Friends in low places

Andrew Cuomo talked about being a reformer, while he was making his eloquent speeches during the campaign for governor. The speeches must have been really good, since many people fell hook, line, and sinker. Now, we're finding out, honest Andrew has placed several people from the same special interest groups he railed against, in powerful cabinet positions. Go figure. From the Associated Press...

The Democrat, and son of former Gov Mario Cuomo, is taking heat for some of the longtime friends who have grown up with him in New York and are running the some of the special interests that he has vowed to rein in as Albany's fiscal and ethical top dog.

The New York Times last week focused on the man many call Cuomo's best friend, under a headline jarring to someone calling himself a reformer: "Advising Cuomo, Taking Health Industry's Pay." He is Jeffrey Sachs of Sachs Consulting, but he doesn't register as a lobbyist, a step that would require disclosure of his clients to the state Public Integrity Commission.

Andrew's even recruited some scumbags from his father's administration, who happen to double as CEO's for the health care industry...

Michael Dowling worked in Cuomo's father's administration and now is CEO of the North Shore LIJ Health system. "I know their perspectives. Everyone has perspectives."

Some have a problem with that, including the Center for Justice and Democracy, a medical consumer group critical of Cuomo's Medicaid task force.

"It is clear for all to see that Mr. Sachs was influencing state policy to the benefit of paying clients,"

All these revelations are very shocking. Where is the New York Post's Fred Dicker on this? Has anyone seen Fred Dicker? Congratulations to those of you dumb enough to think Andrew was serious about reform. You got what you deserve...
WSJ.com - NY Gov. Cuomo has put friends in high places*



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East Aurora obstructionists

Welcome to Western New York: the obstructionist capital of the world. A youth hockey organization in East Aurora wants to play a marathon game as a fundraiser and to get into the record books. Remember when communities used to embrace things that brought people together?

A few vocal attention seeking neighbors are now opposing the planned game. They feel their rights have been violated. Boo hoo. I feel so bad for these adults. I hope they're able to withstand the blow this must have on their feelings. Play the damn game and tell the whiners to:
A.) Find more productive ways to spend their energy.
B.) Go piss up a rope.


Let them play the game!


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"You're not a man. You're a bishop."

Another classic scene from Caddyshack:The judge, the doctor, and the bishop are all hanging around the Bushwood Country Club. Judge Smails tries to counsel the bishop on his recent excessive drinking...


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Buffalo police officer hurt in crash

I hope everyone's thoughts and prayers are with Gary Sengbusch and his family tonight. Sengbusch's car was blindsided by a drunk driver on Main St. the other night. He was driving home from his part time job as a security guard, when the other driver ran a red light. I've played soccer against Gary's brother Garrett for many years. He's a quality guy and we're all hoping for a full recovery. There was a woman passenger in the other car (her name has not been released). I hope her condition improves as well. She was listed in grave condition. Very sad story...



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Carl on Donn Esmonde

I for one am glad to see Carl Paladino is mad as hell towards The Buffalo News' Donn Esmonde. Esmonde is clearly a foul ball who doesn't speak for the citizens of Buffalo. He speaks for a select group of hoity toities from the North Buffalo/Elmwood Village neighborhoods, that still think school busing was a great idea.

Esmonde in one of his columns, defended a teen who held up a liquor store at gunpoint, because the teen happened to be poor. He showed a complete disregard for the clerk working behind the counter who had a gun pointed in his face (who was probably also poor). That's the difference between Esmonde and people who know what it means to get their hands dirty. I've highlighted in color my favorite lines from Paladino's message to Donny...

You are bi-polar and the lapdog of Stan Evans and Stan Lipsey.

You constantly write about how we don't need parking downtown and should support mass transit but you drive to work from North Buffalo everyday and park in your private parking lot on State land set aside specially by the Thruway Authority for Stan Lipsey.

You go on and on about promoting tourism and the cultural heritage of our area. Then you insult and attack our largest export partners because one of your bartender friends didn't get a tip. We would not have the Sabres but for our Canadian friends and you certainly don't speak for our community.

You express total shock and disgust when Chris Lee has a bad day. You're a hypocrite. You should have learned long ago that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, because even you have another side which some of us are well aware of.

You write over 35 articles bashing Bass Pro, Larry Quinn and the Canal Side plan in our city's only newspaper and dribble on that it's the will of the people when a bunch of do-nothing blowhards bring a frivolous lawsuit against the project. Your short memory blames Bass Pro for backing out when in fact it was the ultimatum of our city's incompetent congressman Brian Higgins and the silly living wage nonsense in City Hall that put Johnny Morris's back to the wall, 30 days out from a final deal.

Why don't you just say to the people that you were instructed by the sneaky and spineless Stan Lipsey to kill the Bass Pro deal because Lipsey doesn't want the project next to his building? Conflict? Deja Vous? It sounds like the domed football stadium deal when Mrs. Butler pushed it out of downtown? Mark my words that the one-acre hole in the ground 3 stories deep will still be there 10 years from now.

Lipsey's career is over. He's washed up. He has no legacy. He now has his ace reporter Jim [the worm] Heaney all in a fluster ordered to defame and write more trash on me. That's typical Lipsey. He can't dig himself out of this hole because I don't particularly care what he wants to print and the people see right through it anyhow. The people in this community despise him and his rag newspaper.

Maybe you should take a break Donn. All the pressures of being the "voice of Buffalo" throughout Buffalo's years of decline must take its toll. Time means nothing to you and you are clueless of what our community needs. You're on your way out as your paper works its way to extinction. And by the way, tell Heaney to crawl back under his rock.

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Lackawanna shooting

One of the drug suspects had been arrested 27 previous times. It's terrible that Lackawanna police had to use deadly force. However, the bigger question I have is, who are the judges letting someone on the streets after 27 arrests? Obviously, one of the reasons they are leading a life of crime is because they aren't too worried about the punishment. I wonder how many lives they've ruined through their distribution of illegal drugs. Maybe one of these years, we'll go after the kingpins supplying the dealers with drugs. I'll start holding my breathe now. By the way, is every cop in Lackawanna named Jaworski?...

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Mr. Smith goes to Washington, he is not

The same date Chris Lee was contacting transvestites and transgender guys looking for sex, was coincidentally the same date he reported his email address "hacked". Nice try. He looks so normal surrounded by his beautiful family in these old clips.


It's going to be funny watching the local news anchors use words like cross dressers and transvestites. Very bizarre indeed. Is he the weirdest Congressmen in the WNY delegation or does Louise Slaughter have some secrets she'd like to share with the rest of us?

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Does it make sense now?

To those wondering why Chris Lee resigned his seat so abruptly over a seemingly harmless shirtless photo, maybe it has something to do with this new development...

Gawker.com says two transgender women recently contacted them, each saying they had exchanged emails with Lee. One sent along an ad that Lee allegedly posted on craigslist.com in search of transgender women. However gawker says the woman, worried about being identified, cut off contact after corresponding with them for more than a week. The second sent gawker.com a new photo that she says Lee sent after they started chatting through e-mail, after Lee responded to a "Trans for Men" personal ad on craigslist.com. The second woman also cut off contact with gawker, after providing them with initial information about her contact with Lee...

Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man Oh my Lola, L-L-Lola, L-L-Lola...

Gawker.com: Details on Why Chris Lee Resigned From Congress So Fast | wgrz.com
http://t.co/baUDbsC


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Por favor!

I can't believe some people say soccer players do too much flopping and diving to earn fouls. Check out this maneuver from the u20 World Cup qualifier. A guy from Chile actually smacks himself in the face with his opponent's hand in order to get a free kick. Bizarre, even by foreign standards. And it looks as if he got the call, too. He should have been given a yellow card instead...

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Rush: Subdivisions

Before the Tragically Hip became known, Rush was a popular band among teens from Canadian-American border cities in the early to mid 1980s. They did have a fanatical following in certain areas which I didn't fully understand. I have to admit, I wasn't a big fan of the band. I knew a few of their songs, and they had a unique sound, but it wasn't one that really appealed to me.

The band is standing the test of time, however. Many of their songs were about teenage isolation, which unfortunately, never seems to go out of style. The song Subdivisions talks about the disconnect and alienation certain people feel growing up in the suburbs. Here are the opening lyrics from the song. Pretty impressive writing I have to say:

Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown

Growing up it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass production zone
Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone

(Subdivisions)
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
(Subdivisions)
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth

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Blast from the past

Hot Hollywood starlet poses at a beach.
"Dan, does this suit make me look fat?"

(Link) View more Sickness Sound Clips and Naseau Sound Clips

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Catholic Lawyer to Cuomo: "no Communion for you!"

It's always funny when some ambitious Catholic zealot tries to deny a politician communion. I'm no fan of Andrew Cuomo. I sold several dozen t-shirts across the state this past summer urging residents not to let their friends support the son of Mario. However, to deny him communion because he lives with his girlfriend?...

In an email interview with CNS NEWS.com Monday, Dr. Edward Peters argued the Roman Catholic governor should refrain from receiving communion, and he should be denied the sacrament, given that he lives with his girlfriend, Food Network hostess, Sandra Lee.

Dr. Peters cites canon 915 from the Church’s Code of Canon Law, which says people “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion,” and contends that Cuomo’s living with Lee, despite not being married, meets the requirements of this law.

Please. Dr. Peters needs to go back and read the Bible. Jesus Christ hung out with a whole bunch of people who wouldn't be able to receive communion today by his standards. I specifically remember one verse that said "let he amongst us who is without sin cast the first stone" at the woman accused of adultery. I think the Catholic Church should pay closer attention to some of the priests distributing communion and less on those receiving it. Congratulations, Dr. Peters. You achieved your goal of getting your name in the press. Now let little Andrew pretend to be a Catholic again...
Does Living With 'First Girlfriend' Mean Cuomo Ineligible For Communion?CBS New York

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South Park community high school debated

Councilmember Kearns drew a harsh response from Buffalo School Board members when he suggested new students to South Park High School take an entrance exam or get there straight from the successful South Buffalo Discovery School. From The Buffalo News...

Some board members bristled when Kearns turned the discussion specifically to South Park High School, which has been identified by the state as persistently low-achieving. He said that it should be changed into a school that students have to test into, or it should become a school that serves graduates of Discovery School in South Buffalo.

“You need the change in South Buffalo. What about the rest of the city?” board member Mary Ruth Kapsiak, who represents the Central District, said to Kearns. “You’re talking about the bottom-tier five [high schools]. You’re addressing one. What about the others?”

Florence D. Johnson, an at-large member of the board, also spoke passionately on behalf of struggling schools in areas of the city that are predominantly minority. If South Park becomes a school that serves its South Buffalo constituents — who are predominantly white — then other schools will become less racially balanced than they are now, she said.

“If we have one school that is majority children and majority race, what is going to happen to [schools in predominantly minority parts of the city]?” she asked.

I can't believe how distorted things have become. We have someone calling for a school to return to it's neighborhood roots. God forbid, a school trying to have community ties anymore. The current result is a school where people come from all over and their is no sense of community. How many times have you heard old timers talk about how great of a school South Park "used to be"? I wonder how many South Buffalo residents have fled to the suburbs over the past few decades, so their kids could get a decent education.

Busing was a noble experiment that failed miserably. Here's an interesting concept. How about holding families in all neighborhoods accountable for their kids at school? Regardless of their skin color, start creating some academic and behavioral expectations for all students when they enter Kindergarten. I'd love to see South Park become a community high school. Then, despite the fact that he remained silent throughout the whole discussion and never challenged Kapsiak or Johnson, Lou "Pinocchio" Petrucci can stand up and say it was his idea all along. You know he will. That's what self promoters do.
Kearns urges School Board to join summit in push for improvement

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Good for California

A new law was passed in California preventing stores from asking customers their zip codes during purchases...

In California the cashier can no longer ask for your zip code during a purchase. But even if this isn’t the law in your state, you should know if they do ask, you don’t have to answer.

Last week California’s Supreme Court ruled that asking for a zip code infringes upon consumer rights. The Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971 prohibits stores from recording a consumer’s “personal identification information” during credit transactions – and the ruling labeled a zip code as personal information. Since the ruling, consumers have filed class action suits against major retailers in California, including Target, Wal-Mart and Victoria’s Secret. The penalty for requesting such information can be anywhere between a penny and $1,000.

Retailers often run a reverse check on the shopper to obtain their address information, and then proceed to send them marketing information, according to Valdes. These mailing lists are often duplicated and sold to other retailers.

When a store asks you you're zip code, do what I do. Tell them 90210. Phone number? That's easy, too. 867-5309...
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/02/17/stores-request-zip-codes/#ixzz1EpiYmwJk

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7 years of college down the drain

Tree hugger alert: The Buffalo Common Council presented a proclamation honoring the Peace Corps for their 50th anniversary on Tuesday. The Communist second from the left (in the sweater) is South Buffalo's own Tim Hartigan. The ceremony was halted after a few people in attendance walked up to the observation deck on the top floor of city hall and jumped to their death...


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Letter to Kevin Gaughan

Does anyone have regionalism advocate Kevin Gaughan's email address? I'm trying to email him this letter regarding the special election for the Erie County Legislator seat vacated by the always fresh Tim "Horton's" Kennedy:

Mr. Gaughan,

I appreciate all of your efforts to downsize Western New York and free us from unnecessary and expensive layers of government. I am writing to you about the Erie County Legislature. We currently pay the part time lawmakers $43,000/yr. We also pay the salaries of their full time staff members as well as the cost of maintaining their satellite offices in the district.

For years, the County was governed by an all volunteer Board of Managers, consisting of the leaders of various towns and villages in Erie County. Their only role was to approve and make amendments to the County Executive's fiscal budget. Coincidentally, this is the same thing we now pay our current members and their staff to do. The only people who benefit from the current group of legislators are their close friends and family. They are a burden on the hardworking taxpayers.

I am looking for information and support on specifically how much money we pay each year (in salaries, pension costs, office rentals,etc.) for this completely unnecessary layer of government. I'm exploring a possible protest candidacy calling attention to this issue and for the future elimination of the entire Legislature. I live in the 2nd Legislative District currently "represented" by Timothy Whalen. A special election for this seat will be held this Fall. In my opinion, if the people knew how unnecessary these seats were, they would support a future referendum calling for the elimination of them. In an age where we're calling for cutbacks to police officers, firefighters, and teachers, we need to start cutting first with politicians.

I've been a coach and youth sports organizer in South Buffalo for 20 years. In this role, I've come to know thousands of hardworking families. 1,500 people a week read this blog. I have a Bachelors degree in Psychology from UB and a Masters degree in Physical Education from Canisius College. (Unfortunately, not being related to the Keanes, Brian Higgins, or any of the other South Buffalo political families has made finding a decent job in this economically depressed area a little tough.) However, I have no problem competing against them, since I know the residents of the 2nd District would be behind this issue. Thank you very much for your time. I am definitely interested in promoting your call for leaner government in Western New York. My email address is Blake14220@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,

Mike Blake
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GOP replaces Tarzan with Jane

Area Republicans have named NY State Assemblywoman Jane Corwin as the heiress to Chris "Tarzan" Lee's congressional seat. Corwin's family became rich bastards after they started the Talking Phone Book several years ago. Not so fast, sister... What's going to happen when the Blogger releases the shirtless photos she sent him a few months ago? At the time, she said it was "all she had". Muhahahaha...


They do have Craigslist in Albany two, you know.
Jane, you ignorant, independently wealthy, Talking Phone Book inheriting slut!...
Corwin gets GOP nod to run for Lee's seat

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Pegula strikes quickly with blockbuster trade

The Sabres new owner didn't take long to change the makeup of the team. Vanek, Connolly, and Roy have all been traded to Ottawa for a bag of hockey pucks and these three brothers from Medicine Hat, Nova Scotia. I never heard of the new guys (pictured here) but I hope they will at least bring some excitement to the team.Their Cellino & Barnes commercials will have to be better than Roy's...

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Winter's day

I filmed these deer today near South Park Lake by the Botanical Gardens. The reason the camera shakes a little is because I had to zoom in on the deer to get a closer shot. This footage pretty much sums up the type of winter we've had in Western New York. It's been a cold one. If you click the wildlife link at the bottom of the post, you can see some other creatures I've filmed in Erie County...

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The world's oldest professor

Only in Florida: A 70 year old woman arrested on prostitution charges. It's amazing the things older people are able to do these days...

Charlotte County-Authorities arrested four women, including a 70-year-old, on prostitution charges following a raid at a Port Charlotte spa yesterday.

Acting on a tip, undercover sheriff's detectives began surveillance at Mandala Health Spa, 675 Tamiami Trail, and determined the women had received compensation for sexual acts within the business on numerous occasions, according to an arrest report.
www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110218/BREAKING/110219714/2416/NEWS

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Interview with the husband of hit and run victim

An interesting interview from channel 2 with the husband of the hit and run victim from last week's accident on Seneca Street. He thinks her faith in God may have saved her life. She was coming from a church where she just finished saying her afternoon prayer. An optimist would agree with him. A pessimist might say she wouldn't have been hit at all if she went somewhere else on her side of the street. In any event, her husband seems like a good man...

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He had a dream

If you haven't seen this commercial yet for Buckeye's Chicken (Michigan and Eagle St.), check it out. The new restaurant is at the location of the old KFC downtown (the one that got robbed every other week during it's heyday). I used to work two blocks away from it. I knew they were in trouble the day I went there and they told me they were out of chicken. This commercial reminds me of the old F.I.G.M.O.S. supermarket commercial (Finally I got my own supermarket). If you remember that commercial, you're too old to be on the internet...

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There's one in every crowd

Did you hear about this one? A veteran firefighter in Arizona refused to go to the scene when Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot last month because of his "political views." From the Arizona Daily Star...

While the crew was not among the first called to the supermarket where six people were killed and 13 others wounded, a memo from Ekstrum's supervisor said his actions caused "confusion and delay" during the emergency.

Ekstrum's team, which is specially trained to handle large medical emergencies, was dispatched to assist 90 minutes after the Jan. 8 shooting.

The 28-year veteran of the Tucson Fire Department retired two days later while his supervisors were still considering how to discipline him, according to the Star, which obtained the memos about the incident through a public records request.

Capt. Ben Williams wrote in a report that when Ekstrum first said he would not go on the call, "he mentioned something about 'political bantering' and he did not want to be part of it."

I thought they had psychological tests to screen out people like this. When someone gets shot, the last thing on anyone's mind should be what political party they belong to. Imagine if one of the Buffalo firefighters didn't feel like responding to the woman struck by the car on Seneca and Duerstein on Thursday? They had to use air bags to pump up the pickup truck to get it off of her. I hope I never get shot or struck by a car in Buffalo. With my views, more than one responder might fail to "respond"...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-18-firefighter-giffords-dispatch_N.htm?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4d61eb81aae2c346%2C0

www.usatoday.com

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WECK declares war on Buffalo's phony radio stations

For those of you who don't know (and until recently, I was one of them), there is an alternative to the mundane talk show crap coming out of WGR 550 and WBEN 930. It is WECK 1230. This week, the program director let it be known he was coming after these stations...

WECK 1230 AM, a locally owned radio station with a small audience, is “declaring war” against the area’s two dominant AM stations, both owned by Entercom.

Brad Riter, WECK program director, said in an on-air manifesto that the station is positioning itself as the local, talk-radio alternative to WBEN 930 AM and WGR 550 AM.

“This is me, effectively, as program director of WECK, declaring war on Entercom and corporate radio in Buffalo. We will win. We are little. We are local. We will beat you,” Riter, who was fired by WGR in 2007, said in the 18-minute rant this week.

I hope Riter is right. WBEN is a joke. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be as un-entertaining as Tom Bauerle. He constantly tries to be funny, yet is anything but. On WGR, local listeners get to listen to the arrogant, pretentious Mike Schopp berate callers for having the nerve to call his show with an opinion. Never mind the fact that this sports talk show host doesn't seem to know the first thing about most of the sports he covers. Both these stations sold out to the national media a long time ago. I wish WECK great success in their future endeavors. I want to audition for John Otto's old overnight slot. I think he was the last entertaining voice we've had in local talk radio. God rest his soul.

WECK out to wreck rivals as talk-radio option - Entertainment - The Buffalo News

www.buffalonews.com

Cue the classics...

Someone found a letter you wrote me, on the radio
and they told the world just how you felt
it must have fallen out of a hole in your old brown overcoat
they never said your name
but I knew just who they meant.

Oh, I was so surprised and shocked, and I wondered too
if by chance you heard it for yourself
I never told a soul just how I've been feeling about you
but they said it really loud
they said it on the air
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio whoa oh oh now, now ...

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Shoe thief in Williamsville

Some freak has been going into an apartment hallway in Williamsville and stealing women's shoes to satisfy his sick, twisted fetish. The suspect is described as a white male in his mid 30s with dark hair and a medium build. Oh, crap. It might be me. I have to go throw some stuff into my closet...


Let's dance. Put on your red shoes and dance the blues...

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Latest from accident on Seneca St.

After watching the accident on Seneca and Duerstein, it appears two people were in the wrong. The victim was crossing against a green light, which on Seneca Street, is a very unwise thing to do. The driver fled the scene and waited almost an hour before calling the police. How someone could strike another person with their vehicle, and not immediately pull over, is beyond me.

I understand the driver is an elderly woman, which does make me have more sympathy for her. However, I believe her first concern should have been for the victim. If it was you or one of your relatives struck by the car, how would you feel knowing the driver took off and waited an hour before calling the authorities? In any event, Seneca Street remains dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. People drive too fast and often pass you on the right. There are many pedestrians, and people need to be more observant while on this street. The victim should never have crossed against a green light, but the driver should have seen her walk right in front of her car.

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Ice jam

Lifelong residents of South Buffalo will appreciate this video of the ice moving at Cazenovia Creek. It was sent to WGRZ by viewer Jim Grimaldi. The thing that always amazes me when I drive by are the entire tree trunks on the ice or in the water, a testament to how forceful the current underneath is. It's mother nature's cleansing process..

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Wisconsin Cheeseheads

Wisconsin is turning into Cairo, Egypt overnight as the public employee unions battle the newly elected Governor Scott Walker. I wonder how long it is before this scene gets played out in Albany. I don't know who is right or wrong in this debate. I expect the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Here are my two favorite signs from the protests.


Here is a clip on the story from the Associated Press: From what I hear, Ritchie Cunningham and Carmine Ragusa support the governor's bill, while Laverne Defazio and Shirley Feeney think it will have a devastating effect on the Shotz Brewery...


Tommy used to work on the docks. Union's been on strike. He's down on his luck. It's tough. So tough...

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Thank you

I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by today for the ceremony. I didn't want to make a big deal about it but I appreciate the honor and it's nice to be remembered by your neighbors.

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Caz Creek be jammin'

The ice broke at Cazenovia Creek yesterday. My evil twin Andy Parker has the fascinating video here...

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Hit and run on Seneca Street

I heard the reports of a serious accident on Seneca and Duerstein Streets Thursday afternoon around 5PM. I was on my way to our youth soccer program about three blocks away. Preliminary reports stated that a 59 year old pedestrian was struck by an elderly woman, who then fled the scene. Later, police said the driver did contact them to report the accident. The vehicle involved was located on Seneca and Ryan. Police are still trying to determine exactly what happened. The good news is the victim is listed in fair condition at ECMC. No names have been released to the public yet. From WKBW...

South Buffalo (WKBW) It was by all accounts a scary scene in South Buffalo Thursday night, as a driver allegedly hit a pedestrian and then took off, only to be found later by police.

Police say the incident happened around 5pm Thursday evening on the corner of Seneca St. and Duerstein St. in South Buffalo. Authorities say a 59 year old female pedestrian was crossing the street when she was struck by an oncoming car, sending the woman flying through the air and then landing underneath a nearby pickup truck. Police say the victim was taken to ECMC, where she remains in fair condition. Witnesses on the scene tell Eyewitness News the woman was moving and talking as they took her away.

The 68 year old driver is now in police custody, and was questioned Thursday night, according to police.

Within an hour of the incident, Buffalo Police located what they believe to be the car involved in the hit-and-run on Seneca St.and Ryan St., just blocks from where the original incident took place. The vehicle matched eyewitness descriptions, and had a knocked out front headlight and partially dented hood.

The mini mart on the corner gave this surveillance video of the accident to WGRZ Channel 2. Very scary scene indeed.

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New uses for duct tape

I don't see what the big deal is. They tell you duct tape works for everything. This mom just took it a little bit too far. Can you say Child Protective Services?...

WALLINGFORD, P.A. (WPIX) —

A Pennsylvania woman was arrested and charged with child endangerment after a photo of her posing with baby daughter who was bound and gagged with duct tape surfaced on the internet.

The disturbing photograph, which shows a smiling 21-year-old Caira Ferguson crouching down to her 2-year-old daughter whose arms and legs are restrained by duck tape to a small chair.

Maybe the mother got the idea from this mother. The internet has been a great source for the rest of us to find out how many morons are out there...

Duct Taped Baby: Shocking Photo of Duct Taped Baby Leads To Mother's Arrest - wsbt.com

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Nevilly Court meeting this Saturday

I just wanted to remind those of you with kids involved in sports: the meeting for the Nevilly Court Athletic/Educational Center will be this Saturday at 10AM at Bishop Timon High School (Mckinley Parkway).

Councilman Kearns will be going over the project in detail. Some of the neighbors are against the project. I don't begrudge them, as they live in the area and should have a say in the project. What I do have a problem with is a small minority of people living outside the neighborhood who have opposed the project. They are not opposing it based on any principle. They are opposing it in an effort to endear themselves to the mayor. These people are not representative of the community at large. They are political opportunists looking to gain favor with our mayor (who incidentally couldn't find South Buffalo on a map). I encourage everyone to bring their kids and call your neighbors and have them bring their kids. Be heard.

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Ridiculous

I just saw this story about Dawn Schafer, a Buffalo woman ticketed in West Seneca for having an air freshener hanging from her rear view mirror. This is absurd. If this is the only thing she's accused of, the West Seneca Court should send her a letter telling her the police officer made a mistake and not to bother showing up to court. I realize this law is on the books, but it is ridiculous and completely unnecessary. Isn't this the type of stuff the BTK killer Dennis Radar pulled when he worked as a Wichita, Kansas Code Enforcement officer?

This is not Egypt. We have no desire to live in a police state. This constitutes harassment in my opinion. This woman had somewhere to go and was needlessly pulled over and ticketed because someone obviously took himself way too seriously. Does this police officer realize the tough financial times most of us are living in? The next time he is complaining about his pay or benefits, he shouldn't expect any sympathy from motorists like the woman in this clip. This overzealous cop makes all level headed police officers look bad through his careless actions. If there's more to the story, then we'd like to hear it...

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Can you hear me now?

Usually, I view most traffic violations as one big money grab for municipalities. However, when it comes to cell phone violations, I'm all for high fines. Who hasn't gone to a restaurant and heard "that guy" talking on his cell phone like he's on a megaphone? Or those annoying ringtones? Are some people that desperate for attention that we need to hear their Beyonce ringtone go off when we cross paths in a public place?


We went for years without even answering machines or caller ID. There are very few conversations so important that you need to put everyone else's life on the line.
Driving a car and having a phone conversation are two mutually exclusive activities (and should stay that way). Your life is not a video game. The machine you're operating is traveling at a high rate of speed. If you slam into me, we don't have a reset button. Your call to your best friend can wait until the ride home is completed...

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You've got a friend in Pennsylvania

This is kind of funny. I guess the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has a real wackjob as mayor. Recently, some disgruntled residents held a rally calling for her to resign. Attached is the resulting video. Linda Thompson, the mayor, appeared in a city hall window and made some gestures at the protesters. Someone then threw a snowball at the window. Oh, did I mention that Harrisburg is the capital city of Pennsylvania and the birth place of Kent Dorfman (AKA Flounder)?...

Crowd gathers in downtown Harrisburg calling for Mayor Linda Thompson to quit

www.pennlive.com

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