YAHOO INTERESTED IN LOCKPORT

Internet giant Yahoo wants to possibly build
it's new data center in the Town of Lockport.
The company has applied for site plan
approval and a property tax break to build the
$150-million data center in the Town's Industrial
Park. The project would bring in as many as
125 high-tech, high-paying jobs. The State
would provide 15 megawatts of low cost
power. Town Attorney Dan Seaman stresses
it's not a done deal and a Yahoo spokesperson
says they have not made a final decision. She
said they are still in discussion with other States
and there are multiple stages of the process. However
the company is interested in a 30 acre section
of the park bounded by Junction Road, Crown
and Enterprise Drives. A public hearing will be
held Tuesday, June 30, at 4pm in Town Hall.
Supervisor Marc Smith expects to hear from Yahoo
in early July.

CUTTING THE SIZE OF THE LEGISLATURE

County lawmakers will consider a resolution
next Tuesday to reduce the size of the Legislature
from 19 to 15 members. The proposal calls for the
change to be made after next year's census. Majority
Leader Rick Updegrove says they'll save money but
it's also a part of an overall push by the majority
caucus to reduce the size of county government.

SUNKEN BOAT

A 22 foot 1989 Galaxie boat was found sunk at
Lockport's Widewaters Marina around 7 o'clock
last night. Lockport Police responded after
getting a call from a resident of North Royal
Parkway. The boat was found submerged on
it's side at the end of the Marina boat docks.
Haz-mat teams from the County and the Fire
Department cleaned up a large amount of oil
and gas floating on the water. The boat was
left there for the night because they had no
equipment to remove it. It's owned by 45
year old Edward Dolski of 308 Chestnut.

BOUNDARY WATERS TREATY CELEBRATION

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in the
Falls for tomorrow's Boundary Waters Treaty
celebration on the Rainbow Bridge.
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter is the
honorary co chair and will deliver the closing
remarks. The event on the bridge will close
the bridge from 10am till noon. The pedestrian
walkway will be shut down entirely from 7am
till 1pm. The celebration is being put together
by the International Joint Commission. It's
composed of three commisisoners from the US and
three from Canada. U-S Chair Irene Brooks
says the treaty was signed by the U-S and
Great Britian (for Canada) and it created the
Commission. They are charged with regulating
water level flows and other issues on Lake Ontario
and all the other bodies of water along the entire US
Canadian border. It is regarded as the world's
first environemtal treaty. The official ceremony
on the bridge will be followed by six hour
environmental fair with live music at Terrapin
Point, Goat Island, and the State Park. Twenty
organizations ranging from the Buffalo Audubon
Society to the US Fish and Wildlife Service will
have exotic animals and reptiles on display.
Therell be environmental arts and crafts for the
kids, and live music. The Mama Earth Kitchen
Band will play at 1pm, a US-Canadian chamber
music ensemble called Canamereta will
perform at 3, and native American singer Joanne
Shenadoah will play at 5. A live concert
starts at 6 with Donna The Buffalo outside the
Hard Rock Cafe. That'll be followed by an
outdoor showing of the movie Waterlife at
the Knack at 8, and there'll be fireworks over the
Falls at 10.

WOMAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING POLICE OFFICER

A 27 year old Falls woman is facing a felony
charge of assaulting a police officer after
she allegedly scratched the face of one of
the members of the department Wednesday
night. Tina Louise Parker of Ferry Avenue
plead not guilty yesterday in City Court and is
being held in the County Jail on $2,000 bail.
She's due back in court next Friday. Police
say the attack occured about 10pm Wednesday
when Parker called them on a criminal mischief
complaint.

GRECO MURDER

Three of our State representatives will meet with
the State's Deputy Commissioner of Child and
Family Services Monday to discuss the murder
of Renee Greco and to determine if the crime could
have been presented. Assemblywoman Jane
Corwin says they will evaluate the rules, regulations,
and vetting procedures used by New Directions.
The Albany meeting will also include State Senator
George Maziarz and Assemblyman Sam Hoyt.

EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT

The Chairman of the Empire State Development
Corporation stepping down today after a just a
year on the job. Bob Wilmers is also the Chairman
of M&T Bank. The Governor says he will appoint
Dennis Mullen to the position. The Rochester
businessman had served as the agency's upstate
President and Paterson last week named his as
President & CEO of the entire agency. He'll keep
those two titles and add the chairmanship to his
duties if the legislature o-k's the move. Wilmers
said he was resigning because of the increasing
demands made on him at the bank.

UNSHACKLE UPSTATE

Sabres owner Tom Golisano has joined
"Unshackle Upstate." The coalition of
business and trade organizations calls
attention to the negative policies, laws,
taxes, and fees originating in Albany that
jeopardize the area business climate. Buffalo
Niagara Partnership President and CEO
Andrew Rudnick says Golisano understands
the issues facing employers and how they are
tied to a lack of reform in Albany.

FILL THE BOOT

Lockport firefighters report they collected
$6,185 for the MDA during yesterday's
"Fill The Boot" campaign. Off duty
firefighters manned five locations between
7 & 10:30 Thursday morning. The money will
be presented to Jerry's Kids during the Labor
Day telethon.

VEHICLES ENTERED

A 29 year old Lockport man was caught by
police around 2am today after he allegedly
entered at least three vehicles overnight at
29 Beattie Avenue and at 138 and 142 Grant.
Dashun Barnes of 45 Ontario is charged
with petit larceny, possession of stolen
property, and criminal tampering. One of the
victims said she woke up around 1:15, heard
noises, and looked outside and saw a male
in a dark hoodie and a dark hat with a mostly
white dog going through her vehicle. Her
description matched that of Barnes and
he was arrested at the corner of Erie & Oliver.
He allegedly had numerous items in his
possession belonging to the victims.

YAHOO

Assemblywoman Francine del Monte says
internet giant YAHOO is inching closer to
selecting a site for a new data center in
Niagara County. She says the first round of
public meetings will be held in the coming
weeks. The facility is expected to generate
125 high-tech, high paying jobs. Officials
also think it may lure other high tech
companies to the area.

FILL THE BOOT

Off-duty Lockport firefighters were busy Thursday
morning collecting donations at five
spots in the City for the Muscular Dystyrophy
Association. Chairman Doug Nicholson
says they started at 7 and continued till about
10:30. That's when they started counting it
all, Nicholson says people were very generous
and a total will be announced tomorrow. All the
money collected will be turned over to the MDA
during the annual telehon for Jerrys Kids on
Labor Day Weekend.

PARENTS CHARGED IN CHILD'S DEATH

The parents of a 13 month old Lockport girl
who died of acute opiate intoxication in
March 2007 were arraigned before Judge
Matt Murphy Wednesday on two counts
each of criminally negligent homicide.
Nicholas Doxey and Sara Nigro, both 23,
were charged after sealed indictments
were handed down by a grand jury. An
autopsy showed the toddler, Sierra
Doxey, had lethal levels of morphine in
gastric, liver and brain samples. Detective
Captain Rick Podgers says the two
initally co-operated in the investigation
until the morphine was found but after that
they refused to talk with them. That's the
reason it took so long for the police to
do their investigation and file charges.
The couple claims the girl had been sick for
several days but was alive when they called
for help but a pathologist said she had
died earlier. The incident happened at the
couple's former Garden Street apartment.
Doxey now lives at 172 Niagara and is
being held on $2,000 bail. Nigro, of 264
Garden Street, was released on her own
recognizance. She was allegedly slapped
in the face by a Depew woman as she was
leaving the Grand Jury room. Nigro
filed harassment charges against the woman
and requested an order of protection.

STATE SENATE

The State Senate held a brief meeting this morning
and recessed till Monday. The action came as
a judge in Troy refused to issue an injunction
against the takeover and asked for more legal
arguments. State Senator George Maziarz
said the session started around 11:15 in the
Senate Chamber with 30 Republicans and
the two so called renegade Democrats present.
The rest of the party boycotted the session.
Maziarz says they did not pass any bills. They
took a quorum call and accepted the minutes
from Monday when the change in leadership
took place. That reaffirmed their choice of Senator
Skelos as Majority Leader and Senator Espada
as President. The changes in the rules passed
Monday were also accepted. The Majority Leader
can serve no more than six years, members can
now bring a bill directly to the floor for a vote,
Committee meetings will be broadcast, attendance
at the meetings is mandatory and voting by proxy
will not be permitted. The Senate will also establish
a C-SPAN like channel to carry their proceedings
live.

FLIGHT OF FIVE

The Director of the State Canal Corporation was
in Lockport Wednesday morning for groundbreaking
ceremonies for the Flight of Five. Carmella Mantello
said Mayor Mike Tucker approached her about the
idea two weeks after she was appointed. He told
her he had a vision and needed her help. Mantello
talked of Tucker's committment and passion for the
plan to restore the original locks. She praised members
of the Flight of Five committee and all the others
involved. Tucker called it a "great historic day"
and said they had been working for five years to
get to this point. He said they had to submit a
tremendous amount of documenation and there
were reams of paper to prove it....but now they
were ready to begin some actual construction
in the next few days. The event also featured a
ribbon cutting for the new gazebo on Canal Street.
Tucker said it was to signal that work on the
street was done and the rehabbed buildings
were ready for use.

INVESTIGATION

The State Office of Children and Family Services
is looking into Monday night's murder of 24 year old
Renee Greco in the group home operated by
Wyndham Lawn and New Directions Youth &
Family Services. Meantime, Greco's brother
told the Buffalo News she was planning to hand
in her two weeks notice soon so she could work
at a salon while pursuing her dream of being a
youth counselor.

FALLS DRUG RAID

Falls Police seized drugs and cash during a raid
Wednesday night at two suspected crack and
marijuana houses at 2407 & 2409 Monroe Avenue.
A large quantity of marijuana and more than
$1300 in cash were seized at 2409 Monroe....
and more than 30 Ecstacy tablets, a digital
scale, and other drug paraphanelia were
found at 2407. A Buffalo man was the target
of the search warrant at 2407 and he was
arrested at 18th & Niagara as he was returning
to the home. Police say he was carrying
3.8 grams of crack. A 22 year old is expected
to be charged in connection with the seizures
at the other house. Neighbor complaints
led to the raids. They told police the dealing
was being conducted in the open and the
short dead end street was sometimes packed
with the cars of customers.

DRUG CHARGES AGAINST LOCKPORT MAN

Twenty-four year old Scott Lindemuth of 181 Saxton
in Lockport allegedly had a bag of marijuana in his
pockets when Sheriff's deputies pulled him over
just after 11:30 last night on Saunders Settlement
Road. He'll be in Cambria Town Court June 17.

OFFICE MAX

A $1,500 Hewlett Packard touch screen computer
was reported missing last night from the Lockport
Office Max store on South Transit. A worker told
Sheriff's deputies it was apparently stolen between
8 & 8:30 p.m.

LOCKPORT MURDER

The two teens accused of murdering their
24 year old counselor at a group home
operated by Wyndham Lawn Monday night
are being held without bail after pleading not
guilty yesterday in City Court. They are
18 year old Anthony Allen and 17 year old
Robert Thousand, both of Rochester. They're
charged with second degree murder, first
degree robbery, and second degree burglary.
The victim was Rene Greco of Buffalo. Detective
Captain Rick Podgers said she was budgeoned
to death around 9:30 Monday night while playing
cards with other residents of the home. He said
the plan was hatched by Allen, that they put a
blanket over her head and used items found in
the basement of the home to commit the crime.
Podgers said another resident of the home ran
to a nearby friends house and reported the
crime. He called 911 and said "they hit the
lady and took the van." The van was recovered
a short time later in the Wal Mart parking lot on
Transit Road. Police then called local cab
companies and discovered they were on their
way to Buffalo to take a bus to Rochester.
They were caught by NFTA Police and returned
to Lockport. Podgers said Allen was worried
he would get caught for breaking into an office
in the home over the weekend and stealing
$160. He said Allen worked at the YMCA and
was told at a group meeting they would
fingerprint the box and find out who had taken
the money. Podgers says that's when Allen
decided to go AWOL and told friends something
bad was gonna happen that night. The two
allegedly tool Greco's purse after killing her
and stole some more money from an office
and took off in the van. A third teen went
with them but was not charged and was
released to Wyndham Lawn. Mayor Mike
Tucker said Wyndham had owned the house
since 1967. The State's Office of Children &
Family Services suspended the operating
certificate for the home yesterday. The few
young people still there were moved to another
location. A spokesperson said they would be
investigating the incident.

170 GENESEE STREET

County Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrezza ruled
Tuesday the owner of 170 Genesee Street in
Lockport must give the house to a church or
a Syracuse not for profit agency as part of his
five year probation. Forty-eight year old Calvin
Burton was arrested last July for selling $20
worth of crack to an undercover officer. Burton
is a veteran of the Gulf War and Sperrezza also
ordered him to attend a veterans court in Buffalo
where he'll be subject to weekly drug testing. The
Federal Government thought about seizing the
house under drug forfeiture laws but decided it
needed to much work. It can either be given to
the nearby First Baptist Church or a Syracuse
agency called Housing Visions. Burton is leaning
toward giving it to the Church and they will probably
put a parking lot in it's place. Housing Visions
would fix it up and it would stay on the tax rolls.
The City condemned the house last August.

MINOR FIRE

Falls firefighters put out a small blaze in a
21/2 story wood frame duplex around 1:30
this morning at 1344 Elmwood Avenue.
Damage was estimated at $4,000. The cause
has not yet been determined and the residents
were not forced to find shelter elsewhere.

PLEA DEAL ACCEPTED IN WILSON

One of the three students charged in the Wilson
baseball hazing case accepted a plea deal
last night in Town Court. The attorney for 19
year old Geoffrey Seefeldt said the case was
resolved with a youthful offender filing and the
plea admits to no sexual contact or injury. He
said Seefeldt will be able to move on without a
criminal record. A sentencing date was not set.
Attorneys for the two other 18 year olds rejected
the plea deals. Their trail will begin June 27. The
proceedings will be closed.

AN APOLOGY

Lew Port School Board President Robert Weller
apologized yesterday for sending controversial
E-mails to members of the Board. He sent a letter
to the pastor of Buffalo's True Bethel Baptist Church
and said he never meant to intentionally offend
anyone and regretted they cast a negative perception
of the school district. The Reverand Darius Pridgen
accepted the apology.

KEMP TO BE HONORED

Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Brian
Higgins have introduced legilsation to name
the Orchard Park Post Office in honor of Jack
Kemp. The two point out that Orchard Park is
home to the Bills. The structure would be
called the "Jack F Kemp Post Office Building".
Kemp also was a candidate for Vice President
and a US Congressman after his football
career ended.

ACCIDENT

A 49 year old Lockport man is being treated
for back and neck injuries at ECMC following
a one car accident around 10:30 Monday morning
on Bowmiller Road. State Police say Dan Page
of Dysinger Road was going North when he
crossed into the Southbound lane at the curve
near Dysinger and hit a ditch. His car flipped
over and landed in a yard at 5678 Bowmiller.
Police said his injuries did not appear to be
life threatening.

POSTAL WORKER

A former postal worker from the Falls was
sentenced to two years probation Monday
after she was found guilty of stealing money
from cards and letters while working at the
Cheektowaga Post Office. Nadine Goodwin
was also found guilty of stealing money from
the Postal Service and ordered to make
$1.072 restitution. The thefts took place
between December 2007 and April 30,
2008.

NO INCREASE FOR NCCC

The County Legislature's Community Services
Committee last night voted not to increase the
county's contribution to NCCC in next year's
budget. The vote was taken after County
Manager Greg Lewis reccommended the
move. It was supported by Legislature Chair
Bill Ross who also sits on the Board of the
College. The school turned in a budget that
called for the County to contriubute $9,071,000
toward it's $46.6-million spending plan...which
would have been a $200,000 increase.

SHAKE-UP IN ALBANY

Republicans took back control of the State Senate
yesterday with the help of two renegade Democrats
from New York City, It happened when the GOP
introduced a resolution to make one of them,
Pedro Espada of the Bronx, the President of the
Senate and Dean Skelos as Majority Leader. Taken
by surprise, the Democrats huddled and then
eventually walked out of the chamber. State
Senator George Maziarz says the new majority
held a session afterwards with four Democrats
and passed a series of reforms that the Democrats
promised to make in the last election but had not.
There will now be term limits for the Majority
Leader and Committee Chairs. There will be
a way for a member to bring an item to the floor
so it's not bottled up in a committee. The
sponsors of all bills must have their name
attached to them and they plan to institute a
cable channel by January to carry their
proceedings. Senator Malcolm Smith still
continued to insist last night he is the Majority
Leader and Maziarz says he will probably
file a lawsuit. The Senate will operate much like
the County Legislature with a combination of
Republicans and Democrats in control. Tom
Golisano had a lot to do with the change and
worked behind the scenes to make it happen.
The Governor was upset when he talked to
reporters last night and said he still considered
Smith to be the Majority Leader.

LOCKPORT MURDER

Two teens who lived at a halfway house operated
by Wyndham Lawn are charged with murdering
their 24 year old coounselor around 9:30 last night.
Eighteen year old Anthony Allen and 17 year old
Robert Thousand are charged with second degree
murder, first degree robbery, and second degree
burglary. The victim was Rene Greco of Buffalo.
Lockport Detective Captain Rick Podgers said she
was budgeoned to death while playing cards with
other residents of the home. He said the plan was
hatched by Allenand that they put a blanket over
the womans head and used items found in the
basement of the home at 437 East Avenue to
committ the murder. Podgers says another
resident of the home ran to a nearby friends
house and called 911. He said, "they hit the
lady and took the van." It was found abandoned
a short time later in the parking lot of the Transit
Road Wal Mart. Police called local cab companies
and discovered they were on their way tio Buffalo
to take a bus to Rochester. They were caught by
NFTA Police and returned to Lockport. A third teen
was with them but was not charged and has been
returned to Wyndham Lawn. Podgers said Allen
was worried he would get caught for breaking into
the group home office over the weekend and
stealing $160. He said Allen worked at the YMCA
and during a group meeting yesterday, they told
everyone they would take the fingerprints off
the cash box and find the person responsible.
That's when he decided to go AWOL and
allegedly hatched the plan with Thousand.
Mayor Mike Tucker said Wyndham Lawn has owned
the halfway house since 1967 and it was located
in a quiet residential area. He said he would be
meeting with officials at Wyndham about it's
future. The two were arraigned this morning in
City Court.

PIESZALA RUNNING FOR BOARD SEAT

Donna Pieszala has announced her run for a
seat on the Town of Lockport Board this Fall.
She's currently a member of the Newfane School
Board where she served as President for a time.
She also co-founded the Eastern Niagara Power
Project Alliance that has been negotating with
NYPA for a share of power and its profits produced
in Niagara County. Pieszala says she's running
to give residents a choice. She'd like to see the
terms for members of the board reduced from
four to two years and thinks the pay for the Board
Members, the Supervisor and the Deputy
Supervisor should be cut. The Deputy
Supervisor makes over $18,000 a year and
The Supervisor's compenstation can come
to about $50,000. She thinks everyone should
get a ten percent cut to start with but would like
to see salaries reduced by as much as 20 percent.
Her website is "Vote for Donna P dot com."

SANDONATO

A 23 year old Republican from LaSalle announced
Sunday he is running for the County Legislature
this Fall. Vince Sandonato wants the Fifth District
seat currently held by Sean O'Connor. He had
initially planned to run for the City Council but
thinks he can do more in the Legislature. Even
though he's running for it, he thinks its membership
should be reduced from 19 to 15 members and that
lifetime health benefits for members should end.
Sandonato is a legal assistant and works in
Amherst. In his spare time, he's an umpire for
the Police Athletic League and also coaches
youth football in Buffalo. He's a member of
Saint John DeLa Salle Catholic Church.

DEMLER

The Republican Committee in the Town of
Wheatfield Saturday withdrew it's endorsement
of Supervisor Tim Demler and voted to instead back
Town Justice Robert Cliffe. Demler says he's still
running. Cliffe says he was resign as a Judge to
make the run. Board Chairman Jim Heuer says
allegations Demler had an affair with the wife of
a member of the Committee did not enter into the
decision. He said other allegations were discussed
during the hour long closed door meeting and they
would come out over time.

GREEN LIGHT

The Appelate Division of State Supreme Court
released a unanimous decision Friday rejecting
all the objections to the proposed Wal Mart
Supercenter in the Town of Lockport. The 5-0
decision cannot be appealed. Lockport Smart
Growth had contended the Town's Zonind and
Planning Boards violated the law when they
granted a series of variances and waivers. Town
Attorney Dan Seaman said the sale of the mall
property would have to go through a bankrupcty
court. The owners, General Growth, filed for
bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

PROFESSIONAL ACTOR TO APPEAR IN OKLAHOMA

A professional actor from Virginia will have
the starring role in the Palace Theatre's
upcoming production of Oklahoma. Twenty-
four year old John Kownacki will play Curly
the cowboy. He won the role after director
Chris Parada went to New York City's Chelsea
Studios where several dozen professional
actors auditioned. Kownacki just finished the
East coast tour of Cinderella and has moved
to Lockport for two months. He will also teach
the annual Theatre School classes which run
from the end of June through July. Oklahoma
opens July 9 and runs through the 19th.

BEILEIN

A tightening of the State's pension policy means
former Sheriff Tom Beilein will not be able to
collect his State salary and County pension at
the same time. Published reports say Beilein
withdrew a request to get both after it was
apparent it would be rejected. He may have to
repay $23,000 he's already received. State law
says someone eligible for a pension cannot
collect it if their salary is over $30,000 a year.
Beilein makes $110,000 a year as Chairman of
the State Commission on Corrections.

APOLOGIZE OR RESIGN

The leader of Buffalo's True Bethel Baptist
Church says Lew Port School Board
President Robert Weller should resign or
apologize for sending controversial E-mails
to board members. The Reverand Darius
Pridgen also threatens to bring a large
contingent with him to this month's board
meeting if he can't meet with Weller
beforehand. Pridgen was responding to
a story in Sunday's Buffalo News about
Weller's habit of forwarding what he considers
to be amusing E-mails. They often depict
the President, Hillary Clinton, and other
political leaders. Critics say they are
racist and sexist. Pridgen told the paper
he was very surprised that in 2009 anyone
would believe they are acceptable. He
asked members of his congregation
yesterday to E-mail Weller and tell him
to either say he's sorry or step down.
Weller's term as President ends at the
end of the month.