Anchored by Tom Schuh:
The state financial crisis is costing local school districts. Teacher layoffs, larger class sizes and cuts in programs are looming. City of Buffalo schools are staring at a 34-point-two-million-dollar budget deficit. Lockport plans to close two elementary schools and eliminate more than 40 jobs, while West Seneca might lose about 50 positions.
Niagara Falls police say a man who tried to intervene in an argument was shot dead early Thursday morning. It happened at about two AM yesterday outside the Monteagle Ridge apartment complex on Hyde Park Boulevard. 22-year-old Lelton Kemp reportedly stepped into an argument between a man and woman, and was shot once in the chest. Kemp died on the way to Erie County Medical Center. The search is on for the shooter and another man who police say was involved.
The mother who tried to smother her infant daughter in a hospital room is headed to prison for three-and-a-half years. Marcia Mitchell of Batavia admitted to trying to kill her seven-month-old girl with a pillow two years ago. Nurses at Women and Children’s Hospital had to pull her off the child. Defense attorneys say Mitchell suffers from mental conditions. Last month, she pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault. Mitchell is barred from seeing the girl for another nine years unless psychologists give the all clear.
Some student returning to UB from Spring Break will get a rude surprise. School officials say more than two dozen rooms in two dorm buildings were burglarized this week on the South Campus. Investigators are waiting for their return to figure out what was stolen. The break-ins occurred at the Goodyear and MacDonald dorms.
- Image of Peace Bridge Authority
A nearly 100-ton truck loaded with an enormous steel girder made its way into the history books by crossing the Peace Bridge Thursday. The Peace Bridge Authority says the 215-foot tractor-trailer is the longest vehicle to ever cross the span. The giant girder is part of a crane being built at a steel mill under construction in Alabama. The nearly 200-thousand pound payload originated in Quebec. Officials say three more girders will cross the bridge in the near future.
A Lewiston area newspaper is causing a stir. Some who feel they have been victimized by the paper may take the publication to court. Articles have targeted Lewiston-Port school district union leaders. The names of reporters and editors are believed to be bogus, so no one knows who actually wrote the stories.
The U.S. Postal Service yesterday unveiled a new series of stamps which commemorate Abstract Expressionist paintings, including a series on display at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The stamps were printed by Ashton Potter Security Printers in Williamsville.
Governor David Paterson is speaking out about state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recusing himself from the investigation of scandals plaguing the Paterson administration. Attorney General Cuomo is turning to former Chief Judge Judith Kaye to take over two cases involving Governor Paterson. The governor insists his name will be cleared. Paterson is accused of accepting free World Series tickets then lying about it and allegedly interfering in a domestic violence case involving a top aide. Cuomo, a likely candidate for governor, is stepping aside amid growing political pressure and falling poll numbers. A recent Marist Poll shows Cuomo’s job approval rating has dropped since taking over the investigation of the Paterson administration, plummeting 13-points to 54-percent over the past two weeks. Former Governor Mario Cuomo tapped Kaye to become the first female chief judge in New York and served until 2008. Kaye will have the power to impanel a grand jury.
Daylight Saving Time starts tomorrow night. You will lose an hour of sleep as clocks move an hour ahead. In 2007, Congress moved the beginning of Daylight Saving Time to March instead of April to save energy.
