Hometown News: Boxing Day Weather

With thousands expected at stores to hunt for sales on the day after Christmas, it's decent weather today. Rain is expected to arrive in the late evening, with temperatures rising into the upper 40s.

HTN: Another Christmas, More Fights at Cinemas

It's becoming a terrible holiday habit here in Western New York. For the third straight year, out-of-control youths have started fights on Christmas at an area movie theatre. Cheektowaga Police say they arrested at least six people, after fights at the Regal Cinemas at Walden Galleria last night. Captain John Glascott said the incidents begam about 9:30 p.m, and a mall security guard suffered minor injuries. Buffalo Police, State Police and Transit Police assisted in breaking up the fights. ast Christmas, a teen was shot across the street from the Regal Cinema on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo following a fight at the theater. And in 2006, teens were arrested after a fight inside the Elmwood Regal.

HTN: Christmas Morning Shooting

Authorities are investigating a Christmas morning shooting that left a teen girl dead and 19-year-old youth in serious condition. Police say 18-year-old Sarah Ernst of West Seneca and Breion Collins of Buffalo were leaving a house party on Buffalo's West Side when someone opened fire on them as they drove away in Ernst's SUV. Police say they were able to drive away but stopped later at Albany Street where Ernst was pronounced dead and Collins was transported to a medical facility. Authorities say they believe one person is responsible for the shooting but do not have a motive.

HTN: Buffalo Christmas Tree Pickup Schedule

The City of Buffalo Department of Public Works, Parks and Streets will collect Christmas dumped trees during garbage pickups from January 5th to the 9th. Trees will be picked up separately from garbage. Residents are asked to put them on the curb, preferably unbagged. The city also will operate drop-off sites for trees from 7:30 a. m. to 3 p. m. beginning today and continuing every day but Sundays through January 17th in the Cazenovia Park golf parking lot, the Shoshone Park parking lot and in the parking lot at 1120 Seneca St.

Good Morning Buffalo: Santa Expert

Loraine and Tom talk to Santa Claus Expert Jerry Sullivan.

Hometown News: Holiday Weather

Christmas Eve will continue the interesting weather trend we've had the last few days. A High Wind Watch has been issued for Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties from this evening into Thursday morning. There's also a lakeshore flood watch for Erie County from Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.

Superintendent of Streets Larry Panaro says plowing city streets has been, quote, "a very slow, difficult process." He notes that many vehicles are parked illegally, making it difficult for plows to get through. Panaro says crews are constantly on the road, working 16-hour shifts. Officials remind residents that major roads and emergency routes come first, and that because of the severity of the storms, plows had to go back and start over when snow built up on the major thoroughfares once more.

The "Help Wanted" signs are out in front of Ralph Wilson Stadium. 16-year-olds and older with two forms of ID can work snow shoveling shifts that run through Saturday. The pay is ten dollars an hour. Shifts are from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. to midnight, and midnight to 7 a.m.

Cleanup from weekend storms has delayed another kind of cleanup. Garbage pickup has been delayed by one-day this week. Christmas Day was a planned day off for garbage crews before the storms. Thursday and Friday pickups have been moved to Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Christmas Wishes!

Happy Holidays from Hometown 1230 WECK! Our first year on the air and on-line has been an adventure! We look forward to your comments during the New Year!

Tom Schuh
Operations Manager/Blogger/Twitterer

HTN: Extension Likely for Assessment Challenges in City

If you think your home in Buffalo has been assessed too highly, you may have extra time to file a challenge. Members of the Common Council say they support Mayor Byron Brown's plan to give homeowner's an additional three weeks to file the challenges. The new deadline would be January 21st. Brown says the extension will give residents extra time to research the value of their homes.

HTN: Newest Lottery Millionaire

The latest New York Lottery winner has big plans for the money. Hieu Tran is a Vietnam native and plans to go back to visit his mother with a portion of the money. The rest will go to his children's education. The 38-year-old South Buffalo resident was presented with the first installment of his winnings Tuesday afternoon by New York Lottery officials at the Noco Express Shop on South Park Avenue where he bough the "In the Money" scratch-off ticket. Tran came to the U.S. in 1987 as a teenager. His million-dollar jackpot will be paid out over 20 years, in 50-thousand-dollar installments, which is whittled down to just 34-thousand-75 dollars per payment after taxes.

HTN: Tracking Santa

Members of the New York Air National Guard are on duty as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) prepares to track Santa's annual trip around the world. Members at the Northeast Air Defense Sector in Rome, NY, stay on-duty around the clock tracking the jolly old elf's journey across the eastern half of the U.S. As part of NORAD, NEADS uses radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets to track Santa. The Santa tracking tradition started in 1955, after a Sears Roebuck and Co. ad for children to call Santa misprinted the phone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the children reached the Continental Air Defense Command's Commander In Chief's operations hotline. The NORAD Tracks Santa website is: http://www.noradsanta.org.

State Voters Split on Senate Seat

New York State voters are split 40 to 41-percent on whether Caroline Kennedy is qualified to be a U.S. Senator, but they expect Governor Paterson to name her. That's according to a Quinnipiac University poll that finds 48-percent believe she'll take over the seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. Offered a choice, 33-percent of voters say Paterson should name Ms. Kennedy, while 29-percent say Attorney General Andrew Cuomo should get the nod.

Reason with Scott Leffler

Last live show of the year: The Year in Review

Hometown News: Still Cleaning Up after Weekend Storms

Western New Yorkers are still digging out from the weekend winter blast. The Buffalo region saw between one-to-two feet of additional snow accumulations on top of fell last Friday. Despite a warmup tomorrow, there likely will be a white Christmas. Temperatures are expected to be in the 40's on Christmas Eve but it won't be enough to melt all of the snow. Monday's snow messed up the garbage collection schedule in Buffalo, with most neighborhoods now a day behind. Monday's pickup was made today. Today's pickup will happen Wednesday. Wednesday garbage will be taken on Christmas Day, and so on for the rest of the week.

HTN: Meet Set in Kaleida Labor Dispute

A federal mediator is set to sit down today with Kaleida Health and the union that represents health care workers at Women & Children's Hospital. Some are saying that if there is a strike, Kaleida might once again propose closing the Bryant Street facility.

HTN: Snombobile Victim Identified

North Tonawanda police have identified the man killed over the weekend riding a snowmobile. Authorities say 32-year-old David Munter hit a moving car on Erie Avenue at about 3:30 Sunday morning. The driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old John McDonald, was charged with DWI, although investigators are not sure who is at fault for the crash. It is still unclear if Munter was riding the snowmobile in the middle of the street or just crossing the street. The investigation continues.

HTN: Gift Cards Returned to Catholic Charities

A story that sounds straight out of Dickens. In November, some Scrooge took 15-hundred dollars worth of supermarket gift cards from the Catholic Charities' office on Oakmont Avenue. Now we find out that a Buffalo man bought the gift cards from someone on the street, to help his family at the holidays. Then the man heard the story of the theft on the news, and returned the cards to the office.

HTN: Buffalo Ranked in Fitness Survey

Buffalo ranks in the middle of two new rankings of health and fitness. Buffalo is listed as 49th out of 100 major cities of conditions for men by "Men's Health" magazine. A "Women's Health" magazine article puts Buffalo in 53rd for health and fitness. The magazines looked at 38 factors, such as air quality, cancer rates, and the number of gym memberships. The focus was cities, not metropolitan areas. The best place for women was Salt Lake City, Utah, and the best place for men was Madison, Wisconsin. Ranking at the bottom of the mens list was Charleston, West Virginia, while Bakersfield, California is no good for women.

Buffalo Irish Radio 12/21/08

Hosted by Tom Callahan.

Reason with Scott Leffler

Scott talks with Matt Pearl from Channel 2 about the Bills and the storm

BuffaloStyle - 12/20/08

Christina Abt explores personal holiday miracles of Western New Yorkers.

Ask the Pro: Budwey Supermarkets

Owner Frank Budwey played Santa Claus today, giving away free gift cards.

Hometown News: Digging Out Again

Some hometown streets are still looking for their first plow job. Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak says it's been difficult, with frequent whiteout conditions, drifting snow, accidents, and stranded vehicles. More than 30 plow crews have been working 12 hour shifts. The heaviest areas of lake effect snow have been south of Buffalo and down towards the Southern Tier, with accumulations up to one foot. Delays backed up flights at Buffalo Niagara International Airport Sunday. Be sure to check with your carrier if you plan to fly today.

HTN: Fatal Crash in Cambria

A Lockport woman is dead after a Sunday afternoon crash in Cambria. The Niagara County Sheriff's Department says 34-year-old April Torres lost control of her car on Saunders Settlement Road and collided with oncoming traffic. Torres was pronounced dead at the scene. Several others were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The accident remains under investigation.

HTN: Fatal Snowmobile Crash in NT

A North Tonawanda man was killed on his snowmobile, after colliding with a car. Police say it happened about 3:30 Sunday morning on Erie Avenue. Authorities say the driver of the car, 22-year-old john McDonald of Pendleton, was charged with drunk driving. Cops say the victim was riding the snowmobile in the middle of the street, which is illegal.

HTN: Rallying to Save Fort Erie Track

A chunk of the Canadian horse-racing industry rallied Sunday to try to save Fort Erie Race Track. Harsh weather didn't keep horsemen from coming out in support of the the 100-year-old facility. Owners Nordic Gaming Corporation last week passed out nearly 200 pink slips to racetrack workers. The company says there will be no summer racing unless the Province of Ontario agrees to a request for three-million dollars. Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin says he's supposed to have an answer to his request for government funding by January 15th.

HTN: Cuomo Said to be Unhappy with Kennedy Attention

Andrew Cuomo is said "fuming" over the attention being given to Caroline Kennedy regarding Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. As Cuomo announced a two-point-seven-million dollar settlement with the operator of an illegal dump in Lackawanna last week, Kennedy was having lunch with the Reverend Al Sharpton in Harlem. Kennedy received national news attention, while Cuomo is said to believe his story was ignored. Publically, Cuomo says the decision to pick New York's next senator is up to Governor Paterson, and Cuomo's aides say he is content with his current post.