Featured News

Jim and Julie Hibbard have opened a new Hibbard's Original Frozen Custard location at the sweet shop located next to Clancy's (formerly Page's Whistle Pig) at the corner of Packard and Military roads, in Niagara Falls.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo traveled to Niagara Falls Friday to announce Uniland Development Co., a Western New York-based development company, has been selected as the preferred developer to rebuild and transform the former Rainbow Centre Shopping Mall in Niagara Falls.

A highlight of the 48th annual Lewiston Art Festival is most certainly the Chalk Walk sponsored by KeyBank.

The grief, the pride and the memories are still alive for the family of Army Spc. Alan N. Dikcis.

The 21-year-old Wheatfield resident was killed on March 5, 2010, in Afghanistan while on a mission to recover another vehicle that had been blown up on the roadway in Kandahar. Dikcis had been deployed to Afghanistan the previous July.

Thanks to the cooperative efforts of State Sen. George Maziarz, County Legislature Chairman Bill Ross and Wheatfield Supervisor Bob Cliffe, signs designating a portion of Walmore Road in Wheatfield as the Spc. Alan N. Dikcis Memorial Highway will be put in place. One sign will be at Walmore Road and Niagara Falls Boulevard, near the Dikcis home; the other at the corner of Walmore and Lockport roads, not far from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station where Dikcis' body was brought home.

This year's Paddles Up, hosted by the Niagara Greenway Commission, drew tourists and locals alike to Beaver Island State Park to experience the area's largest paddlesports event.

VIDEO, PICTURES: Performing Tuesday at Artpark, Ann and Nancy Wilson proved, once again, they are the world's premier female-fronted rock back.

Joseph Pillittere Jr. honored his late mother Monday by giving away free Silo Restaurant hot dogs. Pillittere's late mother, Joan, was an ardent fan of the popular summer food.

2012 was the year Heart offered one of the best "Tuesday in the Park" concerts in the Artpark series' storied history.

The Wilson sisters and their bandmates will look to equal or better that performance when Heart returns to Lewiston Tuesday to perform in the outdoor amphitheater.

George and Winifred Banks have lost that loving feeling, while their not-so-precious children, Jane and Michael, have run amok - and run many nannies into early retirement. In their hour of need, Mary Poppins (Emilie Renier) appears - out of nowhere - and delivers a spoonful of ... tough love, insight, life lessons ... and, yes, sugar.

I don't have to tell you Favorite's Pizzeria is, well, Lewiston's favorite.

The steady line of customers standing in front of the restaurant counter daily is proof Favorite's has mastered pizza, wings and fingers.

There was good and some not-so-good news on the Town of Lewiston front this week.

The Wheatfield Town Board on Monday decided it had done enough homework and heard enough protests by residents to go ahead and pass a biosolids law for the town.

The Syfy Network has made a name for itself over the years with fun, campy B-movies. Most of the time, these movies exist in a moment, they're enjoyed by a specific group of fans, and that's the end of it.

That wasn't the case with "Sharknado." Not by a long shot.

Niagara County Legislature Chairman Bill Ross has a full load of events listed on his calendar for July.

The Wheatfield resident has one event double-circled on that calendar, however - Wednesday, July 30.

The days are drawing ever so closer to an all-new event taking place in the lower Niagara River. Called the Great Contraption Race, it's a unique on-water competition presented by the It Happened to Alexa Foundation of Lewiston. To run Saturday, Aug. 2, this rather unusual happening continues to catch the interest of would-be participants, almost as soon as they hear of it.

From the clothes we wear, to the music we listen to, our means of transportation and our preferred forms of entertainment, many things have changed since 1939.

You know one thing that hasn't changed in 75 years? People still confuse ice cream and custard.

To successfully present "Mary Poppins" in 2014 - to bravely take on Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the song and dance numbers - let alone the flying - would take real magic.

Next weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the Winery at Marjim Manor, the family-owned Appleton winery known for its fruit wines, as well as its ghost stories.

The Youngstown Yacht Club hosts the inaugural CanAm Challenge regatta this weekend on Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27 on Lake Ontario.

Artpark & Company will present the popular Disney musical "Mary Poppins" July 31 through Aug. 8 inside the Mainstage Theater.

Leads Emilie Renier and John Barsoian recently met last at The Orange Cat in Lewiston to drink coffee and preview the show.

Paddles Up Niagara, the Niagara River Greenway Commission's annual paddle sports event, returns to Grand Island for its ninth year of operation.

The main attraction of Paddles Up is its 4.8-mile paddle from the Little Beaver Launch Site to the East River Marsh Site and back.

A Grand Islander stole the spotlight from a famous Victoria's Secret model Monday and ended up on the front page of various international news websites.

Island native Kara Dudley is the anonymous woman seen upstaging supermodel Karlie Kloss in several Internet photos posted July 21 on celebrity websites. Dudley was photographed coming out of a New York City shop after searching for Taylor Swift, who had appeared to have gone into it earlier. She saw the paparazzi, but was oblivious to the statuesque Kloss, who was standing directly behind her.

Host Adam Richman ("Man v. Food") previews new NBC reality series; "Food Fighters" will pit home cooks against some of the country's most famous professional chefs in a battle to determine who can make select dishes best.

Starting tomorrow, the Village of Lewiston will start enforcing its law concerning so-called "pop-up" businesses on residential and municipal property. Trustees will especially crack down on homeowners on South Fourth Street who charge for parking on Artpark concert nights.

"Pop-up" food vending and ticket scalping will not be allowed, either. The board voted 4-0 to prohibit such business ventures.

"I think we all agree that now is the time to do something," Mayor Terry Collesano said.

Last week was an eventful one at Artpark. Find links to our interviews, photos, reviews and previews.

During the summer months, people crave juicy homegrown fruits and vegetables. Purchasing these goods locally rather than at your corporate grocer is a simple "feel good" way to give back to your community.

Working with children is a big part of Ali Casale's life. And because her brother spent part of his childhood in the Ronald McDonald House, she knows the value of bringing a smile to a sick child.

Orchard Park developer James Jerge, his architect, David Giusiana, and his project consultant, Robert Savarino, provided an update on 765 Fairchild Place - the former Fairchild Manor Nursing Home - at Monday's Village of Lewiston Planning Board meeting.

Some 1,000 volunteer firefighters, fire police and emergency medical services personnel are expected to arrive in Wheatfield for the 115th annual Western New York Volunteer Fireman's Association Convention.

3 Doors Down has been an absolute hit machine since 2000, with a dozen songs cracking top 10 music charts, and four albums hitting No. 1.

But the band behind "Kryptonite," "Loser," "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You" will be the first to say there's no magic formula or absolute path to success when crafting music.

Sarah McLachlan performed Monday in Lewiston.

Take a moment to let that sink in.

McLachlan's appearance at Artpark was no insignificant happening. In fact, I'd liken it to Pope Francis giving Mass at St. Peter's, or President Obama presiding over a Village Board meeting.

The World Cup is heating up near its end, but for young athletes in Niagara County, the real soccer excitement is only just beginning.

This weekend marks the 30th annual Niagara Pioneer Soccer Tournament, billed as the county's largest and longest-running youth sporting event. It is hosted by the Niagara Pioneer Soccer League and held at Fort Niagara.

You can say one thing about the folks at Niagara Jet Adventures: They always seem to come up with the unexpected.

Thursday evening, NJA co-owners Mike Fox, and Chris Bohnenkamp of Bohnenkamp's Whitewater Customs of Meridian, Idaho, introduced NJA's latest series of boats - called spinners - to a small gathering at the NJA docks in Youngstown.

The Village Vet of Lewiston, was recently awarded a $20,000 "clinic makeover," courtesy of Novartis and Onsior. Funds went toward reconfiguring her year-and-a-half-old office so that its feline patients - and their owners - could have a more positive experience.

Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has toured the world. He's been everywhere from India to Argentina, Thailand to Estonia and Russia to Switzerland.

We've all watched "The Voice" on television and rooted for its singers. But few of us have had the opportunity to experience the show live.

Realizing this, the powers that be behind America's favorite singing competition have arranged it so that "The Voice" could come to "the venue" in each fan's backyard.

Remember the old Starlite drive-in movie on Military Road? The Town of Niagara can't bring back the joys of sitting in or on the hood of your car to watch the latest movies in the summertime in what is now Wegmans Plaza. However, local residents can bring the family and spread a blanket or bring a lawn chair to Veterans Park on Lockport Road (across from Town Hall) this summer to watch outdoor movies on a giant screen.

As we begin the month of July and with summer now in full swing, the Rotary Club of Niagara County-Central is busy preparing for its 24th annual Olde Sanborn Days festival, featuring live entertainment, arts and crafts and food vendors.

Village of Lewiston Mayor Terry Collesano has appointed a new chairman for the municipality's Historic Preservation Commission/Planning Board, and taken steps to replace two departed members.

At Monday's reorganizational meeting, Collesano selected Norm Machelor to replace Ken Slaugenhoupt, who opted not to continue on the board.

Machelor was appointed to the Planning Board in 2013. Prior to that, he served 12 years on Grand Island's Planning Board.

"I like the way he is with people that come in looking to build, or for expanding or whatever," Collesano said. "He's got a level head."

A plaque honoring Nik Wallenda, "King of the High Wire," was installed Monday in Niagara Falls, New York. The monument sits near the spot where Wallenda mounted his tightrope to cross the falls into Canada June 15, 2012.