The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes and a fourth microburst ripped through the Southern Tier over the weekend. Twisters were spotted Saturday in Mayville in Chautauqua County, as well as Allegany and Randolph in Cattaraugus County. No injuries were reported, although there was significant property damage. The Mayville and Randolph tornadoes were classified as EF2, meaning winds reached up to 135 miles per hour. The Alleganytwister was an EF1, with winds up to 111 miles per hour. The funnel-clouds tore through trees and power lines and shredded tops of homes. A state of emergency is in effect for Randolph where authorities say the downtown area could be without power for days. Residents will once again be digging in today clearing trees and debris.
Police are investigating a multi-vehicle crash late last night on Route 5 near the Bethlehem Steel Plant in Woodlawn. Rural Metro confirms that at least three people were taken to the hospital withinjuries. . The accident happened just before 11pm Sunday night, involving a Jeep and a tractor-trailer that was pulling a boat. Route 5 was closed to traffic for at least 5 hours in both directions from Lake Avenue to Ridge Road.
West Seneca police say illegal late night street racing sent three people to the hospital. 21-year-old Ranae Rath and 31-year-old Brad Colts were allegedly racing down Seneca Street at about 4 AM Sunday when Rathlost control of her car, hit two pick up trucks and flipped over. All three people inside were taken to Erie County Medical Center with serious injuries. Rathand Colts both face charges of drunk driving, reckless endangerment and speeding.
The search for a Niagara Falls man missing since July 4th has come to a tragic end. 67-year-old John Adams’ body was found in a trash compactor at the One Niagara building where he was a maintenance worker. Investigators have ruled the death a workplace accident. Surveillance video showed Adams trying to reach into the compactor before becoming trapped and crushed. Family members had been conducting a search over the past few weeks.
A Cheektowaga man remains hospitalized with critical injuries following a weekend shooting in Buffalo. Shots were fired early Sunday morning at the corner of Walden and Stewart Avenues. Investigators think the shots may have been fired from a car. Police say the victim is in his 40s. His name has not yet been released. Anyone with information is urged to call police.
A Rochester man is in the Niagara County lockup, charged with firing a shotgun from his car. 44-year-old Todd Hoderlein allegedly pulled the trigger while driving on Route 104 in Lewiston Saturday afternoon. He faces charges of reckless endangerment, drunk driving and marijuana possession. Bail has been set at one-thousand dollars.
Police are searching for two masked suspects responsible for a holdup at a video game store in the city. The suspects used a gun to walk into the Game Stop on Delaware Avenue at about 10 a.m. Saturday, and stole an undisclosed amount of cash and video games. The suspects are described as black males, and anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Buffalo police.
A Buffalo man was taken into custody for DUI over the weekend. Erie County Sheriff’s Deputies say they stopped Alexander Snow on the 190 in Grand Island after witnessing him veering into other lanes and traveling at a slow speed. Snow is charged with DUI, and already has a total of 12 suspensions, three revocations and three DWI convictions. Snow will be arraigned for charges today.
Buffalo Schools Superintendent James Williams has decided to retain principals at three struggling schools, a move that could cost the district millions of dollars. Federal guidelines currently offer districts up to two-million dollars a year per school to help turn around failing schools, but the only way to receive the funding is to replace principals who have been in the schools for more than two years. The three principals Williams refuses to fire are at three of the district’s seven lowest-performing schools: Burgard, Riverside, and International School 45. Williams says those principals would have to be assigned to other schools, and that there is a lack of candidates to replace them in their current positions.
State lawmakers will be back in Albany on Wednesday night after Governor Paterson ordered their return. The Governor wants the Senate and Assembly to finish the long-overdue state budget. The final piece of the budget puzzle is a revenue bill which needs Senate approval. That measure includes hotly-debated items including a property tax cap, a tax on sugary drinks, and allowing grocery stores to sell wine. The Governor also wants lawmakers to come up with a backup plan in case the federal government fails to deliver more than a billion dollars in Medicaid funding.The Governor’s office says a special session would also be called on Thursday if lawmakers do not get to work.
New York legislators have still been collecting payments for lodging and food even though they haven’t been collecting salaries since the state budget became late. The Comptroller’s office reports per-diem increases of more than two-thousand dollars each per month for 21 state officials. The findings were compiled in the weeks following the start of the new fiscal year.
Meanwhile. the number of New Yorkers who work in state government is decreasing. New data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the number of state employees has dropped by two-point-five-percent while local government workers have decreased by one-point-seven-percent. The study also found that the private sector has seen an employment decrease of only point-three-percent over the past year. However, private sector employment is still lower than it was before the recession began.
Opening ceremonies for the Yahoo! data center in a Town of Lockport industrial park are set for Sept. 21. The ceremony will mark the first phase of the $150 million Yahoo! data-center project. Phase 2 already is under construction.
