Category: PostNews

WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Part of East and West Road in West Seneca will be closed for milling and paving for more than week.

The closure, which will take place from October 13-22, will affect the road between Union and Orchard Park roads.

In their typically cheeky fashion, West Seneca police tweeted “Thank you for everyone’s anticipated disregard of the construction signs.”

A photo they tweeted featured Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen jumping over some cones.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Tuesday morning on Mel’s Mutts, we got to meet Benny! He’s three years old and looking for a home.

You can learn more about adopting Benny in the video above or by visiting Diamonds in the Ruff’s website.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — On Tuesday, there will be a meeting to provide an update on the Rainbow Centre Civic Improvement Project at the site of the old Rainbow Mall.

Leaders are working on a reuse of the remaining mall space.

They hope to create up to 160,000 square feet of available space that would benefit downtown Niagara Falls and include attractions and entertainment venues.

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at 5 p.m. at the Conference and Event Center. Masks are required but you can also attend by Zoom.

(WIVB) — Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds of flights on Monday, following a weekend of major disruptions across the country.

Southwest is blaming problems on air traffic control, staffing and bad weather.

Tuesday morning at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, the airline already began seeing an hour delay for those heading to Orlando, Florida.

Arrivals can be tracked here.Departures can be tracked here.

But it was a frustrating long weekend for many, with those issues moving right into Monday. According to The Associated Press, Southwest canceled 350 flights across the country on just Monday alone.

We spoke with one man who had five flights canceled over the weekend.

“There are families in that airport with kids who are just laying around doing nothing,” Phil Ribaudo says. “They’re just stuck.”

He was finally able to make the trip home Monday morning on another airline, but had to spend money and get a hotel in the meantime.

That Jamestown native was stuck in Tampa since last Friday. The airline offered a “tremendous” apology to customers and employees, citing weather and external constraints for the problems.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton is speaking out in support of tenants at the Peace Bridge Apartments.

She says the new owners of the building have told tenants their leases will not be renewed, and that they will have to leave while work is done to the building.

Walton says many of the these tenants are elderly, veterans, or have disabilities.

“I am flabbergasted and I am disappointed that in 2021, after we survived almost two years of death and pain and anguish that we still have to beg for human decency and that we have to put people ahead of profits,” Walton said.

News 4 has reached out to the owners of the Peace Bridge Apartments for comment.

We’re waiting to hear back.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Buffalo mayor Byron Brown is receiving support from the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association.

The president of the union says in a statement that Brown has given the police department the right tools to make the city safer.

He says there has never been an easier choice for mayor.

Byron Brown is also receiving the endorsement the Erie County Sheriff’s Police Benevolent Association and the New York State Troopers PBA.

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) – The supervisor of the Town of Tonawanda is speaking out on plans to turn Adventure Landing into a Jim’s Steakout.

The family fun center on Sheridan Drive used to be known as Putt-Putt.

Supervisor Joe Emminger responded to a town resident who emailed him upset about this change. Emminger says he’s heard from other residents about this project.

He’s reminding residents who are upset about the plans that the town has no say on who a person can sell their property to. He also says the land is zoned for a restaurant.

Emminger is inviting residents concerned about the project to attend next week’s town board meeting.

That’s happening at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at the municipal building.

In a Friday Facebook post, Adventure Landing’s owners said they have been open every day since being able to reopen after COVID-19 shutdowns lifted.

“Our hope, since finding out about the property being put up for sale, has been to work out a long term lease extension with a new landlord,” they said.

(WIVB) – A local activist is leading a statewide effort to send 10,000 emails to Governor Kathy Hochul to improve the lives of New Yorkers with disabilities.

BJ Stasio is a man on a mission. He says that services for people with disabilities are reaching a crisis.

He is the president of a statewide group promoting self-advocacy for people with physical and intellectual challenges.

Their independence has declined steadily over the last 10 years, and now they plan to “Rise up together.”

Activists say state funding for the office for people with developmental disabilities has remained flat, or neutral over the last 10 years, making it nearly impossible to hire and retain direct support professionals and related services.

It is a challenge to the independence of folks like Stasio.

He told lawmakers in Albany last month, that those direct care professionals are working long hours, which for many of them is just too much – leaving group homes understaffed or forced to close.

Max Donatelli’s son lives in a group home which is grossly understaffed, but due to the nature of the home’s certification, parents or other caregivers can fill in.

“We worked 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., provided dinner, that the staff normally would be doing,” Donatelli said.

Now that Stasio has gained the ear of state lawmakers, he wants to get the attention of Governor Hochul with 10,000 emails and 10,000 stories. He wants to get those emails in before December, so he can personally deliver them to Governor Hochul.

If you have a story to share about services for people with disabilities, you can find the link to “Rise up together” here.

CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, N.Y. (WIVB) ⁠— Rosie and Leah are neighbors in a close-knit community in Cattaraugus County.

On May 20, Rosie was on her riding lawn mower and both their lives changed forever.

“I just so happened to look out the window and saw my neighbor go up the hill towards her mailbox and the front tire hit the mailbox and it pinned her down on the ground,” Leah said.

When the mower flipped, Rosie was trapped underneath it.

As soon as Leah saw the incident out the window, she called 911 and raced out of the house to try to help Rosie. She ran door to door to get more help from neighbors.

Rosie said she could hear Leah running down the street yelling for help.

It eventually took three people to roll the lawn mower off Rosie. Leah’s help didn’t stop there. She used more emergency skills she learned in Girl Scouts.

“I just tried to keep her comfortable, talk to her, keep her nice and cool out of the sun just until the ambulance got here,” Leah said.

Rosie broke 14 bones including ones in her back, collarbone, sternum,and nine ribs.

“I can’t thank her enough that she did save my life because it would’ve been terrible to know I was on my own tractor in my own lawn and I had to depart that way with no one being with me,” Rosie said.

Leah was awarded the Girl Scout Lifesaving Award, an honor only given to a handful of girls nationwide each year. She hopes other girls can be inspired by her story.

“Help others, be kind, try your best, and just be calm when needed. Make sure you pay attention so you learn and have those resources if needed in the future,” she said.

Kayla Green is a reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center was just one of several local groups that honored Indigenous Peoples’ Day Monday. During a special ceremony, the Haudenosaunee flag was raised and a check was presented to the Ride for Roswell

It’s the very first day Indigenous Peoples’ Day is being celebrated as a federal holiday and it coincides with Columbus Day.

“I think this goes a long way towards reparations and towards a healthier relationship between us natives and our neighbors,” said Dr. Montgomery Hill, language activist Tuscarora Nation.

“I have to be honest, it doesn’t have much of an impact on me, because for me, Indigenous Peoples Day is every day,” said Kelle Chew, Tuscarora Nation, daughter of Snipe Clan mother.

Many members of our local indigenous community say the holiday is an opportunity that will usher in education of the indigenous population.

“It’s education. The idea that we go to school all our lives and we get taught things in history. Are they accurate, are they not accurate? Are they one sided?,” said Eliot Jimerson, Seneca Nation Councilman

Having to share the day with Columbus Day is getting some mixed reactions.

“We’re sharing, so we have to live with it. Like I said, we’re not happy about it, but we understand,” said Ernie Lucantonio president of the Cristoforo Colombo Society Niagara Falls.

“To have the President to come out and acknowledge that Indigenous Peoples Day is today, even though Columbus Day is still being celebrated, I look at it as a stepping stone,” said Robert Dalmonte Tuscarora Nation Beaver Clan. “Perhaps in the future, they can eliminate those symbols of colonialism and genocide and fully embrace the message of the Indigenous People.”