Category: PostNews

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — If you go to fill up your tank this week, you may notice your receipt is a few cents less than it did last week.

According to AAA, the average cost of gas around New York State has dropped twelve cents since last Monday. Here in Buffalo, the cost of gas dropped an average of eleven cents.

“I definitely think this is the relief that people were hoping for.” said Valerie Puma, Central & WNY Communications Specialist of AAA told News 4.

The cause of this decline? AAA says there are many factors to thank, but less people filling up their tanks helped.

“With lower demand, slightly higher supply, we’re seeing that kind of combined with a reduced price for crude oil, and all of these factors coming together is causing a lower pump price.” said Puma.

If the supply continues to be greater than the amount of people filling up, this might help the decrease even more. However, it’s not certain on how long this decline will last.

“We can definitely see pump rices to continue to decline but it might be too soon to hope for prices below that four dollar mark.” said Puma.

AAA says we’re at the point in the summer when less people are traveling for long weekends, causing less people at the pump. With Labor Day weekend approaching, we might see a spike return.

For drivers like Yvette Sanders who filled up at Delta Sonic on Monday, she says she hasn’t seen the decrease as she constantly fills up during the busy summer.

“Unfortunately after the pandemic, the kids want to get out and they keep me busy.” said Sanders while she filled up, “I’m doing more traveling now than I have previously.”

For other drivers, like Laure Barnes, he believes it could be more, but every penny counts.

“It’s better than five dollars a gallon,” said Barnes, “That ten cents makes a difference.”

For more information on gas prices and how to add even more relief at the pump, head to AAA’s website for tips.

SOUTH BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — For more than a decade, Lactalis has produced Galbani brand cheese right in Western New York.

In the United States, Galbani brand ricotta is the number one seller, and it’s made exclusively at the South Buffalo plant. Now, Lactalis – Galbani’s parent company – has found a way for people who are lactose intolerant to enjoy ricotta cheese.

“We did research and we saw that there are 30 million Americans that are currently lactose intolerant, so then we decided to look into ‘where is that consumer need the most?’ and we realized it was in ricotta,” said Ann Queen, director of innovation for Lactalis.

The Lactalis plant produces ricotta, mozzarella and provolone under the Galbani name. Because ricotta has the same amount of lactose as ice cream, local food scientists stepped in to create a container of the cheese than anyone can eat, regardless of dietary issues.

“It took about several months to get the right texture, flavor and mixture with the lactose broken down into it,” said research scientists Douglas Albright.

Ricotta cheese is made up of three ingredients: milk, vinegar and salt. There’s one special ingredient in the lactose-free version.

“The magic ingredient is the lactose enzyme because, basically, lactose intolerant people cannot break down these milk sugars into simple sugars alone with their bodies, so we help them by adding this enzyme to their formula,” Queen said.

It’s a delicate process to make sure each container comes out just right.

“You have to be careful because if you’re not, the flavor will be off, the texture won’t be what you want it,” Albright said.

In a day, researchers say Lactalis could make 1,000 containers of the lactose-free ricotta.

And as development ramps up, the demand is too. Right now, this product can be found at Tops or ShopRite, and starting next month the company is expanding into 800 additional stores.

“I think Western New Yorkers should be very proud this is produced and manufactured right in their backyard in Buffalo,” Queen said.

If you have any ideas where we should go behind the scenes next, email us at newsroom@wivb.com.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — City Honors students filled a federal courtroom today in what was expected to be the sentencing for Peter Hingston.

Judge Richard Arcara told the courtroom he was originally prepared to hand down a sentence, but that changed after he received an unprecedented amount of phone calls, emails and letters demanding justice for Hingston’s victims and asking that he gets no leniency.

As a result, Arcara adjourned today’s sentencing for a later date to be determined in order to review everything. He told the court “there’s a lot I need to work through.”

“Clearly the events of the past week have been making an impact,” said City Honors alumnus Patrick Swain. “Making the voices heard, making the voices of the victims heard throughout the Buffalo community and beyond is what we have been going for.”

This is the second time Hingston’s sentencing has been adjourned. Arcara said he needed more time to think about everything after hearing from both the prosecution and defense during the original sentencing date on July 19.

Hingston pleaded guilty to two charges of child pornography last year. In 2019, Buffalo police were called to City Honors where Hingston was working as a middle school technology teacher. There, they recovered sexually explicit photos of minors on a GoPro, and child pornography videos on a hard drive.

“I have a friend who was a victim of his, and she’s totally different now after his abuse,” said City Honors alumna Valerie Juang. “She said that she is so afraid she is going to leave her house and see this man again. I told her not to worry, because there is no need to worry since he was in jail now and that he’s going away. But she told me, who’s to say he’s not going to come back out in seven years and I’m going to have to live my life in fear that I’m going to see my abuser again?”

The Government’s Amended Sentencing Memorandum and Response to Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandum show a guideline sentence for this crimes between 17.5 and 24 years. Hingston’s attorney’s are asking for seven years behind bars.

“I understand the judge’s concerns over the emotive aspects of our testimony,” Juang said. “I also ask him to really see the evidence that Hingston is a premeditated abuser who cannot be allowed to walk our streets again.”

HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) — About two weeks prior to the start of the Erie County Fair, a UH60 Blackhawk landed inside the fairgrounds as practice before it flies there again to be put on display.

It was a 30-minute flight for the helicopter from its NY Army National Guard home base in Rochester. The pilot stuck the practice landing.

“We had come out here about a month ago to look at the ground before we flew in today,” Maj Michael Jamieson said, the pilot.

The Blackhawk is used to evacuate injured personnel in war zones. It’s an upgrade from the model before, with better flight controls, improved rotor blades and more. You’ll get to go inside the helicopter at the fair and learn more about how it’s flown.

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“At the fair, we’re going to have some members available to just kind of explain the helicopter, just do some community interaction… show them what the mission is, let people get inside the helicopter and look at it,” Maj Jamieson said. “They see us flying over all the time and it’s our opportunity to show them what we do and what our capabilities are.”

This type of helicopter has flown in conflicts in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, The Balkans, Afghanistan and other areas of the Middle East.

You can see the helicopter at the Erie County Fair from August 10-21.

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — Niagara County has its first case of monkeypox.

The Niagara County Department of Health was notified by the NYS Wadsworth Center on Monday that the first case of Monkeypox in the county has been detected in a resident. The NCDOH has interviewed the individual and concluded that no additional contacts exist and that the risk to the general public is low.

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Monkeypox is a viral infection that usually does not cause serious illness, but can lead to hospitalization or death. People with the infection generally report having close, sustained physical contact with people who have Monkeypox, many of which are men who have sex with other men, the health department said. But anyone who has been in close contact with someone infected can get it.

Less common routes of transmission include droplets from prolonged face-to-face contact or contact with contaminated materials such as clothing or bedding.

Symptoms of the infection include rash within one to three days after the onset of illness and flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches and exhaustion.

An Erie County resident became the first Western New Yorker to test positive for monkeypox two weeks ago. Erie County is having a vaccine clinic this week.

For additional information, click here.

ELLICOTT, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Jamestown woman was arrested on Friday for driving on drugs with an infant in the car.

Chautauqua County Sheriff’s stopped a vehicle on Rt. 60 in the Town of Ellicott at 12:54 p.m. 35-year-old Brandi C. Bartlow was found to be driving while impaired by drugs with her infant child in the vehicle.

Bartlow was charged with driving while ability-impaired by drugs, aggravated driving while ability-impaired by drugs with a child less than 16 years old, endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated unlicensed operation, a broken windshield, unregistered motor vehicle, improper plates and operating without insurance.

The arrest is a felony due to the infant in the car.

She was held at Chautauqua County Jail for arraignment and will appear at the Town of Ellicott Court at a later date.

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ALBANY, N.Y. (WIVB) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the State Office of Renewable Energy Siting has approved a permit to Hecate Energy Cider Solar LLC to develop a 500-megawatt solar facility in the towns of Oakfield and Elba.

This is the fifth major renewable energy facility approved since 2020 and will be the largest solar facility in the state. Once it is completed, the facility is expected to generate clean energy to power more than 125,000 area homes, which will result in a reduction of around 462,000 tons of CO2 annually.

The project is expected to provide approximately $30 million in new revenue to the county, town and school district and will create 495 jobs.

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“Today’s announcement is a significant step in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and further cements New York as a national leader in the fight to combat climate change,” Gov. Hochul said. “This project brings New York closer to not just meeting but exceeding our goal of maintaining 70 percent of our electricity from renewable resources while creating well-paying green jobs — creating a greener, more prosperous Empire State for generations to come.”

To see the full permit and more information, click here.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — A former Erie County jail deputy who was recently given a conditional discharge for a drug crime was arrested again.

At this past Saturday’s Garth Brooks concert at Highmark Stadium, John Gugino, 45, was charged with harassment and criminal trespassing.

The Hamburg resident received a one-year conditional discharge earlier this month. It stemmed from an incident in October 2020 when he was pulled over while off duty.

During this time, deputies say they found cocaine in his possession, leading him to later plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Gugino was fired by the Sheriff’s Office last month.

In addition to his conditional discharge, Gugino was also ordered to pay a fine and perform 50 hours of community service.

Relating to Saturday’s arrest, Sheriff John Garcia had strong words for The Buffalo News, which published an article saying Gugino’s sister told them he had been hospitalized and was being observed “for a concussion and possible brain bleed.”

Garcia said the authoring and publication of The Buffalo News article “does a disservice to the agency and its ability to continue its investigation regarding this incident.”

The Sheriff’s Office says it “has not received a formal complaint against any deputies” and that they’re investigating the circumstances surrounding Gugino’s arrest.

Gugino, who was processed at Highmark Stadium, was one of three people arrested at the concert. Each was released with court appearance tickets.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The University at Buffalo is hosting open interviews for campus dining jobs at the Walden Galleria Mall from 12 to 6 p.m. on July 26.

Positions available include assistant managers, supervisors, line cooks, catering staff, baristas, cashiers and dishwashers. Representatives from Campus Dining and Shops are looking to hire more than 80 individuals to staff campus dining facilities. They will be doing one-on-one interviews and offering positions on the spot.

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Anyone interested is encouraged to complete the application online before attending, or this can be done on-site.

Interviews will take place on the lower level near the Apple Store. For more information, contact Campus Dining and Shops at (716) 645-7308.

(WIVB) — WNY Food 4 Paws is setting up donation barrels around WNY to collect pet items members of the public are encouraged to stop by these locations and donate pet food, treats and other pet essentials.

WNY Food 4 Paws is a non-profit whose mission is to support food pantries that provide pet food to families experiencing financial hardships.

Starting July 27 Food 4 Paws will set up donation barrels at community hosts that will be there through August.

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They will be hosting a kick-off event at St. Casimir’s Church Food Pantry on Wednesday, July 27 at 11 a.m.

Here’s a list of barrel locations:

“We are so appreciative of the willingness of our partners to host our collection barrels and encourage
other businesses and partners to contact us to schedule placement,” said Jacqueline Blachowski, WNY
Food 4 Paws President.