Month: July 2016

BY TONY FARINA Political operative and former Erie County Democratic Chairman Steve Pigeon faces nine felony counts in a state prosecution involving former State Supreme Court Justice John MIchalek who has already pleaded guilty to two felony counts, including taking

BY FRANK PARLATO A POLITICAL QUESTION The question of whether politics was a motive for New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman’s prosecution of political operative and attorney G. Steven Pigeon, 55, has been debated in a few circles. Last

BY MATT RICCHIAZZI Dr. Barbara Seals-Nevergold served as President of the Board of Education prior to the installation of Carl Paladino’s majority bloc in 2013. After sweeping election victories in May, Nevergold has retaken control of the district and has emerged

Amber Small, the former Brown administration staffer who is challenging the widely respected former State Senator Al Coppola in the 60th district primary, is making environmental issues a cornerstone of her campaign. Coppola, who has long championed environmental issues, is credited

Republicans are rejoicing following Hillary Clinton’s selection of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, widely seen as a weak choice that will deflate turnout among key constituencies including minorities, progressives, gays, and West Coast voters. Kaine is a conservative Democrat from a red

BY MATT RICCHIAZZI The headquarters faction of Erie County Democrats is planning a vicious smear campaign of Kristy Mazurak, the pioneering journalist and local reformer seeking the Democratic nomination for State Assembly. The attack is being architected by the embattled young

BY MATT RICCHIAZZI The retired State Senator and widely respected elder statesman of local politics, Al Coppola, has filed to seek the 60th district seat — a swing district that frequently determines control of the legislative chamber and is at the

BY TONY FARINA Amber Small …Senate candidate turning heads Flynn Shows Momentum in DA’s Race, Gets PBA Endorsement Tonawanda Town Attorney John Flynn, who is the endorsed Democratic, Conservative, and Working Families candidate for Erie County district attorney, picked up

BY JIM OSTROWSKI “War is the health of the state,” said Randolph Bourne.  “War is hell,” said General Sherman.  The war criminal Sherman was an expert in the subjects of hell and war.  When I was twelve, I attended my

BY TONY FARINA Carrie Cohen was a big-time prosecutor with corruption-fighting U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara in the Southern District of New York and before that, with the State Attorney General’s office.  But she left it all behind a few

BY TONY FARINA The big political news this week, of course, was the nomination of New York billionaire Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president at the GOP convention in Cleveland. Prominent among the Trump supporters is Buffalo developer

BY FRANK PARLATO A lot has been written about political operative and attorney G. Steven Pigeon, 55, after a state grand jury was led to indict him on June 30th on nine felony counts of bribery, rewarding official misconduct and

BY ANN WILLIAMS Mayor Paul Dyster deceived the taxpayers by waiting until five days after the mayoral election to tell us that he was planning to do a citywide reassessment. He plans to raise our assessments on average from between

BY TONY FARINA Almost lost in the unbelievable feeding frenzy over the indictment last week of political operative Steve Pigeon was the news that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s highly-touted job-creation program Start-Up NY has created more tax-free zones than jobs. Empire

BY FRANK PARLATO As everyone knows, there is often a difference between “the law” and justice. After all laws are made by elected officials under the influence of lobbyists and their desire to enrich themselves, and get reelected. Anyone who

BY TONY FARINA Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to Niagara Falls on Tuesday to officially break ground on the long-awaited Hamister hotel project in downtown Niagara Falls and he used the occasion to praise his state development team led locally by

BY MIKE HUDSON State and local officials were looking sheepish and Buffalo developer Mark Hamister was spinning excuses at Tuesday’s long delayed groundbreaking for a small, midmarket hotel project that was first announced four years ago. Niagara Falls Mayor Paul