Niagara Reporter-
Depression, Suicide Attempts, Risky Sex response of Niagara Falls’ youth to life in state’s “most violent” city
The recently-released FBI report “Crime in the United States” singled out the city of Niagara Falls as having the highest rate of violent crime in all of New York State. During 2015, residents experienced 555 violent crimes, characterized as robbery, rape, murder and assault, a per capita rate of over one violent crime for every hundred people who live here. According to another 2015 study, this one carried out under the auspices of the federal Centers for Disease Control, named the “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey”, Niagara Falls middle and high school students do their share
Hamilton, Ontario renames Street, School to Tout Tesla, while Niagara Falls Neglects Nikola
This summer the city of Hamilton, a prosperous Canadian city of over a half million inhabitants located just over the border in Ontario, renamed a portion of its heavily-traveled Burlington Street, “Nikola Tesla Boulevard”. According to the Hamilton Community News, “Several hundred spectators attended the road renaming, just east of Ottawa Street, including Mihailo Papazoglu, ambassador of Serbia to Canada… Following Sunday’s noon hour ribbon cutting ceremony, the Nikola Tesla Electric Festival was held on the Hamilton beach strip, featuring Serbian dancing, food, music and a variety of technological demonstrations inspired by Tesla’s work.”
Nothing Says Merry Christmas like the Holly Trolley!
The gala “Holly Trolley” featuring Santa Claus and his public sector equivalent, Mayor Paul Dyster, will be making the holiday rounds again this year on Dec. 2. The trolley will leave City Hall at 5:15 pm, stop at Gill Creek Park at 5:20 pm, Tom Barber Park, next to Foley’s at 5:55 pm, drive through LaSalle Waterfront Park and Hyde Park, stop at 6:45 pm in Highland Community Park, at 7:15 pm at Columbus Park on Pine Avenue, at Schoellkopf Health Center at 7:35 pm, drive around the Niagara Tourism and Convention Center for no apparent reason, stop on the
Niagara Rehab under fire for Alleged Violations
There seems to be no let-up of bad news for Niagara Rehabilitation & Nursing Center as just this week Channel 7 Eyewitness News reported yet another incident involving the facility, which has frequently been the target of state investigations over the years. A patient named David Willis simply walked out the front door and was not discovered missing for seven hours, when he somehow turned up at Buffalo General Hospital. Our attention in particular was drawn to the story, reported on by WKBW investigative journalist Charlie Specht, who has covered Niagara Falls for the Buffalo News, chiefly because Niagara Falls
Light Pollution Ruins Natural Niagara Falls
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie – it could be because you were outside enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience this week. The moon was 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than it normally is. A “supermoon”, as its called, occurs when the moon is simultaneously full and at its perigee (when its orbit carries it closest to the earth). If you didn’t see it, don’t despair, next month’s full moon, on Dec. 14, will also be pretty super as it will still be really close to us. But you’ll have to wait another
Niagara Falls youth contribute to, are impacted by High Rate of Violent Crime
As we reported two weeks ago, the 2015 FBI annual report “Crime in the United States”, released in late September of this year, ranked Niagara Falls as being the most violent city in New York State. Based on 555 violent crimes reported for Niagara Falls for 2015, and a population of 48,989, there was more than one chance in 100 that a resident was robbed, raped, murdered or assaulted last year. The high violent crime rate of Niagara Falls has impacted the life of high school students in this city. According to a November, 2015 “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey”,
Walker Will Ultimately be Judged by the Voters
Charles Walker has been a member of the Niagara Falls City Council since 1999, but unfortunately he is a lawmaker who has run afoul of the election law, according to the state attorney general, and he now faces four misdemeanor counts for allegedly failing to file campaign financial disclosure forms in 2014 and 2015 with the state board of elections. Walker has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Albany City Court and his defense attorney, Robert Restaino, appears confident that the missing records will soon be filed with the state board, adding that there’s no
CCS Cancer Patients Deeply Stressed as Loss of Coverage Looms
As we reported last week, more than 500 cancer patients throughout Western New York are facing the loss of their medical insurance coverage from Independent Health if they stay with their current care provider, CCS Oncology, after Jan. 1, the date when CCS oncologists are slated to be dropped from Independent Health’s provider network in a fee dispute. James McGinnis, 59, of North Tonawanda, is one of those cancer patients who is going to have to find a whole new team of cancer doctors and care providers if the cutoff takes place as scheduled, even though he has been treated
Council Finishing Up Budget Work
The Niagara Falls City Council finished work on the mayor’s 2017 spending plan that will now count on Amtrak paying for 63 percent of the operating costs ($172,000 a year) for the new station. City lawmakers have taken a sharp knife to Mayor Paul Dyster’s proposed $91 million budget, cutting more than $780,000 from the plan including the hefty pay raises the mayor had proposed for top staff. With only Councilmember Kristen Grandinetti in Dyster’s corner, the council has the super majority (four votes) to override any vetoes of their amendments by the mayor when they deliver the budget to
Ceretto Loss is LGBT Victory
For the most part, Niagara Falls’ LGBT community isn’t shedding any tears over John Ceretto’s impending departure from public service. Ceretto’s defeat at the hands of retired City Court Judge Angelo Morinello over the hotly contested 145th District New York State Assembly seat became practically a fait accompli after numerous alleged violations of election law were uncovered, including fundraising activities out of his office by phone and mail and campaign planning meetings taking place there. In addition, leaked emails, authored mainly by senior staffer Rob Nichols, revealed a seamier side of Ceretto’s political dealings. In revelations reminiscent of Richard Nixon’s
City Finally Lands Amtrak for Train Station
The city of Niagara Falls held an open house for its new two-story, $43 million train station on Depot Ave. last July, but it did so without a signed lease in hand with Amtrak, the expected major tenant, and the administration of Mayor Paul Dyster has been saying for the last several months that an agreement was coming, much like it said about the Hamister Hotel project for four years before ground was finally broken only recently. Well, there appears to be good news today on the Amtrak front, finally, and it didn’t take nearly as long as getting Mark
CCS Oncology to Challenge Independent Health Over Decision to Drop WNY Provider From Network
CCS Oncology, the region’s second largest oncology group with offices throughout Western New York, including Niagara Falls, will be going to State Supreme Court in a matter of days in an attempt to stop Independent Health from dropping insurance coverage for more than 500 of its cancer patients, effective Jan. 1, an action that CCS Oncology says threatens the very existence of the cancer treatment provider. “It is based on flawed cost analysis,” says Dr. Won Sam Yi, the CEO and chief medical director of CCS Oncology, of the decision by Independent Health to drop CCS oncologists from its provider