Local

The long process for speeding up traffic across the Peace Bridge is shifting to improving the plaza on the U.S. end.

That's going to be a relatively small improvement compared to the $300 million plan Washington was pushing but wouldn't pay for.

With plans shown at a public display yesterday in the Niagara Branch Library, the bridge authority wants to demolish a row of houses along Busti Avenue and eventually buy and demolish the adjacent Episcopal Church Home.

Mitt Romney's race to the Republican nomination will likely ease decisively through New York State.

That's according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University which shows Romney with a huge lead among those expected to vote in New York's April 24th GOP Primary. Romney has the support of 54 percent of expected voters compared to Rick Santorum's 21 percent.

The November election may be a drastically different story.

A man is recovering this morning at Erie County Medical Center after he was shot in the stomach by a Buffalo police officer during a standoff in Black Rock Wednesday night.

The wound has been categorized as non-life threatening to the unnamed man who has been described as being in his late sixties.

In accordance to department policy, the officer has been placed on administrative leave as the incident is reviewed by the Homicide Bureau and Internal Affairs.

The Hamilton Street standoff came to a boil when the man threatened an ambulance crew with a knife.

A broken leg kept Western New York Rep. Louise Slaughter from attending the presidential signing of a bill she championed that prohibits insider trading among members of Congress and other federal employees.

President Obama cited Slaughter by name during a signing ceremony today for the the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, lauding her six-year effort in getting the bill passed.

"She first introduced the STOCK Act in 2006 and I know how proud she is to see this bill that she championed finally become law," President Obama said.

An estimated 250 guests, politicians from both sides of the isle, and a hoard of local media were on hand late Wednesday morning at the Burchfield Penney Art Center for Governor Andrew Cuomo's Buffalo visit.

The Governor was eager to share his administrations accomplishments.

"We reduced the property taxes with a property tax cap that now limits property tax increases to 2%," said Governor Cuomo.  "We reduce the burden on local government by passing real mandate relief that has the state reduce the number of mandates," said Cuomo.

A Delta Airlines Flight attendant was removed from a flight Wednesday morning at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.  

The Transportation Security Administration says one of its officers at a security checkpoint stated they felt uncomfortable with the actions of one of the male flight attendants.  But the TSA said it was not a security issue.  

Delta issued a statement saying it was notified this morning that a flight attendant appeared to be "unfit for duty". 

Solar power is a slowly growing piece of the energy picture in New York while offering jobs possibilities for all of the electrical bits and pieces other than the actual solar panels.

There is solar power used in the Empire State and the State Power Authority generates around two-and-a-half-megawatts itself although it really isn't in the solar business.  Instead, it's working with NYSERDA, the state's energy research authority, to find ways to use solar to reduce conventional energy generation demand and to develop companies which supply the solar industry.

Albany is moving forward to repair New York's aging and decrepit roads and bridges, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into an accelerated repair program.

That is on top of spending in the regular budget to turn around bad bridges and roads.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is focusing on his New York Works program, with more than a billion federal and state dollars, with $121 million of that going into 48 projects across Western New York, all to start this year.

Medicare was on the minds of more than a dozen seniors who sat down Tuesday with Congresswoman Kathy Hochul at the Blocher Homes on Evans Street in Williamsville. 

At least one member of the group expressed concerns  about those in congress who continually "snipe" at entitlement programs for being too costly, and that something has to be done. 

Bankruptcy proceedings are making public some of the problems crippling Pinnacle Airlines, the parent company of Colgan Air, the operator of  Flight 3407, which claimed 50 lives when it crashed in Clarence Center in February 2009. 

As some of its pilots await overdue paychecks, filings with the Security and Exchange Commission reveal generous compensation packages for Pinnacle executives.

The Buffalo News reports the company gave its current CEO a $250,000 raise just a month prior to filing for bankruptcy.

Western New York Rep. Louise Slaughter is recovering from a broken leg.

Slaughter, 82, was attending an event in New York City honoring women leaders in public service when she accidentally fell and broke her leg.

A statement issued by her office says the congresswoman is in "good spirits" and her doctors indicate she will be back at work when the House of Representatives reconvenes April 16.

However, Slaughter says she is disappointed that she will not be able to attend Wednesday's signing of the STOCK Act with President Barack Obama. 

The body of Army Sgt. William Wilson III of Getzville has arrived home. 

Wilson was shot and killed in Afghanistan by an alleged member of the Afghan security police force on March 26.  

Sgt. Wilson’s body arrived at the Prior Aviation in Cheektowaga late Tuesday morning.  The 27-year-old was a 2003 graduate of Williamsville North High School. 

A wake will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Amigone Funeral Home in Amherst.  Funeral services will be held Friday morning at the Chapel at Crosspoint in Getzville.

Detecting lies has never been a foolproof science. Current methods can provide an educated guess but none are considered conclusive.

Now, new research from the University at Buffalo has found a promising new way to identify untruths.

UB researchers have developed a computer program that measures eye behavior - using cameras that shoot 30 frames per second.

The eyes have it

State Assemblyman Sean Ryan is pitching a plan to take away much of the power of the six Industrial Development Agencies in the county and shift economic development control to the Regional Economic Development Council.

The IDAs would also lose much of their power to issue tax breaks, limiting it to the government they represent so that the Amherst IDA could only ease town taxes not those of every government and school district in the county as it can now.

Chippewa Street changes tonight, with a new city ordinance barring those between 18 and 21 from being inside taverns.

That's with the exception of Thursday when they will be allowed in.

Mayor Brown signed the law into effect yesterday and the Council is slated to change it today, to make those Thursday nights a six-month experiment.

Those underage customers are considered part of a safety and crime problem along the "Chip Strip," and city leaders want to fight that to avoid damaging a thriving commercial zone.

The wife of  Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader, Demone Smith,  has admitted to her role in a counterfeit check scheme while she working for the Buffalo Bills.
    
The Buffalo News reports  that 35-year-old Jayme Smith pleaded guilty Monday to federal bank fraud charges in connection with more than $560,000 in bogus checks.
   
 She admitted creating the fraudulent checks and mailing them to individuals across the United States while working for the Bills last year.
    
Court documents didn't mention of the case's financial impact on the Bills.

Political lines are being drawn as the Republican candidates battle for their party's nomination in New York's 27th Congressional district.

State Senator George Maziarz is endorsing Iraq War veteran David Bellavia, bypassing the better-financed candidacy of former Erie County Executive Chris Collins.

The move follows the endorsement of the Orleans County Republican Party, which is also backing Bellavia.

The Buffalo News is reporting that three-time Congressional candidate Jack Davis is providing financial support to Bellavia's campaign.