WCDO Radio News

President Obama's visit to Binghamton University this Friday has been limited to a very small audience.  Tickets will be distributed Wednesday at noon via an online lottery pool.  There will only be one entry permitted per person, and only one ticket will be awarded per entry selected.  Participation is limited to students, faculty and staff at B.U., along with a few select local dignitaries including Broome County Executive Debbie Preston, Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan and Vestal Supervisor John Schaffer. The President will lay out a plan to make college more affordable, tackle rising costs, and improve value for students and their families.  The town hall event will take place inside the Old University Union at 12:45 on Friday, although attendees will need to be in place much earlier. Traffic will be disrupted on campus for much of the day with the main entrance and campus loop closed from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. The university is still working on determining designated areas for anti-fracking or gun rights protestors.

A car drove into the M&T Bank on Upper Front Street Binghamton at around 11:10 a.m. Tuesday.  New York State Police and the Chenango Fire Department responded to the scene.  Paula Hamilton, 90, of Harpursville, hit the accelerator when she meant to hit the brake.  Her silver Honda drove through a handicapped space in the front of the building, knocked over a sign and drove through the front window.  Hamilton was taken to Lourdes hospital for precautionary measures.  No one else was injured.

Elaine Sortino, a 1971 graduate of SUNY Oneonta and a member of the college’s athletics Hall of Fame, succumbed to a lengthy battle with cancer Sunday.  Sortino, who was entering her 35th season as the head softball coach at the University of Massachusetts, was 64 years old.