Niagara Reporter-
Form Over Function and Another Misdeed of Legislator Owen Steed
By: Ken Hamilton The representatives from the Renae Kimble “minority-majority” district are seemingly incapable of selecting good leadership, and will likely continue being the poorest, least educated district in the city. That’s not to say that the other districts understand government, especially county government, much better. But how could it improve when the district was surgically cut out of the heart of the inner-city in a way that would hobble together not only the poorest of African-Americans, but of whites also. Ultimately, the district has never been more than marginally blacker than it is white, and that is only
Dyster Trying to Help Workers After Sudden Plant Shutdown
By: Tony Farina Mayor Paul Dyster is working with state and federal labor officials to try and help the 100 workers affected by the sudden “shutdown” of the Global Specialty Metals silicon production plant in Niagara Falls, effective last Sunday, two days before the beginning of the new year. “The company did not give the required notice to the local facility and workers as required by the federal WARN Act,” said Dyster referring to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act which requires employers with more than 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 calendar days advance written
PB&J Campaign in North Tonawanda
By: Brendan McDonough, Reporter for North Tonawanda It is a sandwich loved by many and this week Pete Robinson came before the North Tonawanda Common Council to collect jars of peanut butter and jelly. It is organizing a campaign to collect the canned goods and donate it to those in need. Inside City Hall dozens of jars were already collected. For Robinson collecting the jars is way to help those who need it the most. “We only wanted jars of peanut butter and jelly and fluff. What is simply about this food is that when the power is out and
HAMILTON: City Government Case In Point: to Change Our Outcomes we Must First Change Our Way of Thinking
By: Ken Hamilton Good news and bad news folks: we citizens are the little things that ought to have been doing the right things, and we failed to do pretty much of anything! One local Niagaran sat quietly in the seat near the back wall of the side of the auditorium of the Greek Theater of the-then Niagara Falls Convention Center as Brian Meilleur and other members of Eddy Cogan’s newly-formed Niagara Falls Redevelopment revealed their plans to the excited citizens that crammed into the relatively small presentation room. It was shortly thereafter a young girl came to the stage,
Family & Friends Rallying for Girl Set on Fire at Tim Hortons
By: Brendan McDonough A 25-year-old Tonawanda mother 3 is fighting for her life after being set on fire by her ex-boyfriend. Monday afternoon, Jessica Cameron reportedly got a text from her ex, for her to come outside her work, at the Tim Horton’s on the corner of Niagara and Seymour Streets. That’s when it happened, with her ex throwing gasoline on her and then setting the young woman on fire. Workers says a maintenance man had to put out the flames. “I can tell you, no one saw it coming because he knew what her family was going through, my
Santa Has Departed Without Leaving Any Casino Cash
Please click the link below to subscribe to a FREE PDF version of each print edition of the Niagara Reporter http://eepurl.com/dnsYM9 Santa has come and gone and he departed without leaving any bags of casino cash in Niagara Falls, Buffalo, or Salamanca, the three host casino cities reeling from the loss of the slot payments as the state and the Seneca Nation slug it out over whether the payments will resume. Sources say the state put up a weak case in the recent arbitration in arguing the Senecas are required to continue to pay the state 25 percent of the
HAMILTON: The Courthouse Analysis
Please click the link below to subscribe to a FREE PDF version of each print edition of the Niagara Reporter http://eepurl.com/dnsYM9 The Courthouse Analysis: to Change Outcomes we Must First Change Our Way of Thinking By: Ken Hamilton I am told that there’s an old Arab saying that the camel was a racehorse that was designed by a committee, and so it is with so many things that we do in our fair city. The Main Street Courthouse is one such case study, and here is the logical, though irrational reasoning of how it came to
Financial CRUNCH Continues to Squeeze Cataract City
Please click the link below to subscribe to a FREE PDF version of each print edition of the Niagara Reporter http://eepurl.com/dnsYM9 By: Tony Farina It appears the three host cities that have lost their casino payments due to the stalemate between the state and the Seneca Nation will have to wait at least a few more weeks to find out if the impasse will be broken following last week’s two-day arbitration in New York City. “The two sides have been told to try and settle their differences,” said a source close to the Senecas who was
A Year in Review: NT Alderman-At-Large Austin Tylec
Please click the link below to subscribe to a FREE PDF version of each print edition of the Niagara Reporter http://eepurl.com/dnsYM9 By: Brendan McDonough Reporter for North Tonawanda One year ago next month, North Tonawanda Resident Austin Tylec went from being an average citizen to a member of the North Tonawanda Common Council. For him it has been a year filled with meeting people across the community, attending the weekly meetings every Tuesday night and working to help make North Tonawanda a better place. “I think it has been pretty great, I am pretty excited about
Holiday Shopping Safety in North Tonawanda
Please click the link below to subscribe to a FREE PDF version of each print edition of the Niagara Reporter http://eepurl.com/dnsYM9 By: Brendan McDonough Reporter for North Tonawanda The holiday shopping season is one of the busiest times of the year and it can also be one of the most dangerous. Law Enforcement Officials across North Tonawanda are urging people to take a few extra steps to help make this holiday season a little safer. Retired North Tonawanda Police officer Edward Smolinki says first and for-most people need to extra careful when out driving. “We have
HAMILTON: How Transparent is the NYS Lottery?
Please click the link below to subscribe to a FREE PDF version of each print edition of the Niagara Reporter http://eepurl.com/dnsYM9 By: Ken Hamilton WBEN News Radio 930‘s Tom Puckett reported on Monday that Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have allowed lottery winners of more than $5,000 to keep their names anonymous. The governor stated that he thought that the names of the winners should be public so that people would know that there were indeed actual winners, instead of thinking that the state might be pulling something devious. He cited the
Host Casino Cities Hoping Santa Settles Gaming Crisis
Please click the link below to subscribe to a FREE PDF version of each print edition of the Niagara Reporter http://eepurl.com/dnsYM9 By: Tony Farina The three host cities that have received casino payments from the Seneca Nation since 2002 that ended last year are hoping for a Merry Christmas this year in the form of a favorable arbitration between the state and the Senecas scheduled to begin this week on Wednesday (Dec. 12). Niagara Falls, which was forced to raise taxes in the 2019 budget to close a gaping $13-million deficit, along with Buffalo and Salamanca