Category: PostNews

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo’s Pride Parade will step off on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the corner of Elmwood and Forest avenues. The parade will march down Elmwood and end near Allen Street, with the Pride Festival taking place from 1 to 7 p.m. at Canalside.

Tickets

General admission tickets to the festival cost $10, and you can purchase them by clicking here. VIP tickets are sold out. The parade is free and open to the public.

Performers

The festival will feature performances from musical guest Kalifa, Bosco and Lady Camden from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14. There will also be an appearance from Amrit and Nicholas from Bravo’s Family Karma.

Other events

Several events are scheduled to take place both on Sunday and throughout the remainder of the week. You can find a full list of events on the calendar by clicking here.

For more information on Buffalo Pride Week, click here.

WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) – One West Seneca police officer went above and beyond the call of duty to help a resident avoid the heat.

“It was 90 degrees, I felt that I was suffocating,” said West Seneca resident Geraldine Simoneit.

The 81-year-old was already showing signs of heat exhaustion shortly after her air conditioning unit broke on Tuesday.

“I was roasting in here,” Simoneit told News 4.

HVAC crews attempted to repair it, but ultimately said they wouldn’t be able to because the central air unit was too old and she would need to buy a new one. That’s when Lieutenant Jonathan Luterek with the West Seneca Police Department was called to check on her.

He says when he got to the home it was almost 100 degrees inside.

“I felt like that was only going to get worse over the next couple of days,” Luterek said. “That’s not a safe condition for an elderly person inside their home. It was hot.”

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Siomoneit didn’t have the money for a new air conditioner, so the officer decided to buy her one with his own money and install it.

“Knowing it was going to be 90 degrees or so over the next couple of days there was a real concern over how she was going to do,” he said. “To me, there wasn’t really an option to just leave her there without any air conditioning.”

“No words can describe their behavior and their attitude. It was above and beyond exceptional,” Simoneit said.

“I think almost anybody who works in this department would’ve done the same thing,” Luterek said. “I don’t think she would’ve survived another couple days in there, in her residence without air conditioning. That was the very least we could do for her.”

The officer says he’s thankful for all the support the department has received on social media, but he humbly says he was just doing his job.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A high-temperature record that stood for over 100 years in Buffalo was broken Friday.

The Buffalo Airport unofficially reached 91 degrees Friday afternoon, according to National Weather Service data, breaking the previous record of 87 degrees that was set on this date in 1919.

The record high comes amid a stretch of notably warm weather over the past week, but temperatures are expected to cool down a bit in the coming days. You can see the full 4Warn Weather forecast here.

News 4 meteorologist Mike Doyle noted the record was broken shortly after noon Friday when we hit 88 degrees. The temperature continued to climb into the 90s later in the day.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo man has been indicted on a murder charge for the alleged fatal shooting of a woman at an apartment building on Delaware Avenue last weekend, the Erie County District Attorney announced Friday.

It is alleged that at around 8 p.m. on May 27, 21-year-old Jamin Haygood of Buffalo shot and killed 51-year-old Jacquette Holley at the apartment on the 2400 block of Delaware Avenue. She died at the scene.

It is further alleged that Haygood also intimidated a witness in an attempt to prevent the witness from giving information to police.

He is charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and intimidating a victim or a witness. If convicted as the highest charge, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

Haygood is being held without bail. A return court date has not yet been scheduled.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Erie County Sheriff’s Office is searching for missing 13-year-old Haleigh Roberts of Holland, who is believed to be in the Hamburg area.

Deputies say Roberts was last seen at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Holland area. She is approximately 5-foot-2 and 150 pounds and has black hair with purple stripes. She was last seen wearing black shorts and a t-shirt while carrying a beige backpack.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 716-858-2903 and refer to CL# 23-043147.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — It won’t be much longer until there are shovels in the ground at the site of the new Buffalo Bills stadium.

The Bills announced Friday that they will hold an official groundbreaking ceremony at 9 a.m. Monday to mark the start of construction on the franchise’s new stadium, which will be located across from Highmark Stadium on Abbott Road.

Among those expected to be in attendance are Bills owner/CEO Terry Pegula, general manager Brandon Beane, head coach Sean McDermott, EVP/COO Ron Raccuia and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

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The new stadium deal received its final governmental approval on May 4, paving the way for construction to begin. While the groundbreaking will take place Monday, prep work has already begun, as a number of construction vehicles have been seen digging and altering the land where the Bills’ new home will one day stand in the past weeks.

The stadium is expected to be completed in 2026. More information can be found here.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — What went right and what went wrong during the Christmas blizzard?

Tasked by the City of Buffalo with helping answer this question, New York University looked into it. The university’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service’s Rudin Center for Transportation led a review, which we heard details of on Friday afternoon.

The report looks at, as Sarah Kaufman puts it, “how Buffalo handled preparation, response, and recovery.” Kaufman leads the Rudin Center for Transportation.

“Because Mayor Brown requested the study, we’re hoping to provide actionable learnings so that Buffalo can pinpoint how to be ready for the next storm,” Kaufman said in an NYU interview published in January.

MORE | Read the full report, “Lessons Learned from the Buffalo Blizzard: Recommendations for Strengthening Preparedness and Recovery Efforts,” here.

The storm, which resulted in the deaths of more than 40 people in Erie and Niagara counties, covered the region in heavy snow, with the Buffalo airport reaching a peak of 51.5 inches.

Buffalo received criticism for the state of the streets and the handling of travel bans during and after the Christmas blizzard hit.

In response to this and the recommendations found in the study, Mayor Brown says action is already underway.

He spoke of purchasing additional snow-fighting equipment, as well as additional equipment for the city’s fire and police departments, as examples of how the city is preemptively preparing for the possibility of another storm in the future.

“With climate change, we know we will see more harsh weather in our community,” Brown said.

Additionally, the city created new positions, such as fleet director.

“An incoming Fleet Director will provide crucial oversight on available vehicles and equipment, as well as work to bolster our city-owned assets,” Mayor Brown previously said.

Not to be confused with the individual fleet managers within Buffalo’s public works, fire and police departments, the person in this role would report directly to the mayor and deputy mayor.

Additionally, a storm response task force, made up of about 20 people, has since been established. Mayor Brown says this group, which includes members of city, county and state agencies, among others, will have scheduled meetings ahead of another storm.