Buffalo’s Human Resources Commissioner, Karla Thomaswas fired Thursday, the same day as a Common Councilmember filed a resolution calling for her removal. A hearing on the termination was set for later this month.

Thomas has been under fire for weeks following a recent audit by City Comptroller Andrew SanFilippo that revealed her department paid $2.7 million in health inssurance benefits to deceased people.

Mayor Byron Brown made the announcement following a ceremony marking a milestone for the city’s 3-1-1 Information Center.

“This is inexcusable”, said Joseph Golombek, the councilmember who filed the resolution. “The Commissioner must be held accountable for all actions that occur in her department; therefore, if she won’t resign, she should be removed from her position.”

The Town of Amherst has recently begun construction of a flood mitigation project within Bassett Park.  This project is designed to improve storm water drainage along Ditch 26B in the vicinity of Youngs Road and Klein Road.  This project aims to address ongoing flooding conditions by temporarily storing excess runoff from Ditch 26B during heavy precipitation.  It is important to note that during dry weather, this area of the park has been designed to remain a dry, passive recreation lawn area of Bassett Park.

During the project it will be necessary for contractors to close a portion of Youngs Road south of the Klein Road intersection, but this closure will only be during business hours and only a few days in total.

While construction of the project began in late August, the Town anticipates restoration and completion in early October 2010.

Just got a call about a possible fire out at Plant 16, Amherst’s Waste Water Treatment Plant in West Amherst.  Apparently the pellets they make got overheated and began to smoke, a precursor to spontaneous combustion.  Pellets overheat if they are stacked too high, greater than 6 ft. high.  Just the fumes from smoking pellets are dangerous to the workers.

Several local fire companies were called in to take care of the situation and everything seems to be under control at the present.  The entire silo of stored pellets had to be emptied onto the floor, which creates an even great danger of spontaneous combustion. 

Let you know if anything further develops.

Studies have shown when employees are allowed to take an half hour nap at work they our more alert and have more energy. Several companies are using this practice to increase production and cut down on accidents.

Do’s and Dont’s of Dozing

Napping at work has become acceptable at some companies. Yet pulling off a “productivity nap” at the office isn’t easy. Here are suggestions from sleep scientist Dr. Sara Mednick, author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life.

1. Make Time and Space

Twenty to 30 minutes is all you need to reap the rewards of midday slumber. The best time is the early afternoon when your body is tired—so consider reserving the second half of your lunch break for shut-eye. If your employer doesn’t have a nap room, a yoga mat beats a bathroom stall, though the most comfortable option may be a parked car.

2. Set the Proper Conditions

In the dark our brains produce more of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, so close the blinds, turn off the lights, and consider using a sleeping mask. Keep the temperature on the warmer side. If you must nap sitting up, use a travel pillow to avoid the dreaded “nap nod.” And don’t forget to turn off your cell phone.

3. Careful With the Chemicals

Avoid caffeine for a few hours before a nap. The same goes for nicotine, diet pills, and antidepressants. Although alcohol makes it easier to nod off during the day, it interferes with sleep and should also be avoided. Refined sugars and carbs may keep you up, but meat, dairy, and some nuts have tryptophan, which our bodies break down into melatonin

On Tuesday, September 7, 2010, the Town of Amherst will begin a flood mitigation project involving the replacement of the existing bridge culverts located under the Chapel Woods roadway between Chapel Woods West and Brandywine Drive.  In order to replace these existing structures with a large concrete box culvert, the existing roadway will be removed, during which the roadway will be temporarily closed.  While this small section of Chapel Woods will be temporarily closed, all other roadways within the subdivision will remain open to traffic. 

 The project is anticipated to start on September 7, 2010. Chapel Woods roadway will be closed that day and remain closed for approximately four to six weeks.

 Update:  The Coast Guard has spotted oil spreading in the ocean from this explosion

Another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico has exploded. 

The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the blast, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the area Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known.

authorities do not know whether oil was leaking from the site.The Department of Homeland Security said the platform was in about 2,500 feet of water and owned by Mariner Energy of Houston. DHS said it was not producing oil and gas.

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When do workers become ineligible for health insurance?  How about:  When they die?  That seems to be a sensible time but Buffalo and Amherst have both had a difficult time determining who that applies to.  They are working to correct it. 

Now it seems, New York State is also guilty of similar issues and and audit uncovered fraudulent activity.

Buffalo isn’t the only government insuring dead people.

So is New York State.

And the dead are just one small part of an even bigger problem — 27,000 people, maybe more, who received taxpayer-funded health care coverage they didn’t deserve.

Even worse, a third of those people received health insurance because they cheated the system.

The elimination of those benefits, revealed in an audit scheduled for release today, is expected to save the state $25 million a year.

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When you read a book do you have a copy of it in your hands or do you hold one of the new “Readers?”  The answer points out the very different ways people feel about books.  Book publishers are trying to get a handle on this issue to stay afloat.  It boils down to a choice:  print or pixels?

Auriane and Sebastien de Halleux are at sharp odds over “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” but not about the plot. 

“She talks about the smell of the paper and the feeling of holding it in your hands,” said Mr. de Halleux, 32, who says he thinks the substance is the same regardless of medium. He added, sounding mildly piqued.

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Kyle Warren at 6 years old. At 18 months, Kyle started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.

Children who demonstrate behaviors that are not “normal” at an early age are often given medications to help them attain better behavior.  For many the side effects of the medications are worse than the problem. 

At 18 months, Kyle Warren started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.

Thus began a troubled toddler’s journey from one doctor to another, from one diagnosis to another, involving even more drugs. Autism, bipolar disorder, hyperactivity, insomnia, oppositional defiant disorder. The boy’s daily pill regimen multiplied: the antipsychotic Risperdal, the antidepressant Prozac, two sleeping medicines and one for attention-deficit disorder. All by the time he was 3.

He was sedated, drooling and overweight from the side effectsof the antipsychotic medicine.

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