HTN: Brush-Up Buffalo Postponed

Brush Up Buffalo 2009 was cancelled Saturday because of bad weather. Over 600 volunteers from area businesses and community groups have signed up to participate in the one-day event. This was the first time in the event's 13-year history it has been cancelled because of weather. All the originally-scheduled activities will take place on the new date, this Saturday June 27th. This year, 18 low-income, single-family, owner-occupied homes in the area around the University of Buffalo South Campus are scheduled to get a fresh coat of paint.

HTN: Missing Boy Found

The search for a missing Buffalo boy ended last night after two hours, when two-year-old Marqual Williams was found at a home on Moselle Street. He had been playing in the backyard of his Sobieski Street home and was reported missing around 5:20 p.m. Buffalo Police, the Erie County Sheriff's Department Air One copter and state troopers took part in the search. Police believe someone who knew his family thought he was in the yard unattended and picked him up.

HTN: Buffalo Citybration is Coming

Buffalo is planning four days of Homecoming events to showcase the highlights of the city. The activities include a gala reception, parade, job fair and live music. City officials say the idea is to keep the best and brightest in Buffalo and encourage others to come back. The Citybration will take place from June 25th through the 28th. Similar events will be held in Niagara Falls during the same time period.

HTN: Buffalo-Cheektowaga Border Talks

Residents on the Buffalo and Cheektowaga border talked about safety at an open forum Wednesday night. Residents discussed ways to improve the streets and neighborhoods. Police, judges and town officials outlined initiatives such as more foot patrols and ways to spruce up vacant homes. The meeting was set up by the Buffalo Cheektowaga Neighborhood Revitalization Task Force which is investigating ways for the border areas to work together

HTN: Tragic Standoff in Ken-Bailey

A Buffalo man is in critical condition after police say he killed his girlfriend and shot himself. Police say 29-year-old Jesse Jones kept authorities at bay late Tuesday night and into the early morning hours on Wednesday by holding three small children hostage in the home on Millicent Avenue. Investigators believe Jones killed the 22-year-old mother of three before they arrived Tuesday night about 11:30 PM. During the four hour hostage standoff, authorities say Jones threatened to hurt the children. Cops say he then turned the gun on himself. All three children were rescued safely. The woman's body was found in the bathtub.

DMV: Buffalo Aiming to Become Cleanest City

Buffalo is taking a month to try to become one of the country's cleanest cities. Thousands of volunteers will be out in-force Saturday to pick up littler, remove graffiti, plant gardens and carry out other neighborhood beautification projects. This is Buffalo's 18th year participating in the Great American Cleanup. The normally single-day "blitz" event will be expanded throughout the month of May. City residents wanting to participate in the cleanup should contact the city's Call and Resolution Center at 311. Residents outside Buffalo can call 829-2133 and dial extension 341.

HTN: Mayor Unveils Anti-Poverty Plan

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has unveiled his plan to fight poverty in America's third-poorest city. The mayor's game plan includes boosting literacy rates, reducing blight in neighborhoods, expanding job training and promoting affordable housing.

HTN: Buffalo Crime Stats On-Line

If the Buffalo Common Council gets its way, you could have online access to neighborhood crime stats. The measure has been talked about for a year and Council members say they'd like to push for it to become reality. If given the green light, residents would be able to log on to "crime reports-dot-com" and view data on a map.

HTN: Rother Ave. Body Identified

Buffalo police are trying to determine if foul play was involved in the death of a woman whose body was found in a vacant house. The woman has been identified as 31-year-old Angela Williams. Her body was found by officers investigating a 911 call to Rother Avenue Monday afternoon. Williams was found in the basement of a vacant home on the 200 block. The exact cause of death is not known. Witnesses are urged to contact police.

HTN: Buffalo-Cheektowaga Border Projects Funded

Buffalo and Cheektowaga are teaming up to spruce up neighborhoods on their border. A federal and state grant worth more than two-and-a-half million dollars is on the way to fund demolitions, housing rehabilitation and other improvements. The two municipalities will work together on a land bank to buy and sell properties for re-development.

HTN: Challenging Rescue in Buffalo

First responders were called to a house on Jefferson Avenue after a 911 call reporting a woman who had possible stroke symptoms. The woman needed to get to the hospital, but because of her weight, she couldn't move on her own. Rescuers were unable to get her down a narrow stairwell, so they had to cut through the home to get her out safely. It took more than 20 firefighters and city engineers with a high lift to hoist the woman from the home. She was taken to Sisters Hospital where is is doing well.

HTN: City Laptop Taken

A laptop computer owned by the City of Buffalo was among items taken by a burglar early Monday morning. Police the bandit also made off with 15-thousand dollars worth of jewelry, 500-dollars worth of coins, and electronic equipment. The Vincennes Street break-in happened sometime between midnight and eight AM Monday morning. Investigators say the prowler got in through an unlocked front window. It's not known whether the city laptop contains any sensitive data.

HTN: Tree Stump Blitz in Buffalo

The city is launching an effort to get rid of tree stumps on Buffalo streets. About 14-hundred stumps will head to the grinder by the end of the year. Many will be replaced by new trees. The city has inked a deal with a West Seneca company to do the work for 160-thousand dollars. Residents who want to make sure certain stumps are on the list for removal can call 311.

Hometown News: NY Times Slams Buffalo

Here we go again: Buffalo has been named by the "New York Times" as one of America's failing cities. The report blames the decline, which it says started over 50 years ago, on diminishing industries and "suburban flight." The report says Buffalo's continued demolition of parks and streets in favor of expansion rather than preservation is the main factor in the city's continued downfall. Joining Buffalo on the list are New Orleans and Los Angeles. New York City's borough of The Bronx was also included on the list.

HTN: North Buffalo Shooting, Car Crash

Buffalo police are trying to piece together a shooting in North Buffalo. Authorities called to Saint Lawrence Avenue yesterday about 1:30 p.m. after an apparent motor vehicle accident. When officers arrived they found a man and woman with gunshot wounds inside the vehicle. Cops are not sure if the shots were fired from outside the car or possibly by a passenger. The two victims are in critical condition at Erie County Medical Center.

HTN: Cold Case Cracked

The Buffalo Police Cold Case Squad has cracked a 15-year-old murder. A 91-year-old Buffalo woman, Mabel Neuner, was bludgeoned to death in her home, just before Christmas in 1993. Now, police have arrested 32-year-old John Butler of Buffalo. Butler was just 16-years-old at the time of the killing, but detectives say they now have the evidence they need to charge him in Neuner's murder. She was found dead in the basement of her home, which had also been ransacked. Butler is currently lodged in the Oneida County correctional facility on a parole violation for an unrelated crime.

HTN: Rehab Set for Former Stadium Site

17 years ago, the federal government approved two-million dollars for the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion, on the site of the old War Memorial Stadium. Finally, the city is about to spend the money on the worn-down facility, which is located in one of the neediest neighborhoods in Buffalo. The decision has come 18 months after the Department of Housing and Urban Development notified Mayor Brown's office of the available money. An agreement was reached on how to spend the two-million at a February 17th meeting.

HTN: Price-Rite Hiring

Yesterday we talked about a new PriceRite market coming to the city. Now, Mayor Brown has announced that the Buffalo Employment & Training Cente, is assisting PriceRite with a recruitment event for the opening of the new store. On-site recruitments have been set for today and Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 77 Goodell Street. You can apply online at www.priceritesupermarkets.com before being interviewed. PriceRite hopes to hire between 80 and 100 people. Starting wage will be eight-dollars-an-hour.

HTN: New Market Coming to Kenmore Avenue

A former Tops and Vix store on Kenmore Avenue in Buffalo is becoming a PriceRite store this summer. PriceRite parent company Wakefern Food Corporation bought the 40-thousand-square-foot retail site for 875-thousand dollars. The Connecticut-based company will sink another three-million into the conversion of the building. The Kenmore Avenue site became a Tops in the early 1970s, then converted to a Tops-owned Vix Deep Discount drug store in the 80s. Vix closed in 2003.

HTN: December Death Not a Homicide

Authorities say a woman whose body was found inside a garbage tote near a Buffalo church died of a drug overdose. Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita says Amanda Wienckowski's death was accidental, with no signs of violence.