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Local sales tax collections of $14.9 billion grew by $739 million in 2013, an increase of 5.2 percent from 2012, according to a report issued by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The increase outpaced annual growth rates of 3.3 percent in 2012 and 5 percent in 2011, as well as the 15-year annual average growth of 4.5 percent.

"This is welcome news for our municipalities, and comes at a time when local revenues have been experiencing little to no growth," DiNapoli said. "The majority of the increase appears to stem from storm clean up, which gives these communities a short-term boost. As the economy continues its tenuous recovery, sales tax collections could vary either way for local governments, and is generally a more volatile source of revenue."

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has released his annual "Pennies for Charity" fundraising report showing that for-profit telemarketers operating in New York in 2012 retained the lion's share of donations they raised on behalf of charities - more than $154 million that was intended to help those in need.

Telemarketers registered in New York reported raising more than $249 million in contributions in 2012, the most ever in the history of "Pennies for Charity." The 2013 "Pennies for Charity, Where Your Money Goes: Telemarketing by Professional Fundraisers" report found telemarketers kept an average of 62 cents of every charitable dollar they raised as their fees and expenses, with just 38 percent of the funds actually going to charitable organizations.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Niagara River Greenway Fund Standing Committee will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, to vote on funding for projects being proposed to the Standing Committee by State Parks.

On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo launched the "No Excuses" push, designed to help pass proposed property tax cuts for millions of New Yorkers. The initiative includes a new website, www.CutPropertyTaxes.ny.gov, featuring information on the governor's plan to cut property taxes, statements of support from elected officials and advocacy groups across the state, and resources for visitors to contact their state legislators to make their voices heard.

In January, at both the State of the State Address and executive budget presentation, the governor outlined his plan to freeze property taxes for two years and create a "circuit breaker" that will provide tax relief based on an individual's or family's ability to pay.

Secondhand smoking is linked with pregnancy loss, including miscarriage, stillbirth and tubal ectopic pregnancy, according to new research from scientists at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the University at Buffalo. The study findings, published online by the journal Tobacco Control, mark a significant step toward clarifying the risks of secondhand smoke exposure.

The Ken-Ton Family YMCA officially kicked off its 2014 annual campaign Jan. 22. Just a few weeks later, organizers have reached 73.3 percent of their overall goal of $50,000. They're asking for the community's support to help reach the goal by March 19.

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-C-I-Lewiston, said Wednesday the State Assembly's hiring of an outside law firm with $200,000 of taxpayer money to handle sexual harassment issues falls far short of the reforms needed to correct the problems in New York's lower house.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced Wednesday it has issued $1 billion in refunds, and reminded New Yorkers to use free e-filing options for faster refunds. Already, refunds have been issued to more than 1.1 million taxpayers - a 50 percent increase over last year's total by this date of 776,000.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) announced Wednesday that more than 60.1 million people visited state parks and historic sites in 2013, and campgrounds had their busiest year on record, as dozens of parks across the state undergo improvements thanks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "New York Works" initiative.

On Sunday, March 2, E! goes live from the heart of Hollywood with almost 10 hours of coverage at this year's Oscars. As award season comes to a close, this year's Oscar race is one of the most buzzed about in years and E!'s 20-plus cameras will bring fans closer to all the action as if they were actually on the carpet interviewing their favorite stars.

"Girls on the Run of Buffalo," a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum, which creatively integrates running, is now accepting registrations for its spring season.

Niagara County is rolling out a new, online parks reservation system to allow the public to reserve park shelters from home or their Internet-enabled mobile phone, the head of the Niagara County Legislature's public works panel announced.

This Sunday, TVGN and Shazam will offer viewers an interactive second screen engagement opportunity while watching "TVGN Live with ET at The Oscars," a live red carpet show featuring interviews with Hollywood's hottest stars, Sunday, March 2 at 5 p.m.

Heart of Niagara Animal Rescue will be present with adoptable dogs this Saturday, March 1, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at the Pet Supplies Plus location at 2952 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst. Dogs Angel, Blu, Kirby, Reba, Rudy, Simba and Snuggles will be on hand; photos and information on these and all their animals are available online at www.heartofniagara.org.

State Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-60th District, offered these comments Wednesday:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, The Walt Disney Company, Marvel and Netflix Inc. have announced Marvel's landmark live-action television series, which will bring Marvel's "flawed heroes of Hell's Kitchen" characters to Netflix, the world's leading Internet TV network, will principally film in New York state.

Filming is set to begin this summer and will create at least 3,000 jobs in New York, including up to 400 full-time jobs.

This afternoon, President Obama is expected to announce a four-year, $302 billion transportation proposal. The plan is supported by $150 billion in revenue earned by closing business tax loopholes, and includes $600 million in new competitive TIGER grants. The current highway transportation bill is scheduled to expire this fall.

Texting and walking is a known danger, but Dr. Dietrich Jehle, professor of emergency medicine at the University at Buffalo, says distracted walking results in more injuries per mile than distracted driving.

Canisius College's endowment has exceeded $100 million for the first time in the college's history, President John J. Hurley announced Wednesday. The endowment stands at $103,104,691, more than double its amount before the beginning of the college's last fundraising campaign, "A Legacy of Leadership," which concluded in 2012.

"This is a milestone for us, as we continue our ascent among regional comprehensive universities in the country," Hurley said. "But continued growth of the endowment remains a key priority."

Only two weeks remain to nominate young volunteers for the "Kohl's Cares" scholarship program. Kids ages 6 to 18 who have made a positive impact on their communities can be awarded scholarships and prizes, ranging from $50 Kohl's gift cards to $10,000 scholarships.

Much like humans, dogs and puppies can also experience a feeling of illness while on car trips. This car sickness can make pet travel, whether short or long, quite an ordeal for dogs and their families. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help your dog in the car.

ABC News "Good Morning America" is heading to Hollywood for the Oscars. Leading up to Hollywood's biggest night, GMA will countdown to the awards with daily segments on entertainment news, red carpet fashion trends, and interviews with the nominees.

For the first time, Oscar fans watching the "Oscars Red Carpet Live" show on March 2 on ABC will have the opportunity to see themselves next to the stars on the red carpet through Twitter.

The New York State Sheriffs' Association held its election of officers at its 80th annual Winter Training Conference last week at the Desmond Hotel in Albany. Members elected Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour as 2nd vice president.

Antoine Mason is having the best season of his college career.

INTERVIEW: "Psych" is back with its final five episodes on the USA Network. Stars Timothy Omundson (Det. Carlton Lassiter) and Maggie Lawson (Det. Juliet O'Hara) recently teased the remaining episodes (and promised plenty of delicious flavor for the show's dedicated "Psych-Os").

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday the start of the commercial vehicle pre-inspection pilot program at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario, in order to help ease congestion at the second-busiest border crossing on the U.S.-Canada border. This pilot program will be in place for a minimum of six months, but could eventually be made permanent, allowing all initial inspections to be done in Canada.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday that IBM will bring 500 new information technology jobs to Buffalo, a commitment leveraged by a $55 million "Buffalo Billion" investment by the state in the Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub. IBM will be the first anchor tenant in the hub, which, in partnership with the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, State Data Center, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and University at Buffalo, will train IT professionals, educate new IT staff through State University of New York partnerships, and develop next generation IT software needed to drive state-of-the-art discoveries in the areas of molecular research, genomics, energy efficiency development and defense.

Congressman Chris Collins, NY-27, officially introduced the Kids Before Cons Act Tuesday with congressmen Tom Reed, NY-23, and Chris Gibson, NY-19, as co-sponsors.

This legislation will prohibit the use of federal taxpayer dollars to provide a college education to convicted criminals.

"The governor's latest plan to fund college educations for convicted criminals using taxpayer dollars is an insult to law-abiding citizens all across our state," Collins said. "That is why, in response, I am introducing legislation that will ensure no federal taxpayer dollars are used to fund higher education for criminals.

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-C-I-Lewiston, voted against the Dream Act Tuesday, citing the difficulties that honest, working-class families have paying for college. Ceretto said he believes these families should get help before people who are not in the country legally.

WGRZ's television ratings for The 2014 Winter Olympics were one of the strongest of any television station in the entire U.S.

Members of the Western New York community came together Tuesday at Forest Lawn to pay tribute to Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress, who was recently honored by the U.S. Postal Service with the issuance of a limited-edition Black Heritage Forever Stamp.

NBC Sports Group's NHL regular-season coverage returns this week, highlighted by a potential Stanley Cup Final matchup, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks face off in the NHL Stadium Series at Soldier Field in Chicago Saturday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski and three-time U.S. figure skating champion and Olympian Johnny Weir had just as much fun coordinating their outfits together as they did as ice skating commentators for NBC at the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. And now the pair is headed straight from Sochi to Hollywood.

At 11:35 p.m. ET, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" delivered strong ratings with its first telecast on a non-Olympic night, averaging a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 6.257 million viewers overall in "fast official" ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

There were more ways to consume, more hours shown, and more Americans experiencing NBCUniversal's presentation of the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia, than ever before for a Winter Olympics. The Sochi Games generated 242.3 million media exposures across the platforms of NBCUniversal - a 3.5 million increase over the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

For the first time ever on Vevo, "American Idol XIII" fans can get an exclusive sneak peak at each week's new episodes with "Idol Insider," a new weekly digital series hosted by Sam Tsui, with all-new episodes airing Mondays.

People, the No. 1 celebrity and entertainment brand, has partnered with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present the 2014 Oscar Fan Experience March 2.

Cumulus Radio (Buffalo's 97 Rock, 103.3 The Edge, Classic Hits 104.1 and Sports Radio 1270) will host a career expo with 44 local businesses at the Millennium Hotel Buffalo, 2040 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, March 10. From WABC in New York City, Geraldo Rivera will be a special guest speaker and conduct a live broadcast.

From WABC in New York City, Geraldo Rivera will be a special guest speaker and conduct a live broadcast. In addition, all four Cumulus Buffalo stations will be broadcasting from the Millennium Hotel Buffalo. All on-air personalities will be on hand.

For the ninth consecutive year, IHOP restaurants nationwide will offer each guest a free short stack of their famous buttermilk pancakes on National Pancake Day in an effort to raise $3 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals programs nationwide.