The Farina Files

BY TONY FARINA It was a full house last Thursday at the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion for Alan Roscetti’s kickoff fundraiser in his campaign for Niagara Falls City Court judge. Roscetti, a 37-year-old Niagara County public defender and private practice

BY TONY FARINA “It is taking care of people who can’t do it for themselves,” is the way Public Administrator Acea Mosey describes her role in Erie County Surrogate Court for the last 12 years. By definition, Mosey’s job is

BY TONY FARINA To those of you protesting Artvoice’s “What Do We Want for 2017” list, which included Carl Paladino’s much-criticized response, let me refer you to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution: Congress shall make no law

BY TONY FARINA The search for a new Erie Community College president to replace Jack Quinn hasn’t really begun yet even though Quinn announced last summer that he was leaving for personal reasons, a decision that was welcomed by many

BY TONY FARINA “Could only happen in Niagara Falls!” That’s what people were saying this week after Councilman Charles Walker – who is still dealing with four misdemeanor charges brought by the state attorney general for allegedly failing to file

BY TONY FARINA Uber and Lyft have blanketed Albany with money as they push state lawmakers and the governor to legalize expansion of their ride-hailing services to upstate cities, including Buffalo, but they don’t want to operate under the same

BY TONY FARINA It is hard to know where to begin when trying to capture the essence of a much-honored and accomplished professional who is retiring after a long and very distinguished career in the criminal justice system who, by

BY TONY FARINA “The citizens of Niagara Falls would be hard-pressed to find a better candidate for a seat on the City Court bench than Alan Roscetti,” says longtime pharmacist Robert Kendzia when asked about the young man’s plans to

BY TONY FARINA A last-minute budget amendment giving hefty pay raises to two appointees of the GOP majority of the Niagara County Legislature is coming under heavy fire today from Minority Leader Dennis Virtuoso of Niagara Falls. Virtuoso told the

BY TONY FARINA The Explore & More Children’s Museum planned for Buffalo’s Canalside received a much welcome $1 million capital gift from the Paul A. Saffrin Foundation this week for the planned museum’s Play It Forward capital campaign. Groundbreaking is

BY TONY FARINA Is  former State Senator George Maziarz out of the woods nearly two years after he left office under the cloud of a federal investigation?  While Maziarz left office denying he was being chased out, it appears the