Current News

With the weather finally breaking its grip from winter, Ray's Tavern in the Town of Porter, the Youngstown Village Diner and the Dory Trading Post, both in the Village of Youngstown have joined forces to celebrate the first-ever "Spring in the Village."

Donna R. Garfinkel, acting town clerk for the Town of Lewiston, has announced her candidacy for the position of Lewiston town clerk. She was appointed acting town clerk following the retirement of Carol Brandon in December, and will be running for the unexpired term.

The Village of Youngstown/Town of Porter Republican Committee held its caucus Tuesday, March 25, at the Red Brick School Village Center gym. The results were a landslide, with Norm Swann nominated for mayor, and Wil Ziegler and Tim Adamson nominated for village trustees.

Old Fort Niagara will host its first re-enactment of the 2014 season April 12-13 as the historic site presents Patriots Day Weekend, a two-day event that commemorates the beginning of the American Revolution and honors all veterans.

If you like puzzles, enjoy history or are curious about that older relative's claim of being a cousin to Scotland's Duke of Argyll, genealogy and growing your own family tree might be the hobby for you.

Gia DeGennaro-Arnold made the following statement March 22:

Jackson Browne brings his solo acoustic tour to Artpark in Lewiston Monday, Aug. 11, for a 7:30 p.m. Mainstage Theater performance. The show is a LiveNation event.

Tickets - priced at $66 and $56 for reserved indoor seating, and $29.50 general admission lawn - go on sale Friday, April 25, at noon. Purchase tickets at www.LiveNation.com, in person at the Artpark box office (weekdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.), or by phone at 1-888-223-6000.

HARBORCENTER President John R. Koelmel and Erie Community College President Jack Quinn Jr. have announced a partnership that will make HARBORCENTER the home of ECC Kats hockey, beginning with the 2014-15 season.

For the first time, the historic Oakwood Cemetery, located at 763 Portage Road, Niagara Falls, will host two bird walks. They are scheduled for consecutive Saturdays, April 26 and May 3, at 8 a.m.

The Goo Goo Dolls have released a live EP, "Warner Sound Sessions­," available digitally via Warner Bros Records. Recorded last April for The Warner Sound series "The Live Room" at East West Studios in Los Angeles, the EP features four tracks from the band's highly acclaimed new album "Magnetic," as well as the classic hit "Slide."

County and state officials will honor former Royalton Supervisor Dick Lang tonight, taking note of a lengthy public service career that spanned 34 years, as well as more than three decades spent as a wrestling coach.

The Buffalo Sabres today announced the team recalled defenseman Mark Pysyk and goaltender Andrey Makarov from the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. The team also announced it assigned forward Luke Adam to Rochester.

On Sunday, April 27, the Village of Lewiston Recreation Department will hold its annual Lewiston Kiwanis and Lewiston Service Guild one-mile race for youth. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. at the North Second and Onondaga streets entrance of the Red Brick Municipal Building gym.

More than 50 runners braved rainy and windy conditions to participate in the first-ever "Run Against Hunger" held on the Niagara University campus Saturday morning.

Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Club was honored with two national customer service awards at the recent KemperSports national leadership conference.

Scout groups, civic organizations, families and individuals are invited to participate in a friendly competition to see who can pull the most garlic mustard, an aggressive plant that harms native wildflowers. Volunteers will join forces with the Western New York Land Conservancy for a one-day "Super Pull" at the Lewiston Plateau Habitat Area Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Village of Lewiston residents can expect a mild tax increase in the next fiscal year. Trustees voted Monday to increase the tax rate to $7.26 per $1,000 of assessed valuation - an increase of 14 cents.

The Village Board approved a special use permit allowing Niagara Marketplace & Bistro to operate inside the "Kelly House" at 400 Plain St. Now called "Fresh Start," the business will offer vegan, vegetarian and organic foods.

The New York Power Authority board of trustees has approved the award of competitively bid contracts, valued at more than $20 million, to two Buffalo-based businesses: Ferguson Electric Construction Co. Inc., and Quality Inspection Services Inc.

"The New York Power Authority remains committed to further strengthening its core generation assets," said Harry Francois, regional manager for Western New York, NYPA. "The auxiliary equipment installations and ongoing operations monitoring covered by these contracts are but two of recent examples. We seek qualified, cost-effective contractors who do excellent work on-time and on-budget."

LYNC, the youth leadership program run by Leadership Niagara, will be able to include up to 100 area high school students thanks to a new commitment of $460,000 from the Irene E. Witkowski-Agrawal Foundation.

The WNY Affiliate of Susan G. Komen has announced Corinne Leone of North Collins is the 2014 race honoree for the 14th annual Susan G. Komen Western New York Race for the Cure.

It all started with two guys and one guitar in 1994. Two decades later, Train is a highly successful pop-rock act thanks to the breakout album "Drops of Jupiter" and chart-topping singles like "Meet Virginia" and "Calling All Angels." The Grammy Award-winning act will perform live for two nights in July at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Explore & More was awarded the 21st Century Fund's $100,000 grant to be used in the exhibit designs for the new children's museum set to open in the South Aud Block of Canalside on Buffalo's waterfront in 2016.

On March 27, members of the 21st Century Fund gathered to hear presentations from the final four contenders for the grant, including Explore & More, the Boys & Girls Club of Buffalo, Habitat For Humanity and the YWCA of Niagara. Members voted that evening to select Explore & More as the recipient of the $100,000 award, out of an original field of 19 applicants.

The New York State Public Service Commission is participating in the nationwide effort to recognize April as "Dig Safely Month," as a way to remind excavators and contractors state law requires them to call one of the state's toll-free one-call centers before starting any excavation or digging project.

Jennifer Cooper, owner of Cooper Sign Co. and Old Glory Flag and Banner of Niagara Falls, was selected by the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners as recipient of the chapter's Member of the Year Small Business Award. NAWBO Buffalo Niagara chose Cooper for her entrepreneurial drive and leadership within the organization, as well as the greater community.

The award will be presented to Cooper Wednesday, May 7, at the SBA Small Business Week awards luncheon at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

New York State Department of Transportation Regional Director Darrell Kaminski has announced work will begin this week on a $1.8 million project to resurface US Route 62, Walnut and Ferry avenues, in the City of Niagara Falls.

As more moderate weather arrives across the state, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation welcomes boaters and anglers to take advantage of New York State's abundance of recreational waterways, while encouraging them to take common-sense precautions to stay safe.

For a safe and enjoyable boating season, State Parks recommends the following:

Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara County has announced the winner of the 2014 Niagara County Fair logo contest is Matthew McAuley of Lockport. The contest was open to Niagara County youth age 5 to 19 years. He will be awarded a $100 prize during the Farm-City Breakfast, the kick-off event for the Niagara County Fair each year.

The Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., was formally inaugurated as Niagara University's 26th president during a ceremony held Friday, April 4, in the Gallagher Center.

After more than five decades entertaining and informing generations of Americans, Barbara Walters says goodbye to daily television Friday, May 16, with her final co-host appearance on "The View," and a two-hour ABC primetime special celebrating her life - both on screen and off.

The Gift of Life is holding its 16th annual golf and tennis tournament Monday, June 16. Golf will be at the Lancaster Country Club (6061 Broadway, Lancaster). Tennis will be at the Village Glen Tennis Club (162 Mill St., Williamsville).

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-C-I-Lewiston, is highlighting increased funding in the state budget for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.

ABC announced the premiere of new summer series "Sing Your Face Off" will be Saturday, May 31, from 9-11 p.m. Two all-new episodes will air back-to-back in that time period each week.

Artpark & Company announced another batch of bands Monday in the "Tuesday in the Park" and "Coors Light Wednesdays" outdoor concert series. Tickets for these events will go on sale Friday, April 11, at 10 a.m.

Acts include:

Although the past few weeks have not felt much like spring, no matter what weather Mother Nature brings, ice cream seems to be a telling sign that spring is in the air. De-Dee's Dairy is now open for the season and the local community could not be happier to have the ice cream shop back in their lives.

The CBS popular romantic comedy "How I Met Your Mother" came to end this past Monday. The program aired its final episode, "Last Forever," with 12.9 million viewers. Since 2005, "How I Met Your Mother" has been a lock on CBS's programming. Over the years, the show earned 28 Emmy nominations (winning nine of them).

It has been an exciting couple of years for Cher fans. In 2012 Cher confirmed a new album was in the making, later in the year she surprised Twitter followers with confirmation of an upcoming tour. Now March of 2014, fans are finally getting what they have been waiting for.

With just two weeks left in the NBA season, the Knicks find themselves in a tight race for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. So far, the Knicks trail the Atlanta Hawks by one game. Even with the disappointing season that no one saw coming, the Knicks still have the opportunity to save their season with a playoff berth.

Now the task won't be easy, the Knicks final six games are all against playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, whereas the Atlanta Hawks only face five playoff teams in their final 10 games. It seems as if the Knicks have an uphill battle being that they not only trail the Hawks by two games in the loss column, but the Hawks also own the tie breaker.

Spring has sprung, and winds of change are brewing in Youngstown.

Last Saturday, Cash Cunningham of Cash Realty & Auctions held an auction of the former Brennan's Irish Pub. Roughly 20 potential buyers attended the event. When all was said and done, it was Mike Fox who acquired the building

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center will celebrate Project Runway's first anniversary Friday, April 25, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the Medical Center Auditorium, 621 10th St.

The Lewiston Garden Club will meet Monday, April 21, at 6 p.m. at the Messiah Lutheran Church, 915 Oneida St. The guest speaker is Mike Shadrack, president of the WNY Hosta Society. He will give a talk on the beautiful gardens of the UK.