Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Buffalo, New York —Two weeks after a 19th century stable and livery on Jersey Street partially collapsed and caused 15 homes to be evacuated in Buffalo, New York, residents still do not have answers from the city despite a court order to work with them and come to an agreement on a way to save some or all of the building, Wikinews has learned. Despite the frustration from residents, the city is planning on suing the building’s owner. A rally was held at the stable’s site where residents are hoping to bring more awareness to the situation and gain more support to save the building.

On June 11, a significant portion of the stable’s right side wall collapsed into the yard of a resident’s home. Authorities, including the Buffalo Fire Department were called to the scene to evaluate the collapse and evacuate 15 homes of residents surrounding the stable as a precautionary measure. The following day, the city ordered an emergency demolition on the building, which was stopped by a restraining order residents with Save The Livery (www.savethelivery.com) won on June 14. Two weeks later, five homes are still evacuated and residents don’t know when they will be able to return.

On June 19, Judge Justice Christopher Burns of the New York State Supreme Court ordered a halt to the emergency demolition and ordered the city and residents to come to an agreement to save the building, or at least a significant portion of it. Despite a court date today, no agreement has yet been reached between the two parties.

“It is in the interest of the city to have a safe environment–but also important to maintain a sense of historical preservation,” stated Burns in his June 19th ruling. The court ruled that a limited demolition could take place and that the city was only allowed to remove material in immediate danger to residents and pedestrians, but stated that the demolition could only be performed with “hand tools.” The court also ordered that any rubble which had fallen into neighboring yards when the building collapsed, to be removed. Since then, most of not all the significantly damaged portions of the building or portions in immediate danger of falling have been demolished. The roof has also been removed to put less stress on the stable’s walls.

“Its been over three years since we have been having problems with part of the livery falling down. There was an implosion two weeks ago and suddenly the city wanted to have an emergency demolition,” said Catherine Herrick who lives on Summer Street immediately behind the stable and is the main plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city. Many homes on Summer are small cottages which were used as servants quarters when the stable was in operation, many of which were built in the 1820’s. At least seven homes on Summer border the stable’s back walls. Residents in those homes have significant gardens which have been planted against the building and growing for decades.

“Both parties are to continue to work together to see how we can meet everybody’s needs. This is the third time we have been in that courtroom, and that is what we were basically told to do,” added Herrick who said the rally was held today because this “is Buffalo’s history. Buffalo is a wonderful place to live because of its history and this is a historical, beautiful building and we need to keep those beautiful buildings.”

Herrick states that the city is working with residents, but also believes that its “slow moving” and they are allowing the owner to get away with neglect on the property.

“I believe right now that they are letting the owner get off. The owner was negligent for 20 years, and hasn’t done anything to it despite what he has claimed to say. Now that this is an emergency situation, the city has a lot to say about it,” added Herrick.

Currently the building is owned by Bob Freudenheim who has several building violations against him because its poor condition. He has received at least five violations in three months and residents who live near the building state that Freudenheim should be “100% responsible” for his actions.

Freudenheim gave the city permission to demolish the building on June 12 during an emergency Preservation Board meeting, because he would not be “rehabilitating the building anytime soon.” Freudenheim, along with his wife Nina, were part-owners of the Hotel Lenox at 140 North Street in Buffalo and were advocates to stop the Elmwood Village Hotel from being built on the Southeast corner of Forest and Elmwood Avenues. They also financially supported a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the hotel from being built. Though it is not known exactly how long Freudenheim has owned the stable, Wikinews has learned that he was the owner while fighting to stop the hotel from being built. Residents say that he has been the owner for at least 22 years. Attorneys for Freudenheim confirm that the city is starting proceedings against him for his violations beginning as early as Wednesday June 25. Freudenheim has not released a statement and could not be reached for comment.

Many residents want the building preserved and Herrick states that their engineer can have it stable in “four days” as opposed to the 14-30 days it would take to demolish the building and “at a lesser cost than what it costs to demolish it.”

It will cost the city nearly US$300,000 to demolish the building which is paid for with tax money collected from residents in the city. The Buffalo News reports that fees are approaching $700,000. Though reports say there is a potential buyer of the stable, Wikinews cannot independently confirm those reports.

Residents say the stable was designed by Richard A. Waite, a 19th century architect, and was first owned by a company called White Bros., used as a stable and housed at least 30 horses at any given time. It also stored “coaches, coupes, broughams, Victorias and everything in the line of light livery,” stated an article from the West Side Topics dated 1906. According to the article, The company first opened in 1881 on Thirteenth Street, now Normal Avenue, and later moved into the Jersey building in 1892. The Buffalo Fire Department believes the building was built around 1814, while the city property database states it was built in 1870. It is believed to be only one of three stables of this kind still standing in the country.

At about 1950, the stable was converted into an automobile body shop and gasoline station.A property record search showed that in 1950 at least four fuel storage tanks were installed on the property. Two are listed as 550 square feet while the other two are 2,000 square feet. All of the tanks are designated as a TK4, which New York State says is used for “below ground horizontal bulk fuel storage.” The cost of installing a tank of that nature according to the state, at that time, included the tank itself, “excavation and backfill,” but did not include “the piping, ballast, or hold-down slab orring.” It is not known if the tanks are still on the property, but residents are concerned the city was not taking the precautions to find out.

Wikinews has called the city along with the Mayor’s office several times, but both have yet to return our calls. There are conflicting reports as to the date of the next hearing. According to Herrick, the next hearing is July 1, 2008 though the Buffalo News states the next hearing is July 8. The News also states that Burns will make a final ruling on the stable at this time.

Friday, November 24, 2017

On Wednesday, Singapore’s government announced its intention to have driverless buses operating on public roads from 2022. Driverless buses are to be first launched in three towns on less crowded roads made to be suitable for the purpose. The autonomous buses are to run during off-peak times, complementing human-driven bus services.

According to the joint announcement from the Land Transport Authority and Singapore’s Ministry of Transport, commuters will be able to use their mobile phones to hail a driverless shuttle. Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan remarked, “The autonomous vehicles will greatly enhance the accessibility and connectivity of our public transport system, particularly for the elderly, families with young children and the less mobile.”

Along with the announcement, a two hectare (roughly five acre) test centre has been unveiled outside Nanyang Technological University, where self-driving vehicles are to be driven in simulated Singapore traffic. The test centre is also to be used for developers of self-driving vehicles to observe how they react to pedestrians, extreme weather, aggressive drivers, and various other road conditions. At the launch, Mr Khaw also said, “Our land transport constraints may help us become a global player in urban mobility solutions. What works here is likely to also work in other cities”. He noted driverless technology testing for Singapore was underway by at least 10 companies.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The militant Islamist group Taliban attacked a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan last night. Seven people, including a U.S. citizen and a journalist from the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet were killed. Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre is staying at the hotel, but was unharmed.

The terrorists attacked the five-star Serena Hotel with AK-47 assault rifles, suicide vests, and grenades. The likely target was Mr. Gahr Støre and a Norwegian delegation, who evacuated into the cellar. U.S. military forced rushed to the scene, and managed to kill at least one of the attackers.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility shortly after the attack. Norway has some 500 soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.

White House press secretary Dana Perino described the attackers as “deliberate, patient people who will murder innocents”, and said that the attack “underscores the reason we have to stay on the offense against the extremists in places like Kabul but also in other places around the world.”

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Two people have been killed and 47 people have been injured as the result of a coach crash in Cornwall, England. The vehicle, which was carrying 48 passengers as well as the driver, were travelling back from a journey to the village of Mousehole to see Christmas lights. The accident occurred at 2215 GMT yesterday in the village of Townshend, not far from the town of Hayle. Road conditions at the time were icy, which may explain why the accident occurred. The first police car that arrived at the scene lost control on the icy road and crashed into the already overturned coach. The two officers in the car were uninjured, however the earlier crash had caused the deaths of two women. One of them died at the scene of the accident and the other was later killed as a result of the injuries suffered. 47 people were injured, five of them seriously.

The sequence of events that is believed to have happened, according to Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, is that the coach went off the road, collided with a tree, going through a hedge before finally overturning, causing the vehicle to end up on its side. 60-year-old Ann Ellis, who comes from the village of Illogan in Cornwall, was physically involved in the crash. Desribing her experience of this incident, she said: “All I can remember is a big bang and we just went over. I got trapped under somebody else and there was someone on top of me. It was difficult to breathe but two gentlemen dragged me out. I was shaken, really shaken. I think we all were. It was horrific.”

Derek Smith, lives near where the accident occurred. He said that “[w]e were just going to bed when we heard a knock on the kitchen door. She was covered in mud and had no shoes or socks on and was shaking as she stood there. I could hear this commotion going on.

She said to ring the police and ambulance as their coach had turned over and there were 50 people in it and some of them were injured. My wife rang 999 and the lady was in a real panic. We gave her some socks and boots straightaway because she was freezing as she had nothing on her feet.”

75-year-old Charles Parker, who is living in St. Agnes in the county, was also injured in the accident, suffering injuries to his leg and his head. “The roads were so icy,” he explained. “I heard a cracking noise and all of a sudden we had turned over. I remember later being helped out of the coach through a window. We were close to a house and they took most of the people in there. Then helicopters turned up. It was very frightening.”

Inspector Matthew Shaw, who comes from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, explained “[i]t seems from initial investigations that the coach has slipped on ice. The road is covered in a sheet of ice, it’s treacherous, it’s difficult to even walk down there.” The amount of time taken to transport the injured passengers to a hospital was four hours.

Friday, January 11, 2008File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg

Thaicom, a Thai satellite company has begun airing Hezbollah network Al-Manar, much to Israel’s discontent. Al-Manar now can be viewed in Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and most of Europe, a blow to Israel who is trying to fight Hezbollah. Many fear this will increase support and recruiting for Hezbollah, which the United States, Israel and some other countries consider a terrorist organization. Thaicom considers Al-Manar programming as “news and entertainment.”

Al-Manar was designated a ‘terrorist entity’, and banned by the United States in December 2004. It has also been banned by France and Spain, and has run into some service and license problems abroad, making it unavailable in the Netherlands, South America and Canada while it has not officially been banned in any of these regions.

The station was launched by Hezbollah in 1991 with the help of Iranian funds. By 2004, Al Manar was estimated to hold 10-15 million viewers daily worldwide. Critics claim al-Manar’s agenda is influenced by Iran by virtue of the “significant portion” of Hezbollah’s budget shortfall that is covered by Iran, via some of the “US$100 and $200 million a year” Iran provides to Hezbollah itself. Al-Manar officials strongly deny this, saying they are subsidized by the Hezbollah party and donations from other Muslims, not by Iran. Al-Manar calls itself the “Station of the Resistance” (qanat al-muqawama) and is a key player in what Hezbollah calls its “psychological warfare against the Zionist enemy”

“It’s a war. Al-Manar is Hezbollah’s main communication tool, through which it spreads anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, and anti-American incitement. It spreads Hezbollah and Iranian values of radical Islam,” Dr. Reuven Erlich said. Erlich is the head of the Terrorism Information Center in Herzliya, Israel. He added that the fact that Al-Manar can now be seen in south-east Asia, means that Indonesia and Malaysia, two countries with a large Muslim population, are open to its messages of hatred.

Thaicom said it is considering its response and will only offer a formal reaction over the weekend adding the decision to transmit Al-Manar broadcasts was a “purely business decision, which had nothing to do with politics.”

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Despite rainfall and Sunday late evening local time, street demonstrations started in Hungary hours after almost all of Hungarian electronic media coordinatedly published a taped recording of prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány‘s confidential address made to a gathering of socialist MSZP leaders on 26th May 2006.

In the recording, Mr. Gyurcsány is heard to admit openly, often using foul language that the last 1½—2 years of his government and his victory in the spring legislative elections were based on lies, doctored fiscal data and he admits the four years under his government has created absolutely nothing remarkable.

The most commonly quoted part of his monologue, when translated literally:

The original in Hungarian:

The widespread publication of this monologue quickly led to a spontaneous gathering of an estimated 1200 to 2000 people, mostly young adults, in front of the seat of the Legislature of Hungary in Budapest. About one hundred riot police and two water-cannon trucks are securing the restricted grass area around the building, while protesters are chanting with demands for Mr. Gyurcsány to immediately step down and schedule a new election before the year ends.

According to midnight news, about 50 young people are leading a march in the rural town of Zalaegerszeg with the intention to harangue more support for the protest and lead a crowd to Budapest.

The prime minister has appeared on a liberal controlled cable TV channel “ATV” and later on nationwide commercial television “TV2”. He pledged not to resign. He said the taped disclosure was fine, as the country can now finally understand why their spring censoring of state fiscal information and their election promises were justified – according to him the victory of Christian conservative Fidesz party would have pushed the country into even deeper economic and social turmoil.

According to a Hír TV editorial, the current scandal and the resulting public protest bears a harrowing similarity to early events of the Hungarian revolution of 1956 when a group of university students started a street protest against the communist regime after hearing leaked excerpts of the Secret Speech made by Nikita Khruschev wherein he denounced his predecesor’s (Josef Stalin) regime. This comparison is disputed by other media.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Five passengers have died and more than a dozen are injured after a bus bound for Montreal from New York City crashed through a guard rail in upper New York state on Monday evening.

The Greyhound bus was heading north on Interstate 87 when it rolled over at around 6:45 pm before reaching Westport, New York, about half way between Albany and Montreal. Several passengers were still trapped two hours after the crash, according to the Plattsburgh Press Republican.

“All we did was try to comfort people,” said Plattsburgh Mayor Daniel Stewart. “I also did a lot of French to English translation for police. Many on the bus were tourists returning to Canada.”

The dead include a 16-year old boy and 34-year old man, both from Montreal, and a 69-year old woman from an undisclosed Canadian location. The other two victims are both from New York State including the bus driver.

Thirty-seven passengers were taken to Champlain Valley Hospital in Plattsburgh, New York, following the crash. Twenty-two were treated and released.

Two passengers were have been transferred to Montreal General Hospital where they are in intensive care. Four others are in stable condition.

Reports suggest that the bus crashed through a guard rail after passing a truck, went down an embankment and rolled at least twice before landing upside down. The rear and top of the bus were crushed and one of its back wheels was turned inward. According to Don Jaquish, deputy director of the Essex County, New York Emergency Services, many of the passengers were thrown out of the bus and landed on a grassy area nearby.

Major Richard Smith, Jr., of the New York State Police said that investigators believe a tire failure may have been a contributing factor in the crash. Survivors say they heard a loud bang before the bus lost control.

Smith said that 48 of the 52 passengers on the bus sustained injuries. Greyhound Bus No. 4014 had been due to arrive in Montreal at 9:10 pm. Many of the passengers are believed to be from the Montreal area.

The highway remained closed late Monday between Exits 30 and 31 in both directions.

Family members can call Greyhound at 1-800-972-4583 for more information.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

General Motors ^NYSE: GM (GM) and Chrysler have both begun to offer layoff packages to their workforces.

The automobile manufacturers have been hard hit in the recent economic downturn and have been forced to seek federal aid from the U.S. government. Reports say that GM’s package includes a $20,000 cash payment and a $25,000 new vehicle voucher. Chrysler will offer a $25,000 vehicle voucher and $50,000 with healthcare and $75,000 without. Both will offer the deal to most United Auto Workers (UAW) union members – 62,000 at GM, which is seeking to cut 31,500 jobs by 2012.

The two companies have received $13.4 billion in federal loans to keep them operating, but Congress required them to produce viability plans to demonstrate they were making significant cost cuts and labor concessions in return for the money. UAW workers in Detroit earn $28 an hour; their replacements will earn about half that. The UAW’s “jobs bank”, a system where workers without duties are still paid, has stopped at both companies.

GM is also attempting to engineer a debt-for-equity swap, reducing its liabilities from $27.5 billion in unsecured debt to $9.2 billion. It is also seeking to sell a truck manufacturer, the Delco Electronics parts group and the Hummer and Saab Automobile vehicle brands.

The entire motor manufacturing sector has suffered under the economic downturn, with the Ford Motor Company ^NYSE: F announcing a $14.6 billion annual loss, although it has not sought federal aid. GM and Chrysler both ran out of operating funds in December, leading to the federal bailout.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

MasterCard International announced Friday that multiple instances of fraud have been tracked back to CardSystems Solutions, Inc., a company that processes credit card transactions and other payments. Customer names, banks, and account numbers of up to 40 million cardholders have been exposed, of which about 13.9 million are MasterCard-branded cards, the company said. Visa and American Express cards were also affected.

“The breach appears to be the largest yet involving financial data,” said David Sobel, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

CardSystems issued a statement late on Friday that said it learned of the potential breach 26 days ago, but that the FBI told the company not to advise the cardholders nor the public at large. CardSystems also said their statement had been vetted by the FBI.

A spokesperson for the FBI said that the agency had asked CardSystems not to disclose information that could compromise the investigation, but that it had not asked CardSystems to fail to disclose the breach at all.

Michael A. Brady, C.F.O. of CardSystems, told the Associated Press that “we’re absolutely blindsided by a press release by the association,” when speaking of MasterCard’s release. A MasterCard spokesperson said that the company was obligated to inform its customers of the breach.

MasterCard spokesperson Sharon Gamsin said that CardSystems was hit by a virus-like computer script that stole customer data for the purpose of fraud. She said MasterCard does not know how the script got into the CardSystem network.

Sobel said this theft “indicates that this is a shadowy industry where the consumer never really knows who is going to be handling and using their personal information. Presumably, the affected consumers thought they were dealing with MasterCard.” Having a third-party process credit card transactions is common practice in the industry.