Buffalo News Live

“Operation Restoration” highlights the efforts of the mayor and police force to restore luster and vitality to the many neighborhoods that make up the fabric of Buffalo.

He has been one of the leading voices in the region's business community, and has sometimes been a controversial figure. Rudnick will retire in June as president and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. He talks with The News' Brian Meyer.

(Photo by Derek Gee/Buffalo News)

We're trying to get more information on this incident, which happened on Walden Avenue near Anderson Road in Cheektowaga earlier this afternoon.

Here's some of the stuff that came up at our morning news meeting:

*Reporter Maki Becker is out at area gun stores talking to customers and store owners as many people rush to purchase weapons before a pending state ban takes effect.

*Buffalo Bills representatives will appear before the Erie County Legislature this afternoon to talk about the recently approved new lease for Ralph Wilson Stadium.

*Albany Bureau Chief Tom Precious will have the latest on the gun control measures being pushed in the state capital.

*Washington Bureau Chief Jerry Zremski will be writing about Vice President Joe Biden's gun control recommendations.

*We'll also have the latest on Sabres ticket sales. There were only about 18,000 tickets left for the rest of the season when individual seats went on sale to the general public at 10 a.m.

--Aaron Besecker

With Mark Poloncarz finishing up his first year as Erie County Executive and Byron Brown finishing up the final year of his second term as mayor of Buffalo, The Buffalo News decided this is a good time for a leadership survey.

So we sent surveys to some 300 government, business and community leaders who have had direct contact with Brown and/or Poloncarz asking them to rate how Brown and Poloncarz are doing at their respective jobs. The News also sent out a general leadership survey designed to find out who local leaders view as the top leaders of our area, and what they consider the key issues that need to be addressed.

So far, the response has been tremendous. And also interesting -- sometimes surprising.

We'll be collecting survey responses for a few more days. Next step is the analysis. Then, we'll publish the results. I'm not sure yet when that will be. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, if anyone reading this post received a survey and hasn't sent it back yet, please do so ASAP! We want to include your input!

--Sue Schulman

Join TJ Pignataro, The Buffalo News' West Seneca reporter, who is live at West Seneca Town Hall.

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Town board approves intramunicipal agreement with Tonawanda and Kenmore for WS to provide animal shelter services.

Two WS Police public safety dispatchers approved by town board.

Resident of Reserve Road wants a deer management program in town. "We should do something to control the population of deer in the town."

Continue reading "Live blog: West Seneca Town Board meeting" »

Here are a few of the stories we've got cooking:

*The Erie County Industrial Development Agency has approved a package of tax breaks for Catholic Health's new downtown headquarters. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz was the only board member to vote against granting the breaks.

*Albany Bureau Chief Tom Precious will have the latest from Albany on the talks over gun control.

*Jeff Simon's working on a column about Sunday night's Golden Globes.

*Tomorrow's Scholastic Spotlight in sports will look at high school girls' hockey.

*John Vogl is covering tonight's Sabres scrimmage at First Niagara Center.

--Aaron Besecker

View Barbara O'Brien's story on Stephen E. Mikac's settlement with the town.

Legal documents regarding settlement with Hamburg assistant police chief by

Depew Boys & Girls Club director Jeff Kupka shares his emotions amid the damage after a New Year's Day fire ripped through the center.

Here's some of the stories that came up at our morning news meeting:

*Bucky Gleason is writing a piece for tomorrow's editions on the father/son combo of Jim and Billy Baron, who have sparked Canisius basketball.

*The Buffalo School Board is meeting tonight, where a big topic of discussion from the public is expected to be the shrinking of the number of high school football teams across the city.

*Albany Bureau Chief Tom Precious is covering this afternoon's State of the State address.

*We'll have the latest from the Sabres as coach Lindy Ruff is scheduled to meet with reporters this afternoon. Stay tuned to Sabres Edge.

*The results of the Baseball Hall of Fame vote come out this afternoon at 2 p.m. Could be historic.

--Aaron Besecker