marathon06.org

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Buffalo, New York — A proposed hotel that was supposed to be built at the corner of Elmwood and Forest Avenues in Buffalo, New York is apparently off the table. The former proposal was going to be called The Elmwood Village Hotel and would have consisted of 72 rooms and cost between $7 to $10 million American dollars to build.

Today several unknown individuals were seen removing a sign that was dedicated to the “Elmwood Village Gateway,” which signifies the beginning of the Elmwood Village at the formerly proposed project’s location.

Nearly an hour later the men replaced the sign with a different and unexpected sign: “For Sale: 5 commercial parcels and 1 carriage house, By: Owner.” Those 5 “parcels” are 1109-1121 Elmwood and 999 Forest Avenue, which is located in an illegal alley, according to the City of Buffalo, behind the 5 other properties on Elmwood. Hans Mobius owns all properties named in the sale.

Sam Savarino, CEO of Savarino Companies never owned the properties and has repeatadly told Wikinews in exclusive interviews that he still had a “contract to buy the properties” and on October 2, 2006 told Wikinews in an exclusive interview that he “extended” the “agreement to purchase the property[s] and will have it under contract for what we hope is a sufficient period of time.”

“He [Mobius] is undoubtedly concerned because he has lost some tenants and is a bit impatient. I think he has properly portrayed the situation,” said Savarino in an exclusive interview with Wikinews.

Savarino also says that there may be “legal issues” to work out now, before anything else can move forward, regarding the proposal.

“There are some legal complexities that must be sorted out before anything can happen there,” added Savarino.

The welcome sign was; however, not removed entirely. The sign was placed, facing the same direction of north, on the side of the Forest Plaza Art Gallery, a new art gallery located on the corner of Forest and Elmwood.

Nancy Pollina, owner of Don Apparel which was located at 1109 Elmwood, but closed on October 14, 2006 considers this a possible “victory” in regards to the lawsuit filed against the hotel to stop it from being built, alleging that several laws were broken, including not performing an Environmental Impact Study before the proposal was approved by the city, during its approval and the proposal was “rushed.” Patricia Morris, who operates Don Apparel with Pollina, Angeline Genovese and Evelyn Bencinich, owners of residences on Granger Place which abut the rear of the proposed site, Nina Freudenheim, a resident of nearby Penhurst Park, and Sandra Girage, the owner of a two-family residence on Forest Avenue less than a hundred feet from the proposed hotel’s sole entrance and exit driveway, were also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. They filed the suit with a lawyer representing them, Arthur J. Giacalone, on April 25, 2006 in New York State Supreme Court, but the case has never gone to a courtroom.

Giacalone believes that a press release issued in July regarding the project was nothing but a statement to “save face,” but that the placement of the for sale sign might be a way of convincing Savarino to speed up the sale of the properties.

“I thought all along that Savarino’s July press release might be no more than an effort to save face. But we have no way of knowing. Similarly, Mobius might have put the for-sale sign up in an attempt to pressure Savarino into closing the deal. There’s no way to tell,” said Giacalone in an exclusive interview with Wikinews.

In regards to the lawsuit, Giacalone thinks it may now be in “limbo.”

“The lawsuit still sits in limbo,” added Giacalone.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Iraqi police officials stated on Saturday that gunmen wearing military uniforms have killed 25 people, including five women, in a Friday night attack on a Sunni village named Sufia, 15 miles south of Baghdad. All those killed were members of the Jubur tribe, which was among the last supporters of Al-Qaeda to ally with U.S. forces, only doing so in late 2007.

Baghdad’s security spokesman, Major General Qassim al-Moussawi has stated that “At least seven people were found alive, bound with handcuffs.” In the hours after Friday night’s shootings, Iraqi officials arrested 17 suspects in the incident and cordoned off the area to search for more.

Most of the victims in the attack were local members of the Sons of Iraq, a group which helped U.S. and Iraqi forces since 2006 to suppress insurgent activity. They were found handcuffed with broken arms or legs, and with gun wounds in either the chest or the head. This marks part of the large amount of dead last month, 367, which is the fourth month where the amount dead by insurgent attacks has been higher than in mid-war.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Billionaire philanthropist and former Chief of Protocol of the United States Leonore Annenberg, widow of the late publishing magnate Walter Annenberg, died Thursday, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. She was 91 and had been in declining health at the time of her death. An Annenberg family spokesperson issued a statement confirming Mrs. Annenberg’s death, and giving the cause of death as natural.

Annenberg served as Chief of Protocol from 1981 to 1982 under President Ronald Reagan. Once out of the public eye, the Annenbergs began donating large sums of their fortune to arts, cultural, medical, and educational facilities through the Annenberg Foundation, established in 1989.

Former President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush issued a statement in which they referred to Mr. and Mrs. Annenberg as having “exemplified service to others and were two of God’s very special people.” Former First Lady Nancy Reagan called Mrs. Annenberg “a dear and longtime friend” and praised the couple’s “unparalleled” philanthropy that “left an indelible print on education in the United States.”

Plans for a memorial service are underway.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd faced intense scrutiny in federal parliament on Tuesday following days of speculation that he was considering scrapping cash bonuses to recipients of carer and seniors payments. Questions by the opposition during question time were dominated by the cash bonuses, with leader of the opposition, Brendan Nelson moving to censure the Prime Minister.

It was the first censure motion moved against the Prime Minister since his election last year.

For the past four years, the previous Howard government had made one-off payments to seniors of up to $500 and $1,600 to carers.

Facing repeated questions, the Prime Minister said “I guarantee that carers will not be one dollar worse off as a consequence of the budget”.

Mr Rudd said that the government was also looking at “the challenges of carers and pensioners in the long term” instead of through one-time bonus payments as the previous government had. Mr Rudd then called the opposition the “new party of compassion” and told the house that the Howard government had never committed to the payments in the long term, as they were not in forward budget estimates.

Brendan Nelson then moved a motion to censure the Prime Minister over his plans. During his motion, Dr Nelson called upon the Prime Minister to “get up, for God’s sake, get up, stand in front of that microphone and say to the carers of this country, ‘I, the Prime Minister of Australia, believe in you and will deliver you a lump sum payment in the budget.”

Dr Nelson also accused the Prime Minister of not seeing the significance of the bonus payments for those who receive them. “For someone earning $250,000 a year, a lump sum payment of $1,600 would probably make them think: ‘What’s that? It’s my credit card payment or whatever.’” said Dr Nelson.

The opposition leader told the House of Representatives that many people had been budgeting for the bonus payment and it was unfair for it to be taken from them. “If you are hanging out for that lump sum payment, it is absolutely essential for your budgeting,” said Dr Nelson.

When the Prime Minister spoke against the motion, he reminded the opposition that a Liberal party document said “A re-elected Coalition Government will consider continuing to pay these bonuses, depending on the economic circumstances at the time.”

Mr Rudd then drew attention to his $500 utilities allowance, which will be paid to aged and disability pensioners as well as carers to counter the rise in the cost of living.

Speaking for the motion, opposition community services spokesman Tony Abbott accused the Rudd government of “compassion fatigue” and said that the cardboard cutout of the Prime Minister which appeared in parliament on the previous sitting day had “more heart than this Prime Minister”.

The censure motion was defeated along party lines.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Retired four-star general and former US Secretary of State Alexander Haig died Saturday morning of complications from an infection at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 85.

A West Point graduate and decorated veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, Haig served as commander of US forces stationed in Europe and Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He also held top advisory posts in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. Haig furthermore unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.

Despite his distinguished military and political career, Haig was never able to fully live down his internationally televised response to the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

“As of now, I am in control here in the White House, pending the return of the Vice President,” Haig said hours after the shooting.

Some saw the comment as a calculated usurping of Vice President George H.W. Bush‘s authority and as a purposeful disregard of the overall chain of command.

In his own defense, Haig later told the media that what he said earlier was done “to reassure Americans” that the White House was functioning during the absence of Vice President Bush whom was flying back to Washington, D.C. from Texas at the time of the shooting.

In a press conference on Saturday, US President Barack Obama described Haig as a valued public servant who “exemplified our finest warrior-diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service.”

Haig “served his country in many capacities for many years, earning honor on the battlefield, the confidence of presidents and prime ministers, and the thanks of a grateful nation,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later added.

Saturday, April 2, 2005

Stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg was found dead Wednesday in his hotel room in New Jersey. The comedian, originally from the St. Paul, Minnesota region, was on an east coast tour of the USA. Hedberg started his career in South Florida, and later worked in Seattle.

While the cause of Hedberg’s death is yet unconfirmed, Hedberg’s performance at a show in Portland, Maine in October 2004 suggested he might have a problem with drug use. According to Steve Kolowich of the Bowdoin Orient, “Hedberg, who was clearly intoxicated, was falling down all over the stage that night. At one point, he lay down behind the back curtain and told jokes for approximately ten minutes before rolling back into sight. He also asked the audience where the best bar in town was, and invited them to join him there after the show.”

According to an AP report on KLTV.com, Hedberg’s mother, Mary Hedberg, claimed speculation that her son’s death was drug-related was “gossip.” The same report notes that services will be held in Woodbury, Minnesota on Tuesday, April 5.

Hedberg, a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman, had released two CDs titled Strategic Grill Locations and Mitch All Together. He also directed a movie, “Los Enchiladas!” The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.