Mayor Paul Dyster’s $91 million proposed budget for 2017 includes some hefty raises for several staffers, including his own secretary, and is coming under fire from from a former city economic development chief who called the proposed salary hikes “a slap in the face” to the taxpayers of the cityRead More

Invites Public to “Come and Enjoy” the Glorious Eight Miles of West River By Bonnie Fitzgerald West River Rd. Resident Grand Island NY — In connection with the debate raging about the proposed West River Parkway bike path, we believe that the recent article entitled “The Great Nimby” was writtenRead More

If all goes according to schedule, opponents of the West River Greenway Connector Trail, the $2.5 million state and federally-funded initiative to close the West River Parkway and convert it into a bike trail, will meet tonight at 7 p.m at Grand Island High School, 1100 Ransom Road, in the main auditorium.Read More

So what’s up with the state acquisition of the historic Hotel Niagara, the legendary Niagara Falls hotel at 210 Rainbow Blvd. in Niagara Falls? USA Niagara, one of the state’s development agencies under Empire State Development, which played a big role in the state-backed Hamister Hotel project, acquired the once-grandRead More

Opposition to Grand Island bike path heats up as Public Meeting to be held next week A group of NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) -inspired residents on Grand Island appear to be gaining momentum in their efforts to halt New York State Parks’ plans to convert the virtually unused WestRead More

By Vince Anello Former Mayor, Niagara Falls As you read this, the mayor, the city administrator, the city’s department heads and the city’s finance office are working on the 2017 budget. Anyone who is familiar with the 2013 New York State Comptroller’s audit of our city’s budget or the city’sRead More

by James Hufnagel and Frank Parlato The banner headline at the top of the LPCiminelli website proclaims, “Integrity and Ingenuity at Work” That integrity has been called into question as shock waves from the federal indictments handed down last week accusing Louis Ciminelli, two of his executive staffers and severalRead More

The Northpointe Council’s methadone clinic in Niagara Falls, which only a few short months ago was on track to move to a Sixth Street site that some residents were resisting, will remain at its current location at the Trott Access Center on 11th Street thanks to bipartisan efforts of severalRead More

Nick Forster won his sixth term as chairman of the Niagara County Democratic Committee. Forster was re-elected by a unanimous vote at the party’s reorganization meeting at the LaSalle Sportsmen’s Club. Forster told committee members he has worked to strengthen the party by “building bridges” and expanding the party’s baseRead More

Democrats in the city of Lockport elected new leaders last week when they met for their bi-annual reorganization meeting. Elected for the next two years were Roger Sherrie as Chair, Barbara Parker as First Vice-Chair, Marla Robison as Secretary, Kevin Watier as Treasurer and Anthony Sammarco as Sargent at Arms.Read More

  By Frank Parlato Only in Niagara Falls would government officials be stupid enough to build a train station without a tenant that can run trains. But city leaders, not known for either brains or heart, built a $43 million train station without ever once considering the fact that beforeRead More

The average reader might suspect that we photoshopped the above vintage photos of Niagara Falls on this page – but we didn’t. They’re real images of real people perched at the precipice of Niagara Falls before areas such as Prospect Point, Three Sisters Islands and most of the entire perimeterRead More

We recently had a conversation with Harvey Albond, a gentleman who has seen the ups and downs experienced by the city of Niagara Falls over a period spanning nearly the last six decades. Mr. Albond, 88, served as City Manager for Niagara Falls for two terms, the first 1959-60, andRead More

Whirlpool State Park is undergoing some changes – in our opinion, not for the better. One of the original Olmsted/Vaux parks along the Niagara River, in addition to Devil’s Hole and, of course, the Niagara Reservation which encompasses the iconic waterfall, Whirlpool is a tourist favorite. It affords stunning viewsRead More

In the absence of primary challenges, this year’s general election match-ups for candidates running for state legislator seats representing the city of Niagara Falls were not in question. Of the two races, incumbent State Senator Robert Ortt will run unopposed in November, affording voters no choice in the matter. WhenRead More

  By Nate McMurray Supervisor of Grand Island I read a book about Nikola Tesla earlier this year called “Wizard, The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla.” I thought I knew about Tesla, and especially his work at Niagara Falls. It was Tesla who finally mastered the mighty cataracts toRead More

  It made me laugh and made me kind of sad, at the same time when I saw it. A recent article published on Expedia entitled the “The 55 most breathtaking destinations in the world” rates Niagara Falls New York (but not Niagara Falls, Ontario) as one of them. “Beauty mayRead More

BY MATT RICCHIAZZI;     Hamilton’s news broadcaster, CHCH, is reporting that Niagara Falls, ON enjoyed the best season it has had in nearly eight years. Niagara Falls Tourism chair Wyane Thomson says the city is on pace for a record tourism year measured by visitors and spending. “We’ve stepped up theRead More

A remarkable publication from 2013 entitled “Station Program and Planning Guidelines”, put out by the passenger rail concern Amtrak to assist municipalities in the design, planning and construction of new “intermodal transportation centers” (aka train stations), raises continuing questions about the practicality of the $44 million facility recently built onRead More

The 2013 Amtrak “Station Program and Planning Guidelines” document specifies numerous requirements for any municipality contemplating construction of a new rail passenger station. Notwithstanding its imposing height and size, and the fact that it spans an entire city block, the new Niagara Falls International Railway Station and Intermodal Transportation CenterRead More