Congressman Brian Higgins announced the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded grants to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts.

"I am proud of Western New York's thriving arts community," Higgins said. "At a time when so many arts organizations face the threat of funding cuts, it is encouraging to see support for these programs that do so much to enrich our region."

Volare Lodge members recently presented a $2,500 gift to Heart, Love & Soul in Niagara Falls.

Assemblyman John Ceretto along with Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb welcomed Jason Cutler and Sarah Jensen, students at Niagara University, to the Assembly chambers on the opening day of the 2014 legislative session.

Buffalo Business First, a leading weekly business news publication in Western New York, has chosen Seneca Gaming Corp. as one of the region's "Most Admired Companies" for 2013.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center greeted its first baby of 2014 at 9:13 a.m. Jan. 2, when Linnea DuFour, left, of the Town of Niagara gave birth to a daughter, Nora Lin DuFour.

Five of the 25 windowpanes in the North Tonawanda History Museum's 2013 Window Pane Covering Project are sponsored, designed and installed, according to the museum's board of trustees.

Several Niagara County lawmakers took their oaths of office Wednesday as a new Legislature with three new faces began to take place around a core of veterans, including an 11-member supermajority that will continue to lead the deliberative body after 10 years in charge.

Corpus Christi Church in Buffalo is pleased to announce 14-year-old child prodigy Emma Resmini is headlining its "In The Light" concert series at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5. This concert is in celebration of the Pauline Order of priest's 10th anniversary at Corpus Christi.

Wine on Third held an art auction to benefit the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center. Local artists, including Mary Grace Ohrum, Danielle DePalma, Jeffrey Bagneschi, Kathy Schifano, Jonathan Rogers, Andrea Galyn donated the art.

Get hooked on Niagara's largest outdoor show of 2014. The Greater Niagara Fishing & Outdoor Expo, to be held inside The Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls (101 Old Falls St.) Jan. 24-26, includes more than 100 outdoor vendors.

Faculty members from the Cheektowaga Doodle Bugs! spent their Saturday afternoon decorating cookies and organizing gifts for the Buffalo Boys and Girls Club in preparation for their annual "SantaCade" party on Dec. 19.

A group of Daisy Girl Scouts from Troop 30011, kindergarteners from Maple East Elementary School in Williamsville, showed just how "Helpful and Friendly" they could be when they taught the residents of Amberleigh Retirement Community how to make snowflake ornaments.

The Niagara Falls Teachers Local 801 dropped off its donation of 60 turkeys for distribution during Community Missions' Christmas program.

A temporary building on the University at Buffalo's South Campus houses a humble-looking contraption that could serve as a spark for improving public transit everywhere: a full-scale replica of a 40-foot public bus, complete with a fare box, seats and wheelchair ramp.

This month, Houghton College has significantly increased its presence and viability as a major player for offering higher education in the Buffalo region.

Cornerstone CFCU employee Dan Martin had a great idea to celebrate the season and help a worthy cause. Martin suggested employees could help the community by donating $5 to wear jeans with an ugly Christmas sweater, and have the money go to a local charity.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced Thursday he is providing nearly $2.2 million for a two-pronged expansion of the highly successful Buffalo Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, a program that has already helped more than 200 of Buffalo's neediest families lower their energy bills and eliminate serious home health and safety hazards in older homes.

First, Schneiderman is committing $193,000 to a new, two-year project to improve the participation of Buffalo's community of resettled political refugees in the BGHHI.

HARBORCENTER VP and Director of the Academy of Hockey Kevyn Adams announced today that Adam Mair has agreed to join the HARBORCENTER Academy of Hockey staff as a coach.

Doodle Bugs! Children's Centers in Cheektowaga, Clarence, East Amherst, Lancaster, Orchard Park and West Amherst recently hosted an annual toy drive and collected children's toys to be donated to Toys for Tots in time for the holiday season.

The Western & Central New York Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society announced Deborah and Rocco Surace will serve as co-chairs for the society's 22nd annual Diamond Ball at Samuel's Grande Manor.

Dunkin' Donuts will show its support for one of America's most iconic holiday toy collection drives this holiday season through a second-year partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves' Toys for Tots program in Western New York.

Six Doodle Bugs! Children's Center locations in Buffalo recently hosted an annual food drive and collected 2,026 nonperishable food items to be donated to local organizations in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Complete Senior Care veterans were recently presented with certificates of appreciation from active service members and local boy scouts for their dedication to this country. At the same time, the "Holiday Heroes" card repurposing campaign began.

Gov. Cuomo has announced that, as part of his Buffalo Billion initiative, New York will build a state-of-the-art anchor hub facility for high tech and green energy businesses at RiverBend in the City of Buffalo.

Two companies at the forefront of the clean energy revolution, Soraa and Silevo, will collectively invest $1.5 billion into the project and relocate major parts of their operations to Buffalo, creating 850 permanent jobs and at least 500 construction jobs and attracting additional manufacturing companies to the site.

RiverBend, formerly Republic Steel, is a 90-acre site that is ready for development.

Doodle Bugs! Children's Centers, a leading education-based child care organization in Western New York, makes it a priority to help teach children about the importance of generosity and thankfulness through the activities in its curriculum. However, staffers also practice what they preach.

City of North Tonawanda Mayor Robert G. Ortt, along with Doug Taylor, president/CEO of Taylor Devices and other local officials, held a grand opening "ribbon-cutting" event at Taylor Devices' facilities located in the Buffalo Bolt business park.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has been awarded a $500,000, three-year grant from the New York State Office of Mental Health to operate a "Get Well/Stay Well" program to serve seniors residing in the Niagara community. The project will be operated in collaboration with The Dale Association, a well-known provider of mental health and elderly services in Niagara County.

At a press conference this morning at the First Niagara Center, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula announced general manager Darcy Reiger and coach Ron Rolston have been fired. Former Sabres star Pat LaFontaine has been brought on as president of hockey operations. He, in turn, has brought back former coach Ted Nolan to serve as interim coach.

Stingrays swim through water with such ease that researchers from the University at Buffalo and Harvard University are studying how their movements could be used to design more agile and fuel-efficient unmanned underwater vehicles.

The University at Buffalo won two awards from BUILDINGS magazine's eighth-annual America's Best Buildings of the Year, a contest for commercial and institutional facilities.

New Directions Youth and Family Services, a leading provider of services for at-risk children and families in Western New York, celebrated the grand opening of the Wayne A. Secord Therapeutic Preschool in Lockport with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Wound Center of Niagara celebrated its grand opening Thursday with a ribbon-cutting and open house at 620 10th St., Suite 700 - directly across the street from Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. The center was developed by Memorial and RestorixHealth, one of the nation's leaders in comprehensive wound care and wound management programs.

Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara supported the United Way by raising almost $300 through a series of bake sales coordinated by employees and program participants.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. has announced the completion of the renovation and efficiency upgrades to its administrative center at 6950 S. Transit Road in Lockport.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the completion of Phase 1 of the restoration of Prospect Point, which is one of the most popular areas of Niagara Falls State Park. The ribbon-cutting took place at the same time that ground was broken for Phase 2 of the restoration project. The project is part of Governor Cuomo's NY Works program.

"Niagara Falls State Park is one of Western New York's most valuable tourism assets - a stunning natural wonder that attracts millions of visitors from all across the world each year," Cuomo said. "Under our NY Works program, we have completed the first phase of restoring Prospect Point as part of an ongoing project to improve the state park and enhance the experience of those who come to visit. Coupled with our efforts to revitalize the community of Niagara Falls, this investment in the park will help attract more visitors, boost tourism in the whole region, and grow the local economy."

Roswell Park Cancer Institute is proud to announce several faculty members have collectively received more than $6.7 million in grant funding from federal agencies and other sources. These awards help fund important research that aims to develop new approaches to prevent and treat cancer and to improve RPCI patients' quality of life. Of those, Kelvin P. Lee, M.D., chair of the department of immunology, received three grants totaling more than $3.9 million.

Two grants are from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. They will help fund Lee's work in immunology. One is a four-year award for $2.02 million that will aid exploration of how immune responses occur and what molecular pathways are involved.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, the Winery at Marjim Manor will celebrate the holidays with "The Lighting of the Manor." Six Christmas trees, various displays and Hanukah menorah will be ablaze. The festivities begin at 1 p.m. at 7171 E. Lake Rd, Appleton.

Admittance will be a new hat, scarf or pair of mittens for the designated tree.

As part of the festivities, Manor wine presenter Kim Seddon will play Christmas carols, and Santa will be available for pictures. Nando's Pizzelles will return with a myriad of flavors. Mulled wine and mulled apple cider and other holiday treats will also be available. There will be hourly wine specials and giftwrapping.

Congressman Brian Higgins cheered a proposal announced by the Federal Communications Commission chair to eliminate federal regulations that support sports blackouts.

"Blackout rules are unfair, outdated and alienate dedicated fans," Higgins said. "I support the FCC chairwoman's proposal to eliminate federal policies that defend and allow blackouts. We will be asking the full FCC board to follow through with this recommendation, and the leagues and teams to embrace the change as a way to reach a larger audience and do the right thing for their fans."

Amberleigh Retirement Community in Williamsville celebrated its 25th anniversary as an independent retirement community in Western New York.

New York State Sen. Mark Grisanti, who serves as chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, has announced that, after working with town officials in Orchard Park, he has been able to secure $200,000 to help replace Green Lake Dam.

Green Lake Dam was recently reclassified by the state Department of Environmental Conservation from an intermediate hazard to a high hazard, which drew concerns from many residents and community stakeholders in Orchard Park.