The Buffalo Chronicle
Feature 1
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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 and social work educators asked the…
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Buffalo’s school board blinked on closures. The district’s own filings show why the math won’t wait
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 shrinking reserve and a four-year plan the…
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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 a mid-December state deadline…
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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 revenue sharing with the…
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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 funding hasn’t been identified.
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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 $18 million in borrowing…
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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 council has tabled a…
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Albany is running $9.7 billion ahead of plan. Its own books say Buffalo shouldn’t count on it lasting
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 ahead, and Erie County and Buffalo have…
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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 the village. Concerts and…
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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 phase. The second deal leaves questions…
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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 end, GM Jarmo Kekalainen…
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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 about $33,000 a job on paper,…
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DHS letter called Batavia’s planned women’s unit ‘hard-sided’; a same-day ICE contract entry describes a $7.2 million ‘soft-sided tent facility’
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 million for a ‘soft-sided tent facility’ for…
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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 fights the STAMP project in court.…
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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, and Mayor Sean Ryan,…
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Trump announces $8 billion in diesel relief for farmers; USDA sets grain payment rates first, with dairy and specialty-crop methods to follow
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 $6.36 a gallon in…
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Trump and Vance unveil Justice Department program paying fraud tipsters up to $30,000 when charges are filed
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 $10,000 award went to Nick Shirley, whose…
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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, up from $3.84 a…
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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 night. One board member…
