The Buffalo Chronicle
kathy hochul
-
Western New York’s $16 minimum wage is frozen for 2027 by a jobs test Albany now calls ‘overly sensitive’
A small drop in statewide jobs canceled the first inflation raise under New York’s 2023 wage law. Gov. Hochul wants $16.55 upstate by March 1, but that depends on the Legislature.
-
Albany’s data center review closes its first comment window Tuesday as Western New York’s biggest proposal sits on hold
Comments on the scope of New York’s statewide data center review are due Oct. 20, and 56 legislators want more time and public hearings. At STAMP in Genesee County, a $19.46 billion…
-
Copart now owns ACV, and the merger filings show what Buffalo workers were promised, and for how long
Copart closed its $1.9 billion cash purchase of Buffalo’s ACV Auctions on Oct. 16. The filings guarantee employees’ pay for one year but describe no commitment to keep the headquarters or jobs…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
New York Democrats press DHS for the last $87 million in counterterror grants Trump pledged to restore; $100 million has been released
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…
-
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.
-
New York is $7.3 billion ahead of its tax forecast at midyear. Watchdogs are split on what to do with it
Comptroller DiNapoli reports state tax receipts ran $7.3 billion above projections through September, driven by Wall Street and business taxes, even as $31.7 billion in out-year budget gaps loom.
-
Hochul raises heating aid for oil users, but at WNY prices the bigger check buys a third less fuel
HEAP opens Nov. 2 with a $990 base benefit for oil, kerosene and propane. With Western New York heating oil at $6.44 a gallon and federal LIHEAP money tied to a Dec.…
-
Blakeman will seek ‘Trump funds’ to expand discount airports in NYC suburbs
Expansion of airport terminals at MacArthur, Westchester, and Stewart airports would accommodate discount flights to tourist destinations, alleviating congestion at LGA, JFK Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has…
-
Blakeman will ‘wipe Cuomo’s name off the Tappen Zee Bridge, Republican activist predicts
ALBANY — A Republican activist in Westchester County with ties to Bruce Blakeman’s campaign has told associates that if the Nassau County executive becomes governor, he will take Governor Mario M. Cuomo’s…
-
Kathy Hochul denies wanting to ‘Make Nassau County the Sixth Borough of NYC.’ Why doesn’t anyone believe her?
ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul does not, her aides insist, want to make Nassau County the sixth borough of New York City. She has said so in different words for three years:…
-
Mamdani worries Blakeman will let Staten Island become its own City
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has begun to say, in private and increasingly in public, that a Bruce Blakeman governorship would do more than reverse the city’s progressive turn. It would reopen a question…
-
Ricchiazzi calls for reinstatement of a ‘hard’ city control board
Buffalo, N.Y. — Local activist and longtime fiscal watchdog Matthew Ricchiazzi is urging Mayor Sean Ryan to join him in petitioning the state Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul to reinstate a “hard”…
-
Hochul: If he endows ‘Buffett University’, Warren can have Floyd Bennett Field for its campus
By Staff Reporter February 18, 2026 In a bold and imaginative overture to one of the world’s most iconic philanthropists, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has floated an intriguing proposition: If Warren…
-
SHUTDOWN: With Schumer increasingly expected to resign, who would Hochul appoint to replace him?
By Staff Reporter Brooklyn, NY – October 19, 2025 – As the federal government teeters on the brink of another shutdown, the political spotlight in New York has intensified on one of…
-
Stefanik’s reckless rhetoric could expose her to millions in damages
By Staff Reporter In an escalating feud that’s captivated New York politics, sources close to New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani reveal he’s seriously weighing a $20 million defamation lawsuit against U.S.…
-
Hochul promises Acela-caliber service from NYC to Montreal by 2026
Governor Kathy Hochul is pledging to improve passenger rail service across the State — including high-speed “Acela-style service” from New York City to Montreal by end of her first full term in…
-
If Schumer vacates his Senate seat following midterm losses, who would Hochul appoint to replace him?
Even if Senator Chuck Schumer wins his personal reelection effort in November, the Democrats are likely to lose control of the Senate and oust Schumer as Leader of the Democratic Party caucus…
