Inside the News

Things are tough all over.

   Breaking on The Buffalo News Web site today:
- Deficit grows to $3 billion as Paterson asks for ideas - Tom Precious/The Buffalo News
   ALBANY -- Fiscal officials in the Paterson administration and Legislature believe the state's deficit is at least $3 billion -- $900 million more than estimated in July.
   In a letter today to his negotiation counterparts in the Legislature, Robert Megna, the governor's budget director, said the Paterson administration needs the help of lawmakers to close the red ink.
   The request came a couple days after Paterson ordered $500 million worth of savings in state agencies -- which is about as much as he can do on his own, officials say, without approval from the Legislature.
   Hours later, Paterson rejected -- before it was even made public -- a five-year capital program for roads and bridges work around the state, saying the state's precarious fiscal condition will imperil the projects.

   Elsewhere:
- State's budget faces $415 million shortfall - The Des Moines (Iowa) Register
   State officials must ax $415 million in state spending over the next nine months, the most severe midyear cut in more than 40 years.
   It will mean trims and elimination of some government services, and some state employees will face layoffs.
   A projected nose dive in tax collections prompted Iowa Gov. Chet Culver on Wednesday to vow to cut at least 8.4 percent from the current budget, if not more.

- Heineman calls special session of Legislature to cut budget - The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal-Star
   The Legislature will meet in special session, possibly beginning Nov. 4, to deal with declining state tax receipts and revise the state budget, Gov. Dave Heineman announced Wednesday....
   General fund tax receipts through Sept. 30, the end of the first quarter of the two-year budget, are below projections for the quarter by $56.8 million, Heineman said. Gross general fund receipts for the month were $358 million, 9 percent below the forecast of $393 million.

- House approves state budget, accompanying tax bill - Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette
   HARRISBURG -- It looks like 100 may be the General Assembly's lucky number, as legislators near the end of arduous work on a long-overdue state budget.
   In a 107-93 vote tonight, the state House approved a state spending plan along with a tax code bill, which includes $1.7 billion in new revenue to fund it...
   The revenue bill raises the cigarette tax by 25 cents per pack, delays the phaseout of a tax on business assets, authorizes leasing of more state forest land for natural gas drilling, depletes the state's "rainy day" emergency fund and starts a tax amnesty program aimed at getting scofflaws to pay up.
   The new taxes, which accompany $2 billion in federal stimulus aid and $25 billion from the sales tax, income tax, corporate taxes and other state revenues, will pay for a fiscal year 2009-10 budget of nearly $27.8 billion. The fiscal year started July 1 -- 99 days ago.

-- George Pyle/The Buffalo News

Time 2 - Lucy 0

   I read The News today, oh boy.

   A 4.4 million-year-old fossil nicknamed Ardi has been proclaimed the earliest known ancestor of the human species. She displaces Lucy, a mere 3 million years old, as the furthest back we can get with remains that are recognizable as hominids in our line of evolution.
   Lucy, you may recall, was so named by her discoverers because of the song that had been blaring from their camp tape player, the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

   This about a week after we read that Lucy Vodden, childhood friend of Julian Lennon and inspiration for John Lennon's lyrics to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," had died at age 46 after a long battle with lupus. The story that the song was really an anthem in praise of LSD won't die, supported partly by some things that fellow Beatle Paul McCartney has said. But John and Julian always stuck to their story.

   Of course, both versions could be true. Coincidences, after all, abound.

   If your name is Lucy, I'd be careful. These things tend to happen in threes.

-- George Pyle/The Buffalo News

All news is local

  Some more stories from other newspapers that might sound a little familiar to you, the loyal readers of The Buffalo News:

Here: U.S. sues county over alleged jail abuses - Matthew Spina/The Buffalo News
There: Inmate's death caused by denial of needed medication - The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press

Here: NYSEG asks more to deliver power, gas - George Pyle/The Buffalo News
There: Black Hills Power looks to increase rates by more than 25 percent - The Rapid City (S.D.) Journal

Here: State pension fund’s value drops $44 billion - Tom Precious/The Buffalo News
There: Oregon governments, schools face big increase in pension costs - The Oregonian

Here: FAA chief cites Flight 3407 crew's cockpit demeanor - Jerry Zremski/The Buffalo News
There: Cockpit chatter cited in six crashes - USA Today   

Here: Going green to pull in conventions - George Pyle/The Buffalo News
There: With Sam's Club departure, KC has now lost its top 3 conventions - The Kansas City Star

Here: Conservancy defends work in Buffalo - Tom Buckham/The Buffalo News
There: Is Great Park a soaring vision or just hot air? - The Los Angeles Times

-- George Pyle/The Buffalo News

Buffalo, you are not alone

Some news from elsewhere. And why it sounds familiar:

- Pavement to Parks Allison Arieff/The New York Times
   Last Friday, cities and towns throughout the world celebrated Park(ing) Day, an event created to bring awareness to the importance of using and enjoying public space.

- Why not turn vacant lots into gardens? Donn Esmonde/The Buffalo News
   Buffalo’s full-bore demolition policy has left in its wake thousands of vacant lots. Next to many of them are homeowners like [Roxanne] Chase, who would gladly turn an eyesore into a lawn for kids to play on or a garden to brighten the street.

- Jail conditions violate rights of prisoners, feds say Laura Maggi/The New Orleans Times-Picayune
   Conditions at the Orleans Parish jail "violate the constitutional rights of inmates," according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice released Tuesday that focused on inmate safety and mental health care....
   Sheriff Marlin Gusman, who runs the jail, lambasted the report, saying it doesn't reflect the current reality at the complex or take into account difficulties his agency has faced since Hurricane Katrina. "This report is a terribly dated, fundamentally flawed work done by people who obviously have little appreciation of the tasks facing a city in recovery from the greatest national disaster in this country's history," Gusman said in a statement.

- State sues county over jail conditions Matthew Spina/The Buffalo News
   The State Commission of Correction charged in a lawsuit Tuesday that the Erie County Holding Center consistently violates state standards and that jail managers have failed to correct the problems, despite their claims. ...
   "This lawsuit is a blatant political attack in an election year to cast negative aspersions on the good work done by the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office,” said [Sheriff Timothy] Howard, the Republican incumbent.

-- George Pyle/The Buffalo News 

Sick pilots cleared for flying

   How would you like to fly on an airline where the pilots say the following:

   Whether a pilot is sick or tired, airline managers "will harass you until you give up and
fly."

   "It was a battle calling in fatigued. They would do anything they could to talk you out of
it. They just want to get the plane moving."

   "The chief pilot called and started giving me a hard time. And I was just coming out of
general anesthesia."

   That's what pilots and former pilots at Colgan Air, which operated the doomed Continental
Connection Flight 3407 that crashed in Charence in February, have to say.

   So again: How would you like to fly on an airline where the pilots say such things?

   … Jerry Zremski.

Health care reform silent on malpractice reform

   The folks drawing up the health care bill in the House spread ink over more than 1,000
pages … but not a word deals head-on with one of the central complaints of doctors in Buffalo
and nationwide.

   There's no mention of medical malpractice liability reform to fix what
doctors call a lawsuit-happy system that prods them to order extra expensive
tests just to ward off potential lawsuits.

   Experts in the field counter by saying that lawsuits are actually falling in volume and
that any effort to change the system might end up costing more.

   But there are other issues at play, too.

   Might it be that doctors are ordering all those tests because, in some
cases, they profit from it?

   And might it be that Democrats are opposed to liability reform because of
the piggy bank … filled with $178.7 million in 2008 alone … that trial lawyers
provide for them?

   … Jerry Zremski

Kane comes to court, tracked by cameras

About an hour before Patrick Kane's 2 p.m. arraignment, news cameras were stationed on Delaware Avenue outside Buffalo City Court waiting for him to arrive.

   When the 20-year-old Chicago Blackhawk did, along with his attorney and parents, the cameras and reporters followed them through the metal detectors and up to the seventh floor of the courthouse. But they were stopped just outside Chief Judge Thomas P. Amodeo's courtroom door.

   Per the request of defense attorneys, cameras were kept out of the court proceeding.

   Both Patrick T. Kane and his cousin, James M. Kane, 21, pleaded not guilty to charges of third-degree assault and theft of services, both misdemeanors, and harassment, a violation, during a five-minute arraignment.

   After today's court appearance, Patrick Kane addressed reporters outside the courthouse. Listen to his statement here.

   Above: Kane is pictured after giving his statement to reporters. (Photo by Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News)

   An Erie County grand jury convened last week indicted the Kane cousins on the above charges, Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita said Wednesday.

  -Here's the story on the latest developments.

   The Kanes are accused of beating 62-year-old cab driver Jan Radecki, leaving him with a broken nose and broken glasses.

   Patrick Kane, a South Buffalo native, participated in orientation camp for the U.S. Olympic team earlier this week.

   James Kane initially hired Daniel Barry Jr., an attorney who works in the Buffalo Legal Aid Bureau, shortly after his arrest. When he came to court today, he was represented by prominent Buffalo defense attorney Joel L. Daniels.

   Patrick Kane's attorney is Paul J. Cambria Jr., another high-profile Buffalo attorney.

   --Aaron Besecker

Why cab driver's license issue is important

I've gotten several e-mails and phone calls from outraged readers who think The Buffalo News was fed information about Jan Radecki's past by Patrick Kane's attorney in an attempt to discredit the Buffalo cab driver. Radecki has accused the 20-year-old National Hockey League star and his cousin, James M. Kane, 21, of robbing and assaulting him.

   The paper is "blaming the victim," critics say, and playing into the hand of Paul Cambria Jr., Patrick Kane's high-profile defense attorney.

   Radecki's attorney, Andrew C. LoTempio (pictured right, Derek Gee/Buffalo News), said this to me on Wednesday: "It sounds to me like the newspaper is trying to villainize my client."

   These claims are untrue. We await court proceedings, including today's session before a grand jury, that will reveal what really happened in the cab early Sunday morning. Meanwhile, The News is investigating all aspects of the case. The stories about the license are just the first pieces of information to come to light.

   The stories about the cabbie's license, while calling into question Radecki's character, are not an attempt to make excuses for what the Kanes may have done in that cab. Keep in mind, though, that those are only allegations.

   Here's how some stories, including this one, develop in the newsroom:

   The News has amassed an internal database of public records. All reporters, editors and newsroom Library Director David Valenzuela regularly use the database when researching stories. The database includes information from voter registration, property and public payroll records. When possible, we go to the agencies and offices who maintain that information to corroborate what we've found.

   A search of our database yielded court records of Jan Radecki's past convictions, including one in Buffalo City Court for drunk driving. (See image below)

   The newspaper also has access to a state Department of Motor Vehicles database, which a few members of staff can search for more information based on search results of public records.

   The DMV audits our searches periodically, and we have to substantiate the searches we've done. We can't just "go fishing" for a person's driving record. If we can't prove we were searching for a good reason, we lose our access.

   So the background on the cab driver came from our own research, not from Kane's lawyer.

   I asked Cambria (pictured right, Bill Wippert/Buffalo News) when I spoke to him earlier this week whether he knew about the cabbie's past. He said he did, but did not want to be the source of any of that information.

   In a story published today, and as a result of days of research, The News has found the DMV investigating possible fraud since Radecki applied for a new license under a different name and address after a drunk driving conviction in 1999.

   That could be criminal, Chautauqua County District Attorney David W. Foley told The News.

   LoTempio, his attorney, said his client is willing to do "whatever he needs to do to straighten it out."

   Allegations about lying to the DMV are relevant in this situation because they speak to a portion of Radecki's character. They raise questions about whether what he said happened in his cab last weekend are completely true.

   Think about it this way -- what if you were accused of a crime by someone with Radecki's background? Would you think this information was worth knowing then?

  -- Aaron Besecker

Flood vignettes from Gowanda

  

It's curious the things that stayed.

   After a savage flood inundated the Village of Gowanda this week, with water rising up to nine feet above the flood stage, perhaps the most incredible things are those that weren't swept away. 

   Before the flood, Mike and Michelene Washy laid a curb of bricks in front of their Chestnut Street house. They used no mortar; it seemed unnecessary.

   Early Monday morning, the couple woke to see a surging river of garbage and debris rushing down the street. Just blocks away on Stafford Road, the violent waters carved a gorge more than 100 feet long out of the road.

   In front of the Washy residence, not a brick was moved.

   Bryon Ivett knows what horrors a flood can cause. His friend, 80-year-old Ted Stitzel,

drowned when the overflowing Thatcher Brook swept him underwater on Monday. Ivett, a postal carrier, maintained the unwavering reputation of the U.S. Postal Service when he delivered mail during the state of emergency Monday.

   As Ivett traversed devastated Route 62, he saw house after house thrashed by the flood.

Even if much of the house wasn't standing, the mailboxes stood, still servants to their overwhelmed owners.

   William Flagg said that when the flood waters subdued, he was left with nearly nothing. His home is destroyed, his 20-foot trailer sailed to an unknown location and his car is sitting on 5 feet of debris.

   But his two cats, who never made it back to the house during the storm, both returned to him afterward, swaggering to his feet as if nothing happened.

   Farther down the road from Flagg, Charles Toy said the flood carried away his childrens' sandbox. He found it in a yard blocks from his home. He found his backyard tomato patch exactly as he left it, vegetables still intact.

   Al Lindquit wasn't as lucky with his home. He never stood a chance as the flooded brook filled the first floor with more than a foot of water. On Tuesday, he hauled what little he could salvage from the house into a moving van and took his family to stay with relatives near Perrysburg. This was his third flood, each one ravaging the home that used to belong to his grandfather.

   "We may not be coming back," he said.

   But the flood can't claim victory over him. Although he may have to find a different house, he, also, is staying. 

   "This is home," he said.

-- Collin Binkley

(Photo by Derek Gee/Buffalo News: Erika Calhoun, 15, shovels mud left behind from Sunday's flood off of the sidewalk in front of Positively Main Street in Gowanda on Tuesday.)

Missed opportunity for a safer Buffalo

   WASHINGTON -- So the score is Rochester $5.8 million, Buffalo 0.

   That's how much the two nearby cities got in federal stimulus grant money
for the hiring of new police officers -- and it might just be because Buffalo
didn't apply for the grant.

   The city didn't apply because it had existing police vacancies, and thus
wasn't eligible to apply.

   Those vacancies occurred because it could not find enough minority police
candidates, which it must do under a federal court case dating back to
1978.

   Yes, 31 years later, Buffalo -- which was found to have discriminated in its
hiring of police and firefighters in the 1970s -- is still under court order on
its hiring practices.

   Which is enough to make you wonder: Will this lawsuit never end?

   -- Jerry Zremski