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Analysis: Canada tells the Haldimand court it didn’t inherit the Crown’s debts to Six Nations. In the 1920s, it paid toward one anyway
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Albany is running $9.7 billion ahead of plan. Its own books say Buffalo shouldn’t count on it lasting
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Albany funds two East Side parks in one day. One is the city’s; the other belongs to a developer-backed nonprofit
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Albany funds two East Side parks in one day. One is the city’s; the other belongs to a developer-backed nonprofit
The state put $1.2 million into a city-owned park in Broadway-Fillmore and $6 million into Millrace Park, a privately owned park anchoring…
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Sabres fall behind early again, and the goaltending question follows them on the road
A 3-1 loss to the Flyers ended Buffalo’s point streak and sent the 4-4-2 Sabres on a four-game road trip. As Connor…
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Rochester lands a $375 million rare earth plant for $3 million in state credits. Buffalo’s last deal cost more per job
Phoenix Tailings will separate rare earths from mining waste at Eastman Business Park, backed by up to $3 million in Excelsior credits…
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On the day DHS told Kennedy it was building a ‘hard-sided’ unit in Batavia, ICE committed $7.2 million for a tent
[PREMIUM] DHS told Rep. Tim Kennedy on Sept. 29 that construction of a ‘hard-sided’ 100-bed unit in Batavia hadn’t begun. The same…
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Analysis: Canada tells the Haldimand court it didn’t inherit the Crown’s debts to Six Nations. In the 1920s, it paid toward one anyway
Three weeks into the Six Nations of the Grand River trial, Canada and Ontario say today’s governments aren’t answerable for what the Crown did with the Haldimand Tract. Canada’s own court filings show it once paid toward a lost Six Nations trust investment.
Latest Headlines
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On the day DHS told Kennedy it was building a ‘hard-sided’ unit in Batavia, ICE committed $7.2 million for a tent
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Akwesasne Mohawks and Tonawanda Senecas are fighting hyperscale data centers at both ends of New York
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Justice Department starts notifying counties it will monitor on Election Day as New York early voting nears
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Russia frees an American and agrees to talks. The Russian diesel behind the deal would cover less than a day of U.S. demand
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Carney and Ford put $8.7 billion behind Ontario steel and autos as the U.S. Embassy accuses Canadians of meddling in the midterms
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A UB medical student’s first year costs $83,000. Washington now lends $50,000. Albany hears what that means
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NFTA board set to add $958,000 to Metro Rail extension consultant’s contract
A sixth amendment would pay WSP USA to redo the Amherst extension’s traffic model, lifting its contract to $21.6 million. Construction is still years off, and…
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Buffalo’s school board blinked on closures. The district’s own filings show why the math won’t wait
[PREMIUM] The Buffalo School Board put off its closure vote again. The district’s filings with the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority show a $66 million deficit, a…
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Buffalo’s animal shelter is out of room as New York’s new shelter rules near
The city shelter on Oak Street has more dogs than space, and Mayor Sean Ryan says a new no-kill shelter is years away. A $412,000 state-backed…
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Change Buffalo PAC urges governor to help put control board back in charge of city finances
Change Buffalo PAC wants the governor to press the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to reimpose a control period. Under state law, only the board can make…
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Albany funds two East Side parks in one day. One is the city’s; the other belongs to a developer-backed nonprofit
The state put $1.2 million into a city-owned park in Broadway-Fillmore and $6 million into Millrace Park, a privately owned park anchoring the Larkin District’s next…
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Albany is running $9.7 billion ahead of plan. Its own books say Buffalo shouldn’t count on it lasting
[PREMIUM] Wall Street’s record run left New York’s General Fund $9.7 billion above projections at midyear. The state’s financial plan still shows $31.7 billion in gaps…
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A UB medical student’s first year costs $83,000. Washington now lends $50,000. Albany hears what that means
The end of Grad PLUS loans leaves a gap of about $33,000 a year for New Yorkers entering UB’s medical school. At an Assembly hearing, medical…
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Western New York’s SNAP rolls fell nearly 10 percent in a year. Albany’s free school lunch promise may pay the price
[PREMIUM] State data show 20,909 fewer Western New Yorkers on SNAP than a year ago. Because benefit rolls decide how much Washington pays for school meals,…
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Russia frees an American and agrees to talks. The Russian diesel behind the deal would cover less than a day of U.S. demand
Putin freed retired teacher Stephen Hubbard and agreed in principle to mid-November talks with the U.S. and Ukraine. The first Russian diesel tanker sails Thursday, but…
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On the day DHS told Kennedy it was building a ‘hard-sided’ unit in Batavia, ICE committed $7.2 million for a tent
[PREMIUM] DHS told Rep. Tim Kennedy on Sept. 29 that construction of a ‘hard-sided’ 100-bed unit in Batavia hadn’t begun. The same day, ICE obligated $7.18…
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Iran says it offered to reopen Hormuz in seven days. Until there’s a deal, Western New York pays 65% more for heating oil
Tehran says the U.S. accepted its conditions but wants more, and Iranian officials see no breakthrough before Nov. 3. Meanwhile New York heating oil runs $6.34…
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Trump’s $8 billion diesel relief pays grain farmers first. Western New York’s dairy and fruit growers have to wait
USDA will set Harvest Fuel Relief payment rates for corn, soybeans and other program crops in November and decide later how to treat everyone else, as…
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Justice Department starts notifying counties it will monitor on Election Day as New York early voting nears
The Justice Department has begun telling counties in five states where it will send election monitors, part of what it calls its largest monitoring effort ever.…
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Justice Department will pay fraud tipsters up to $30,000 once charges are filed, and Trump says he’ll settle disputes himself
The new Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program pays $10,000 to $30,000 at charging, not conviction, and prioritizes hospice, home health and day care fraud. Its first check…
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Powder letters hit Schumer, Gillibrand and dozens of other offices as New York heads into early voting
At least three dozen congressional offices and election officials in 15 states have received suspicious letters, including New York’s two senators and two of its House…
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DOJ threatens California election workers with prosecution as New York, which beat the department in court, opens early voting
The Justice Department says California officials who count ballots from 20,000 “likely” noncitizens risk prosecution. A federal judge in Albany threw out its demand for New…
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Niagara County wants Albany to lock in the Falls’ casino share. The Seneca Nation says the next compact may not have one
The County Legislature unanimously urged the state to guarantee Niagara Falls 25% of the state’s Seneca Niagara share. But the Nation says the compact it negotiated…
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Goodyear shuts its Niagara Falls chemical plant on the day its pollution fix was due. Who checks what it leaves behind?
[PREMIUM] Goodyear will close its Niagara Falls chemical plant Oct. 31, the same day a state order required permanent controls on a bladder carcinogen. Filings, permits…
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Niagara County weighs fully exempting its most disabled veterans from county property taxes
Niagara County lawmakers hold a hearing Tuesday on a full county property-tax exemption for veterans the VA rates permanently and totally disabled, following Erie County and…
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Niagara Falls froze its trash fee for 2027, leaving a $1.12 million gap for the mayor’s budget
The Niagara Falls City Council voted 5-0 to keep the garbage and recycling fee at $181, leaving about $1.12 million for the general fund to cover.…
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Analysis: Canada tells the Haldimand court it didn’t inherit the Crown’s debts to Six Nations. In the 1920s, it paid toward one anyway
Three weeks into the Six Nations of the Grand River trial, Canada and Ontario say today’s governments aren’t answerable for what the Crown did with the…
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Akwesasne Mohawks and Tonawanda Senecas are fighting hyperscale data centers at both ends of New York
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe opposes a 635-megawatt data center planned near Akwesasne as Massena lines up lawyers for the review, while the Tonawanda Seneca Nation…
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Judge refuses to halt Seneca Nation’s Miami Street One Stop, rejecting Buffalo’s bid to stop construction
A state judge found Buffalo hadn’t shown enough immediate harm to stop work on the Seneca Nation’s $10 million One Stop at 5 Miami Street, land…
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Traditional Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ council challenges Cayuga Nation police appointment, saying no clan consensus approved it
The Condoled Chiefs and Clan Mothers Council says the Halftown administration’s police department was never approved by the clans, and that Cayuga families who oppose it…
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Radioactive slag was documented at a Town of Niagara drive-in in 2020. Neighbors are still waiting for answers
A 2020 report for Niagara County’s land bank found radiation on a vacant Witmer Road drive-in across Gill Creek from homes and recommended a $1.25 million…
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Two weeks after neighbors reported it, the state still hasn’t said where the oil in the Buffalo River is coming from
DEC’s spill record for the South Buffalo sheen lists diesel, mineral oil and latex, with the source “Unknown” and no volume. The same stretch near Ogden…
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House approves Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act, with Higgins’ amendment
Higgins’ Measure Addresses Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced the House of Representatives approved the Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement…
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Tonko congratulates Santabarbara on A+ rating from conservation voters
Advocacy, legislative work on local environmental issues in Montgomery County cited Albany-area Congressman Paul D. Tonko is congratulating Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara again received an A+ rating…
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Buffalo officer charged with stalking ex-girlfriend had been investigated by Internal Affairs 13 times
Officer Benjamin Coughlin pleaded not guilty to stalking and harassment and is suspended without pay. His disciplinary record shows a suspension, three reprimands and two open…
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Buffalo’s police overtime keeps climbing, and the city’s own auditors say staffing alone doesn’t explain it
Buffalo police overtime topped $17 million last year and has grown by more than a third in five years. The union blames a 100-officer shortage, but…
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Shootings are falling in most of New York’s hardest-hit cities. Buffalo and Niagara Falls are going the other way
[PREMIUM] Shootings with injuries are down 16% across the state’s GIVE cities this year, but Buffalo is up 14% and Niagara Falls has nearly doubled, state…
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North Tonawanda traffic stop that ended in Border Patrol arrests is under state review
The attorney general’s office is reviewing a complaint over an Oct. 7 North Tonawanda traffic stop that ended with Border Patrol arresting three roofing workers. The…
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Rochester lands a $375 million rare earth plant for $3 million in state credits. Buffalo’s last deal cost more per job
Phoenix Tailings will separate rare earths from mining waste at Eastman Business Park, backed by up to $3 million in Excelsior credits for 90 jobs. That’s…
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M&T’s profit slips as rising rates bite, and its finance chief warns mortgages and commercial real estate will feel it next
Buffalo’s hometown bank earned $775 million in the third quarter, down from $818 million. On the earnings call, CFO Daryl Bible said higher rates will slow…
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Solstice will make its Buffalo lab its global research hub, with $1.4 million in state credits for 12 new jobs
The Honeywell spinoff is putting $49 million into its Peabody Street R&D site as it races to develop next-generation refrigerants. The state’s Excelsior credits work out…
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43North’s final pitch is over. The biggest return on New York’s startup bet now sits in a foundation
[PREMIUM] 43North handed out its last $5 million this month. Tax filings show how a state-funded stake in ACV Auctions became a $61 million foundation that…
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Sabres fall behind early again, and the goaltending question follows them on the road
A 3-1 loss to the Flyers ended Buffalo’s point streak and sent the 4-4-2 Sabres on a four-game road trip. As Connor Hellebuyck’s suspension in Winnipeg…
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Josh Allen ties Jim Kelly in Las Vegas, but a spitting ejection leaves the Bills with a suspension question
Josh Allen tied Jim Kelly’s franchise touchdown-pass record in a 33-30 win over the Raiders. Now the 5-1 Bills wait to learn whether the NFL will…
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Bills are 4-1, but Jim Leonhard says his defense can’t keep waiting for Josh Allen to rescue it
The Bills are 4-1, but defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard says a unit giving up historic numbers can’t keep relying on Josh Allen to bail it out.…
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Bills fans paid $1.08 million in Erie County’s stadium surcharge in August. Where does it go?
A 6% Erie County surcharge on tickets, food and merchandise at the new Highmark Stadium raised $1.08 million in August alone. Where the money goes, who…
Latest News
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Buffalo’s animal shelter is out of room as New York’s new shelter rules near
The city shelter on Oak Street has more dogs than space, and Mayor Sean Ryan says a new no-kill shelter is years away. A $412,000 state-backed fix and…
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Buffalo officer charged with stalking ex-girlfriend had been investigated by Internal Affairs 13 times
Officer Benjamin Coughlin pleaded not guilty to stalking and harassment and is suspended without pay. His disciplinary record shows a suspension, three reprimands and two open excessive-force cases.
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Niagara County wants Albany to lock in the Falls’ casino share. The Seneca Nation says the next compact may not have one
The County Legislature unanimously urged the state to guarantee Niagara Falls 25% of the state’s Seneca Niagara share. But the Nation says the compact it negotiated has no…
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NFTA board set to add $958,000 to Metro Rail extension consultant’s contract
A sixth amendment would pay WSP USA to redo the Amherst extension’s traffic model, lifting its contract to $21.6 million. Construction is still years off, and the local…
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North Tonawanda’s budget asks for a 4.25% levy increase as voters weigh an $18 million community center
Mayor Austin Tylec’s $52.1 million plan would raise North Tonawanda’s tax levy 4.25%, the eighth straight increase by the city’s own count, while voters decide on up to…
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Lackawanna’s City Hall move is done, but the bill for what it left behind keeps growing
Lackawanna pitched its City Hall overhaul as an $18.5 million project. Court-mandated upgrades and a possible $25 million police and court building have changed the math, and the…
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Lancaster breaks ground on a $300,000 stage at Cayuga Creek Park, months behind its first timeline
The Village of Lancaster broke ground Oct. 20 on a pavilion and outdoor stage at Cayuga Creek Park, funded with $200,000 from Russell J. Salvatore and $100,000 from…
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Sabres fall behind early again, and the goaltending question follows them on the road
A 3-1 loss to the Flyers ended Buffalo’s point streak and sent the 4-4-2 Sabres on a four-game road trip. As Connor Hellebuyck’s suspension in Winnipeg nears its…
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Buffalo’s Finest: Christine Baranski, the Cheektowaga girl who dreamed up sophistication and took it to the West End
She grew up in Polish Cheektowaga dreaming of becoming a sophisticated New York actress. At 74, Christine Baranski is making her West End debut in Noël Coward’s Hay…
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Change Buffalo PAC urges governor to help put control board back in charge of city finances
Change Buffalo PAC wants the governor to press the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to reimpose a control period. Under state law, only the board can make that call,…
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Fix Buffalo’s leaking firehouses, but make the $20 million control board loan show its math first
The repairs can’t wait, but the borrowing plan shouldn’t pass on faith. Before its Oct. 27 vote, the Common Council should demand a written cost comparison, a project…
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Western New York’s SNAP rolls fell nearly 10 percent in a year. Albany’s free school lunch promise may pay the price
[PREMIUM] State data show 20,909 fewer Western New Yorkers on SNAP than a year ago. Because benefit rolls decide how much Washington pays for school meals, the comptroller…
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Niagara Falls gets $25 million toward a $338 million sewer plant fix its own engineers call unaffordable
Western New York landed $66.6 million in Albany’s new water grants. The biggest award covers about 7 percent of a Niagara Falls sewage plant overhaul that the water…
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M&T’s profit slips as rising rates bite, and its finance chief warns mortgages and commercial real estate will feel it next
Buffalo’s hometown bank earned $775 million in the third quarter, down from $818 million. On the earnings call, CFO Daryl Bible said higher rates will slow home lending…
-
Solstice will make its Buffalo lab its global research hub, with $1.4 million in state credits for 12 new jobs
The Honeywell spinoff is putting $49 million into its Peabody Street R&D site as it races to develop next-generation refrigerants. The state’s Excelsior credits work out to about…
-
Goodyear shuts its Niagara Falls chemical plant on the day its pollution fix was due. Who checks what it leaves behind?
[PREMIUM] Goodyear will close its Niagara Falls chemical plant Oct. 31, the same day a state order required permanent controls on a bladder carcinogen. Filings, permits and health…
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Ottawa’s watchdog prices the trade war: a smaller economy, bigger deficits and a budget target propped up by tariffs on U.S. goods
[PREMIUM] Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office says the tariffs traded since 2025 will leave the economy 1.4% smaller and could cost up to 185,000 jobs, while Ottawa’s near-balanced budget…
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Judge refuses to halt Seneca Nation’s Miami Street One Stop, rejecting Buffalo’s bid to stop construction
A state judge found Buffalo hadn’t shown enough immediate harm to stop work on the Seneca Nation’s $10 million One Stop at 5 Miami Street, land the federal…
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Trump’s $8 billion diesel relief pays grain farmers first. Western New York’s dairy and fruit growers have to wait
USDA will set Harvest Fuel Relief payment rates for corn, soybeans and other program crops in November and decide later how to treat everyone else, as diesel tops…
-
Justice Department will pay fraud tipsters up to $30,000 once charges are filed, and Trump says he’ll settle disputes himself
The new Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program pays $10,000 to $30,000 at charging, not conviction, and prioritizes hospice, home health and day care fraud. Its first check went to…
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Iran says it offered to reopen Hormuz in seven days. Until there’s a deal, Western New York pays 65% more for heating oil
Tehran says the U.S. accepted its conditions but wants more, and Iranian officials see no breakthrough before Nov. 3. Meanwhile New York heating oil runs $6.34 a gallon,…
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Buffalo’s school board votes tonight on a closure plan that changed again overnight
The Buffalo Board of Education is set to vote Wednesday on closing six schools, down from eight, after the district posted yet another version of its plan Monday…
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Buffalo’s police overtime keeps climbing, and the city’s own auditors say staffing alone doesn’t explain it
Buffalo police overtime topped $17 million last year and has grown by more than a third in five years. The union blames a 100-officer shortage, but the comptroller’s…
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Erie County Republicans try again to cap the gas tax at $2. Poloncarz, who backed a cap in 2022, calls it posturing
With Buffalo gas at $4.37 a gallon, Erie County Legislature Republicans want the county’s sales tax capped at $2 a gallon starting Dec. 1. Mark Poloncarz says the…
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Buffalo nonprofits press Hochul on late state payments as two contract bills await her decision
Western New York nonprofits that do the state’s work first and get paid later are pushing Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign two contracting bills. She has vetoed versions…
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Cheektowaga’s 9.8% tax plan leans hardest on the sewer district as the board clears a path past the cap
Cheektowaga’s board has authorized breaking the state tax cap for 2027. More than half of the $202 increase on the average town bill comes from the sewer district,…
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Orchard Park’s five-story stadium zone stalls after 31 residents take the microphone
Orchard Park’s plan to allow five-story buildings near Highmark Stadium was tabled after 31 people spoke at an Oct. 7 hearing, most of them opposed. It is not…
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Grand Island weighs leasing town land for battery storage, but the terms aren’t public
Grand Island’s Town Board is weighing a lease that would let CleanCapital put a battery storage system on town land at 1600 Whitehaven Road, while a 12-Megapack project…
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The Broadway Barns hosted Woodrow Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald and pro hockey. City Hall says it will probably come down
Buffalo says its crumbling 1884 drill hall at 201 Broadway will probably be demolished once the plows are out. No engineer’s report is public, and a 2023 landmark…
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Radioactive slag was documented at a Town of Niagara drive-in in 2020. Neighbors are still waiting for answers
A 2020 report for Niagara County’s land bank found radiation on a vacant Witmer Road drive-in across Gill Creek from homes and recommended a $1.25 million cleanup. Six…
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TEWS: 5G, Planes, and Progress
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ABRAMS: New England liberal arts colleges are dangerous to American civility
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PETHOKOUKIS: So Big Tech massively investing in itself is worrisome now?
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POMERLEAU: A progressive corporate income tax doesn’t make a lot of sense
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ORELL: Strong relationships at home improve employment outcomes for adults and children
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JAMISON: Sens. Klobuchar and Grassley show why Congress should not pass Big Tech legislation
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SCHMITT: Biden’s imperial presidency moment
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AKERS: Compromise is in the air for higher education policy
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