Buffalo news

• BPD officers growing beards for bucks

  27-12-2017 23:58 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — More than 300 Buffalo Police Officers are walking around with scruffy faces. It’s all for a good cause – raising money and awareness for Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
  “It makes them feel good and it’s fun to watch how people’s beards grow,” said Captain Steve Nichols. “It’s unusual to see a police officer with facial hair because it’s part of our regulations not to have it.”
  Commissioner Daniel Derenda
  
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• IRS allowing prepaid property taxes as deductions; clerks trying to keep up

  27-12-2017 23:48 via wivb.com
  LANCASTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — IRS officials say they will allow 2018 property taxes to be deducted on federal returns, as long as they are paid in 2017, and the property is assessed before 2018. In Erie County, elected representatives are now allowing you to pay those taxes early, following an executive order from Governor Cuomo allowing them to do so. Town clerks are scrambling to keep up.
  It’s all related to the new federal tax bill, which caps the amount of state, local, and prope
  
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• Correction officer charged with rape following investigation

  27-12-2017 22:46 via wivb.com
  LAKEVIEW, N.Y. (WIVB) –  A Lakeview man has been charged with rape following an investigation into a personal relationship with an inmate at a facility where he worked as a corrections officer.
  James W. Beam, Jr., 41, of Silver Creek was charged with third degree rape and several counts of official misconduct on Tuesday.
  Beam was charged following an investigation into an unlawful personal relationship with an inmate while employed as a correction officer at Lakeview Shock Incarcerati
  
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• Over 700 without power in Kaisertown

  27-12-2017 22:16 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – National Grid is working on a power outage in the Kaisertown section of South Buffalo since late Wednesday morning.
  The power outage resulted from an underground cable fault, National Grid said in a statement Wednesday.
  The outage originally impacted over 900 customers. About 200 customers have already been restored, but 720 customers could be without power until around 11 p.m. this evening.
  National Grid has made arrangements for a warming station for impacted custo
  
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• Cheektowaga Police warn of “very successful” National Grid scam

  27-12-2017 21:52 via wivb.com
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) – Cheektowaga Police are warning residents of a scam targeting National Grid customers- that has been “very successful” in taking thousands of dollars from victims recently.
  Several incidents have been reported to Cheektowaga Police, in which victims received a telephone call from someone claiming to be from National Grid. The caller then tells the victim that they owe $1,500 to National Grid, and that the heat at the victim’s location will be shu
  
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• More pregnant women using marijuana, study finds

  27-12-2017 21:24 via wivb.com
  (CBS NEWS) – An analysis of urine samples from roughly 300,000 California women finds that more than 7 percent used marijuana while pregnant.
  What’s more, rates of pot use in pregnancy have steadily risen over the years — from 4.2 percent of women in 2009 to 7.1 percent just seven years later.
  That’s according to the new report from Kaiser Permanente Northern California, a major regional health care group.
  “Use among [pregnant] females younger than 18
  
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• “Olivia”, “Noah” top list of Catholic Health’s most popular baby names of 2017

  27-12-2017 21:19 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) –  Catholic Health has released its 2017 list of most popular names, including babies born at Sisters of Charity Hospital, Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, and Mount St. Mary’s Hospital.
  “Olivia” tops the list of most popular girls’ names, coming in at number one for the third year in a row. “Noah” has bumped “Benjamin” out of the top boys’ name spot this year.
  Here’s the full list of top ten most popular baby
  
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• Wyoming County man charged with rape

  27-12-2017 20:14 via wivb.com
  GENESEE FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) – A Wyoming County man has been charged with first degree rape following an investigation by the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office.
  Michael Buck, 29, of Route 19A, Portageville, is being held in lieu of $5,000 bail.
  He is scheduled to appear in the Town of Genesee Falls Court on a later date.
  
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• Woman stunned to find electric bill listed as $284 billion

  27-12-2017 19:42 via wivb.com
  ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman says she went online to check her electric bill and was stunned at the amount — more than $284 billion.
  The Erie Times-News reports that Mary Horomanski said her eyes “just about popped out” of her head when she saw the amount. She suspected that her family had put up their Christmas lights wrong.
  The silver lining was that she didn’t have to pay the full amount until November 2018 — only a $28,156 minimum paymen
  
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• New local artist gallery is open at Roswell Park

  27-12-2017 19:37 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Roswell Park Cancer Institute is home to a new Community Artists Gallery.
  The gallery was created to showcase the work of local artists. “Artists Are All Around Us: Fruit Belt Artists” exhibit at Roswell Park Cancer Institute "Buffalo the Beautiful" by Angelica De La Torre. "Neighbors" by Angelia De La Torre. "Houses on Humboldt Parkway" by Bradley Bethel. "MollyOlga" by Curtis Robinson.The gallery’s inaugural exhibit, “Artists Are All Aro
  
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• Another water main breaks in Niagara Falls

  27-12-2017 19:27 via wivb.com
  NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) – Crews were busy fixing another water main break in Niagara Falls Wednesday afternoon.
  The latest break happened Tuesday at 38th Street and Packard Road.
  The water board is assessing the leak. Work will continue through Wednesday.
  A spokesperson for the board told News 4 that people living in the area should not be affected by the break.
  Meanwhile, a water main that broke nearly two weeks ago has still not been fixed. The break at 47th Street continues to plague
  
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• Pano’s on Elmwood is up for sale

  27-12-2017 19:17 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) –  A popular Buffalo restaurant that has been in business for more than three decades is up for sale.
  Pano’s on Elmwood is still open, but its owner, Pano Georgiadis, told News 4 that he’s taking offers.
  He added that one business has already approached him, but that deal never closed because he says they never showed up with the money.
   
   
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• WNY Developer to commence lawsuit against Investigative Post

  27-12-2017 18:30 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A WNY Development company and its CEO will go forward with a defamation lawsuit against the Investigative Post and one of its reporters, despite a judge ruling that the company and the CEO are public figures.
  Greenleaf Development and CEO James R. Swiezy allege in the lawsuit that the Investigative Post and reporter Dan Telvock “intentionally published falsities about Greenleaf and Swiezy” in a Feb. 2017 article about a deal Buffalo State College has with
  
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• Family of 4 displaced after early morning Buffalo fire

  27-12-2017 18:13 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo firefighters had their hands full this morning as they worked to battle two separate fires and put out flames in bitterly cold temperatures.
  The most recent happened at a home on Clare Street. It was occupied at the time with a family of 4 including a 3-year-old and a 9-year-old, but they all managed to make it outside of the home safely.
  “Main thing in her mind was grab the kids and leave. But she knew the front was lit up nothing in the back, so she h
  
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• Erie County Sheriff’s SWAT team receives NYS Dept. of Criminal Justice Services certification

  27-12-2017 17:35 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Erie County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team has earned certification from the New York State Dept. of Criminal Justice Services.
  The ESCO SWAT team is now one of only 11 SWAT teams throughout the state to achieve DCJS certification.
  The application process took several months and required the team to meet high standards including upervision and team structure, team operator selection process, initial 160-hour basic SWAT course, yearly in-service training, p
  
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• Festival of Lights continues at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine through the Epiphany

  27-12-2017 17:30 via wivb.com
  LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) – Christmas Day may be behind us, but for many Christians, the holy season continues for another week and a half. So does the Festival of Lights at the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Lewiston, which can be viewed nightly through the Epiphany.
  The Basilica at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima draws tens of thousands of pilgrims every year.
  Anyone coming to see the Festival of Lights is urged to start the experience in the Basilica, where statues representing the
  
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• Boys in Ohio charged with murder after a sandbag thrown from an overpass kills a man

  27-12-2017 17:23 via wivb.com
  (CNN) – Authorities in Toledo, Ohio, have charged four boys with murder after a sandbag they allegedly dropped from an interstate overpass killed a passenger in a car.Authorities say the three 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old threw sandbags and other objects onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 on December 19.One of the bags crashed through the window of a car traveling below, hitting passenger Marquise Byrd on the head.Byrd, a 22-year-old from Warren, Michigan, later died.
   
  
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• Two subway work trains collide in tunnel between Manhattan and Queens

  27-12-2017 16:44 via wivb.com
  NEW YORK — At least one person was hurt after two subway work trains collided in an East River tunnel between Manhattan and Queens, CBS New York reports. It happened around 5 a.m. Wednesday.
  The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the trains “bumped into each other” but didn’t derail. The agency said one MTA worker was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
  There were no passengers on the trains, and MTA officials sid the accident had no impact
  
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• Ohio police: Man attempted to rob store with fake furniture gun

  27-12-2017 16:42 via wivb.com
  AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Police say a man who tried and failed to rob an Ohio convenience store with a fake gun made from pieces of furniture has been charged with robbery.
  Akron police say the man walked into a local Circle K store Monday afternoon waving what appeared to be a rifle and demanding cash. An employee realized the rifle was a fake and confronted the man with the help of three customers.
  The man tried to flee but was subdued and detained by the people in the store until police arriv
  
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• McDermott talks to media before Week 17 matchup

  27-12-2017 16:22 via wivb.com
  ORCHARD PARK,N.Y. (WIVB)–Bills head coach Sean McDermott talked to reporters Wednesday morning before his team faces the Miami Dolphins in the regular season finale Sunday.  The Bills need to beat the Dolphins and get some help to end a 17-year playoff drought.
  McDermott first discussed injuries. Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (knee), guard Ryan Groy (illness), cornerback Shareece Wright and defensive tackle Kyle Williams (groin) will not practice Wednesday.  Cornerback EJ Gaines
  
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• After 60 years of friendship, they learned they’re biological brothers

  27-12-2017 15:44 via wivb.com
  (CNN) – Seventy-four-year-old Walter Macfarlane and 72-year-old Alan Robinson have been friends for more than 60 years. Born in Honolulu, they first met in elementary school, played high school football together and joke they could have married the same girl. They sent their children to the same schools they attended and vacationed together as families.
  But it wasn’t until Macfarlane recently began using DNA ancestry tests to search for his long-lost birth father that he uncover
  
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• Buffalo Fire Department battles two overnight fires

  27-12-2017 12:00 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Fire Department has been busy overnight, fighting two fires just blocks from each other.
  Crews are still on scene of the most recent fire at 115 Clare Street.  It happened just before 5:30 a.m. There are reports the home was occupied but, everyone made it to safety.
  The Clare Street fire broke out less than an hour after firefighters wrapped up on the scene of another fire just blocks away.
  Crews responded to 43 Jones Street just before 3 a.m. T
  
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• Fans come from across the border to catch the World Juniors action

  27-12-2017 06:19 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- Thousands of people from around the world are in Buffalo to watch the next hockey stars battle it out on the ice.
  “It’s a must watch, you must come out and support your country,” said TJ Lamureux, who came from Ontario to watch Canada take on Finland. “My little guy plays hockey and I wanted him to support Canada like I always have.”
  Canada is one of 10 teams competing in 31 games over the next week and a half during the World Junior Champ
  
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• Ridesharing companies ready for New Year’s Eve

  27-12-2017 00:25 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Thousands of people will be flocking to Downtown Buffalo this Sunday to ring in 2018. This is the first time they’ll be able to use ridesharing services. Uber is planning on taking advantage.
  Company officials say they want to be available for anyone who needs them. That could turn out to be a lot of people. Last week, Liberty Cab, a taxi company in the area, said they’ll be keeping their drivers out of downtown in protest. Liberty’s spokesperson sa
  
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• Libraries concerned about access, potentially increasing costs in wake of FCC repealing net neutrality

  27-12-2017 00:16 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)– Each day, thousands of people around Western New York head to their local library branches and log on to a computer there.
  “There is really a digital divide that sometimes, people don’t realize,” said Mary Jean Jakubowski, the director of the Buffalo and Erie County Libraries System.
  That divide in the county comes as there are some people in the rural south towns who have difficulty accessing wifi while others within the city limits are priced
  
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• Hundreds travel to Buffalo as the World Juniors tournament begins

  27-12-2017 00:08 via wivb.com
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The puck has dropped, players skates are laced up, and they’re taking the ice as the World Juniors Championship Tournament has started.
  Young, top hockey players from ten countries, including the United States, Canada, and Russia, are in the area, showing off their stick skills and vying for the title of the top juniors team in the world.
  The city of Buffalo has a chance to show off a bit, too, as all these fans from around the globe are here.
  “We can sho
  
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