BUFFALO, N.Y. — 10 years ago this week:
The first components of the Harbor Center were opened to the public with Canisius taking on Ohio State to christen the ice rinks. The 716 sports bar would open shortly thereafter however the hotel on the upper floors of the complex were still a work in progress. Outside the facility the statue of Tim Horton was unveiled across the corner from a new Tim Hortons restaurant was opened as part of Harbor Center,
The Tonawanda News published its final edition after 134 years.
There was a proposal by a salary review commission to raise the pay of the Erie County Executive from $103,000 to $126,000 per year. More recently, another salary review commission recommended the salary be boosted to $175,00 which the legislature adopted, reflecting a 70% salary increase for the county's top elected official in the last decade.
20 years ago this week:
Edward Kmiec was installed as the 13th bishop of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese. Kmiec, who had previously been bishop in the Diocese of Nashville in Tennessee, remained bishop in Buffalo until 2012. He died in 2020.
For the first time since 1918 the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, lifting the "Curse of the Bambino" after 86 years.
30 years ago this week:
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for construction of the Crossroads Arena, which is currently called KeyBank Center.
The new air traffic control tower at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport was dedicated at a ribbon cutting ceremony,
National news was dominated by coverage of a story in South Carolina where a woman named Susan Smith, who publicly begged for the return of her two small sons, whom she told police were taken by was a black man during a car jacking. Concern turned to shock and horror, however, when about a week later she confessed to sending her car into lake, with her two little boys in it. Smith, who was convicted of murder, will be eligible for parole next month.
40 years ago this week:
Walter Mondale made a last minute campaign swing through Buffalo prior to the election for president, during which he suffered one of the largest landslide losses on modern history to Ronald Reagan.
A last supper was held at the Buffalo City Mission before it opened a new facility on Tupper Street.
Plans were announced the redevelop the decrepit Hotel Villanova on Franklin Street near Chippewa. Plans to renovate 80 year old landmark failed, however, and it was torn down in 1993.