Featured News

As it's done in past years, "The Voice" kicked off season seven with top-tier, four-chair turns in the premiere episode's opening and closing slots.

It's been more than 20 years since "Cheers" went off the air, but people still want a place "where everybody knows your name."

In Lewiston, that location is Tin Pan Alley.

"We've put (addressing) bad communications off for six months or more."

So summarized Greg Sitek of the Upper Mountain Fire Co. to the continuing problem of a stop work order now impacting completion of a recently constructed 219-foot radio tower behind the Upper Mountain firehall.

The Lewiston Porter Board of Education has appointed Cindy Duke to fill a vacancy on the board, left when longtime board member Keith Fox died in July.

Excitement is back in Youngstown.

The Mug and Musket Tavern (formerly known as Brennan's), 418 Main St., is now open and features a variety of dinner and pub fare offerings as well as all-new entertainment.

Village businesses are also gearing up for the Youngstown Arts and Music Festival.

Members of the police turned out to serve as "celebrity buddies" at a Miracle League ballgame.

The buddies help the Miracle League players at bat, on the base paths and in the field.

The town government has begun long-range planning to improve two of its parks: the Town Commons and Nike Base Park.

Wheatfield Supervisor Bob Cliffe told Town Board members on Monday that they should receive the initial tentative budget for 2015 at their next meeting on Oct. 6.

Errick Road residents gathered at the Sept. 17 Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education meeting to urge the board to speak out against a subdivision planned for the area.

Wheatfield Councilman Larry Helwig is worried that residents might not be fully informed about proposed changes in the Empire pipeline in the town.

My Aunt Ekkie always used to tell me to say "So long," not "Goodbye."

Bicoastal actress Vanessa Ray can boast something no other thespian can: She's working on the No. 1 show for young viewers ("Pretty Little Liars"), and the No. 1 show for, say, slightly older viewers ("Blue Bloods").

It's been a rough year for FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and his partner, world-famous Jeffersonian Institute forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel).

Message received.

In a recent poll on the Niagara Frontier Publications website, 95 percent of Lewiston residents ages 18 and older voted in favor of retaining the Lewiston Police Department.

The gatekeeper of all Village of Lewiston information is about to shut the door on a career that has spanned parts of four decades. Clerk/Treasurer Anne Welch is retiring at the end of this month.

Carl Paladino was the keynote speaker Thursday at the Lew-Port Academy of International Business & Finance "Blender" inside the Niagara Falls Country Club.

The Town of Niagara on Tuesday beefed up its police staff and equipment, as well as aired a beef with the county on lack of support for the increased needs of the town's police department due to business development.

Macerich, one of the nation's leading owners, operators and developers of major retail properties, announced this week that Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls USA will open the doors of its planned expansion on Thursday, Oct. 23.

If Luke Gworek has his way, no kid will have to go home from the hospital with a sad-faced Band-Aid ever again.

The Grand Island Board of Education held its first meeting of the 2014-15 school year in the Professional Development Suite at Grand Island High School. The agenda included reports on personnel, the district's capital project, the dress code and curriculum and instruction.

Three of the top "MasterChef" home cooks of all time will compete Monday for a shot at the title, a trophy, a book deal and $250,000.

"I think you have a divergent group of people from different walks of life," judge Joe Bastianich said.

Fellow judge Graham Elliot said, "It comes down to simply cooking and also how you play the game."

A Town of Niagara mother has filed a grievance with the Niagara-Wheatfield School District over alleged discrimination against her son, a child with a disability.

With protests by residents near the proposed Cobblestone Creek development off Errick Road growing, the developer Rosal Homes has asked for a public information meeting.

Acting Town of Lewiston Clerk Donna Garfinkel defeated challenger Regina Cecconi in Tuesday's Republican Party primary election. Garfinkel was the top vote-getter at all five polling places en route to a 435-275 victory.

Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula are set to become the next owners of the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim, are set to become the new owner of the Buffalo Bills, per reports issued today by WGRZ and EPSN.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Pegulas have a tentative agreement to buy the Bills. WGRZ Sports Director Adam Benigni said he has two sources indicating the Bills reached an agreement with the Pegulas.

Though the Town of Lewiston Council rejected his request for a permissive referendum on the future of the Lewiston Police Department, village resident Ron Craft is intent on bringing the issue to the masses for a vote.

The Niagara County Peach Festival is now underway at Academy Park.

Festival organizers from the Kiwanis Club of Lewiston are once again hard at work to raise money to benefit numerous Kiwanis programs for the Niagara and Western New York community. While this festival is its biggest event, it is by no means the only activity Kiwanis is involved in.

The Niagara County Peach Festival, the largest midway in Niagara County, combines delicious local food and fair treats, more than 40 classic carnival rides and games, as well as musical entertainment and competitions.

Village of Lewiston Mayor Terry Collesano's Frontier House citizens committee met this week and is working on a plan to save the historic Center Street building.

He called the private meeting "informative," and said, "I think we're making some progress."

According an earlier announcement by Bill Ross, chairman of the Niagara County Legislature who serves as 2nd District legislator for Lewiston and Wheatfield, construction of the tower was done as a result of a federal radio narrow banding mandate.

The Wheatfield Family Picnic on Sunday started out with a few tears.

After the flag-raising ceremony, the signs that will be placed at the Niagara Falls Boulevard and Lockport Road ends of Walmore Road naming that section of the road the Spec. Alan N. Dikcis Memorial Highway were unveiled.

The Wheatfield Town Board, already besieged by Quasar opponents, faced a new group in Town Hall on Monday as residents who live near the proposed Cobblestone Creek development came to voice their flooding concerns.

A Wheatfield veteran promoted the Alternative Veterans' Tax Exemption at the Aug. 20 Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education meeting at Niagara-Wheatfield High School.

Kids needing a haircut before going back to school have a new old-school option.

The Real Barbers II has opened in the Grand Island Plaza, next door to M&T Bank and across from Adrian's Custard and Beef.

On a warm summer's afternoon, three young women and their families sat on folding chairs amidst the gardens of the Huth Road Elementary School courtyard. They were there Friday to receive their high school diplomas after spending hours working on academic areas of difficulty in summer school.

The Miracle League of Grand Island and WNY celebrated another high-water mark in the organization's brief history with Saturday's ribbon-cutting for a new playground in Veterans Park.

Nic Bishop has done a wonderful job of bringing his "Covert Affairs" character, Ryan McQuaid, to life this season. It was only fitting, then, when the actor emulated McQuaid and snuck onto a conference call series star Piper Perabo was having with television reporters Thursday.

Celebrities. Athletes. Politicians. Your friends and family members.

Just about everybody, it seems, has taken part in the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise awareness - and funds - for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, or "Lou Gehrig's Disease." To date, more than $40 million has been donated.

Artpark fans got a taste of Steve "Luke" Lukather's style of music when he performed June 24 with Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band. The singer returns with his own band, Toto, to close out the 2014 "Tuesdays in the Park" concert series Aug. 26.