The Buffalo Chronicle
Feature 1
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Volunteer firefighter tax credit quadruples to $800, but Hochul’s office describes a narrower law than lawmakers passed
Gov. Hochul signed a bill raising the volunteer firefighter and EMS tax credit from $200 to $800. Her office says it starts in 2027 and can’t be stacked with local property tax…
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Niagara SPCA gets $5,000 county boost as grace year for New York’s new shelter rules runs out
Niagara County legislators gave the Niagara SPCA $5,000 to upgrade kennels under New York’s new shelter standards, as the state’s ‘educational year’ for the rules ends in mid-December.
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No charges in Cheektowaga Flock camera misuse, leaving discipline and oversight as the open questions
Erie County prosecutors won’t charge three Cheektowaga police employees who used Flock cameras to track a co-worker for months. Residents now want answers on discipline, audits and who watches the system.
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WNY ‘No Kings’ rallies turn protest energy toward early voting
Saturday’s No Kings rallies across Western New York pushed early voting Oct. 24–Nov. 1. Mayor Sean Ryan, Supervisor Brian Nowak and organizers cast turnout as the test that follows the signs.
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Buffalo schools revise closure plan after community pushback on high school merger and bilingual seats
Buffalo Public Schools is revising its eight-school closure proposal, shifting a high school merger to East Community and adding transfer options for PS 33. Capacity and staffing checks are still unfinished.
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HEAP winter heating aid opens Nov. 2 as delivered-fuel benefits rise
New York’s HEAP season opens Nov. 2 with higher oil and wood benefits. Western New York received 132,462 benefits last winter; Erie County authorized more than 93,000. Emergency HEAP begins Jan. 4,…
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Alberta votes Monday on a path to separation as Carney warns ‘some outside our borders’ want to break Canada
Alberta’s 10-question referendum asks whether to start the legal process toward a binding vote on leaving Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith urge a vote to stay, while Washington…
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Brooklyn judge tosses Trump’s sanctuary suit against New York City and finds a key federal information-sharing law unconstitutional
A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s suit against New York City’s sanctuary laws and held that 8 U.S.C. § 1373 violates the Tenth Amendment. It is the second such loss in…
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With the grape crush ending, Lake Erie growers who lost their buyer are still waiting on help
A Fredonia processor is offering a late outlet for grapes left without a buyer after Refresco canceled 126 contracts. Growers say a $20 million federal juice purchase did not reach them directly,…
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Tops gunman’s lawyers say Western New York’s jury lists shortchange Black residents as death-penalty jury selection begins
Payton Gendron’s lawyers moved to dismiss his federal indictment the day before jury selection, arguing Black residents are systematically underrepresented in the district’s jury lists. Here is what they must prove, and…
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Canadians are driving back to the U.S., but not across the Peace Bridge, StatCan data show
Canadian car trips home from the U.S. rose 5.6% in September. At Fort Erie, the Canadian end of the Peace Bridge, they fell 2.1% and remain 35% below 2024, a Buffalo Chronicle…
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Niagara County weighs suing Albany over immigration law it says shields noncitizen voting, though the law exempts election work
The Niagara County Legislature votes Tuesday on suing the state over a new limit on helping immigration agents, arguing it protects ‘illegal non-citizen voting.’ The law itself exempts voter registration and election…
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Buffalo Water Board sues 17 companies over PFAS in Lake Erie as city tests show levels near federal limit
The Water Board’s lawsuit targets makers of PFAS firefighting foam. Buffalo Water’s own report shows PFOS in treated water at up to 3.56 parts per trillion, just under the 4.0 federal limit.
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A year after Trump’s promise, New York is still owed $87 million in counterterror grants
Thirteen New York Democrats are demanding DHS release $87 million in counterterror grants still owed to the state. Erie County says the program funds police radios and in-car connections across Buffalo, Erie…
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Gillibrand bill would let Washington and the Seneca Nation end New York’s criminal jurisdiction on Seneca land
A Senate companion to Rep. Nick Langworthy’s bill would let the Justice Department and the Seneca Nation end New York’s 1948 criminal jurisdiction on Seneca land. Its broader definition of ‘territory’ raises…
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Hochul opens $76 million county infrastructure round, raising housing-linked award caps
Gov. Kathy Hochul opened a $76 million county infrastructure round with higher award caps for projects that unlock new housing. Applications are due Feb. 5, 2027.
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Taylor Devices clears IDA hearing for $8 million aerospace landing-gear expansion in North Tonawanda
Taylor Devices cleared an NCIDA public hearing for an $8 million aerospace landing-gear expansion in vacant North Tonawanda buildings, with a November vote on tax incentives.
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City declares Broadway Barns emergency after concrete panels fall, winter plow gear at risk
Mayor Sean Ryan declared an emergency at the Broadway Barns after concrete panels fell onto plow equipment, leaving winter readiness hanging on a failing roof.
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Love Canal family wants out of its 99th Street home. The state says the data don’t show the landfill is to blame
A petition to relocate the McKiernan family and reinvestigate Love Canal puts the DEC and Health Department on a legal clock that could run out in early November.
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With talks stalled and a Jan. 1 auto tariff looming, the Niagara Frontier braces for a longer trade war
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says Washington is “holding fast” with Canada. New Statistics Canada data show Canadians’ car trips from the U.S. are still 31% below 2024 levels.
