The Buffalo News -

Organizers hope telephones will be ringing off the hook Friday afternoon in support of Buffalo’s African-American history.

Radio station 1080 WUFO-AM and the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission will partner to host a radiothon from noon to 3 p.m. Proceeds will go toward the upkeep of the corridor’s historic sites – the Michigan Street Baptist Church, the Buffalo Colored Musicians Club, the Nash House Museum and the Langston Hughes Institute.

It marks the commission’s first public fundraiser. But those involved say the radiothon is about much more than raising money.

“I’m hoping that it gives all of us greater recognition,” said George Arthur, president of the board of the Nash House Museum. “This is a very important corridor, and this will help open people’s eyes to what we have, which is a great jewel.”

Clifford Bell, chairman of the heritage corridor’s outreach committee, said the neighborhood deserves more attention. The corridor stretches from the First Shiloh Baptist Church at Swan and Pine streets north to the Bethel AME Church at Michigan Avenue and Ferry Street, but the heart is at Michigan and Broadway.

The Michigan Street Baptist Church was a stop on the Underground Railroad, while other sites were important in the anti-slavery and civil rights movements.

“There hasn’t been a focus on Buffalo,” said Bell, a former Common Council member. “The potential is beyond imaginable and we feel we must protect and encourage people to support these local historical places because we haven’t given them their proper due. You hear about Buffalo being the fourth-poorest city, Buffalo this, Buffalo that. But Buffalo has one of the greatest African-American histories in all of the world.”

Sheila Brown, general manager of WUFO, wants to promote that history.

The gospel and local news talk station, which has been serving Buffalo’s African-American community since 1961, moved from its home of more than four decades on LaSalle Avenue to 143 Broadway in November.

“There was a major opportunity when Sheila Brown started coming to our commission meetings,” said Karen Stanley Flemming, Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission chair. “She heard our purpose and she could see that funding was part of what we need and she offered to host the radiothon. She was determined to be a great neighbor and a major partner to the commission.”

Brown felt June – Black Music Month – was a perfect time to hold the event.

“The plan is to bring more awareness to Michigan and Broadway since we have the microphone,” Brown said. “We want to make it a tourist attraction so they start off at the Nash House Museum, go around corner to the Michigan Street Baptist Church, up to the Langston Hughes Institute, then over to the Colored Musicians Club and stop and see us at the radio station.”

She, too, believes the heritage corridor has potential for growth.

“I’d like to see it like how it is in New York City in Harlem ... because we’re right in the hub of downtown Buffalo,” Brown said. “This should be a stop to learn history of African-Americans, buy different garments, hear singing, drumming, live music and poetry.”

Flemming said the commission has a goal of raising $5,000 in the three-hour window but also has a stretched target of $20,000.

“Enthusiasm is very high,” she said. “We’re very excited that it precedes Juneteenth. It’s a time that many people in Buffalo are thinking about African-American history, and it’s a perfect time to highlight the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission.”

Brown said pledges can be made at the station or by calling 834-1080. The radiothon will feature several community speakers, including Mayor Byron W. Brown, and different playlists of music in between.

email: scampbell@buffnews.com

BATAVIA – Unexpected litigation is putting a dent in the city’s carefully crafted budget that was intended to maintain all services with a minimum tax increase.

Budget transfers – including nearly $72,000 in professional fees – were approved Monday by the City Council.

The need for more in legal fees was not listed, but the city has filed a lawsuit against the Mall Merchants Association over maintenance responsibilities and is involved in zoning and assessments disputes over two downtown building projects.

There are also insurance claims and routine legal business that added up to an unusual $250,000 in legal services.

Another government agency, the Batavia School District, is also involved in unanticipated litigation that could run legal bills into six figures.

The district lost a suit filed by the parents of three girl softball players over inadequate facilities when compared with the boys’ playing field.

The Council also approved redistricting for four of the six wards, moving boundaries to keep ward populations close to a 2,600 average.

The city has lost about 400 residents since the last census, but four wards deviated by more than 10 percent from the required average.

The boundary changes, which drew no opposition at a public hearing, will go into effect Jan. 1, 2015, if approved at the November election.

The Council accepted two resolutions dealing with business sites.

One approves redevelopment of five locations ranging from the City Centre mall to a Tonawanda Creek Park.

The other transfers a South Spruce Street residence to the Batavia Housing Authority, with plans for Habitat for Humanity of Genesee County to restore the property.

Council members narrowly approved (5-4) paying half the $3,800 cost of hanging flower baskets in the business district, an annual project of a merchants association.

A busy summer is on tap, with Council approval of these events:

• A series of 10 Friday night concerts in July and August at Jackson Square;

•The Batavia Concert Band’s performances on five Wednesdays in July at Centennial Park;

• GO-ART’s annual daylong Picnic in the Park on July 4 at Centennial Park;

•A downtown farmers’ market every Thursday.

Bradley E.D. Gabel, 28, of Gowanda, faces the possibility of additional jail time on his guilty plea Monday before Cattaraugus County Justice Ronald D. Ploetz in Little Valley to a reduced felony charge of attempted assault in the second degree for severely beating another inmate at the Cattaraugus County Jail last Sept. 6.

Remanded to the county jail pending his Aug. 11 sentencing, Gabel was charged two years ago with trying to steal scrap metal from a vacant house on the Cattaraugus County Indian Reservation.

Also Monday:

• Carmen C. Burney,27, of Olean, was sentenced to two years in state prison and two years of post release supervision on her felony conviction of criminal possession of a controlled substance linked to a raid on a home on Third Avenue in Olean Jan. 9 by agents of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force in connection with a crack cocaine trafficking investigation.

• Meghan J. Sizemore, 25, of Olean was placed on probation for five years, but ordered to perform 240 hours of community service, use an ignition interlock device on any vehicle she drives for the next three years after she regains her driver’s license one year from now. On her driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed driving arrested in the City of Olean last July 5. County District Attorney Lori Pettit Rieman said Sizemore had a blood-alcohol reading that day of 0.22 per cent, almost three times the state’s legal limit, and already had her license suspended for an earlier driving arrest.

• Ronald L. Wolfe, 53, of Allegany pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with second-degree burglary, aggravated criminal contempt, third-degree assault, criminal obstruction of breathing and child endangerment for forcing his way into a Town of Allegany home Jan. 22 and choking one of the residents and scaring a child in the house from which he had previously been ordered to stay.

• Matthew L. Grimes Jr., 20, of Salamanca, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and third-degree forgery for his role in the cashing of a number of checks stolen in Franklinville. Arrested in February he faces sentencing Aug. 25.

• Justin R. Hand, 27, of Olean, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to aggravated family offense, criminal contempt in the first and second-degrees for disobeying court orders of protection and assaulting a teenaged relative in the Town of Hinsdale twice last September and again on April 22. He faces sentencing Aug. 11.

• Jerrod L. Giles, 35, of Olean, was ordered to serve up to one-year in the Cattaraugus County Jail on his felony conviction for an attempted drug sale in the City of Olean last July 24. Already held at the county jail he could be released within several months.

• Giovanni Salmonson, 23, of Olean, was ordered to serve up to a year in the Cattaraugus County Jail on his conviction for an attempted drug sale in the City of Olean last Nov. 20. He could be facing up to eight months behind bars.

• Michael A. Griffin, 42, of Limestone, was placed on probation for five years and ordered to make full restitution of over $3,000 on his grand larceny conviction for a Town of Allegany break-in last Sept. 29.

• Jesse S. Woodruff, 22, of Olean, pleaded guilty to criminal sale and possession charges for heroin sales and attempted sales in the City of Olean last July 31 and last Aug. 15. He faces sentencing Aug. 11.

• Ralph B. Neasam, 41, of Olean, pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree for a drug sale in the City of Olean last Oct. 23. He faces sentencing Sept. 15.

• Shaina R. Gates, 23, of Irving, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery in the third degree for a forged check incident in the Town of Persia this past Jan. 15. She faced sentencing Aug. 25.

• Joseph W. Shelton, 53, of Salamanca, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with driving while intoxicated for an arrest in the Town of Salamanca last Jan. 20 when he recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.17 per cent, more than twice the state’s legal limit.

• Luis J. Ortiz, 27, of Olean, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana for his arrest in the Town of Ashford this past Feb. 13. Sentencing is Aug. 25.

• Roberta J. Shawley, 41, of Allegany, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging her with burglary in the second-degree and grand larceny for the theft of firearms in a Village of Allegany break-in this past Jan. 21.

• Kristina K. Kelley, 31, of Olean, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree for an attempted drug sale in the City of Olean Feb. 19. She faces sentencing July 13.

• Charles M. Hecht, 28, of Yorkshire, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with fourth-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree for the theft of a credit card during a Town of Yorkshire incident on April 7.

• Brennen D. Smith, 24, of Olean, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with failure to register as a sex offender after court proceedings last fall in the City of Olean.

email: mgryta@buffnews.com

LOCKPORT – Three kittens recovered by Niagara County sheriff’s deputies Monday morning in a field near the old Summit Park Mall were put up for adoption later in the day by the Niagara SPCA.

Sheriff’s deputies received an anonymous call about the kittens which were found in a nylon pet carrying case wrapped in a plastic bag in the field.

The sheriff’s office put pictures of the kittens on the department’s Facebook page. SPCA officials said they are nearly overwhelmed by cats and dogs abandoned during the warm weather months and quickly put the kittens up for adoption. Meanwhile the Niagara County Sheriff’s office is looking for any information about who might have abandoned the kittens. Calls to the sheriff’s office can be made at 438-3393.

LOCKPORT – In court papers filed Tuesday, Lockport officials asserted that the city will be unable to pay its bills by August unless it is able to reduce the number of firefighters working on each shift.

In a sworn affidavit filed along with the city’s latest lawsuit against the firefighters’ union, City Treasurer Michael E. White said the city will have to borrow to make ends meet, as it did last year, unless the overtime costs in the Fire Department can be quelled.

The new lawsuit is an attempt by the city to obtain a court order blocking the union from obtaining binding state arbitration on the city’s move to cut the minimum staffing on a fire shift from nine to seven firefighters. The suit says the city simply can’t afford to have more firefighters at work.

The Lockport Professional Fire Fighters Association went to court May 2 to obtain a temporary order blocking the cuts, which also would have caused the city to take one of its two ambulances and one of its three fire trucks out of service to save money.

State Supreme Court Justice Ralph A. Boniello III has yet to issue a ruling on whether the cutbacks violate an agreement between the city and the union. Fire Chief Thomas J. Passuite wrote in a court filing in that case that if the city wins the suit, it probably will do away with its ambulance service altogether.

Tuesday’s lawsuit, filed by Deputy Corporation Counsel David E. Blackley, asserts that the city will run another operating deficit this year, and it would have to be filled by borrowing with another revenue anticipation note, or RAN. The Common Council approved a $2.7 million RAN last Oct. 2.

“If this is addressed immediately, we may not [run a deficit],” McCaffrey said. “The goal is to avoid running a deficit.”

“I find it interesting that the citywide fiscal crisis is laid entirely at the feet of the firefighters’ union,” Kevin W. Pratt, union president, said. “Apparently, we’re the only department that can rescue them from their fiscal mess.”

The city laid off seven firefighters at the beginning of this year, leaving the department with 37 members, not counting Passuite. However, since the union is working under terms of a contract that ran out at the end of 2012, the department is using a four-platoon system crafted for a larger force.

The schedule calls for two platoons to work each day, one for 14 hours and the other for 10 hours, with a minimum manning requirement of nine. If the platoon is under nine because of sicknesses or vacations, members are called in from other platoons, and the call-ins are paid time and a half for the entire shift.

Passuite said in an affidavit that the overtime cost is $500 per man for a 10-hour shift and $700 for a 14-hour shift.

A state audit issued in December found that the city’s general fund was $1.1 million in the hole at the end of 2012, a figure reported incorrectly to the Council. For 2013, the city had an operating deficit of $1.56 million, building the overall negative fund balance to $2.67 million.

“Without the issuance of a RAN, the city’s general fund will have no money to pay expenses as they arise after August 2014,” the city’s lawsuit said.

However, White said the city has been approved for a $1.1 million state grant available only to cities rated on the State Comptroller’s list of fiscally stressed cities, although the check has yet to arrive. He said the city spends about $1 million a month on payroll.

The treasurer said he doesn’t know yet how much the city might have to borrow this year.

email: tprohaska@buffnews.com

A broad-based religious organization drew about 300 people to a church in Clarence on Tuesday evening to call on Erie County government to reactivate a local parole board.

Erie County hasn’t had its own “conditional release commission” since its budget crisis of 2004-05. The group, VOICE-Buffalo, has over recent months been urging government leaders to impanel a commission as part of its campaign for “restorative justice.”

The event Tuesday in the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church drew a half-dozen county legislators from both sides of the aisle – enough to swing the Legislature if all of them supported the idea.

Also in attendance were aides to County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, who supports the program, and Sheriff Timothy B. Howard, whose jail management division runs the Holding Center in Buffalo and the County Correctional Facility in Alden.

Choirs united the gathering in music, prayer and powerful applause. And an array of pastors talked up the benefits of a program that would release eligible nonviolent inmates from the Correctional Facility weeks or months before their sentences are up if they agree to supervision and treatment for the problems that led them to jail in the first place.

“Restorative justice is really the process where we begin to heal humanity,” said the Rev. James E. Giles of Back to Basics Outreach Ministries of Buffalo, a leading force in the effort to urge county government to restore a release commission.

The event brought together Buffalo’s urban churchgoers with those in the suburbs to impress on county leaders that early release would benefit people whose lives can be redirected while also freeing up valuable cell space for truly dangerous offenders.

Among those who could benefit are the hundreds of inmates who reach the county’s prison every year because of untreated mental illnesses. Nationwide, mentally ill people make up an estimated 30 to 40 percent of all inmates.

People with mental illness and nonviolent criminal histories could be steered into treatment as a condition of their release through Erie County’s program.

In a letter read to the crowd, Bishop Richard J. Malone of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo called the local release commission “a modest first step in reforming our region’s broken criminal justice system.”

VOICE-Buffalo says a conditional release commission can be revived with an investment of about $90,000 a year, the cost of salary and benefits for a probation officer who would supervise the approximately 25 former inmates who would be in the program at any one time.

The source of that money is one of the questions being examined by county officials as they discuss whether to reactivate a commission.

email: mspina@buffnews.com

LOCKPORT – A 24-year-old Town of Lockport man was arrested Tuesday by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Criminal Division for allegedly burglarizing at least three homes in the Lockport area recently. Brett M. Halt was taken into custody about 4 p.m. and was being held in the Niagara County Jail in lieu of $40,000 bail. He is charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, one count of grand larceny in the third-degree, one count of grand larceny in the fourth-degree and two counts of criminal mischief.

Buffalo lawmakers attending the first meeting of the newly revived Police Oversight Committee took care on Tuesday not to appear as if they were antagonizing Police Department officials, even as they acknowledged they have concerns about the behavior of certain officers.

Their delicate dance lasted 90 minutes in Council Chambers.

Council members asked department officials about training, the rights of private citizens who videotape police officers, and the department’s process for investigating suspected misdeeds committed by police personnel.

Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda, accompanied by 14 department administrators, told the lawmakers “we’re very, very proactive on discipline.”

“The vast majority of officers do the right thing every day,” Derenda said.

From the outset, the Council made clear the committee wouldn’t be an investigative body. And city lawmakers took pains to say they believe the vast majority of officers do the right thing.

No one on the Council believes “that we have a police force that is out of control,” said Council President Darius G. Pridgen.

Council members said they are most concerned about the relationship between the public and the department, in part because detectives rely on tips from the public to solve crimes. Then came the dollars and cents concern: The city must pay for court settlements to victims of police misconduct.

Committee Chairman David A. Rivera, a former police officer who represents the Niagara District, asked the first question, aimed at allowing Derenda to explain that many of the investigations into bad behavior by officers are initiated by the department.

Derenda said the department’s Internal Affairs Division has conducted more investigations since he took over as commissioner in 2010.

Rivera disclosed he met with Derenda and the union that represents officers before Tuesday’s meeting. Based on his discussions with union representatives, he expressed concern about the level of training for police officers.

Even with some recent troubling incidents involving officers, the Council wasn’t sure it needed to revive the long-dormant Police Oversight Committee. But Pridgen decided to schedule a meeting, and he put Rivera in charge. Pridgen brought up incidents about police behavior that constituents brought to him, and he said the department has some “bad apples.”

“We cannot ignore that because they are tainting people who are really great,” he said.

Pridgen asked that at the next meeting, Derenda return with a plan for a community survey on attitudes about the department; an answer to whether installing cameras in police cars is feasible; plans for sensitivity and other training; and how to communicate to the public about the consequences officers face when they are disciplined.

He also wants officers trained on the rights of citizens to videotape police and what should be done if officers need a video file for evidence, short of asking someone to turn over their entire mobile phone.

In addition to adding mandatory training, the department is also reviewing policies regarding officers’ outside employment.

Derenda said the city is working to include a residency requirement for new officers in the next labor contract, in response to Fillmore Council Member David A. Franczyk, who said the city is better off with officers who live within its borders.

Another police-related item came before the Council on Tuesday.

Pridgen is calling for a special meeting with the city’s Law Department to discuss the 2008 firing of Police Officer Cariol Horne. She was fired following a violent arrest during which she and another officer turned on each other. She claimed the other officer was choking a suspect during the arrest, while the other officer said she interfered with him as he dealt with a combative suspect. She was fired after a disciplinary proceeding that reviewed her on-duty confrontation with the officer.

The Council agreed to hold a special meeting July 8. Council members Joseph Golombek, Richard A. Fontana and Christopher P. Scanlon voted against it.

email: jterreri@buffnews.com

A coalition of higher education institutions Tuesday waded into the national debate over Common Core education standards, arguing that the higher standards in math, reading and writing will help remedy the problem of too many unprepared students entering college and universities.

State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, who in recent months has become a highly visible advocate of the Common Core standards, joined others in announcing the creation of “Higher Ed for Higher Standards.”

The coalition of more than 200 colleges and universities from 33 states, including all of the SUNY colleges and universities, defended the need for the Common Core and will counter the “misinformation” about the state-based efforts to improve student achievement and learning, Zimpher said.

The new standards, which outline what students are expected to know by each grade level, will be a “huge tool” in efforts within post-secondary education in America “to educate more people and educate them better,” she said.

Some college administrators worry that without the Common Core fewer students will be prepared to do college-level work.

Studies already show that 50 percent of students enrolled in two-year colleges must take noncredit remedial programs to catch up. In four-year schools, the figure is 20 percent. Nationally, the annual cost of the remediation comes to $7 billion.

Within SUNY, more than 40 percent of students seeking an associate’s degree and about 10 percent of those seeking a bachelor’s degree enroll in remedial coursework.

SUNY community colleges spend about $70 million annually on remediation.

What’s more, the studies show that students diverted into remedial courses are less likely to earn a degree and more likely to take longer doing it.

SUNY students who need one remedial course have a 64 percent chance of continuing on to the second year of college. It drops to 52 percent when a student needs three or more remedial courses.

Zimpher described Common Core as “a pathway for . . . sealing the leaks in the educational pipeline.”

But the new standards have come under attack across New York and the rest of the nation.

Just last week, Oklahoma became the third state to repeal adoption of the new standards.

Tuesday, the Gates Foundation – which has said the “academic standards will provide a springboard for innovation in education” – called for a two-year moratorium in using the student standardized test scores for teacher evaluations and student promotion.

“No evaluation system will work unless teachers believe it is fair and reliable, and it’s very hard to be fair in a time of transition,” Vicki Phillips, director of the U.S. education program at the Gates Foundation, wrote in a letter.

“The standards need time to work. Teachers need time to develop lessons, receive more training, get used to the new tests and offer their feedback.”

“Applying assessment scores to evaluations before these pieces are developed would be like measuring the speed of a runner based on her time – without knowing how far she ran, what obstacles were in the way, or whether the stopwatch worked!” Phillips wrote.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo earlier this year described the implementation of the standards in New York as flawed. Parents and educators across the state complained for months that the standards were rushed into classrooms without adequate preparation for teachers.

The state Board of Regents also has been re-examining the implementation with an eye toward making adjustments.

Zimpher acknowledged difficulties in how the standards were being put in place and concerns over how teachers will be evaluated.

She said those issues were separate from the standards themselves, which were developed thoughtfully over the course of years by educators, researchers and members of the business community to reflect what American students will need to know to compete in a rapidly changing world.

“We’re trying the manage the implementation. But don’t throw the baby out with the bath. We need the standards,” said Zimpher, who has written or co-written several op-ed pieces in recent weeks defending Common Core, including one that appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s online edition Tuesday.

Zimpher was joined at a news conference Tuesday by Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor John Morgan, who said that higher education leaders needed to counter inaccuracies and myths about Common Core.

The standards, for example, were not developed by the federal government, nor do they dictate a single curriculum for all school districts.

“There’s a belief on the part of some that this is a national curriculum. That is absolutely not true,” Morgan said.

Other local higher education officials echoed Zimpher and Morgan in defending the Common Core.

The School of Education at SUNY Buffalo State has been working for at least three years on incorporating the Common Core standards into its teacher education program, which trains hundreds of new teachers each year, said Wendy Paterson, dean of the school.

“The Common Core, if you read it, is all about thinking deeply, reading a number of different texts well, writing well, pushing the edge of the known into the unknown,” Paterson said. “More and more people have conflated the implementation policies in New York State with the Common Core itself and that is a big mistake.”

University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi issued a written statement saying it was important for higher education leaders nationwide to join together in support of stronger standards and curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grades.

“Strengthening the preparation of U.S. K-12 students will help them succeed on our nation’s college campuses, as well as prepare them for successful lives and careers after they graduate from college,” Tripathi said.

email: jtokasz@buffnews.com

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ALBANY – Tailgaters be warned: The Buffalo Bills would like more of your money. Your beer money, to be precise.

The football team is pushing a last-minute piece of legislation at the Capitol to permit its concession stands to begin selling beer at 11 a.m. on game days instead of noon as now permitted under law.

“The general purpose is to restore some of the family environment to the stadium and downgrade a little bit of the emphasis on tailgating,” said Assemblyman Sean Ryan, a Buffalo Democrat, who said he was approached by the team to introduce the measure.

How might earlier beer sales promote a family environment?

It would provide a “more controlled environment” for beer consumption than might exist with tailgating traditions, Ryan explained.

“Bills fans seem to have a taste for beer before noon on Sundays,” he said.

Other football stadiums in the NFL have a similar approach to try to get fans to head inside, and he noted the Sabres are able to pull fans into the arena before many Bills fans might think of heading from the parking lot.

The Assembly bill applies only to the Buffalo Bills stadium, though the word “Buffalo” and “Bills” are not specifically mentioned. Rather, it applies to an “outdoor athletic stadium located in the County of Erie with at least 60,000 fixed seats.”

Of course, there’s nothing to force a tailgater inside.

“I think the thought is die-hard tailgaters maybe on a cold day will come in an hour earlier and find new options,” Ryan said, noting that tailgaters miss the opportunity to see both teams on the field doing warm-ups prior to a game while they party out in the parking lot.

A similar, fourth-quarter-style push to move the sales to an hour earlier was attempted two years ago in the Legislature but failed. Perhaps by coincidence, the new legislation comes as the Bills’ owners have retained an investment banking firm to come up with a potential value on the team as they seek new owners in the coming months. One of the items on the checklist of assets? Concession sales.

He said the legislation could bring some fans to the gates earlier.

“This would enable fans to enjoy more of the pregame atmosphere inside the newly renovated stadium, which will include the new interactive fan experiences and dining options that were previously unavailable to fans,’’ he added.

Ryan’s one-paragraph piece of legislation was introduced Tuesday in the Assembly, and a companion bill could be added in the Senate in the coming days. The legislative session is due to end June 19.

Sen. Patrick Gallivan, a Republican from Elma, said the Bills approached him to introduce the bill. He said Tuesday he had not yet seen the bill’s specific provisions, and that, like two years ago, it could end up being sponsored by Sen. Mark Grisanti, a Buffalo Republican.

But Grisanti said a Bills-only beer legislation will have a problem getting passed. He said the similar legislation introduced a couple of years ago was met with resistance from other stadiums and retailers near stadiums.

“We have to be conscious of our small businesses that are located in and around the ballpark to make sure if there’s any changes we need to be fair to everybody,” he said.

email: tprecious@buffnews.com

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has been defeated by a tea party-backed challenger in the Republican primary.

Economics professor Dave Brat won a stunning upset victory against Cantor tonight in the 7th District Republican primary contest, which is in the Richmond area.

Cantor is the second-most powerful member of the U.S. House and was seen by some as a possible successor to the House speaker.

His loss to a political novice with little money marks a huge victory for the tea party movement, which supported Cantor just a few years ago.

Brat had been a thorn in Cantor’s side on the campaign, casting the congressman as a Washington insider who isn’t conservative enough. Last month, a feisty crowd of Brat supporters booed Cantor in front of his family at a local party convention.

His message apparently scored well with voters in the 7th District.

“There needs to be a change,” said Joe Mullins, who voted in Chesterfield County today. The engineering company employee said he has friends who tried to arrange town hall meetings with Cantor, who declined their invitations.

Tiffs between the GOP’s establishment and tea party factions have flared in Virginia since tea party favorite Ken Cuccinelli lost last year’s gubernatorial race. Cantor supporters have met with stiff resistance in trying to wrest control of the state party away from tea party enthusiasts, including in the Cantor’s home district.

Brat teaches at Randolph-Macon College, a small liberal arts school north of Richmond. He raised just more than $200,000 for his campaign, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

Beltway-based groups also spent heavily in the race. The American Chemistry Council, whose members include many blue chip companies, spent more than $300,000 on TV ads promoting Cantor. It’s the group’s only independent expenditure so far this election year. Political arms of the American College of Radiology, the National Rifle Association and the National Association of Realtors also spent money on ads to promote Cantor.

Brat offset the cash disadvantage with endorsements from conservative activists like radio host Laura Ingraham, and with help from local tea party activists angry at Cantor.

Much of the campaign centered on immigration, where critics on both sides have recently taken aim at Cantor.

Brat has accused the House majority leader of being a top cheerleader for “amnesty” for immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Cantor has responded forcefully by boasting in mailers of blocking Senate plans “to give illegal aliens amnesty.”

It was a change in tone for Cantor, who has repeatedly voiced support for giving citizenship to certain immigrants brought illegally to the country as children. Cantor and House GOP leaders have advocated a step-by-step approach rather than the comprehensive bill backed by the Senate. They’ve made no move to bring legislation to a vote and appear increasingly unlikely to act this year.

Cantor, a former state legislator, was elected to Congress in 2000. He became majority leader in 2011.

It’s the late 1800s at Canalside, and the 1940s in Cheektowaga. One attraction is floating, and the other will soon be flying.

Two symbols of yesteryear have arrived in the Buffalo area. And members of the community have an opportunity to experience both worlds in the next few days.

In Cheektowaga, a B-24 Liberator bomber – “Diamond Lil” – from the World War II era had crowds buzzing Tuesday, while “The Peacemaker” tall ship is docked at Canalside for the week.

“Diamond Lil,” the world’s oldest flying bomber, opened for tours at Prior Aviation on Tuesday morning. Among those touring the plane was Michael Diemert, who choked back tears as he anticipated seeing the inside of the vintage warplane.

“To me it’s exceptional, because I get to step into that airplane that my dad worked on,” said Diemert, 63, of Newfane.

His late father, Staff Sgt. Donald Diemert, was a crew chief in a B-24.

The Commemorative Air Force takes Diamond Lil on 6-week tours three to four times a year.

“You hear about them, but you never get to see one up close and inside,” said Darren DeSantis, 48, of Depew. “It’s almost crude inside there. You think of an airplane, you think of a luxury plane with nice seats. You get to this one, it’s all wires and cables and bombs. It’s almost scary.”

“Your great-grandfather used to sit in those seats,” one father told his children as aircraft commander Allen Benzing explained how he controls the plane.

Benzing hears that all the time from visitors.

B-24s gained a reputation for being workhorses as heavy bombers used by every branch of the U.S. armed forces and other members of the Allies during World War II.

Numerous veterans attended the open house Tuesday.

George Wilcox, 87, of Williamsville, flew over the Pacific in World War II. He’s had an affinity for aeronautics since he built his first model plane in second grade.

Dan Wortham, 91, of the Town of Tonawanda, did maintenance on B-24s as a mechanic.

Lou Fetto, 82, of Cheektowaga, worked on Navy aircraft carriers in the Korean War. His three older brothers fought in World War II, and his oldest brother was a gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress.

The B-24 was a more modern plane than the well-known B-17. The B-24 was faster and could carry a heavier bomb load, but it was a more challenging plane to navigate. Out of the 18,482 B-24s that were produced, Diamond Lil is one of the two still flying.

“It’s about capturing something out of the past,” Fetto said. “I’ve read about it, heard about it in music, seen it in movies. I’ve almost lived it at this point.”

Richard DeSantis, 78, of Depew, said the plane looked like it was produced rapidly – at one point, it would take merely 50 to 55 minutes at the Ford factory to produce a new B-24, according to Benzing.

Diamond Lil last visited Western New York in August 2004. The crew will offer rides in the plane today for $375.

An hour after Diamond Lil opened Tuesday, The Peacemaker cruised into Canalside.

One construction worker described it as “a pirate ship.” Its towering white sails, navy blue and brown sides and triumphal wooden beams have brought a spirit of adventure to the waterfront.

The Peacemaker will be open for tours Friday through Sunday.

“People are becoming more and more isolated,” said ship captain Larry Clinton. “The ship represents a different kind of life.

“Not only do you work with somebody, but you sit across the table from them at breakfast; you’re up with them in the rain in the middle of the night hoisting sails. Seeing the crew working together, it strikes a chord in people.”

The Peacemaker visited Canalside in September following a tour of the Great Lakes, and the crew – based in Savannah, Ga., but containing members from four continents – decided to stay in North Tonawanda for the winter.

The Peacemaker was built in Brazil using traditional methods and launched in 1989. It is a big ship, displacing 400 tons and with a main mast 126 feet high.

The crew lived in the ship and did maintenance on it at Smith Boys Marina during the winter. Clinton said it was the people in the region who inspired him and his crew to stay.

email: amansfield@buffnews.com

A 9-year-old Albion boy was hospitalized in stable condition Friday after he was shot in the arm Thursday night by his older brother, who police said was playing with a stolen handgun.

The shooting occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in the family residence at 341 Caroline St. in the village, according to Albion Police Lt. Thomas O’Hearn.

“After the victim was shot, he and his brother ran to the neighbor’s house where his mother was,” said O’Hearn. The boy was then transported from the house by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

A subsequent investigation revealed the 13-year-old brother had stolen the .38-caliber handgun from an elderly acquaintance of the family. The older brother appeared to be playing with the gun in a second-floor bedroom when it discharged, striking the 9-year-old, who was lying on a bed nearby.

The brothers’ names were not released due to their ages.

Police said the father was believed to be inside the Caroline Street home at the time of the incident.

Police confirmed that neither parent was aware their 13-year-old son was in possession of a handgun.

The investigation also revealed the 13-year-old had stolen a second handgun – a .22-caliber – from the same family acquaintance. That weapon was found hidden in the family’s detached garage.

Albion police charged the 13-year-old with felony counts of reckless endangerment, grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon. He was issued appearance tickets to appear at the Orleans County Probation Department due to his juvenile status.

Village of Albion code enforcement officers were called to the Caroline Street house and issued several code violations and revoked the certificate of occupancy for the structure. Police declined to comment on the nature of the violations.

email: jkwiatkowski @buffnews.com

The number of wild animals testing positive for rabies in Erie County – and several recent incidents of rabid animals biting residents – led public health authorities Friday to issue an alert about the problem.

To date in 2014, 13 animals – five raccoons, five bats and a cat, skunk and fox – have tested positive for rabies in the county.

Wednesday, a rabid bat bit a 15-month-old West Seneca girl on the face in her bedroom. Thursday, a rabid raccoon bit man in Alden when he attempted to stop the animal from attacking his dog. Also on Thursday, a Buffalo resident found a rabid bat in his home.

Rabies is caused by a virus that people and other mammals can get through exposure to the saliva or nervous tissue of a rabid animal, and if untreated, is almost always fatal, according to public health officials. The virus is preventable in pets by vaccinating them to protect against the disease.

“To stay safe, never handle a bat or any other wild animal,” said Dr. Gale R. Burstein, Erie County health commissioner. “In addition, it is extremely important that all household pets receive rabies vaccinations.”

Officials recommended that residents contact the county’s Division of Environmental Health at 961-6800 if they come into contact with an animal that may have rabies.

The county will offer three additional free rabies clinics in September, each from 4 to 7 p.m.: Sept. 10 at Erie Community College North Campus, 6205 Main St., Amherst, in the Noonan Center maintenance garage; Sept. 16 in the Springville Fire Company, 405 W. Main St.; and Sept. 24 in the West Seneca Highway Garage, 39 South Ave.

email: citydesk@buffnews.com

Despite pleas from other fans urging him to stop, Robert Hopkins kept sliding down a railing in the upper deck of Ralph Wilson Stadium, according to a fan who was at the Nov. 17 Buffalo Bills game against the New York Jets,

Jon Deeks, who sat in the same section as Hopkins, testified Friday in Orchard Park Town Court that he saw Hopkins slide on the railing. During Hopkins’ third or fourth slide, Deeks said he heard a woman plead with him to stop. Other fans in the section told him to stop, too, Deeks said.

Deeks also asked Hopkins to stop.

“Could you please stop doing this?” he said he asked, in a tone of voice that could be heard above the crowd noise.

Hopkins fell over the edge on his fifth slide and landed on and severely injured a fan in the level below.

The fans’ pleas didn’t stop Hopkins, Deeks said.

“From what I saw, he was just brushing it off because he continued doing it,” Deeks said.

Stadium video surveillance of the incident revealed that Hopkins slid partway down the metal railing on the edge of section 339 and climbed back up to his seat multiple times before falling backward on his fifth attempt. He tumbled 20 to 25 feet and struck Mark Bratcher, 29, in the 200 level.

The day’s final witness was Jeffrey Ely, who works with the sheriff’s office’s crash investigation unit. Ely testified that an investigation last month found that Hopkins was falling at a speed of 24.35 mph when he struck Bratcher.

Hopkins, 29, of Buffalo was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment, both misdemeanors. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail.

Brian Doyle, a retired sheriff’s deputy working on a part-time basis at the stadium the day of the incident, testified that he spoke with Hopkins soon after the fall.

Doyle had heard that Hopkins slid down the railing, and he asked him if the rumor was true.

“It’s true,” Hopkins replied, according to Doyle. “I feel so bad. I didn’t mean to.”

When the deputy turned to walk away, Hopkins added, “The funny part is, I did it like nine times.”

Doyle testified that Hopkins also produced a brief written statement.

“I was intoxicated and had lost my grip. ... I didn’t mean to. ... I’m sorry,” according to his statement.

The fall happened at about 1:39 p.m., sometime between the end of the game’s first quarter and the beginning of the second.

Deeks was the second fan from section 339 to testify against Hopkins.

On Thursday, Glenn Attanasio testified that he saw Hopkins slide five times during a span of up to 10 minutes. Attanasio said he heard someone say loudly, “Stop that, you’re gonna hurt yourself, you’re gonna fall,” and another shout, “You’re gonna kill yourself.”

Nine witnesses testified Thursday, including Bratcher, a middle school social studies teacher at South Buffalo Charter School. He described the impact as a “crushing blow” and added “the pain’s with me still today.” He suffered injuries to his neck, back and shoulders.

After the incident, Hopkins lost his job in advertising and public relations with Eric Mower + Associates and was banned from Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

One more witness, a neurosurgeon, is expected to testify.

email: scampbell@buffnews.com

Lightning struck the south tower crane at the HarborCenter construction site Thursday night, forcing workers to shut it down temporarily, but no one was injured and there were no damages, a Buffalo Sabres official said Friday.

Sabres spokesman Michael Gilbert said the tower crane has “certain safety mechanisms in place” in case of such a situation, including being grounded. He said it’s the first time this happened on the HarborCenter project, but “it does happen on job sites because it’s the tallest thing in the area like that, [so] it’s not uncommon for this to happen.”

The tower operator was not hurt, and promptly shut down the machine closest to the First Niagara Center after the lightning bolt hit to protect the computers and other equipment on board. “The crane is up and running this morning,” Gilbert said. “It’s operational.”

Coincidentally, though, that crane will start coming down late next week because it is no longer needed now that the southern portion of the building is framed. The north crane near the hotel portion will remain for several months while that work is underway.

email: jepstein@buffnews.com

When word of Antoine M. Thompson’s Democratic primary challenge to Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes surfaced Friday, it not only signaled the start of a torrid electoral contest, but a major milestone in local politics as well.

Thompson, the former state senator whose 2010 defeat by Republican Mak J. Grisanti ranks as one of the biggest upsets in local history, is launching a comeback effort spawning a whole set of new dynamics, including:

• A challenge to Peoples-Stokes, who has assumed a growing stature in Albany in recent years and who was previously viewed as politically invulnerable.

• A widening rift among Buffalo’s black Democrats, as even the once-solid Grassroots political club that spawned Mayor Byron W. Brown’s rise to power now wallows in disarray.

• Far-reaching implications in other races, such as the Democratic primary contest between incumbent State Sen. Timothy M. Kennedy of Buffalo and Legislature Minority Leader Betty Jean Grant. The increased turnout in the primarily African-American Assembly district that constitutes a major portion of Kennedy’s Senate turf provides a boost to Grant and could negate the heavy turnout in the primarily white Cheektowaga portion stemming from a separate Assembly primary there.

• Statewide implications are also expected, since Peoples-Stokes has emerged as a favorite of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who named her co-chairwoman of his re-election campaign.

• More candidates could yet enter the Senate race, with sources indicating efforts are underway to entice Legislator Barbara Miller-Williams into the contest, too – which could further diffuse the African-American vote.

Sources now predict an intense effort by both sides, with several drawing an analogy to this week’s defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, who many say ran a campaign that failed to connect with voters.

“Cantor spent $5 million but did nothing retail,” said one veteran of Buffalo politics who asked not be identified. “This will be a battle in the streets.”

Thompson said Friday that he would not discuss his plans, preferring to wait until he officially addresses the situation today, possibly in conjunction with the annual Juneteenth Festival, expected to draw thousands to various East Side venues. But he acknowledged that he met Friday with the mayor – who in 2012 appointed him to his approximately $80,000-a-year job as executive director of the Buffalo Employment and Training Center – to submit his resignation.

“I resigned today and gave the mayor an exit report which highlights all the things the office has accomplished over the last two years,” he said.

Nevertheless, a source close to the former senator said he is getting into the race because of disappointment over the failure of programs like the Buffalo Billion to benefit a struggling East Side.

Peoples-Stokes on Friday quashed rumors that she will not run again because of the Thompson challenge.

“That is the absolute furthest thing from the truth,” she said, predicting she will win the September primary.

“I’ll run on my record,” she said. “And if he runs on his, people will see that, too.”

The assemblywoman also noted her recent key positions such as the Cuomo campaign leadership and her chairwomanship of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus in the Legislature.

“That’s very helpful for me, quite frankly,” she said. “I don’t know why he does not consider these things.”

Peoples-Stokes said political rifts often occur in all Democratic constituencies, including the black community. But she also acknowledged that the Grassroots split underscored by the Thompson candidacy is puzzling.

“I personally did not expect a split in an organization that has carried so many people so far,” she said.

Thompson, who sources said came close to entering the 2012 Senate race that Kennedy eventually won by a razor-thin margin over Grant, enters the Assembly contest backed by significant constituencies. The Buffalo Teachers Federation, for example, has always loomed as a major supporter.

“Antoine has been a longtime friend of the BTF,” said BTF President Philip Rumore. “He was our go-to guy in the Senate.”

He said the teachers union has supported Peoples-Stokes, too, but he gave the endorsement edge to Thompson because of the incumbent’s backing of a bill opposed by the union that proposed parents be given the power to convert regular public schools into charter schools.

“If he got our endorsement, it would give him a leg up with NYSUT,” Rumore said, referring to the statewide teachers union that could offer significant resources to a Thompson candidacy.

One source said Thompson’s entrance may entice Miller-Williams into the Senate race already featuring Kennedy and Grant. The aim would be to diffuse the strong black vote now projected for Grant.

Miller-Williams did not return calls seeking comment.

email: rmccarthy@buffnews.com

A descendant of DeWitt Clinton visited Canalside Friday and looked pleased by the historic site’s transformation.

“I think they have done a fantastic job with the resurgence here. You’re all doing a fantastic job in bringing the city back,” said William Carter, a Buffalo native who now lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Carter is the great-great-great grandson of Clinton, the man often referred to as the “Father of the Erie Canal.”

Carter brought with him another family member: DeWitt Silber, 4, a fifth-generation grandson.

Carter was present as Hugh Pratt, executive director of the Erie Canal Drama Theatre, announced that “Clinton’s Ditch: The Story of the Building of the Erie Canal,” will be performed at Canalside Aug. 1-3 and Aug. 28-30.

“DeWitt Clinton created the Erie Canal, which ended here, and I think we need to celebrate that,” said Richard Lambert, the executive director and founder of the New Phoenix Theatre.

Lambert dressed as Clinton in period clothes on Friday, as he will for the upcoming shows. He called the role of DeWitt Clinton “larger than life.”

As New York’s sixth governor, Clinton was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. He officially opened the canal in 1825.

Ken Silber also visited Canalside on Friday. Silber, DeWitt’s father and an author, is working on a book about Clinton and the building of the canal.

“Critics called the canal names like the ‘Big Ditch,’ ‘Clinton’s Folly’ and ‘Governor’s Gully,’ a lot of negative names. But once the canal was built and became popular, a lot of positive names were used,” Silber said.

He said it took eight years between the canal’s groundbreaking and its completion from the eastern shore of Lake Erie to the upper Hudson River.

The legislature appropriated $7 million for the canal’s construction, a mighty sum in those days, but the funds were repaid when the passageway opened and the cost of freight between Buffalo and Albany promptly dropped from $100 to $10 per ton.

Anne Paris, who co-wrote the play with Pratt, said she’s been struck by the canal’s comeback.

“This is kind of an amazing thing, that people would get suddenly interested in reviving the canal. We fought for this,” she said of the effort in the early 2000s to have history celebrated at the site. “This is history New Yorkers will be elevated by.”

Pratt said he was excited to meet the Clinton descendants. He said he hopes his play will do more to continue the canal’s story. He is researching the 9,000 laborers who worked on the canal, and asks anyone who is a descendant to contact him at hhackettpratt@yahoo.com.

email: msommer@buffnews.com

NIAGARA FALLS – Two state lawmakers want work halted on a new State Parks Police station on the Niagara Gorge and the location for the barracks reconsidered.

State Sen. George D. Maziarz said he and Assemblyman John D. Ceretto issued a letter with that request Friday to State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey. Maziarz said he also plans to call Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office and ask the same thing.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea at all,” Maziarz said when asked about the agency’s decision to put the parks police barracks on state land on the gorge rim, just behind the Howard Johnson hotel on Main Street.

State parks officials have contended the site is not as prime a location as others believe, since it lacks a strong view of the gorge and has previously been disturbed by industrial activities.

But Maziarz, like other critics, said he believes locating the police station on the gorge “clearly goes against” what the state has agreed to do in terms of opening up the gorge for more public access by removing a section of the Robert Moses Parkway along the gorge from Main Street to Findlay Drive.

There are plenty of options for an alternate location in the City of Niagara Falls in terms of existing vacant building, and which may also help with an increased police presence in the city, said Maziarz, R-Newfane.

Maziarz also said he was contacted about a year ago by several parks police officers who said they were concerned with the agency’s plans to move out of the existing station on Goat Island in Niagara Falls State Park. Maziarz said he contacted parks officials then.

He said he’s again reached out already this week about the project.

Ceretto, R-Lewiston, said he supports the position of Mayor Paul A. Dyster and wants the state agency to look at other sites Dyster and the city suggested.

email: abesecker@buffnews.com

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