Kathy Konst Changes Races

Erie County Legislator Kathy Konst has changed her mind about running for Congress. Instead she wants to be the Democratic candidate for the 59th District State Senate seat now held by Republican Dale Volker. Konst will have to fight for the nod in the Democratic primary. Tom Golisano has pledged to spend five-million dollars of his money on State Senate candidates he agrees with. Konst met with Golisano last week, but says he did not pledge any money towards her campaign at that time.

Cemetery Burglars Busted

Two Town of Tonawanda man accused of stealing 40 vases from Elmlawn Cemetery and selling the copper out of them, may have also have robbed several other area cemeteries. Police are checking with officials at three other cemeteries, following the arrests of Robert Samson, 52, and James Howard, 47, for grand larceny, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and cemetery desecration. Detectives believe the two men sold some $5,200 worth of copper and other metals in seven or eight trips to one of the scrapyards.

Missing Woman Found

35-year-old Jackie Vasquez was reported abducted on Vermont Street early yesterday morning by former boyfriend, Brock Pawling, who had just gotten out of jail. The search for her ended last night at about 9:40, when police located both of them on Camden Avenue in North Buffalo. She had an order of protection against Pawling, who is also the father of her four-month old child. He was arrested at the scene.

South Buffalo Charter Teacher Arrested

South Buffalo Charter School teacher Cara Dickey, fired last month for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student, was released on $5000 bail after turning herself in to Buffalo police Thursday. The married mother of three was officially charged with unlawfully dealing with a child, unlawful imprisonment, promoting a suicide attempt and endangering the welfare of a child. On the day Dickey was escorted out of her school building, the 14-year-old boy also snuck out. Neither was seen for the next 24 hours. The child was found at the McKinley Mall. Dickey was found in her car in Springville.

Same-Sex Couple Files Against BC/BS

A lawsuit has been filed in Buffalo, against Blue Cross and Blue Shield, accusing them of denying health care coverage to a same-sex couple that married in Canada. Jeanne Kornowicz,a school psychologist at Cheektowaga Central School, applied for coverage in February, after a court ruling said New York must recognize valid out-of-state marriages. The insurance company denied the request.

Gaughn Proposes Dissolving Villages

He visited all 44 Erie County towns, villages and cities over eight months, and now Kevin Gaughan has proposed dissolving all 16 villages.
At a noon luncheon at the HSBC Arena Harbour Club, Gaughan proposed that each village government merge into its surrounding town by 2012.

Clarence Burglaries on the Rise

State Police are looking into a series of property thefts in the town of Clarence. About a dozen crimes have occurred in the past two weeks, that's a 44% jump over this time last year.

Reaction to Casino Decision

Now that anti-gambling forces in Erie County have won a round in downtown Buffalo, what happens next? Albany attorney Cornelius Murray, who represents Citizens for a Better Buffalo, spoke with Donahue and Moore this morning on WECK. The Seneca Nation says that gaming will continue at the temporary casino, and construction will continue on a permanent facility. County Executive Collins spoke out in favor of an appeal of the decision.

Car Parts Thieves in Falls

Police in Niagara Falls have security footage showing two men stealing some one-thousand catalytic converters worth over 135-thousand dollars from a Niagara Falls warehouse. It happened at Standard Auto Wrecking, which buys wrecked cars and salvages them. Catalytic converters have become targets for thieves because they have platinum inside. The thieves used a company truck to haul away their load. Police are checking to see if it was an inside job.

Golisano Launches PAC

Billionaire Sabres owner Tom Golisano is in Albany today, launching a political action committee to funnel money into the campaigns of state senate candidates. Golisano, a three-time gubernatorial candidate, is creating "Responsible New York" to challenge targeted incumbents.
Democrats Kathy Konst and Joe Mesi could be among those who benefit.

Golisano Launches PAC

Billionaire Sabres owner Tom Golisano is in Albany today, launching a political action committee to funnel money into the campaigns of state senate candidates. Golisano, a three-time gubernatorial candidate, is creating "Responsible New York" to challenge targeted incumbents.
Democrats Kathy Konst and Joe Mesi could be among those who benefit.

County #2 Stepping Down

After just seven months on the job, Erie County Deputy County Executive Mark Davis has handed in his resignation. Davis was a business acquaintance of County Executive Chris Collins before being offered the job. The position will be taken over by Alfred Hammonds Jr. when Davis leaves at the end of this month.

Depew Man Still Missing

Depew Police and a sheriff's helicopter took part in a so-far unsuccessful search for a distraught man. Monday morning, John Weinberg contacted his father to say that he had a shotgun, and the father then called the cops. SWAT teams surrounded Weinberg's home on Cornell Drive. After seven hours, the home was entered, but Weinberg was gone, and neighbors expressed concern.

Mother Charged for Locking Kids in Car

Shoppers at the Target Store on Transit Road in Amherst contacted police when they came across a large SUV with its windows rolled up and four young children locked inside. Yesterday's temperatures were as high as 88. The mother, 32-year-old Tiffany Adams of Amherst, was charged with four misdemeanors. The children were evaluated at Women and Children's Hospital, and are expected to be okay.

Alleged Hate Crime in South Buffalo

A South Buffalo man out on parole has been arrested for an alleged hate crime after a cross was burned on the lawn of a racially-mixed couple on South Park Avenue. Forty-year-old Donald Napierala, who lives nearby, was identified by witnesses. Napierala, who is white, is charged with a hate crime, including arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. The couple who live in the house are white and Hispanic.

City Tackles Abandoned Property Problem

The City of Buffalo is home to as many as 18,000 vacant buildings, and Mayor Byron Brown wants 5,000 of them knocked down in the next five years. Last year, 60 percent of city arson fires were set in vacant and abandoned buildings, and 27 firefighters were injured battling those blazes. The buildings are havens for drugs and vandalism, and at least seven dead bodies have been discovered in or around vacant buildings in Buffalo over the last two years. Opponents of wide scale demolition argue that the city should focus more on rehabbing vacant homes and reselling them to first-time home buyers.

Daredevil Jumps Off Skylon

A daredevil took a flying leap this morning at the Falls - but it wasn't in a barrel, and it was OK'd by authorities. Dean Sullivan, a veteran jumper, leapt from the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls, Ontario, using a rope to rappel down in mere seconds. According to a release from Niagara Falls' "Celebrate Old Downtown" event, Sullivan came down from the Skylon with no safety mechanical braking device except for his own two hands.

Kevin Everett Gives Back

The Kevin Everett Golf Tournament is going on today at Brierwood Country Club in Hamburg. Last night, a 12th Man Tailgate Party was held. All proceeds go the Kevin Everett Foundation. The money will remain here in Western New York others with spinal cord injuries. The former Bills tight end who was injured in the first game of last season, says he is doing well. He still undergoes rehab three times a week and recently got married.

One Injured, One Charged in ATV Crash

Early Sunday morning, a pair of ATV's collided on Eastwood Road in the Town of Marilla, and one man ended up in critical condition. Thirty-nine-year-old Charles Terwilliger was not wearing a helmet when the crash happened. The other ATV driver, 20-year-old Timothy Blizniak has been charged with driving while intoxicated.

Violent Holiday Weekend in Buffalo

Buffalo Homicide detectives are looking into three deaths over the weekend. The first was late Saturday afternoon when police were called for a fight at 261 Woltz Avenue in the Ferry-Filmore District. They found an unidentified man dead in the house. On Saturday night two men were shot after a party in the 100 block of East Utica. One man was dead on arrival at ECMC. The third incident was just after midnight Monday when a 21-year-old Buffalo man managed to walk into Engine 23 at Bailey Avenue and Collingwood Avenue to tell firefighters he had been shot. He was rushed to ECMC where he later died.