BUFFALO, N.Y. — 10 Years Ago, This week in 2013:
Construction began on the Outer Harbor Park near Wilkeson Pointe and the University at Buffalo hired Bobby Hurley as its new men's basketball coach.
Hurley replaced Reggie Witherspoon and within two seasons coached the Bulls to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Hurley’s time in Buffalo was brief, as he was soon hired away by Arizona State University where he remains head basketball coach today.
A year after Anderson Cooper made sport of Buffalo’s Dyngus Day celebration on his national TV show, and didn't accept an invitation to come see it himself, organizers suspended a Mini Cooper vehicle from the side of Central Terminal.
State lawmakers in Albany passed a state budget of $135 billion. Just ten years later the one they are currently considering is $227 billion, reflecting a whopping 68% increased in state spending since this week in 2013.
20 Years Ago, This Week in 2003:
Michael Moore was jeered at the Oscars for his rant against President Bush and the Iraq War effort.
Moore’s remarks, coming at a time when casualties were growing among U.S. service members called up to fight, were seen as insensitive by many. Nonetheless, it launched a trend involving Hollywood stars hijacking the Academy Awards ceremony to air their political views.
That same week was when NBC's Brian Williams began telling an incredible story about a close call in a military helicopter, claiming that he was in a chopper when another aircraft in his convoy came under fire.
Later, as it became evident that Williams had embellished this and other accounts of covering the war, he was suspended for six months by NBC News before resurrecting his career on MSNBC.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said he would back an idea which he believed would better protect commercial airliners from terrorist attacks. It would be quite expensive ($1 million per plane) and Schumer further suggested the U.S. Government provide money to help airlines pay for it.
This particular means to protect planes, utilizing newly developed technology for the time, is also the subject of this week’s News 2 You Pop Quiz. (For the answer, watch the conclusion of the video included in this story)
With the Iraq War now in its second full week, there were also growing concerns over potential terroristic attacks on large gatherings in the U.S. In response, the Buffalo Sabres began wanding fans with hand held metal detectors and searching their bags when they attended games... a practice that continues 20 years later.
The Ogden toll barrier still greeted motorists on I-190, Phantom of the Opera was playing at Sheas, 300 million Americans still used Hotmail accounts for e-mail, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who served as a U.S. Senator from New York for 24 years died at the age of 76.
30 Years Ago This Week, in 1993:
NFTA busses and rail cars still sported their once familiar orange, brown, and yellow livery, and there were no less than three movies airing on competing cable television networks portraying the story of Amy Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco.
The FBI began shining lights all night and blasting strange noises from loudspeakers at a compound near Waco, Texas in an attempt to roust Branch Davidians holed up there for several weeks.
And in Western New York stunned patrons arrived at Your Host restaurants to find the doors locked, the shades down and the closed sign up.
Begun by two entrepreneurs as a hot dog stand in Kenmore after World War II, Your Host grew into a chain of 24-hour diners which dotted the regional landscape.
Known for its affordable food, signature dishes, and the juke boxes in booths, Your Host was popular for families and people of all ages from teens to senior citizens.
But by 1993, according to a spokesperson, their business model had become outdated and the restaurants could no longer affordably compete with a growing number of more modern fast food chains in the area.
Still, some 30 years later, if you ask anyone who was around back then, don’t be shocked if they can still recall which Your Host they frequented most, and even a favorite menu item or two from the days …. when it was all News 2 You.
