http://www.buffalonews.com Latest stories from The Buffalo News en-us Sat, 18 May 2013 22:48:08 -0400 Sat, 18 May 2013 22:48:08 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130518/CITYANDREGION/130519044/1016
Rumore received 758 votes to 398 cast for his opponent, Marc Bruno.

Rumore, who has held the union president’s post since 1981 after working for 13 years as a special education teacher, did not return a call to comment.

Bruno, a history teacher at Riverside High School and longtime member of the union’s governing Council of Delegates, said he was pleased with the turnout, which was almost twice the number cast in the last election.

He said there were some issues Saturday morning when his observers were briefly blocked from watching the vote-counting process, which is carried out by a computer company.

“The counting process definitely needs to be reviewed and revised, that’s for sure,” said Bruno. “It’s not a CPA firm that counts the votes, so it’s not like they have a license to lose, like a CPA.”

“I’m not going to contest the election,” said Bruno, “I don’t think that would be very good for the union, and it would probably cost a lot of money, but the process definitely needs to be changed.”

Bruno said he was happy with the number of votes he got.

“Phil Rumore is like a Ted Kennedy or a Strom Thurmond; he’s been there for 32 years. I’ve been on the council for 10 years, but it’s all name recognition. Phil beat me not quite 2-to-1, and for a 32-year incumbent and a virtual unknown, I think I had a pretty strong showing. He had a decent victory, though, and I’m going to support him every step of the way.”

About 3,500 active teachers received ballots, which they filled out and mailed back to a post office box. Bruno said 1,172 valid ballots were received.



email: aneville@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 21:34:53 -0400 Anne Neville
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But for Matthew Faulkner, graduating Saturday from Canisius College took on a more special meaning.

That’s because he was not expected to survive following a car crash in 2009 that left him with a traumatic brain injury and in a coma for nearly two months.

But Faulkner was among 725 students receiving undergraduate degrees Saturday in Canisius’ commencement ceremony in Alumni Arena on the University at Buffalo’s North Campus.

“It feels like quite an accomplishment,” Faulkner said, after getting his diploma.

The crash occurred at an East Aurora intersection about three months before he was slated to graduate from West Seneca West High School. Faulkner was a passenger in a car driven by a friend who pulled into oncoming traffic. He was flown by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center, where doctors were uncertain he would survive.

“But I proved them wrong,” said Faulkner, who penned a book, “Most Likely to Survive,” about his harrowing experience.

Twelve days after emerging from the coma, Faulkner walked out of the hospital and was able to attend his high school graduation. He then took a year off to recover more, and during that time studied at Erie Community College, where he earned nine college credits to add to the 18 he had earned while a high school student.

He enrolled at Canisius in the fall of 2010, graduating on time with a major in economics and finance.

“I love that stuff,” he said.

These days, Faulkner – who is totally independent – has been working part-time as a market analyst for BidURenergy for about a year while completing his studies.

Now, he is looking forward to working full-time.

Bishop Richard J. Malone, who delivered the keynote address, shared a lesson about a research experiment that showed people who practice gratitude are happier than those who do not.

The experiment involved three groups of people: The first group was tasked to list things for which each member was grateful; a second group was asked to write down daily hassles from the previous week; and members of the other group listed five events occurring during the same time period but were told not to focus on positive or negative aspects.

The study showed that members of the first group were 25 percent happier, more optimistic about the future, had higher alertness and enthusiasm, were more empathetic, less depressed and stressed, less envious and less materialistic, Malone said.

“Without gratitude,” he said, “it is difficult to appreciate the awesomeness of God’s grace. ... It’s good for the soul, good for society, and commencement is a prime time to say thank you.”

Malone also received an honorary degree, along with Donald L. Trump, president and chief executive officer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Walter Sharrow, Ph.D, emeritus professor of history at Canisius.

Commencement ceremonies also were held for four other colleges.More than 2,030 students received undergraduate degrees during Sports Arena ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The keynote speaker for each was Carl Wilkens, an activist and humanitarian who founded World Outside My Shoes, a nonprofit educational and professional development agency tasked with inspiring and equipping people to stand up against genocide, racism and intolerance.

“We are not defined by what we don’t have, what we lost. We are defined by what we do with what we have. And just don’t quit,” he said.

Donna M. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of the Buffalo Zoo, delivered remarks during the 6 p.m. ceremony for about 600 Buffalo State students receiving master’s degrees.

She offered advice for successful careers and what lies ahead.

“You will have to remain lifelong learners,” she said.

“The journey isn’t over. It has just begun, and you will discover that it is a very long road. And remember, it is not about the destination. It’s about the journey.”D’Youville College graduated about 700 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students during a ceremony at 9 a.m. in Kleinhans Music Hall.

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. M. Eileen Schmitt, a member of D’Youville’s Class of 1968, who drew on the life of Marguerite d’Youville – founder of the Grey Nuns and for whom the college is named – for inspiration. She challenged graduates to live their lives according to three rules of St. Marguerite.

“Mercy, frugality and humility: They will enable you to live a fully integrated life,” she said. “Compassion is what life is all about.”Kleinhans Music Hall also was the setting as Daemen College awarded more than 800 undergraduate and graduate degrees during ceremonies that got under way at 2:30 p.m.

Delivering the keynote address was Daemen President Gary A. Olson, who emphasized the importance of critical thinking.

“You have acquired a habit of mind – the ability and the responsibility to think critically and analytically about the world,” said Olson, who holds a Ph.D in criticism and rhetoric. “This is an ability that will help you make wise choices the rest of your life.”Fredonia State College celebrated its largest graduating class – numbering about 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students – during two ceremonies, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., in Steele Hall Arena.

The keynote speaker was Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, whose son, John, was one of the graduates.

Higgins urged the graduates never to lose sight of love, hope and faith.

“In you, the Class of 2013, we have hope,” Higgins said. “You see, God created the world, but he didn’t finish it. That’s up to you.”

Other featured speakers included Fredonia President Virginia S. Horvath, Ph.D., and Frank A. Pagano, former mayor of Fredonia and chairman of the Fredonia College Council.



email: dswilliams@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 20:54:48 -0400 Deidre Williams
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Documents recently filed with the Erie County Clerk’s Office indicate Empire State Development Corp., a state agency, negotiated a purchase price of $4.7 million for the property and associated costs, approximately $3 million more than its appraised value.

The Buffalo News tried for more than a week to discuss the transaction and other Peace Bridge matters with the Cuomo administration, but officials in Albany and Buffalo did not respond.

Peace Bridge Authority Chairman Anthony M. Annunziata – a Canadian – said the state’s move to acquire the Episcopal property was news to him, and that the imminent purchase amounts to a moot point unless New York also acquires Busti Avenue from the City of Buffalo. The street would provide access to the church property, which is the planned site of the expanded plaza, as the governor promised last August.

“There is no formal agreement or even informal discussion with ESD over that development,” Annunziata said, referring to the state agency’s plan to expand the Buffalo plaza of the Peace Bridge. “You’d think they would have a discussion with the Peace Bridge if that was their stated plan.”

Relations between Canadian and American members of the Peace Bridge Authority are at their lowest ebb in the 86-year history of the international span over the pace of development on the U.S. side. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s appointees to the 10-member authority have criticized the Canadian delegation in recent weeks for “foot dragging” on projects such as acquiring the Episcopal Church Home. The Canadians in turn have accused Cuomo of failing to recognize the binational nature of the authority.

The state development agency’s latest move also contradicts the state’s original promise to buy the now-vacant nursing home complex through its power of eminent domain. Cuomo announced that plan more than a year ago via ESD regional President Sam Hoyt, who is also leader of the New York delegation to the Peace Bridge Authority.

“It’s a very clear message that this is our top priority in transportation infrastructure in Western New York and maybe all of upstate New York,” Hoyt said about 13 months ago regarding eminent domain acquisition of the Episcopal property. “We will do everything we can to make it happen quickly.”

Sources close to the situation say eminent domain would have allowed the state to purchase the properties at a much lower price, especially since it was appraised at around $1.7 million. But New York officials, they added, never followed that process and instead negotiated the $4.7 million price.

In a Feb. 21 memo to the Empire State Development board of directors obtained from the agency’s website, President Kenneth Adams acknowledges the “negotiated price is significantly higher than the appraised value.”

“However, the sale price was negotiated to permit ESD to acquire the property free of all liens and encumbrances,” he said, except for a U.S. Housing and Urban Development lien for $8 million. “As such, many of the creditors will be paid substantially less than what they are owed.”

Adams also told his board that absent purchase by the agency, the complex liens on the property “make it unmarketable and subject to potential foreclosure.”

Sources familiar with the situation said the Peace Bridge Authority was never informed of the state’s plan even though Hoyt serves as regional president of ESD as well as the state’s lead representative to the bridge’s board.

Peace Bridge officials say they paid $42,000 for appraisal services with the idea that the state would exercise its power of eminent domain for the church property. The authority last year also purchased the HUD lien for $1 million – moves Annunziata said were designed to demonstrate a spirit of cooperation with the state.

New York’s filing to purchase the Episcopal property also includes a request for proposals to begin the process of demolishing the former nursing home and related properties.

The purchase, which still must be approved in State Supreme Court because of liens and back taxes associated with the property, appears to sharpen even more the dispute between the authority’s two delegations. Though Canadians have long discussed the possibility of obtaining the parcels to achieve U.S. goals for an expanded plaza, they now raise questions in light of what they call unfulfilled objectives previously announced by the Cuomo administration.

Since the governor announced Aug. 24 that the state would buy the Episcopal Church Home and Busti Avenue, Annunziata said the state has offered no indication it will successfully secure either property. He emphasized the Episcopal Church Home parcels cannot be used for plaza expansion until Busti Avenue is acquired.

City officials, meanwhile, report no substantive steps toward acquisition of the city street.

In response to Cuomo administration complaints that the Canadians had stymied progress on the U.S. side of the bridge, Annunziata produced a list of actions by the New York delegation that he said delayed action.

To begin, he noted the 11-year delay caused by a required environmental impact statement when a new bridge was under consideration at U.S. insistence.

And now, he said he fears that more environmental impact studies required for some aspects of plaza expansion on the U.S. side might halt progress for $50 million in previously approved projects, plus $100 million to replace the bridge’s deck.

Acquisition of Busti Avenue is key for the plaza project, he said, and serves as another example of a delay on the American side,

“The governor announced on Aug. 4 he had an agreement with the city,” Annunziata said. “Where is the agreement? Where is the power of eminent domain you promised to deliver?

“If we had Busti and the state gets the Episcopal Church Home ... then we can talk about what plaza expansion might be – though they have not shared that with us,” he added.

Annunziata also said the Canadian delegation would be “very willing” to work with the Americans on plaza expansion as long as it does not jeopardize the other previously approved projects. He fears, he said, that the projects would require environmental impacts that could halt construction.

“I have legal opinions that say they will,” he said, referring to research performed by the authority’s environmental attorneys.

He acknowledged, however, that because demolition of the Episcopal Church Home would occur on state property, any environmental studies required for that work would not hinder progress on Peace Bridge projects.

Annunziata expressed concern that the state’s purchase of the Busti Avenue and the church property on Busti could backfire if a planned pilot project for preclearance of U.S.-bound trucks in Fort Erie, Ont., ultimately fails. That project, aimed at opening space on the Buffalo side, will begin later this year with results expected in 2015.

If the experiment does not succeed, he noted, truck inspection would have to return to the Buffalo plaza and the state’s expansion plans could not go forward.

“Without going through that pilot, we can’t proceed with any preferred alternative,” Annunziata said. “That’s a U.S. federally mandated process.”

Still, some sources close to the process say the purchase could ultimately prove wise even if the experiment fails because the land could be held for some future expansion.

The international dispute that has disrupted normally friendly U.S.-Canadian relations centers around the Cuomo administration’s claims that the Canadian delegation has foiled aggressive state actions to expand the Buffalo plaza to improve traffic flow and expand economic development.

It boiled over in late April when Hoyt and company demanded the termination of General Manager Ron Reinas, a Canadian they have blamed for lack of progress but whom the Canadian delegation has defended. Annunziata, in turn, has demanded that Cuomo replace Hoyt as head of the New York team.

The situation could come to a confrontational head on Friday when the Peace Bridge Authority holds its next scheduled meeting.



email: rmccarthy@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 20:09:03 -0400 Robert McCarthy
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Thanks to the fast thinking of Timothy Semon, a New York City resident who was staying at the Comfort Suites Hotel at 601 Main St., Charles Thompson, 46, of Leroy Avenue, was arrested after the 1:30 a.m. Wednesday stickup, police said.

Police said Thompson accosted Semon as he left the hotel and told him he had a gun, forcing the victim to surrender his cellphone and a number of credit cards. Thompson then got into a car and drove east on West Chippewa Street. Semon quickly initiated the “Find My Phone” app on his cellphone and told police to go to 55 N. Johnson Park.

Thompson was arrested there and, when taken back to the hotel, was positively identified by the victim, police said.

Police recovered the six of Semon’s credit cards in Thompson’s right sock.

But the victim’s cellphone was not located. Police believe Thompson quickly sold it.

Thompson was jailed on charges of first-degree robbery, criminal possession of stolen property, felony grand larceny and criminal possession of a controlled substance because of a glass crack pipe he was allegedly carrying.



email: mgryta@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 19:37:25 -0400 Matt Gryta
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Leslie Zemsky, who describes herself as “director of fun” at Larkin Square, calls the event “a fun twist on the typical book talk.”

The talk is set for the Filling Station, 745 Seneca St., but during previous talks in fine weather, audiences have spilled out into the open areas, settling in comfortable chairs outside, including seating areas in the adjoining boardwalk. The event is free and open to all, with light food and drinks sold inside the Filling Station.

The series, held in partnership with Talking Leaves Books, spotlights local authors and those who have written works of interest to local people. A May 6 talk by Lauren Belfer, author of “City of Light,” drew more than 300 people, dozens of whom lined up afterward to have her sign their books.

In “Scribblin’ for a Livin’,” Reigstad uses a variety of primary sources to prove that the 18 months Twain spent in Buffalo in 1869 and 1870, while fraught with personal difficulties at the end, was not the grim, unproductive period other biographers have described.

The book, published by Prometheus Books, will be sold at the event.

“The life of Mark Twain in Buffalo is such a fascinating part of our city’s history, and Thomas approaches it with great passion and research,” said Zemsky. “We’re excited to welcome Thomas to Larkin Square for what will surely be a fun and colorful discussion.”

The Larkin Square Author Series will continue on June 11 with Ania Szado, author of “Studio Saint-Ex” and “Beginning of Was.”

For more information about Larkin Square and the series, go to www.larkinsquare.com.



email: aneville@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 19:10:58 -0400 Anne Neville
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Erie County Judge Kenneth F. Case also sentenced Brown, 18, to five years’ probation and forbade him from owning or harboring any animals for five years.

Brown spoke only a few words in court but apologized for what happened Oct. 29 in a yard off Herman Street.

The judge called the case “extremely disturbing and appalling” but found Brown to be remorseful.

“I hope that this has served as a wake-up call for you,” Case told Brown.

Authorities arrested Brown and Adell Ziegler, 19, – who is Brown’s uncle – last fall on felony animal cruelty charges for dousing the terrier with lighter fluid and setting it on fire.

The dog, since named Phoenix, suffered burns on 50 percent of its body but has been recovering.

Before his sentencing, Andrew C. LoTempio, Brown’s defense lawyer, told the judge that Brown had been taking care of the dog and that it was Ziegler who set it on fire – accounts supported by neighbors.

During the incident, Brown was crying and telling Ziegler to stop, and then he ran away when he heard the police were called, LoTempio said.

Assistant District Attorney Kristin St. Mary acknowledged Brown’s cooperation in the case.

She said he had a “limited role” in the incident.

Brown had pleaded guilty to a felony animal cruelty charge.

LoTempio asked the judge for compassion.

“This young man has a lot of baggage in his background,” he said.

Brown has suffered from psychological problems and post-traumatic stress since he witnessed his mother executed in her Koons Avenue home in 2005, LoTempio said.

Brown testified at the trial of the two men convicted of murdering his mother, Tonisha Brown, 26, as well as his uncle Robert “Little Man” Brown on the night of April 23, 2005.

“People seemed to have missed sight of the fact he’s a person, and there may be an explanation why he did this,” LoTempio said outside the courtroom.

“From the get-go, he’s been very tearful and remorseful when the dog is brought up,” LoTempio said.

Brown is expected to be released to his grandmother, LoTempio said.

Ziegler, meanwhile, is scheduled to be sentenced June 14.

Last month, Ziegler pleaded guilty to felony aggravated cruelty to animals for his role in the puppy burning.

But Ziegler denied lighting the puppy on fire. Ziegler accused Brown of lighting the puppy on fire.

“My co-defendant lit the dog on fire, and I was present,” Ziegler said at his April 29 plea hearing.



email: jrey@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 01:40:24 -0400 Jay Rey
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About 60 of them wheeled their way to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, where many of them are employees, to participate in “National Bike to Work Day” and support efforts to make the city more accommodating to bicyclists.

“There’s a big need for a bicycle friendly community. We’re way behind cities of comparable size,” said bicyclist Jim Costello of Lancaster Avenue.

Other cities, according to Justin Booth, executive director of GObike Buffalo, have hundreds of miles of bike lanes, while Buffalo has about 30 miles.

“In the last few years, New York City has created 300 miles of bike lanes,” Booth said, adding that Mayor Byron W. Brown has committed to designating 10 miles annually of new bike lanes on public roadways.

Among the big wheels in attendance were the mayor and Dr. Michael Cropp, chief executive officer of Independent Health and the founding chairman of GObike’s board of directors.

Cropp bicycles 100 miles a week even in the warmer weather.

Bicycling, he said, has multiple benefits.

By living a healthier lifestyle from the exercise biking provides, he explained, dollars spent on health care can be redirected to economic development.

“The track record shows that cities that embrace bicycling, like Portland, Ore., in and of itself generate economic development,” Cropp said.

But for a culture of bicycling to succeed, he added, a mindset of safety needs to exist.

“Bicyclists need to be respectful of the traffic laws as much as motorists,” he said.

Jamie Hamann-Burney regularly bikes a mile and a half to work at the medical campus, which sponsored the event.

Hamann-Burney said efforts have started there to create “a sustainable, transportation model that focuses on healthier, greener and more economical ways” of getting around.



email: lmichel@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 01:36:32 -0400 Lou Michel
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Assemblyman Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, responded to Howard on Friday in a letter asking whether Howard’s refusal extended to a provision of the SAFE Act aimed at protecting potential victims of domestic violence.

Ryan points out in his letter that, when a person who holds a state pistol permit is under an order of protection after making a threat with a firearm, the law requires that the permit be suspended or revoked and that the pistols be confiscated. It would be up to the Sheriff’s Office to make sure the weapons are removed, Ryan contends.

“Why do you feel you do not need to protect domestic violence victims?” Ryan wrote.

Reached Friday, Howard said that he had not yet received Ryan’s letter.

However, in response to Ryan’s question, he said, “We are extremely proactive in assisting all victims of domestic violence.”

He also maintains laws already were in place prior to the SAFE Act that provided for guns to be removed in domestic violence situations.

“I couldn’t disobey a court order,” he added. “We would have to look at the order. We teach officers to use common sense in their duties, and if there is a question, to seek guidance.”

Ryan argues that, though the courts had discretion regarding the weapons previously, the change was significant in cases where women had already been threatened with a firearm.

“This is a hallmark of the SAFE Act – protecting victims of domestic violence,” Ryan said Friday.

“It is dealing with people who have committed violence and are in our courts. This is a protection for women who are victims of domestic violence – that they won’t be at risk of violence from a gun.”

He reiterated his complaint against Howard:

“It’s very troubling to hear the county’s top public safety officer say he is going to ignore the law.”

Howard took issue with a comment made by Ryan on Thursday, that the sheriff should “join the legislative branch” if he didn’t like the laws that were being passed.

“What they’re saying is, ‘You elected me, now shut up and take it,’ ” Howard said. “What happened to ‘we the people?’ They may have put one or two good things in the law – why not just pass those? I’m saying there are more abuses under this law than there are good things.”

As for following a court order to remove a weapon when threats had been made, he said, “That’s another issue entirely.”

“We support responsible gun ownership – and removing guns from irresponsible people.”

Howard is one of four sheriffs who have filed a friend of the court brief in a federal lawsuit by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association and others seeking to overturn the SAFE Act, saying it violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution.



email: mmiller@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 01:35:07 -0400 Melinda Miller
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Preston P. Parson was charged with grand larceny, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property after police found the items in his home about 3:30 a.m. Friday. ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 22:51:52 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130517/CITYANDREGION/130519102/1016
The BMHA sent out a request for proposals late last week for PR services like media relations, communications skills training, communications support and crisis management.

The bids are due back June 3, Stephen W. Bell, an EMA partner, said earlier this week.

But Mower – which has been paid more than $100,000 since 2011 do work that ranged from crisis management to routine communications services like writing and editing news releases – will not be among them.

“We will not pursue future RFPs to the authority ... because we were concerned we can’t help our client right now,” said Greg Loh, EMA managing partner, during a telephone interview Friday. EMA hand-delivered letters to BMHA officials on Thursday.

The letters, written by Bell, specified the firm would not be responding to the requests and noted that some of the work the firm did for the authority recently led to criticism of the authority’s use of public relations counsel.

Since 2011, the authority “engaged Eric Mower & Associates to assist the BMHA with crisis communications related to asbestos at Marine Drive and Kensington Heights,” Bell wrote.

“That work, which as you know continues today, resulted in additional assignments over the intervening months and recently led to criticism of the authority’s use of PR counsel.”

Bell further wrote that the firm would volunteer to train a BMHA staffer – at no charge up until July 1 – who could handle routine public relations duties.

EMA’s announcement comes in the wake of inquiries made by The Buffalo News since the beginning of the year through the state’s Freedom of Information Law regarding the hiring of the Mower firm.

The authority released the information to The News on May 3.

According to the documents obtained by The News, the rates that Mower charged the housing agency last year ranged from $325 an hour for work done by a senior partner to $125 an hour for tasks performed by junior associates.

Descriptions of the work that Mower did were blacked out in the documents given to The News.

EMA was paid at least $102,361 since 2011 by the authority.

The figure is about $12,100 more than what was reported in The News this week in an article about the authority’s hiring of a PR firm to do the kind of work housing authorities in Niagara Falls, Rochester and Syracuse had been handling themselves for the most part. The additional amount accounts for services that BMHA paid this year, Loh said.

Mower was hired in September 2011 under an emergency procurement policy related to the Kensington Heights development, the long-vacant eyesore visible to motorists from the nearby Kensington Expressway and Marine Drive Apartments located on the waterfront.

The housing authority’s records show that EMA performed services beyond the scope of Kensington Heights and Marine Drive.

The no-bid contract with the PR firm did not come before the board of commissioners for a vote because Executive Director Dawn E. Sanders-Garrett had the authority to hire Mower using funds designated for professional services. BMHA officials said they thought the contract amount was $25,000 a year.



email: dswilliams@buffnews.com ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 22:31:06 -0400 Deidre Williams
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The Western New York Power Proceeds Allocation Board on Monday approved the funding for Launch NY, a state-sponsored initiative to assist start-up companies that also will conduct the nationwide business plan competition that is part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” initiative.

“It is inappropriate to be funding a Buffalo Billion project out of the finite resources available to the proceeds board,” said Assemblyman Robin L. Schimminger, D-Kenmore, who co-authored a letter Friday to the Power Authority board criticizing the use of the power proceeds money to fund Launch NY.

“If the governor wants to have a business contest, that’s great,” said Schimminger, who wrote the letter with Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, D-Cheektowaga. “To fund it out of Western New York Power Proceeds funds is just not appropriate.”

The assemblymen urged the Power Authority board “not to support” the use of the power proceeds funding for Launch NY at its board meeting Tuesday.

Anthony J. Colucci III, chairman of the Power Authority Proceeds Board, issued a statement Friday evening defending the use of the power proceeds as consistent with the region’s plans for economic development.

“The numerous Western New York representatives on the Regional Economic Development Council supported this very type of effort in developing a regional strategy,” he said. Launch NY is patterned after the successful Jumpstart Cleveland, a program that began in 2004 to accelerate the success of entrepreneurs and has grown to include 440 clients. The program is credited with the creation or retention of more than 1,500 jobs.

The Launch NY program, which aims to help companies in 27 upstate counties, is set to receive $5.4 million in funding – almost a quarter of the $23.2 million that has been set aside for economic development projects within 30 miles of the Niagara Power Project. The funds were raised through the sale of Niagara hydropower that was sold in the open market because it had not been allocated to a local company.

Local business officials and politicians fought for years to have the proceeds from the sale of unallocated power set aside for local development projects, but only recently succeeded through the formation of the power proceeds board. Monday’s awards were the first that the panel has made.

The assemblymen were joined in opposition to the Launch NY funding by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the local business group that was a driving force in the effort to have the proceeds from the sale of unallocated hydropower set aside for economic development projects within the Buffalo Niagara region. They said the power proceeds funds is an especially powerful economic development tool because it is cash, rather than tax incentives or other subsidies that have a less immediate impact.

“We want to make sure the intent of the legislation is followed,” said A.J. Wright, the Partnership’s manager of government affairs. “The proceeds are supposed to be used to support economic development within 30 miles of the Niagara Power Project.”

The assemblymen said the allocation to Launch NY ran contrary to the criteria for distributing the power proceeds funds in several respects. They said the funds are being used to support a business plan competition, which is contrary to the requirement that they be used to create jobs.

They said it was questionable whether the winners of the business plan competition would meet another requirement of the proceeds legislation that recipients have a long-term commitment to the region. The winner of the business plan competition will be required to locate their business in the region for one year.

The assemblymen also said the Launch NY program falls short on requirements that recipients of the power funding make capital investments in the region. They also noted that Launch NY is expected to provide support services and investment to companies in counties stretching from Buffalo to Syracuse and Binghamton, far beyond the 30-mile limitation on proceeds funding.



email: drobinson@buffnews.com ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 22:11:07 -0400 David Robinson
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“The dock extension will boost seasonal and recreational use of the Buffalo River and Canalside this season,” said Robert Gioia, chairman of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.

The majority of the dock space will have 30 inches of freeboard, to match the existing floating docks. The last 40 feet at the southern end will have a lower profile with 12 inches of freeboard to allow easier access for smaller vessels like kayaks and canoes.

The docks “have proven enormously successful,” said Tom Nowak, president of Great Lakes Watersports Institute, which runs the adaptive watersports program at Canalside. ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 21:12:30 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130517/CITYANDREGION/130519128/1016
The BPO will perform 12 times, including several free outdoor concerts and the return of Summer Nights@Kleinhans.

• The summer season kicks off with the BPO’s return to Bidwell Park in the Elmwood Village on June 25 and Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora on June 27, each beginning at 7 p.m. These free, outdoor concerts will be conducted by Matthew Kraemer, and will feature a mix of Americana.

• At 7 p.m. June 29, the orchestra will perform at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown. Kraemer conducts this concert of classical favorites, including works by Rossini, Copland, Dvorak and Beethoven, concluding with the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. The concert is free for children younger than 6; $10 for students and $20 general admission. A family four-pack is available for $49. All tickets will be available through the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra box office at 885-5000 or www.bpo.org. Tickets include admission to the park.

• The BPO’s second season of Summer Nights@Kleinhans will kick off at 7 p.m. July 6 with “Tchaikovsky Spectacular,” conducted by Kraemer. Audiences are invited to pack a picnic supper or sample the wares of the Buffalo food trucks and enjoy the grounds of the concert hall and its historic neighborhood setting.

Summer Nights@Kleinhans will continue at 7 p.m. July 19 with “A Tribute to Dave Brubeck.” The jazz composer and pianist, credited with introducing jazz to the Baby Boom generation, was 91 when he died last year. The BPO will pay tribute to his legacy with a performance featuring the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, formed by his sons.

JoAnn Falletta will take the podium for the final Summer Nights@Kleinhans concert, at 7 p.m. July 26. España features Spanish-inflected music by Chabrier, Falla and Rimsky-Korsakov. Special guest artist Celil Refik Kaya, who won the 2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, returns to the scene of his triumph with this concert.

Tickets for Summer Nights@Kleinhans range from $19 to $49 and can be obtained by calling (716) 885-5000 or visiting www.bpo.org.

• The BPO and the Buffalo Bisons continue their Independence Eve tradition on July 3, when the Bisons play the Rochester Red Wings at Coca-Cola Field starting at 6:05. After the game, the BPO will take the field, joined by the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and led by Paul Ferington, for a program of patriotic favorites followed by a fireworks display. Tickets are available at www.bisons.com.

• Over a two-day period, the BPO will share its best with Western New York through a series of free performances at Canalside. The afternoon of July 13 offers audiences a chance to see what orchestra members do when they’re not rehearsing for a concert. Chamber groups, jazz quartets and percussion ensembles featuring BPO members are all on the schedule.

At 7 p.m. that day, the orchestra will perform a Broadway-themed concert with soloists Gary Mauer and Elizabeth Southard. The Broadway veterans, husband and wife, and have played opposite one another in major touring productions of “Showboat” and “Phantom of the Opera,” as well as many symphonic engagements.

On July 14, the BPO will hold an afternoon of instrument demonstrations, workshops and a superhero-themed concert, with music from “X-Men,” “The Incredibles,” “Spiderman,” “Batman” and more.

• The M&T Bank Plaza summer noontime concert series is celebrating its 44th year, and the Buffalo Philharmonic will once again perform. Ferington will lead the orchestra on July 16 in this free outdoor concert.

• Artpark is celebrating a milestone year, and for its 40th anniversary, the BPO will perform with a host of special guests at 8 p.m. July 25, recreating the park’s 1973 opening concert. Buffalo native turned Broadway star Michele Ragusa will sing selections from “Phantom of the Opera,” “Music Man” and “My Fair Lady.” Eminent pianist Norman Krieger, once the winner of the BPO’s Young Artists Competition Prize, will perform Chopin’s Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brilliante. Dancers from the Festival Ballet of Providence and Neglia Ballet Artists will join the BPO onstage, dancing to selections from ballets by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. All tickets for the concert will be available at www.artpark.net.

For further information about the summer concerts, visit www.bpo.org or call 885-5000. ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 18:49:01 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130517/CITYANDREGION/130519170/1016
“The Seneca Nation has acted in good faith and negotiated diplomatically, but we continue to experience over and over the childish antics of the state’s top leader and his advisers,” Snyder said.

Snyder’s reply to the governor’s increasingly tough words of late about the dispute came in West Seneca at a commemoration of the 1842 Buffalo Creek Treaty. The treaty recognizes the sovereignty of the Seneca Nation.

The state and the Senecas are in arbitration over the tribe’s refusal to pay $600 million in revenue sharing. The Senecas claim the original compact gives them exclusive gambling rights in a large section of Western New York, but that it has been repeatedly violated by Albany.

The Seneca Nation says the state has violated the 2002 compact by allowing new forms of casino-like gambling at racetracks in the exclusivity zone, including Hamburg and Batavia.

Under the compact, which expires in 2016, the state gets 25 percent a year from Seneca slot machine revenues. Albany, in turn, shares a portion of that money with Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca, homes to Seneca casinos. But the Senecas have withheld the payments to the state.

When speaking about whether the state would renew the compact, Cuomo questioned the Senecas’ “ability to honor a contract” and asked, “does the state want to do business with that type of experience?”

Without a compact, the Senecas have no authority to operate a casino, Cuomo said.

The governor has also floated the idea of putting a new non-Indian casino in Niagara Falls near the existing Seneca facility.

“Yet again he has chosen a path of playground bully tactics rather than one of maturity, dignity and mutual respect,” Snyder said of Cuomo.

Another Niagara Falls casino would violate the nation’s right to be the only casino operator in the area, as nearby “racinos” already do, which is why the nation has stopped payments to the state, Snyder said.

“Let us bring Class Three gaming into your territory, but we still want your money,” Snyder said, describing his interpretation of the state’s position in the dispute.

But Snyder said he hopes the dispute will end soon, with payments to the state resuming once a fair solution can be reached.

“We as the Senecas, we understand,” Snyder said.

“He’s got a lot of things on his table, a lot of major things in the state he’s trying to push. We understand that. We’re not here to say he shouldn’t do it. We’re just saying, live up to what our agreement is in the compact, in terms of exclusivity.”

Snyder said Western New York cannot support more casinos.

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said he was happy to hear that Snyder thinks the matter can be resolved.

The bond rating for Niagara Falls was downgraded this week because of the uncertainty of the more than $60 million in casino revenues due to his city’s coffers.

“I continue to believe that the interests of both the Seneca Nation of Indians and the state of New York are best served by a negotiated settlement,” Dyster said.

The state’s agreement this week with the Oneida Nation, settling long-standing tax and land claim issues, is encouraging, because it shows Cuomo was able to get something done that has been in court since 1970, Dyster said.

“Only when it’s reached a stage of crisis that people recognize the importance of stepping back and coming up with mutually agreeable solutions,” he said. “I hope and have faith that this is one of those circumstances.”



email: jterreri@buffnews.com ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 17:01:28 -0400 Jill Terreri
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Both drivers were taken to Erie County Medical Center where they were treated and later released, according to police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge.

No traffic tickets were issued in the crash, which occurred at about 1:45 a.m.

email: lmichel@buffnews.com

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 12:44:33 -0400 Lou Michel
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The absent man was Thomas E. Perez, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Labor, which oversees everything from unemployment insurance to job training. The men who were there, Mark Gaston Pearce and Richard F. Griffin Jr., serve on the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that adjudicates workplace disputes, and are up for reconfirmation.

Republicans and Democrats disagree sharply on how the Labor Department and the NLRB ought to approach their duties, and those disagreements became clear during Thursday’s hearings before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

That panel sent Perez’s nomination to the Senate floor on a party-line 12-10 vote, but not before Republicans portrayed him as an aggressive attorney who went too far in cases before him as assistant U.S. attorney for civil rights and who would likely do the same as labor secretary.

Meanwhile, the committee postponed until Wednesday a vote on the Pearce and Griffin nominations after Republicans attacked Pearce for leading the NLRB in a pro-labor direction and questioned – as federal courts have – whether Griffin is legally serving on the board.

Democrats defended the three men as well-qualified public servants, but the hearings seemed to be proof that these days, the definition of a well-qualified public servant is different on the two sides of the partisan divide.

Witness, for example, the sharply different view of Perez offered by the top Republican and top Democrat on the HELP Committee.

“I will oppose voting Mr. Perez out of the HELP Committee for two reasons: Number one, my view of his record raises troubling questions about his actions while at the Department of Justice and his candor in discussing his actions with this committee,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the panel’s top Republican.

“Number two, congressional committees have asked for relevant and specific information that hasn’t been provided yet by the nominee or the administration.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the committee, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, could not have offered more lavish praise for Perez.

“Perhaps most importantly, Tom Perez knows how to bring people together to make progress on even controversial issues, without burning bridges,” Harkin said. “He knows how to hit the ground running and quickly and effectively become an agent of real change. That is exactly the kind of leadership we need at the Department of Labor.”

While Democrats praised Perez’s record at the Department of Justice and as Maryland’s labor secretary, Republicans focused mostly on one incident in which Perez persuaded the city of St. Paul, Minn., to withdraw a housing discrimination case that it could have appealed to the Supreme Court and that could have potentially led to a result that would have made it harder for the government to file such cases.

In return for that agreement, the Justice Department vowed not to join two whistle-blower cases against St. Paul that, Republicans said, could have saved $200 million for U.S. taxpayers.

Perez has said the whistle-blower cases were bad ones for the Justice Department to get involved in, but Republicans said he overstepped his bounds in striking the deal.

“Mr. Perez’s involvement in this whole deal seems to me an extraordinary amount of wheeling and dealing outside the normal responsibilities of the assistant attorney general over the Civil Rights Division,” Alexander said.

But to Harkin, the Republican opposition to Perez is about something far larger than some obscure court cases from Minnesota.

“In short, Mr. Perez did his job at the Department of Justice, and he did it well,” Harkin said. “When it comes down to it, I think that fact is the source of most of the controversy surrounding his nomination: Some people don’t like Tom Perez precisely because he is passionate about enforcing our civil rights laws and has vigorously pursued such enforcement in his current position.”

The debate over Perez’s nomination now moves to the Senate floor, where Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has vowed to block the nomination.

“The Senate has plenty of reasons to be suspicious of Thomas Perez’s record,” Vitter said Thursday.

“But a major focus of mine is DOJ’s clear inconsistency around which part of the National Voter Registration Act should be enforced at the expense of Louisiana voters. I’ll be demanding a 60-vote threshold now that his nomination comes to the full Senate.”

All of which causes Democratic senators to, figuratively if not literally, roll their eyes.

“I’m the only one here who actually knows Mr. Perez,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who praised Perez as a leader on labor issues and noted that the Maryland Chamber of Commerce had praised him, too, as a public official capable of bringing competing interests together.

Competing interests also seemed to dominate the committee’s debate over the Pearce and Griffin nominations.

While the nomination of Pearce, a former Buffalo labor lawyer, to a full five-year term proved to be the least controversial of the three, he endured tough questioning from both Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., about whether the labor board had made it too easy for unions to organize. They said they were especially concerned that the board was sanctioning the formation of “micro-unions” that include as few as two employees.

“The NLRB should be a neutral arbitrator, an impartial and unbiased board protecting the rights of both employers and employee,” Scott said. “But instead, the board has become an activist board, from my perspective.”

Griffin contended that the board was merely enforcing the law as it was written in approving those unions.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said something larger was at play in all the Republican criticism.

Labor rights “have been under prolonged attack” for 30 years, Murray said.

Meanwhile, Griffin – a Buffalo native – was questioned about how and when Obama originally appointed him.

Obama appointed Griffin and Sharon Block, another labor lawyer, to the labor board on Jan. 4, 2012, while the Senate, though not in town, was technically in session. Nevertheless, Obama deemed them to be “recess appointments” that didn’t need to be approved by the Senate.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently disagreed, ruling that Griffin and Block were appointed illegally. While the Obama administration is appealing that decision to the Supreme Court, the lower-court ruling has thrown into question 910 decisions that the labor board has made since Griffin and Block joined it.

What’s more, their original appointment – and recent renomination – enraged Republicans.

“Not only has the president shown a lack of respect for the constitutional role of the separation of powers and the curb on the executive branch that Article One provides, but I believe these two individuals have as well” by continuing to serve, Alexander said.

Asked to defend his appointment, Griffin said the president had no choice but to make those recess appointments at the time.

“The board could not function; it was down to only two board members,” Griffin said.

“So in order for the board to function, it was necessary for the president to act.”

Despite that argument, Republicans are expected to unanimously oppose Griffin’s renomination in committee and perhaps try to kill it on the Senate floor as well.



email: jzremski@buffnews.com ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 11:27:25 -0400 Jerry Zremski
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Live music will be heard from the Albrights, the Steam Donkeys, Andrew J. Reimers and the Jony James Blues Band and a band featuring Lance Diamond, Caitlin Koch, Eric Crittenden, Vinnie DeRosa, Mike Wagner and Rob Lynch.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $30 at the door, and they can be purchased at buffalozoo.org or by calling 995-6131. ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 07:48:42 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130517/CITYANDREGION/130519232/1016
She will address “the forgotten child” at a half-day workshop for mental health professionals and foster care workers in the morning, then speak at the association’s annual dinner, which is open to the public. Her book is being adapted for a film starring Reese Witherspoon.

Fee for the workshop is $20. Tickets for the dinner are $50, with sponsorship packages available. Reservations are needed by May 25. For info and registration, call Kelly Morgan at 886-1242, Ext. 324, or visit www.eriemha.org. ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 07:46:35 -0400 http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130517/CITYANDREGION/130519233/1016
Churchill, who was later fired as a professor of ethnic studies, lost an appeal to the Supreme Court earlier this year in an attempt to get his job back.

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Hundreds of walkers, including many who are visually impaired, are expected to take part.

Following the walk, there will be children’s activities, as well as a bounce house, entertainment and various refreshments.

Proceeds will support the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which is sponsoring studies into prevention, treatment and cure of retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and Usher syndrome.

Chairwoman of the walk is Sarah Malburg, of West Seneca, a music teacher and mother of two whose career has been interrupted by Stargardt disease, a genetic retinal condition that has diminished her eyesight.

For additional information, look for the Western New York VisionWalk under “Upcoming Events” at www.blindness.org.

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