Eileen Buckley

The University at Buffalo appears to be one of the first campuses in the Buffalo area to implement Gender-Neutral Housing.  This will allow couples of the opposite sex to now live together in campus housing.

"We would have request from time to time from students who were looking for housing options that didn't restrict them from living with individuals who identified either as male or female," said Brian Haggerty, UB's senior associate director of campus living.

New York State is getting closer to providing a higher level of tax credits for developers of historic properties as the State Senate approved a bill that would hike those credits from $five million to $12 million.

Assemblyman Sean Ryan says if the bill is approved by the Assembly next week, it would be a "win-win" for some historic Buffalo buildings.

"You have to go through the process. You have to show that you have a development plan in place, then you apply for it," said Ryan. 

Buffalo Public School teachers have signed off on a teacher evaluation plan after nearly six-months of exchanges with the state education department and Buffalo School District.

Buffalo Teachers Federation president Phil Rumore said the evaluation agreement finally makes sense to teachers.   This agreement paves the way for more than $5 million in improvement grants for six failing city schools.

"After three days of meetings, the teachers at the effective school hammered out an agreement that they felt was fair," said Rumore. 

High school graduation rates are showing a slight improvement across the state, but still remain too low for students to be competitive.  That is according to the New York State Education Department that released rates Monday. 

U.S. Attorney William Hochul is calling on the community to take a stand against the rise in shootings in Buffalo. 

In the past month, violence has escalated. Hochul says the number of shootings in the city of Buffalo is 48-more than last year at this same time.

WBFO & AM-970 Eileen Buckley sat down with Hochul in our studio's to discuss this latest trend on gangs, guns and drugs..

State Senator George Maziarz was a key player in bringing the high-wire dare-devil act of Nik Wallenda to Niagara Falls in hopes of generating an international tourism event to boost the local economy.  

WBFO & AM-970'S Eileen Buckley talked to Maziarz about final preparations for the event and Wallenda's call out to citizens to offer financial support for next Friday's high wire walk over Niagara Falls. 

Western New York Congressman Brian Higgins stood on the House floor Thursday calling for the removal of  Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.

Congressman Higgins said the postmaster caused a huge upset in this region when he called for the closing of Buffalo's William Street processing center. 

The William Street facility was slated for closing, but was granted a three-year reprieve.  Still, Higgins believes that a change in leadership must take place soon to prevent a flawed process from repeating in the future when the moratorium expires.

The family of Alexandria Rice  retracted an earlier request posted on a Facebook  Memorial page for their daughter Wednesday asking members of the public to write letters to Judge Sheila DiTullio, requesting that she impose the maximum one year prison sentence on Doctor James Corasanti for his reduced driving while intoxicated conviction last week.

Rice was struck and killed by Corasanti last July along Heim Road in Amherst, and widespread public outrage followed last week's jury decision to acquit Corasanti on several felony charges, including vehicular manslaughter.

All this week the University at Buffalo is bringing together 25 emerging composers from around the world for June in Buffalo. 

Since 1975, June in Buffalo has dazzled audiences with a unique blend of instrumental performances. 

WBFO & AM-970's Eileen Buckley talked with UB's Birge-Cary chair of Music David Felder about performances he has been directing for 27 years.   As they conducted the interview, musicians were hard at work rehearsing for the shows.

June in Buffalo kicked off Monday and performances will continue through this Sunday.  

Flight 3407 families were scheduled to gather for a dedication of a new memorial Saturday at the site of the deadly plane crash in Clarence that killed 50 people in February 2009.

WBFO and AM 970's Eileen Buckley talked with John Kausner, who lost his daughter Ellyce.  He says the families are pleased with the memorial dedicated to their loved ones.

Students at Lake Shore High School in Angola are mourning the loss of a student. 

A student was found dead at the school Thursday night.  Authorities believe it was an apparent suicide. 

WBFO & AM-970 News spoke with the Lake Shore Central School District superintendent James Przepasniak.   He said they are honoring the wishes of the family and will not be releasing any additional information. 

More than 800 teams are scheduled to participate in this weekend's Gus Macker basketball tournament downtown.

As of Friday afternoon, Delaware Avenue between Huron and down to Niagara Square to West Eagle Street is closed to traffic.

Crews are setting up and preparing 52 courts.

The streets will remain closed to traffic all the weekend for the tournament and are expected to re-open late Sunday night. 

The closures has caused some gridlock on some downtown streets, including parts of South Elwmood near Huron and Delaware and Franklin. 

Eight international guitarists will be competing next week in the 5th annual JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition.  Semifinalists will compete on June 6th and 7th and will be aired on WNED-TV at 7:30 p.m.

The final top three will perform with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at Kleinhans with Falletta conducting on June 9th.

WBFO & AM-970'S Eileen Buckley spoke with Falletta about who this competition attracts guitarists globally.

 The competition is presented by WNED and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Former Common Council member Brian Davis pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing $48,000 dollars in federal funds from the City of Buffalo. 

Davis  admitted the crime as part of a plea deal involving his cooperation with investigations at City Hall. 

"Today's developments mark one of the first times, in recent memory, that an elected official has been convicted of actually stealing money in his care," said U.S. Attorney William Hochul.

Buffalo recently stepped up its effort combat the every growing problem of graffiti vandalism. 

This week in our Press Pass conversation, WBFO & AM-970's Eileen Buckley talks with Buffalo News reporter Brian Meyer about how the city has doubled its effort to erase graffiti.  You can watch Brian Meyer's graffiti video story on-line to the Buffalo News Web video link.

Even when the marriage is dissolved by a divorce, that doesn't mean the financial connection is dissolved.

This week  on You and the Law WBFO & AM-970's Mike Desmond speaks with attorney Kelly Zarcone about post-divorce estate planning.

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown has a new leader. 

The board of directors announced this week that they selected Dr. Anton Twan Leenders to serve as the 5th president and CEO of the Institute. 

Leenders is currently at the Connecticut Audubon Society.  

Leenders tells WBFO & AM-970 his current work has concentrated on the conservation of birds and their habitats in Connecticut, but he is now ready to assist to help preserve habitat in the Southern Tier region.

When the new Buffalo schools superintendent is selected, they can expected to receive a book authored by community stakeholders. 

As part of the Say Yes to Education program, a special project is being launched by a long-time, local education expert.  It is called “Letters to the Superintendent”.

Anyone who has a vested interest in the Buffalo's public schools. parents. grandparents, teachers and community leaders, all are invited to write a letter to the new superintendent.

A Buffalo based non-profit research and education group says a recent University at Buffalo study on hydraulic fracturing is seriously flawed and biased.

Earlier this month UB released the study on the environmental impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling, claiming environmental incidents based on fracking have dropped dramatically in Pennsylvania in recent years due to better regulation.

 The Erie County Holding Center has a new way for making bail payments.  The County Sheriff's Office has implemented a cash bail payment system that can be accessed on-line or by phone.

Streamlining the payment process for families and inmates in posting bail has gone high-tech at the Holding Center.

"It opens another opportunity for someone to make bail," said Robert Koch , Superintendent of the Office of Jail Management Division for the Erie County Holding Center.

An Orchard Park contractor has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for eight alleged workplace safety violations at a Buffalo worksite. 

An OSHA inspector discovered that Aria Contracting employees were removing asbestos and asbestos-containing materials from a former warehouse at 2925 Main Street without wearing protective suits and respiratory protection. 

For the second time in two days, there is a report of a person going over Niagara Falls, this time on the American side.

New York State Park Police are investigating the report of a second person going over just after 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.  Police say they are interviewing witnesses, who say the person who went over was an adult, but police tell WBFO and AM 970 there is no further information at this time.

Authorities say due to the rocks below the American Falls, chances of survival are slim. However, a search for a body continues.