Culture

BY CAROLETTE MEADOWS Eighteen year old Hutch Tech student, Austin Harig is young, bright, and talented. But for some, his youth is an unforgiving obstacle. Despite the cynics, Harig has demonstrated a wisdom far beyond his years. Harig participated in

BY MIKE HUDSON Buffalo developer Mark Hamister was given “preferred developer” status on a valuable piece of property on Rainbow Boulevard just a few hundred yards from the state park entrance for two reasons. He could build a luxurious resort

BY JIM OSTROWSKI What better topic to introduce my new column in this paper than Trump’s visit to Buffalo Monday night?  So there I was, in the press pen, literally walled off from the event with no food, no booze,

BY MATT RICCHIAZZI Congressman Brian Higgins is urging the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to spend $43 million to redevelop the DL&W Terminal into a light rail station. That facility would only service the six-mile line that runs along Main Street

BY MATT RICCHIAZZI There are two seats up for election on the City of Niagara Falls’ school board, which will be held on May 17th. The full slate of candidates is still in flux, with a crucial filing deadline of

BY TONY FARINA Erie Community College has filed a formal response to the Jan. 14 audit report by the state comptroller that detailed a “lax control environment” established by the board of trustees that allowed college management to assume board

BY JAMES HUFNAGEL Later this month, and for the second time during his five years in office, Gov. Andrew Cuomo will make a decision that has enormous implications for the future of Western New York’s water resources. The Governor will

BY FRANK PARLATO Buffalo Councilman and Pastor of the True Bethel Baptist Church, Reverend Darius G. Pridgen has evidently created and had posted on Facebook a photo-shopped, Mount Rushmore-esque image where he appears alongside Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and

BY TONY FARINA According to the Humane Society of the United States, dog fighting is a sadistic “contest” in which two dogs—specifically bred, conditioned, and trained to fight—-are placed in a pit (generally a small arena enclosed by plywood walls)

On Monday, the Buffalo Common Council met at their regularly scheduled caucus, where members review agenda items ahead of their Tuesday committee meetings. The meeting discussed the BMHA’s pending request for a $250,000 grant to cover its ongoing operating deficit

BY MIKE HUDSON For Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, it’s not about the destination but the journey. Which is why, since taking office in January 2008, the city has been subjected to numerous and lengthy forays into the unknowable unknown,

BY JAMES HUFNAGEL Strike up the band, join the parade, wave the flag and pop the bag. The politicians are renaming the Robert Moses Parkway, to the Niagara Scenic Parkway. Please curb your enthusiasm. Especially since, instead of renaming it, they

BY CHRIS STEVENSON Early last week Edward Berezowski , 54, was reported as found hanging in his cell by his jail-issued pants. According to the Buffalo News he died on Friday, August 17. He was said to have told deputies he was going

BY MATTHEW ALBERT, ESQ. A tragic and horrific case: My client India Cummings, in the throes of mental illness, clearly incapacitated and incapable of taking care of herself, was put in custody at the Erie County Holding Center on February 1st,

BY MATTHEW RICCHIAZZI Development in downtown Niagara Falls remains at a snail’s pace, with Governor Andrew Cuomo unable to advance development projects or to grow the volume of tourists visiting the city. A prominent local developer argues that the Cuomo administration’s failure to

BY FRANK PARLATO  There has been a lot reported in local media about a recent New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSOPR) proposal to dewater Niagara Falls.  “Dewatering is necessary for two reasons,” a report from

BY C.B. MILLER Governor Andrew Cuomo promised to rebuild Buffalo with great fanfare, branding his economic development spending as the Buffalo Billion. While Elon Musk received $750 million of Buffalo’s Billion, the city’s aging sewer infrastructure received nothing. The Scajaquada Creek sits

BY TONY FARINA If there’s a financial crisis at Erie Community College, as certainly appears the case, there’s no sign of it if you take a look at the salaries at the college headed by President Jack Quinn at $192,500