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Interview: Southern rockers 3 Doors Down are giving fans a chance to catch their set in a way so intimate you'd think you were sharing a living room, or jamming in a basement.

The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce will honor 10 businesses and individuals at its annual Chamber Awards Gala Friday, May 16, at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston.

Long before fans found out there wouldn't be a ninth season of "Psych," one thing was certain about season eight: This year has been nothing short of a victory lap for the USA Network's hit comedy.

Food truck owners will have to park their mobile eateries someplace else.

After receiving feedback from local business owners opposed to food trucks, trustees let it be known they will not allow such an operation in the village.

"I think our minds are pretty much made up," Mayor Terry Collesano told members of the River Region Chamber of Commerce prior to the trustees' monthly work session Monday.

William Paladino met with the Village of Lewiston Planning Board Wednesday to update members on the status of his development plan. The Ellicott Development CEO intends to create a U-shaped plaza with three main units: 1) two restaurants (one fast food) and a retail store; 2) a two-story retail/bank/commercial building; and 3) a drug store. He may build condos on the lot's west end, too.

"It's taken us long to get to this point, because every time we move or tweak anything, it has to go back to the engineers and they've got to redo everything because of the site grades and slopes and things of that nature," Paladino said.

Members of the Village of Lewiston's retail district met with Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce leaders Wednesday. They spoke out against the idea of permitting food trucks to operate on Center Street.

"One of my problems that I have is that, when you cultivate something and you build this great harvest, and somebody just wants to come in and pick the fruit and leave," Water Street Landing proprietor Jon DiBernardo said. "It's kind of a dangerous precedent."

He suggested food trucks have an unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar eateries.

Earlier this week, Niagara Frontier Publications learned Beatles drummer Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band were booked to play this summer at Artpark in Lewiston. The group will perform in the outdoor amphitheater Tuesday, June 24.

Wesen Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), a part-wolf blutbad, and Rosalee (Bree Turner) a part-fox fuchsbau, are not only the "normal" ones on "Grimm," but actually provide grounding for the "human" characters.

Trustees in the Village of Lewiston have asked The Great Foodini owner/operator Michael Attardo for more time before granting his facility contract to operate a food truck on Center Street.

A second food truck operator is interested in bringing mobile dining to the Village of Lewiston. Chef Michael Attardo, owner and operator of The Great Foodini, will present his plan to trustees at tonight's Village Board meeting.

In May, Lewiston's Christian Willmott pitched trustees The Black Market Food Truck, a mobile gourmet deli sandwich unit he drives in Buffalo. Board members were lukewarm to the idea, but didn't reject it.

Attardo, who is also a Lewiston native, and a Lewiston-Porter High School graduate, has one significant advantage ...

In the real world, someone like Raymond "Red" Reddington would certainly be looked upon as a man of questionable morals, and not the kind of person one would emulate. In fact, he would be a cautionary tale for those who would seek a life of crime and lawlessness.

The show, in fact, is not another zombie show. Nor is it typical Syfy fare, for that matter. It's not a deliciously B-movie, like, say, "Mega Python vs. Gatoroid" or "Sharknado." It's not brooding like "Being Human" or whimsical like "Eureka."

Frank Manarino recently took over Marshall Automotive & Transmission, wants to be different from others in his profession. He said the most important thing in his business is "try to just be honest to everyone."

Monday night, before family and friends, Daniel R. Gibson was sworn into office in the Village of Lewiston. Mayor Terry Collesano appointed Gibson, a Republican, to assume a portion of Democrat and former Trustee Dennis Brochey's term.

You can say one thing: The year 2013 certainly wasn't a dull, uneventful one for northern Niagara.

In 2014, the Village of Lewiston mayor intends to partner with Alan Hastings to rebuild the Frontier House, work with Bill Paladino on a new retail plaza, come up with a master plan for Academy Park, enliven the upper plateau, fix the drainage problems on Fourth Street, find new grants and keep the tax rate flat.

Vanessa Williams will perform hit songs "Dreamin," "Colors of the Wind," and, of course, "Save the Best for Last" Saturday, Dec. 28, at the Seneca Niagara Events Center in Niagara Falls.

It's been a busy couple of days for Mike Fox of Niagara Jet Adventures in Youngstown. Fox reports the first in his fleet of custom-built, advanced-tech Gatling series jetboats, manufactured by Bohnenkamp's Whitewater Customs of Meridian, Idaho, arrived in Youngstown this week following a 2,233-mile cross-country trip via trailer.

The Historical Association of Lewiston commemorated the 200th anniversary of the burning of Lewiston (Dec. 19, 1813) with its "Flames Through Lewiston" re-enactment and dedication of the Tuscarora Heroes Monument (Dec. 19, 2013).

Early Thursday morning, more than 100 British soldiers marched down River Road, from Stella Niagara to Old Fort Niagara, to re-enact the taking of Fort Niagara by the British on Dec. 19, 1813. One hundred and ten spectators in the fort watched as the British came through the postern gate and proceeded to wrest the fort from the Americans after a short battle.

More than 150 volunteer re-enactors of all ages and from both sides of the border will recreate the War of 1812 British attack on Lewiston during Thursday's "Flames Through Lewiston" event, which will feature the unveiling of the much-awaited Tuscarora Heroes Monument.

"Psych" is taking its most ambitious leap yet, with a musical episode.

Portland Det. Nick Burkhardt began the season as a zombie, was cured (but kept some super-powers), and has since dealt with the three little pigs (who were vengeful, Wesen-killing chefs), underwater sea monsters and a "Hulk"-strong boy who appeared to be possessed. Just in time for the holiday season, he will square off with "Krampus," a giant, horned villain who somewhat resembles like Santa Claus.

Santa Claus made a special pre-Christmas visit to the Village of Lewiston Saturday as part of the annual Christmas Walk. St. Nick arrived by helicopter to greet children and families. Click the link for video highlights.

It's become a Christmas tradition for my sister Teenie and I to go to Theatre in the Mist's annual holiday show. We always leave filled with holiday spirit and ready to kickoff our own Christmas preparations.

Aaron Rotella is opening The Spicey Pickle in Lewiston a little later this winter.

Just what will motivate viewers to tune in each Monday at 8 p.m.? To the non-sci-fi faithful, I offer the following: Lili Taylor and Minka Kelly.

Living in northern Niagara County, one of neatest attributes seen in area residents is their ability to get creative.

The Pointer Sisters are a little bit country, and a little bit rock 'n' roll.

And a little bit gospel ... and a little bit pop ... and a little bit R&B.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has announced Ford Motor Co. will invest $150 million to make significant upgrades to its Hamburg facility, just outside Buffalo. The new machinery and state-of-the-art equipment will allow the Ford stamping plant to remain competitive, secure its long-term presence in the region, retain 640 full-time, permanent jobs, and create 350 new jobs in Western New York.

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.

The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce has been busy promoting "Small Business Saturday" with the hope of making the date the biggest local shopping day of the year. "Small Business Saturday" is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (right after "Black Friday").

Sci-fi-buddy-cop series "Almost Human" is rich in story - just like "Alias," "Lost" and "Fringe." Producers J.J. Abrams and J.H. Wyman, and stars Karl Urban and Michael Ealy talk about their new FOX series.

Come "Black Friday," Lewiston retailers hope shoppers skip the "big-box" stores in favor of small businesses.

News from the Town of Lewiston finds Steve Reiter has opted to step down as supervisor and from overseeing the town water department. Gary Catlin has assumed both duties.

Walt is turning over the meat slicer to the Martin family.

Come January, Dennis Brochey will be supervisor in the Town of Lewiston.

Brochey, a Democrat and Village of Lewiston trustee, defeated Ernie Palmer, a Republican and Town of Lewiston councilman, by 418 votes in Tuesday's election.

Most women remember either reading Louisa May Alcott's classic "Little Women" or seeing the movie version.

Predicting who will win a reality singing competition is a little like trying to figure out Google analytics. We think we know what works and what doesn't, but at the end of the day, TV audiences are as hard to predict as search engine rankings.

Still, just as we know page traffic, links and social media factor into what we see on Google, we know a few things about what singers need to do to garner votes.

Grand Island High School alumni from the 1960s to the present took the field one last time at their alma mater Saturday.