2016, the year that began with Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster taking the oath of office for a historic third term, was in many ways a watershed year for the city. Numerous websites including MyLife.com, NeighborhoodScout.com and City-Data.com continued to assert that Niagara Falls was the “Most Dangerous City in New York” and one ofRead More

Before it was known as Delaware North, the global Buffalo-based concessioner called itself Emprise. A reporter at the time who relentlessly investigated the company and its business practices, Don Bolles, was murdered in a car bombing in 1976. In 1972, the House Select Committee on Crime held hearings concerning Emprise’s connections withRead More

As part of an ongoing effort to acquaint our readers with some of the more unsavory aspects of the business and personal dealings of Buffalo billionaire Jeremy Jacobs and his family-held multinational corporation Delaware North, which has the exclusive rights to operate food and beverage concessions in Niagara Falls StateRead More

We were so poor when I was growing up that at Christmas time Dad used to suck a peppermint and we’d all sit round his tongue. We were so poor when I was growing up that at Christmas time we couldn’t afford tinsel on the Christmas tree, so we’d just wheelRead More

One majority lawmaker whose star is on the rise is Lewiston’s Rebecca Wydysh. The freshman Republican, who runs jury selection efforts at the county courthouse, has impressed her colleagues and party brass enough that she’s being given a portfolio heading the county’s opioid-addiction panel. That effort, begun by Bradt himselfRead More

Sources close to the Republican caucus tell me that McNall, while the overwhelming choice of his colleagues and Republican Party leaders to continue in his post, was not the only legislator eyeing the job. Entreaties were made on behalf of two other majority members, but party leaders are said toRead More

The unsurprising news broke late Tuesday night: the chairman of the Niagara County Legislature, Keith McNall, R-Lockport, would be keeping his job. In the annals of Niagara County’s political news, this wasn’t exactly an earth-shattering announcement; after all, save for the on-again, off-again sacking of former chairmen Bill Ross, C-Wheatfield,Read More

Earlier this year the Niagara Gazette announced that a group of locals organized something called “Reclaim Niagara” – formed to “get Albany out of our pockets.” To combat the “exploitation of our resources by public authorities and state entities” is its stated goal. It is described as “a growing movementRead More

Location: Como Restaurant Date/Time: Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. Once again the Judges and Police Executives Conference of Niagara County gathered for their annual Christmas celebration at the Como Restaurant.  Members of the organization enjoyed the Christmas celebration.  But much more than that, the group was again ableRead More

For last minute Christmas shopping, consider the new book by Niagara Falls author and historian Michelle Ann Kratts, “Niagara Falls in World War II”. Niagara Falls, both a natural wonder and a tourist destination, played a prominent role on the homefront during the Second World War. Many men and womenRead More

By Mark Laurrie, Supt. of Schools for the Niagara Falls School District Niagara Falls, NY. Back in June when I became Superintendent, I identified objectives I wanted to achieve to move the District forward. Aligned with the Board of Education’s Strategic Goals, these objectives are specific and designed to support students andRead More

Mark Laurrie, the recently installed Superintendent of Schools for the Niagara Falls School District, has risen through the ranks of this school district and its city. He was a student of the district and worked in the district for years as an administrator before being appointed by the Niagara Falls School Board toRead More