Governor wants to restrict plea bargaining of speeding tickets
The long-standing practice of allowing drivers caught speeding in the region’s towns and villages to plead down their tickets to parking violations could be dramatically curtailed under Gov. Andrew...
View ArticleReasons vary for changes in school aid
Making sense of state aid for schools is like touching air.You can’t see it, but you know it’s there. And if there isn’t enough of it, you’re in trouble.“It’s complicated, but it isn’t,” is how one...
View ArticleCompetitor was willing to pay state $100 million more than Maid of the Mist
Local government officials last month cheered the state for saving Niagara Falls’ most popular tourist attraction from extinction.But to Terry MacRae, the new lease on life for the Maid of the Mist is...
View ArticleNew Wilson food pantry fills a community need
WILSON – A new food pantry serving residents of the community is slowly growing in clientele and donations, helping fill a void created when a former, long-standing resource closed its doors in the...
View ArticleProposed development rules aired in Elmwood Village
Residents of Buffalo’s Elmwood Village worked for years to get a set of rules to protect the look of the neighborhood as new buildings are constructed or old ones are updated.A proposed citywide...
View ArticlePolice probing death of woman found unconscious
Lockport police are investigating the death Saturday of a woman discovered outside the former Niagara County infirmary.Police say the woman was unconscious when they arrived at the scene after getting...
View ArticleResolve to save more this year, experts advise
A record 46 percent of Americans have made a money-related resolution for 2013, and spending less and saving more topped the survey, according to Fidelity Investments.But while improving personal...
View ArticleDiversion program brings success in small doses
LOCKPORT – Success stories are relatively rare in a program that tries to keep nonviolent, drug-abusing felons out of prison by compelling them to obtain treatment.State statistics show that in...
View ArticleCremated remains of more than 30 people found abandoned in fire-damaged...
The determined efforts of a Buffalo woman to find the cremated remains of her father led to the discovery Saturday of more than 30 boxes of cremains – including those of her father – abandoned in a...
View ArticleMan steals $1,500 from Wendy’s safe
A man who climbed through a rear window at a Wendy’s restaurant in Buffalo and forced three employees to open a company safe is being sought by Buffalo police.Police said the man entered the...
View ArticleGenesee County Legislature clerk to retire
BATAVIA – The Genesee County Legislature will lose its longest serving clerk when Carolyn P. Pratt retires on March 22.Pratt has served the county’s two managers – Charles W. Meyer and Jay A. Gsell –...
View ArticleBurglar may have caused massive flood in former Summit mall
WHEATFIELD – Frozen valves caused three water pipes to burst inside the former Summit mall over the weekend, resulting in as much as $1 million worth of water damage.Police are investigating whether a...
View Article“All this over a hit-and-run?,” asks driver charged with...
NIAGARA FALLS – City police said they had to forcibly arrest a man fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run crash Saturday night.A witness to the crash, which occurred in the area of Honey’s restaurant on...
View ArticleSnow, sleet expected to slow Monday morning commute
A slick morning commute will give way to warmer temperatures Monday afternoon, meteorologists said. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday for all...
View ArticleMarket Street Art Center to reopen after improvements
LOCKPORT – The Market Street Art Center will reopen Monday after renovations to its Joseph A. and Kathleen M. Whalen Gallery and to the Art and Soul gift shop, and the center’s first exhibit for 2013...
View ArticleBusted sprinkler lines reported in several Amherst buildings
Sprinkler lines burst or malfunctioned Sunday in at least five separate buildings in Amherst, according to Amherst Fire Control.Firefighters were dispatched to apartments on Deer Lakes Drive at 2:24...
View ArticleUnited Way cutting 7 programs from community investment plan
The United Way of Buffalo & Erie County is eliminating seven programs from its community investment plan for 2013 to 2015, while agreeing to fund 17 human services programs it hadn’t...
View ArticleUnpaid charges may cost TAM Ceramics its tax break
WHEATFIELD – TAM Ceramics may lose its property tax break from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency because of more than $600,000 in unpaid sewer bills and special district taxes.IDA...
View ArticleRevamped historic tax credit called boon
ALBANY – It may do little to help long-stalled dreams of rehabilitating large buildings like Buffalo’s Central Terminal or the AM&A’s building.But Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new proposal to rework the...
View ArticleElected officials to reaffirm ‘fracking’ stance
At least two members of the Buffalo Common Council plan to reaffirm their opposition to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” during a news conference at noon today in the Council’s conference room at...
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