Buffalo, New York USA News

Dr. Angelo Fatta has been elected chair-elect for the League of American Orchestras’ board of directors.

Fatta, a one-time chair of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, assumes his year-long role in June. His election to succeed Lowell Noteboom, former chair of the St. Paul, Minn., Chamber Orchestra will take hold in June 2014.

The league represents 800 orchestras around North America and serves as an advocate for issues related to orchestras.

Paul Godfrey has been fired as the head of Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said she has decided to go in a "different direction" at OLG, according to the Niagara Falls Review.

Godfrey, who had held the post since 2009, offered his own explanation.

"I believe there is a chemistry difference between us,” he said. “I have my own crystal ball, she has her own crystal ball.”

Toronto's controversial mayor is in more trouble.

The Toronto Star reports that a cellphone video appears to show Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. The paper says the video "is being shopped around Toronto by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade."

For the eighth year in the row, the Buffalo History Museum will be hosting a one-Friday-a-month concert series out on a portico overlooking Mirror Lake and the Japanese Gardens in Delaware Park. It's one of the most intimate and exquisite views around, enhanced only by the premier sounds of some of the area's best musicians. Party on the Portico is also one of the most happening summer happy hour spots, where friends convene to chillax, have a cocktail and enjoy the fantastic scenery of the park-scape.