The mother and half-brother of a disabled woman found dead last month have pleaded not guilty to charges that they abused and 51-year-old Eva Cummings and 31-year-old Luke Wright are accused of sexually assaulting and suffocating 23-year-old Laura Cummings in their North Collins home. Eva Cummings faces a second-degree murder count, while Wright faces charges of rape, criminal sexual acts and incest; 15 charges in all between the two. Wright and Cummings were both remanded to jail without bail.
A Grand Island man faces charges that he choked his girlfriend over the weekend. 32-year-old Garrat Olson was charged with assault, reckless endangerment, and menacing after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call Sunday night. The alleged incident happened at a Carl Road home.
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Harold E. Ford, Jr. now says he will not pursue a seat in the U.S. Senate. His decision will likely leave incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand without a serious primary challenge in her bid for the Democratic nomination. In a “New York Times” op-ed posted online Monday night, Ford wrote that he wished to avoid, quote, “a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary -where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened.” Kelli Conlin, with NARAL Pro-Choice New York, says Ford would have faced heavy criticism for his previous conservative stances on social issues, like gay marriage and abortion.
The Amherst Town Board voted last night to set June 15th as the date residents will vote on downsizing the board from seven to five members by the year 2014. The June date had been proposed by Supervisor Barry Weinstein so that the issue could be decided before anyone runs for the council seat left vacant when Weinstein was elected supervisor.
Cheektowaga’s Town Board has given the green light to borrowing 15 and a half million dollars to start renovating the police and courts building. The work which will include a new 28-thousand square foot court, and renovations which would eventually allow the police department to use the entire existing space for offices and jail.
Buffalo and Niagara Falls Police Athletic League after-chool programs will be receiving a financial shot in the arm. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter announced that the programs will each get 100-thousand dollars in federal funding. In Buffalo, the money will be used for programs for at-risk youth at seven community centers.
Governor Paterson yesterday reiterated that he has no plans to leave office before his current term is up. But some state lawmakers are urging the politically-weakened Paterson to resign and allow Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch to take the helm of state government. Paterson has asked for an investigation from state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo about the David Johnson case. Plus, the state faces a current eight-point-two-billion-dollar deficit, which the Governor says will only get bigger. Paterson has not held any budget talks with legislative leaders in recent weeks.
The woman who ran a call girl operation which took down Eliot Spitzer now says she wants to call the shots in Albany. Kristin Davis has announced her campaign for governor. Her platform is called “P”-squared and aims to legalize pot and prostitution. Davis insists this is not a hoax, joke or publicity stunt. Davis touts a degree in business and a decade as a VP of a hedge fund, not to mention running a multi-million-dollar international call girl operation. She says that makes her more qualified than most politicians. She realizes winning is a long shot but hopes to get at least 50-thousand votes.
