Current News

As the B. Thomas Golisano Center for Integrated Sciences takes shape on the south side of campus, Niagara University faculty members continue to investigate ways to furnish the state-of-the-art facility with the latest in scientific instrumentation.

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-C-I-Lewiston, helped pass the Assembly budget resolution Monday, which increased state education aid to schools by $834 million on a year-to-year basis, secured $120 million to better treat the developmentally disabled, enhanced aid to community college students and provided additional funding for local road and bridge work.

Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp., Visit Buffalo Niagara and Wyoming County Chamber & Tourism are partnering with www.TripCentral.ca to participate in a Canadian consumer based marketing and sales program now through March 31.

The overall program is being conducted and managed by TripCentral.ca, one of Canada's largest and most established Internet drive vacation distributors. Accommodations and attractions from all three counties are participating in the "Vacation Station," a live branded kiosk in Toronto's Union Station (the main transportation hub in the region and busiest building in Canada).

Beginning Wednesday, March 13, several roads around First Niagara Center will be shut down due to the start of construction on the HARBORcenter property. Also beginning Wednesday morning, patrons of the Sabres Store and the arena box office will be able to park in the arena's parking ramp at no charge.

Retailers Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Express pledged $855,000 toward seven "showstopping" designs featured in the season two debut.

NBC will begin production on "Renovation Nation," a new home makeover competition event that will showcase the talents of the most accomplished designers and home renovators in the country, revealing stunning transformations week after week. Nate Berkus, host and executive producer, will not only guide the audience through the process, but will also serve as judge and advocate, mentoring the contestants week to week.

Turner Sports and CBS Sports have announced the lineup of broadcast teams for the third year of combined coverage of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

The pre-order deadline for Easter flowers and arrangements has been extended until Tuesday, March 12. The floral decorations are provided by the Niagara Floral Center and Greenhouse of Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara.

To mark Brain Awareness Week (March 11-17), the Western New York Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association is offering a number of classes geared toward outlining the differences between forgetfulness and dementia, and recognizing when loss of memory may be an indication of more serious cognitive problems.

Honor Flight Buffalo will begin its fourth year of flying World War II veterans on May 11 and June 15.

As all three Seneca Casinos in Western New York continue to grow and the expanded Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino prepares for a fall 2013 opening, Seneca Gaming Corp. will provide multiple job fairs this spring to increase its team member base.

The Lewiston Garden Club is now seeking candidates for its $1,000 scholarship for 2013.

In recognition of The Fresh Air Fund's 137th summer of bringing together New York City children and volunteer host families in New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has recognized March 20 "Fresh Air Fund Day" throughout the state.

The Town of Lewiston held the first of its information sessions on the proposed Town of Lewiston Community Recreation and Senior Services Center Monday before a packed house at Town Hall.

The following activity took place Monday, Feb. 25, to Sunday, March 3, as reported by the Lewiston Police Department. LPD logged a total of 76 response calls during this period.

On Thursday, March 14, Peace of the City Ministries will convene an evening of advocacy, truth-telling and fundraising for Buffalo's children at the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg.

The University at Buffalo Department of Visual Studies will host Dr. S. Hollis Clayson, professor of art history and Bergen Evans Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University.

Chart-topping '60s band The Grass Roots will be one of the highlights Saturday, March 9, of the Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center's Black Tie-Dye Gala Dinner & Auction. The concert is part of the Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center Foundation's '60s-themed event at the Seneca Niagara Casino Events Center. The annual gala raises money to support the programs of Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center.

The year 2012 marked the bicentennial of the Town of Porter. For this special event, the Town of Porter commissioned Marilyn Harbison, a local quilting instructor, to create a commemorative quilt for the families of the Town of Porter.

Antique to Chic, located at 536 Center St., in the Village of Lewiston, celebrated a grand opening and ribbon-cutting with the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce, elected officials, local business owners and friends and family.

The Youngstown Business and Professional Association will hold a St. Patrick's Day kick-off event, Saturday, March 16, at noon, in honor of the late Neil Riordan.

St. John's Episcopal Church, Main and Chestnut streets in Youngstown, will hold a corned beef and cabbage dinner on Sunday, March 17.

Niagara County Community College will host its Spring Health Fair on Monday, March 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the main dining room on the second floor of the Student Center (G Building), on the Sanborn campus.

Relay For Life of Lewiston/Niagara invites the community to join for a complimentary breakfast, Saturday, March 9, from 10 a.m. to noon at Water Street Landing in Lewiston to kick off plans for the 2013 Relay.

Becker Farms & Vizcarra Vineyards has been awarded New York State Agricultural Society Business of the Year for 2013.

On Friday morning, New York State Sen. George Maziarz, New York State Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, New York State Assemblyman John Ceretto and New York State Assemblyman Ray Walter addressed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed 2013-14 budget. Specifically the delegation took exception to the proposed 6 percent cut to the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities for community-based non-profit organizations, which would impact 120,000 people.

More than an office or a single site for service, the Niagara Health Home is a one-stop care management network that provides an unprecedented level of care coordination and service linkages to patients and their families.

The Buffalo Sabres announced Friday that Buffalo Sabres Alumni members will conduct eight separate hockey clinic sessions for children playing at the instructional, mite, squirt, peewee and girls 14-and-under levels on Tuesday, April 2, at First Niagara Center.

Those attending Aquarium SEAsonings 2013 on March 7 enjoyed not only the Aquarium of Niagara's usual attractions, but food and wine samplings. A variety of businesses provided tastes of everything from salads and bruschetta to salted caramels and tiramisu.

The Niagara USA Chamber released the following statement on Friday:

State Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-I-60, is the co-sponsor of S.2755, which would allow professional mixed martial arts events to be held within New York state. On Wednesday, he voted "yes," and the bill passed the Senate by a margin of 47 to 15.

Congressman Chris Collins met with approximately 40 local farmers in Batavia at the first meeting of his agriculture advisory board. As a member of the House agriculture committee, Collins will routinely look to the group to help shape his polices and positions on matters before the committee.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Friday that New York will construct a new traffic ramp that will connect the U.S. Peace Bridge Plaza directly to the northbound Thruway I-190. The new ramp is part of the New York Gateway Connections improvement project, which will reconfigure access to the U.S. Peace Bridge Plaza, reducing congestion and improving traffic flow for both commercial and private vehicles.

State Sen. Mark Grisanti is congratulating Majority leaders on the restoration of $120 million in spending cuts for people with development disabilities.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Mental Health Committee Chair Aileen Gunther announced the Assembly's budget proposal would restore $120 million in critical funding to the state Office of People with Developmental Disabilities for services provided by nonprofit organizations that serve individuals with developmental disabilities.

The programs and services provided through non-profits under the auspices of OPWDD help improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities. These programs help to develop home, personal, behavioral, recreational and social skills to ensure greater independence in their day-to-day lives. In order to ensure these services are not compromised, the Assembly proposes to restore $120 million to mitigate the governor's proposed 6 percent rate reduction to nonprofit providers.

INTERVIEWS: Nick has had enough. When "Grimm" returns with the second half of its second season (beginning tonight), he and Renard will have a good, old-fashioned brawl.

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-I-C-Lewiston, met earlier this week with James Tomkins, Grand Island highway superintendent, in the Assembly chamber. They discussed the importance of increasing state support for the region's roads and bridges.

Thursday, in the first live results show of the season from Los Angeles, "American Idol" revealed the Top 10 finalists: including Lazaro Arbos, Janelle Arthur, Curtis Finch Jr., Candice Glover, Kree Harrison, Amber Holcomb, Paul Jolley, Angie Miller, Burnell Taylor and Devin Velez.

Crowley Webb, a full-service marketing communications agency in Buffalo, won a silver award in the Collegiate Advertising Awards, a national competition of college and university marketing materials, for the Niagara University "What's On Your Mind" campaign.

Just ahead of its unveiling of the 2013 Summer Rush Concert Series, Seneca Casinos announces new acts to round out its spring entertainment lineup. Topping the list is country superstar Sara Evans, who brings her powerful vocal skills to Seneca Allegany Events Center for a late-afternoon show on Sunday, April 28, at 5 p.m.