the Town of Tonawanda has been shut down for more than 9 months because town officials considered it unsafe, a decision which state transportation inspectors have just recently affirmed.
  Now the town’s engineering department is researching what options town officials can take.
  While the road passing under the bridge, Sheridan Drive, is a state maintained highway, the foot bridge is the sole responsibility of the Town of Tonawanda. So t
  
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• Advocates set up a mock “supervised injection facility” in Lafayette Park

  04-05-2017 02:06 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A traveling exhibit modeling a pop-up “safer consumption space” was set up in Lafayette Square Wednesday afternoon.
  Buffalo is one of ten cities on the traveling exhibit’s tour. which will include other cities which have been hard-hit by the opioid crisis including Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca, and Albany. The model is a collaboration by the Drug Policy Alliance, VOCAL-NY, and The Katal Center.
  Safe Shape’s website bills the traveling exhi
  
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• Buffalo lawmaker confronts crime, practices what he preaches

  04-05-2017 01:57 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Buffalo North District Council member Joseph Golombek took “see something, say something” to another level when he came upon suspicious activity in his neighborhood:after seeing outsiders dealing what looked like drugs, he said something to police, then he said something to those poison peddlers–get out.
  As Golombek put it, he “did what a regular citizen is supposed to do–I called 911,” but the city lawmaker does not consider what
  
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• Buffalo man pleads guilty to selling heroin that killed buyer

  04-05-2017 01:26 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A Buffalo man has pleaded guilty to selling heroin which resulted in a death.
  Damien Hicks-Bailey, 22, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
  According to U.S. Attorney Michael P. Felicetta, who is handling the case, in July 2015 the West Seneca Police Department responded to a 911 call from a woman screaming that her son was dead.
  Police responded and found an
  
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• Longtime political activist sentenced to probation for voting charge

  04-05-2017 00:54 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — It’s been a nearly two-year fight for personal freedom for a man who’s been battling in the name of constitutional freedom for the past 25 years.
  In the end, Rus Thompson, formerly of Grand Island, isn’t going to jail, but rather back home, where he’ll remain on probation for up to the next three years.
  “I’ve had a target on my back for a long time,” Thompson said Wednesday morning after his sentence was handed down. “A
  
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• Boy who died after ATV accident remembered by hundreds

  04-05-2017 00:37 via wivb.com
  
  ELMA, N.Y., (WIVB) — An estimated 900 people gathered Wednesday for the funeral of 12-year-old Zachary Matla, who died Saturday after an ATV accident last week.
  Family and friends shared favorite stories and memories, and offered their thanks to the community for the support its shown over the past week.
  Zach was in the sixth grade at Iroquois Intermediate School. He and four friends were riding their ATVs at about 5:30 p.m. April 26, trying to scale a hill in Elma.
  Zach was wearing a helm
  
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• Niagara County will transfer 50 Main to City of Lockport

  04-05-2017 00:15 via wivb.com
  
  LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) – Niagara County will transfer a surplus building in downtown Lockport to the city of Lockport in a move intended to help city planners create a professional office building in the city’s business district.
  The building, 50 Main St., was acquired by the county in April 2015 as part of a package deal to buy two other office buildings being rented by county agencies. The building formerly housed the Niagara County Community College Small Business Development Cente
  
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• Buffalo man fights judge’s (illegal) about-face on acquittal

  04-05-2017 00:08 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Jonathan Crane knows what it’s like to feel like a free man and a convicted one. But both nearly happened within one week — and they both were the result of the same case.
  In 2014, Crane and his girlfriend were out partying at Pearl Nightclub in Rochester. Crane was the designated driver. He said his girlfriend was intoxicated. On their way home — Niagara Falls, at the time — blue and red lights flashed Crane’s rearview mirror.
  “Di
  
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