Thu, May 28th 2020 09:45 pm
Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, welcomed news that the Trump administration is extending federal orders assigning National Guard members to COVID-19 response through mid-August. The president had previously indicated plans to end the current order when it expires on June 24, leaving National Guard members serving on the frontlines of the pandemic response ineligible for federal benefits.
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Wed, May 27th 2020 10:25 pm
The Erie County Agricultural Society, sponsors of the Erie County Fair, announced Wednesday that it has decided to postpone the 2020 Erie County Fair (originally scheduled to be held Aug. 12-23).
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Tue, May 26th 2020 08:15 pm
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center is expanding its efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Niagara Falls.
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Tue, May 26th 2020 02:00 pm
HOPE Day, the annual day of giving to benefit Appeal 2020, brought in $250,160 on May 22. This total will be increased by another $108,750 in matching funds for a grand total of $358,910.
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Tue, May 26th 2020 11:00 am
Congressman Brian Higgins announced the award of a five-year federal grant totaling $2.25 million through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Erie County Medical Center for expansion of its special needs dentistry.
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Tue, May 26th 2020 10:50 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced state and local governments will provide death benefits for frontline workers who died from COVID-19 during this emergency.
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Mon, May 25th 2020 10:00 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps in state while following appropriate health protocols.
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Sat, May 23rd 2020 12:50 pm
At a Saturday press conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said state regions could enter phase two of his "New York Forward" reopening process earlier than expected. Originally, he said locations would have to wait two weeks before going into the next stage.
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Fri, May 22nd 2020 02:55 pm
On Friday, Gov. Cuomo announced the New York Forward Loan Fund aimed at supporting New York state small businesses, nonprofits and small landlords as they reopen after the COVID-19 outbreak and "NYS on PAUSE."
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Fri, May 22nd 2020 11:30 am
Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, who serves as co-chair of the House of Representatives' Northern Border Caucus, is asking U.S. and Canada leaders to reexamine the scope of those provided essential travel status as communities on each side of the border begin reopening measures.
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Fri, May 22nd 2020 11:05 am
Full edition: The Tribune and The Sentinel for May 22, 2020
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Fri, May 22nd 2020 10:50 am
Something happened Tuesday in the River Region that hadn't happened in two months. Doors opened.
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Thu, May 21st 2020 04:35 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced summer school will be conducted through distance learning this year to help reduce the risk of spread. Meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue. School districts must also develop a plan for students with disabilities who participate in extended summer school year programs over the summer to ensure they receive instruction.
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Thu, May 21st 2020 04:30 pm
Following a spike in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa and the New York State Council on Women and Girls on Wednesday announced the creation of a new task force to find innovative solutions to this crisis. The task force will identify solutions to help domestic violence survivors, with the specific goal of looking beyond the traditional ways that services have been provided in the past.
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Wed, May 20th 2020 03:30 pm
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday announced that, beginning Thursday, May 21, religious gatherings of no more than 10 people will be allowed statewide where strict social distancing measures are enforced and all participants wear masks. Additionally, drive-in and parking lot services will also be allowed beginning Thursday.
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Wed, May 20th 2020 02:25 pm
New York State Sen. and Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee Tim Kennedy, AT&T, AAA Western and Central New York and New York State Police teamed up to raise awareness of traffic safety as the unofficial start of summer is here.
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Wed, May 20th 2020 02:10 pm
The New York State Department of Labor on Wednesday announced the backlog of pending unemployment benefit applications has been reduced to 7,580 - representing what it called "major progress since an unprecedented crush of applications related to the COVID-19 pandemic flooded the DOL's systems in March." This universe of unprocessed applications includes those that are missing critical information and cannot be processed, duplicates, and abandoned claims. Additionally, since the passage of the Federal CARES Act, 562,766 pandemic unemployment assistance applicants have received unemployment benefits.
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Tue, May 19th 2020 03:15 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a collaboration with the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State to implement a two-week hospital visitation pilot program in 16 hospitals across the state - including Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center - to allow increased visitations for family members and loved ones. As part of the pilot program, visits will be time limited. Visitors will be provided with and must wear PPE and are subject to symptom and temperature checks.
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Mon, May 18th 2020 05:05 pm
Following approval from the New York State Department of Health to resume elective surgeries in Catholic Health on May 5, the health system expects to complete a full caseload of procedures this week. Catholic Health began a limited elective surgery schedule last week, after becoming the first hospital system in Erie County to receive a waiver from the Department of Health to begin performing procedures that have been suspended since early March.
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Mon, May 18th 2020 02:45 pm
Amid social distancing and warmer weather in New York, AAA has seen an uptick in the number of bicycles out and about. With more people taking advantage of cycling, there's no better time for a refresher on safety especially since May is Bike Safety Month. AAA Western and Central New York has tips for bicyclists and motorists to share the road and keep everyone safe.
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Mon, May 18th 2020 11:15 am
In a conference call Monday morning with the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul offered additional details on what phase one of "New York Forward" entails. She is head of the "control room" monitoring when Western New York can begin to exit Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "New York State on PAUSE" shutdown.
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Fri, May 15th 2020 07:35 pm
The full version of the Tribune and The Sentinel combo newspaper for May 15, 2020.
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Fri, May 15th 2020 07:30 pm
"The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Heroes Act, a fifth stimulus proposal that includes funding for the essential public employees providing essential services in our communities. This legislation includes direct and flexible recovery aid to states and local governments - including counties.
"We now urge the U.S. Senate and President Trump to coalesce around a bipartisan agreement as soon as possible so that counties can continue to battle the pandemic while we safely reopen our economies at the local level."
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Fri, May 15th 2020 07:00 am
In the early weeks of the lockdown, Niagara County Legislator Jesse Gooch knew he wanted to do something for his district's senior community. He partnered up with local food truck vendor J&L Boulevard BBQ to begin "Meals with Heart from 6 Feet Apart" to offer seniors $5 dinners (pickup only) from 5-6 p.m. each Wednesday at the Wheatfield Town Hall, 2800 Church Road.
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Thu, May 14th 2020 09:00 pm
Last week, we were finally able to announce the date and details of the Board of Education election and budget vote. We now have more detail:
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Wed, May 13th 2020 11:45 am
Erie County Medical Center Corp. today announced 10 community health center and primary care practice organizations have been approved to receive $2.3 million in Delivery Service Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) funds to support COVID-19 testing at 27 sites and from three mobile units operating in 17 priority ZIP codes in Western New York: Amherst, Buffalo, Dunkirk, Jamestown, Lockport, Niagara Falls, North Tonawanda, Wheatfield and Williamsville.
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Wed, May 13th 2020 11:20 am
Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, on Wednesday outlined components of the Heroes Act, the latest emergency package constructed to provide relief to workers, families, small businesses and communities impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
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Wed, May 13th 2020 09:25 am
A study by a University at Buffalo investigator sheds new light on the link between early COVID-19 symptoms and eventual positive test results. The research could lead to new protocols for determining who will be tested and how best to use testing resources.
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Wed, May 13th 2020 09:25 am
Destination Niagara USA is launching "The Heart of Niagara" campaign to help support two Niagara County charities.
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Tue, May 12th 2020 03:00 pm
The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance announced additional food assistance of more than $880 million to help New Yorkers with children who previously received free and reduced-price meals at school. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program will provide eligible households with a total of about $420 per child, with school buildings closed for the remainder of the school year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
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Tue, May 12th 2020 10:00 am
Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, is calling for a $5 billion investment over the next five years supporting research led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) into the treatment and prevention of coronavirus disease.
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Tue, May 12th 2020 10:00 am
The elected leaders in North Tonawanda are sponsoring a food drive this Thursday to benefit the North Tonawanda Inter-Church Food Pantry. The event will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus, 755 Erie Ave.
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Mon, May 11th 2020 06:50 pm
New York Attorney General Letitia James provided direction to law enforcement departments throughout New York state so they have clear guidance on how to protect the public from unlawful evictions both during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis and into the future.
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Mon, May 11th 2020 12:15 pm
Kaleida Health released the following updates over the weekend regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic:
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Mon, May 11th 2020 09:55 am
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday announced New York is notifying 49 other states across the country of emerging cases of COVID-related illness in children. The state is currently investigating 85 reported cases in New York where children - predominantly school-aged - are experiencing symptoms similar to an atypical Kawasaki disease or a toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19. The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers and an additional two deaths are currently under investigation.
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Fri, May 8th 2020 03:35 pm
Congressman Brian Higgins announced more than $1.3 million in funding awarded to federally qualified health care clinics to expand COVID-19 testing capacity in Western New York. The supplemental funding was included in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, approved by the House of Representatives on April 23, which provided $25 billion to expand testing nationwide.
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Fri, May 8th 2020 01:25 pm
Calling it the most dysfunctional and mismanaged aspect of New York state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, New York State Sen. Chris Jacobs is asking the Cuomo administration and the New York State Department of Labor to immediately commit all the necessary resources to fix what he called the "broken" unemployment system that still has not provided benefits to tens of thousands of New York residents who have been out of work since March.
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Fri, May 8th 2020 01:25 pm
Local leaders welcomed the formal announcement by Rite Aid of 46 additional COVID-19 testing sites across the country, including at two of the company's locations in the Cities of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, scheduled to open on Monday, May 11.
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Fri, May 8th 2020 12:10 pm
Kaleida Health on Thursday announced it has once again expanded laboratory testing for COVID-19, adding anyone in the general public, who is interested or needs it, regardless if they are symptomatic or not.
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Thu, May 7th 2020 04:30 pm
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center will offer the community diagnostic testing for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, beginning Monday, May 11.
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