BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ten Years ago this week in 2013:
There was a new trend among those trying to kick their smoking habits called vaping.
Whereas there had only been two vape shops in Buffalo the year before, the number by this week in 2013 had grown to 20.
Businesses were promoting vaping as a healthier alternative to smoking, however, at the time the Centers for Disease Control had yet to determine the health effects of vaping because the product was so new. Nor were vapes regulated by the Food and Drug Administration at the time.
Ten years later the CDC has determined vaping isn't healthy, the FDA does now regulate it, and New York State drove many vape shops out of business by banning flavored vapes.
20 years ago this week in 2003:
Just shy of the second anniversary of 911, the first group of airline pilots chosen for a new program aimed at stopping hijackers had just completed their training.
This week's News 2 You Pop Quiz: what do you think that new training for that new program, involved? (For the answer watch the conclusion of the video attached to this story).
This was also when two brand new medical studies came out which were the first to conclude that dark chocolate and red wine were actually good for your health, in moderation of course.
30 years ago this week in 1993:
Francis Giles, one of the most popular Sheriffs in the History of Niagara County, choked back tears when addressing reporters after pleading guilty to federal charges of misappropriating public funds.
The theft involved groceries which the Sheriff was billing to the account of the county jail but which he was keeping for himself. Giles took full responsibility, and his fall from grace cost him his job.
A tornado touched down in Genesee County near Batavia with enough force to lift two trucks traveling on Route 5 and place them in each other's path. The resultant collision killed two men.
At the time, the radar at the National Weather Service office in Buffalo wasn't sophisticated enough to detect the telltale rotation in the storm ahead of time.
A proposed new Doppler radar system for the airport weather station, which nearby residents had fought against, was still another year and a half away from being installed.
Back in those days the tears always flowed don Jerry Lewis' face as the tote board totals climbed during the annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
Channel 2 was the local host of the fundraising effort for "Jerry's Kids" during what used to be a staple of Labor Day Weekend television here and throughout the United States.
Children returned to school for the start of classes, where at the time roughly 75% of public schools were still actively involved in the DARE anti drug curriculum.
Richard Simmons was at the height of his popularity and the exercise guru still drew large crowds to shopping malls, including one locally to which he paid a visit this week in 1993.
40 years ago this week in 1983:
The Buffalo Bills opened their season with shutout loss to the Miami Dolphins before a crowd of more than 78,000 fans at Rich Stadium.
Joe Ferguson started at quarterback as Jim Kelly, whom the Bills had selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft 5 months prior, had opted instead to play in the USFL.
The Bills' other first round pick was with the team, But tight end Tony Hunter would play only a few seasons before his career was cut short by injury.
The Bills 2nd round pick Darryl Talley, would go on to star for the team for 12 seasons.
As the Bills started their season, the Buffalo Bisons were finishing theirs, still playing at War Memorial Stadium, otherwise known as the "Rockpile".
At another now demolished venue, David Bowie was entertaining fans during a concert at Memorial Auditorium. The show was part of Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour, launched earlier that year to promote Bowies album "Let's Dance".
Speaking music, while CDs had been on the market for a little under a year, the vast majority of us during that time still listened to albums on vinyl, on a stereo with a turntable on top, back the days when it was all News 2 You.
