By Frank Parlato The New York State Senate was recognized last week for having the “best legislative website in the country” by the National Conference of State Legislatures and, consequently, received the 2016 “Online Democracy Award,” according to a press release issued by the New York State Senate. The awardRead More

BY FRANK PARLATO Late last year, Buffalo City Comptroller Mark J. F. Schroeder created an online database called Open Book Buffalo. A website, it is updated biweekly, and publishes all of the City of Buffalo’s expenditures and revenue, allowing everyone to see detailed financial information while Buffalo spends some $480 million per year.Read More

BY JAMES HUFNAGEL The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) of 1978 was in tended to serve as a vehicle for citizen participation and government accountability with regards to decisions impacting the environment. Unfortunately, not only has the Act failed to live up to its original promise for greater democratization ofRead More

By The Committee to Stop the Reassessments & Continuous Tax Increases Once again, on August 15, 2016, at 11:45 a.m. workers from the Department of Public Works were seen removing Stop the Reassessment signs that residents put up on utility poles in front of their homes. Yes that is right, City workersRead More

BY JIM OSTROWSKI The latest attack on Donald Trump from Pravda (the mainstream media) is that we can’t trust him with the nuclear codes. Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw nukes. Hillary helped start illegal wars in Libya and Syria, resulting in murder and mayhem in those countriesRead More

BY COUNCILMAN KENNY TOMPKINS As a freshman councilman, part of my learning curve in this city is to understand the inner workings of city hall. My job is to be a strong financial watchdog for residents. This requires a sharp understanding of the processes that impact residents and the departments thatRead More

BY TONY FARINA It appears there will be no bipartisan endorsements for the now two open State Supreme Court seats that will be on the ballot in November in the 8th Judicial District covering the eight counties of Western New York to fill the seats of retiring Justice Joseph Glownia andRead More

Cataract Surgeons, Dr. Kenneth D. Anthone, Dr. Amar Atwal and Dr. Ephraim Atwal, will provide cataract surgery at “no charge on Friday, October 7, to people of all ages who have no means to pay. The three are part of an annual charitable event called “Mission Cataract Day” where, forRead More

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center was awarded a three-year reac- creditation from the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), an independent accredita- tion organization recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It earned this distinction after the HFAP conducted an extensive and objective review of the quality andRead More

 Can summer really be almost over? One look at the movies being released this week and it’s apparent that, for Hollywood at least, it’s already bitten the dust. There are a few big names – Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Mel Gibson to name three – but those names gotRead More

Lest anyone think the Niagara Falls Reporter prefers to dwell on the negative, concentrating on the city’s dire circumstances and cornering the local newspaper market on pessimism, try this article from major business network Bloomberg News, which ran a couple of years ago, on for size.   “Niagara Falls’ descentRead More

Frank Parlato Niagara Falls – The spoils pile at 915 North Ave. – which had signs around it warning: “Caution Radioactive Materials Area” –was removed earlier this month, along with the chain link fence surrounding it. The pile had sat on an abandoned lot for more than a year– nearRead More

  By Jim Ostrowski My election predictions are not primarily based on the polls.  When I picked John Kerry to win the Democratic nomination in 2004, he was I think fourth in the polls and had mortgaged his house.  When I picked Trump as a possible nominee in early JulyRead More

  The Dom Polski Psychic Fair and Expo will offer an opportunity for the public to meet and have readings done by psychics. The event will be held on Sunday, September 25th at 76 Oliver St, North Tonawanda, NY from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.     Tickets are $5Read More

Niagara Falls, Ontario -With support from government officials, businesses and residents, a campaign called, ‘#Claimthe8th’ has been launched in Canada, with the goal of trying to prove that Niagara Falls and the surrounding regions of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Twenty Valley, St. Catharines and Niagara’s South Coast should be called “the eighth worldRead More

Guest View: By a Longtime Falls’ Resident I’m sending along a picture of the environment I grew up in starting in 1951. I was five years old. The back of the house faced the factories and Buffalo Avenue My family lived on A Street near the chemical factories. The reason for beingRead More

Senator Rob Ortt (R,C,I – North Tonawanda)  issued the following statement regarding the New York State Office of the State Comptroller’s audit of the New York Power Authority (NYPA): “The Comptroller’s audit of NYPA offers a concerning glimpse into the state’s power allocations through ReCharge New York. With the state’s largest powerRead More

The ongoing controversy about whether to close Grand Island’s  West River Parkway to create a bike path can be seen as part of a larger conflict, one that pits longtime residents against more recent arrivals in determining the future of what has traditionally been a semi-rural bedroom community. The lightningRead More

  It was a setup. That’s how longtime Grand Island activist Russ Thompson described the series of events that led to his being charged with felony of false voter registration and using that false registration to cast ballots on Grand Island. Thompson turned down an offered plea bargain, and theRead More

    Roberto Carlos Baldoquin Milan, 41, lived in Indian River County, Florida, home of the orchards where the sweet ruby red grapefruit grows. Milan was not a farmer, but reportedly specialized in banking, documents creation, and handwriting analysis. One day, Milan, perhaps looking to get away from the heatRead More