City

Mayor Byron W. Brown, joined by Buffalo area musicians and Veterans charity helpers, today took part in a ceremonial check presentation in the amount of $3,250 for the WNY Gold Star Mothers. The funds were raised during a recent Buffalo

Mayor Byron W. Brown signed two pieces of legislation, Local Laws V and VI of 2019, today. Local Law V will give the Brown Administration the authority to use “best value” practices in awarding contracts. Local Law VI enacts the

The American Enterprise Institute released a report last week that details the benefits of consumer choice in education. The report’s key findings are as follows: Despite overall declines in college enrollment, various accredited and unaccredited providers of postsecondary education delivery are

More than 25 percent of public school teachers and administrators in school districts outside New York City were paid more than $100,000 as of 2018-19, according to salary data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Public educator pay data are

BY TOM FITTON In the midst of a human rights crisis and violent pro-democracy manifestations in China, Judicial Watch has obtained records that expose a troubling partnership between a public American university and the Chinese Communists at the heart of

BY CAITLIN GILLIGAN New York school districts are missing out on non-taxpayer revenue due to antiquated legal restrictions, according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy. Selling advertising and naming rights on school properties is widely seen as

BY HOWARD HUSOCK The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) operates 174,000 total units, making it, by far, the largest public housing authority in the United States. But living conditions in NYCHA units are abysmal. After decades of deferred maintenance,

Former County Executive Joel Giambra launched a petition earlier this week calling on New York State’s Department of Transportation to restore the Scajaquada Expressway’s 50 mph speed limit — and Mayor Byron Brown is joining his calls on the DOT

BY BRIAN KOLB Summer always seems to go by in the blink of an eye. Before we know it, the days are shorter, the air is cooler and it’s time to send our children back to school. This change of

Employees of the troubled New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) pulled down $96 million in overtime payments in fiscal 2019, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website.Base pay and overtime for NYCHA employees are part of

A Buffalo detective was the highest-paid municipal employee (excluding school districts) in Western New York during the 2019 fiscal year, according to the latest edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center’s annual report summarizing total local government pay. Scott R. Malec,

BY NORBERT RUG I am for the implementation of the Facial and Object Recognition System (FORS) in the Lockport schools. There I said it. I know this might be an unpopular stance but it is the way I feel. I

A source close to Deputy County Executive Maria Whyte — who is known to have longstanding ambitions on the Mayor’s Office — says the politician is seething with jealousy over the prospect that political neophyte Bernice Radle could be elected

Esther Smothers, former Erie County Legislature Chairwoman Betty Jean Grant‘s principal legislative staffer, is vying for the Buffalo Common Council seat representing Lovejoy.  Also running is Brian Bollman, the outgoing Lovejoy Councilman Rich Fontana‘s principal legislative staffer. Both figures are

Sources close to Governor Andrew Cuomo say that his removal of Mayor Byron Brown was based on the Democratic Party’s poor local performance. Senior Democratic operatives close to the newly triumphant Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins are livid that Brown

Common Council Member David Franczyk is widely expected to retire at the end of his current term, forgoing a re-election effort for the Fillmore District seat that he’s held for the last 32 years. In his most recent re-election effort,

Austin Harig, the young candidate who nearly ousted Buffalo developer Carl Paladino from office at the ballot box — despite being underfunded and receiving no support from establishment organizations — is considering another run for the Board of Education’s Park

Under the leadership of Erie County Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy, it has become common practice for the party to avoid fielding candidates in the City of Buffalo.  The thinking is, that if there are no general election contests in city