If Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz’s Facebook page gives any indication, he may soon announce his candidacy for the congressional seat recently vacated by Rep. Brian Higgins, who has represented Niagara Falls for several years. Yesterday Mr. Poloncarz posted the following to his Facebook page about Niagara Falls: “The niceRead More

The Niagara County Department of Health Nursing Division, in partnership with the Niagara County Office for the Aging is offering a free Diabetes Self-Management Workshop. The six-week workshop is scheduled on Wednesdays, February 28-April 3 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Dale Association, 33 Ontario Street, Lockport. This program coversRead More

Cultural appropriation is at the heart of the City’s looming dispute and may cost taxpayers millions. A dome-shaped building on the edge of Niagara Falls State Park, commonly called “The Turtle,” is at the center of potential litigation involving the City of Niagara Falls and the property’s owners. The disputeRead More

While the City of Niagara Falls has stalled a proposed Data Center with a $1.5 billion investment by Urbacon, one of the world’s largest data center developers, and NFR, the city’s largest landowner, other areas in the country, are seeing the need and taking advantage of the AI boom. AnotherRead More

The proposal of the Niagara Digital Campus, a $1.5 billion data center, allows the city to compete with the big cities in the world of big tech and AI advancements. The project has two of the three main ingredients needed to succeed. The developer, Urbacon, is a successful data centerRead More

By Tony Farina “There goes another legend,” commented noted Buffalo defense attorney Joel Daniels when he heard of the passing of Niagara Falls plumbing contractor John Gross who died unexpectedly last Monday, Dec. 19, at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital, at the age of 87. John Gross served two different jailRead More

By Tony Farina The Batavia Downs-sponsored holiday movie event on Dec. 13 at the Riviera Theater in North Tonawanda was a big success and along with 21 local restaurants who donated 10 percent of their proceeds that night, cash totaling more than $7,500 was presented to Twin Cities Community OutreachRead More

The Niagara Digital Campus is an innovative, $1.48 billion technology and data center hub that will bring thousands of jobs and cutting-edge technological infrastructure to the City of Niagara Falls. The joint project between Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and Urbacon—a Toronto-based developer of state-of-the-art data centers—is privately funded and willRead More

  Niagara Falls is one of nature’s greatest marvels, drawing millions of visitors each year from all over the world. Situated on the international border between the United States and Canada, Niagara Falls offers awe-inspiring views and adventures for everyone. If you happen to be on the U.S. side ofRead More

WROTB Revenue Helps Support Local Communities By Tony Farina The Christmas spirit has arrived and there will be a very special holiday event at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda on Wednesday night, Dec. 13, at 7 when Batavia Downs sponsors a screening of the 1947 Christmas Classic “Miracle onRead More

By Tony Farina While Mayor Robert Restaino narrowly won re-election with a 3.5 to 1 vote advantage, he still appears committed publicly to building his events center arena on 10 acres of land the city will have to purchase from NFR on John Daly Blvd. if the city wins theRead More

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the highest property taxes in the nation for a metropolitan sized city is Rochester, NY at a 2.4% effective rate. Interestingly, the average property tax rate in Niagara County is 2.89%. Niagara Falls residents have the highest city property tax rate of any municipalityRead More

By Richard Luthmann Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino is a lawyer and former judge. But he sure isn’t acting like one with the Centennial Park deal. Centennial Park and Events Center Proposal Centennial Park is a planned 7,000-seat events center and a small adjacent park. Restaino began an eminent domainRead More

MICHAEL S. GAWEL, CPA, JD My name is Michael S. Gawel and I have been a Certified Public Accountant since 1980. I have a BBA in Accounting and a JD from SUNY @ Buffalo School of Law. I am going to write a weekly tax advice column for the NiagaraRead More

Now, a relative of Pigeon has commented after reading Coercive Plea Bargain? Pigeon Chooses Eight Months Over Gambling Life in Prison: By a Relative of Both Pigeon and His Sister I’m a relative of Steve’s by marriage, and he is still a friend of my family and myself. His niece,Read More

    For over 20 years, state agencies have tolerated an open door to terrorist attack on the Niagara Power Project, also known as the Niagara Scenic Parkway (formerly the Robert Moses Parkway), which provides 24×7 access to the heart of the generation plant that supplies electricity to most ofRead More

This evening the Falls Department of Planning, in conjunction with state representatives, will hold a public meeting at the Niagara Falls Train Station to provide public scoping for the LWRP, or Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. Residents are invited to drop-in between 5 and 7 p.m. for what is described asRead More

Bold Vision: Leveraging State Land for Event Center, Tech Campus to Spur Growth! With the Mayoral election over, Niagara Falls can now turn its attention to the “two-project solution” as a potential avenue for economic growth and development in the city. This solution aims to provide residents with an arena,Read More

By Tony Farina Former State Attorney General Dennis Vacco of the Buffalo law firm of Lippes Mathias, is still awaiting responses from the state on the lawsuit he filed in September on behalf of several member counties challenging the language in the state budget in May that, in Vacco’s words,Read More

Comedian Ernie Bivins, AKA “Black Ernie,” is making a name for himself in Las Vegas. “I’m 49, but I feel like I’m 29!” Jokes the Niagara Falls Native, whose career began here in his hometown in 2008. “I was doing shows for a few years and then I met MikeRead More