Current News

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.

Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, Village of Williamsville Mayor Brian Kulpa and additional local leaders announced more than $2.9 million in Federal Highway Administration funding for projects in the Amherst/Williamsville area.

Univera Healthcare has committed $70,000 over the next three years to fund behavioral health programming at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center's new Niagara Wellness Connection Center, set to open at the end of January.

"The Wellness Connection Center will be the first integrated service center of its kind in Western New York," said Sheila K. Kee, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center vice president and chief operating officer. "Under one roof, at a single location, people will be able to conveniently access primary care, behavioral health treatment, screening for drug or alcohol addiction, health and wellness education, fitness activities, community support services and financial and health insurance counseling."

From its seminal studies in the first half of the 20th century linking tobacco use and cancer incidence to its latest findings on electronic cigarettes, Roswell Park Cancer Institute has been a major force in tobacco-control research.

Seneca Casinos announces the addition of two performers to its already rock-solid lineup of spring entertainment. Coming to Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, USA, will be Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas on May 10, and longtime singer-songwriter Paul Anka on April 19.

Get ready to lose those winter blues. Toast & Jam, now in its 15th year, begins Monday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m., at The Brickyard Pub & B.B.Q, 432 Center St., Lewiston. This jazz-jammin', blues-rockin', poetry-reading coffeehouse event is back by popular demand and continues until March 24.

The latest performers announced for The 56th Annual Grammy Awards are current Grammy Award nominees Gary Clark Jr. and Hunter Hayes, as well as a rousing broadcast finale featuring nominees Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age and Dave Grohl, joined by Grammy winner Lindsey Buckingham.

On Monday's "LIVE with Kelly and Michael," co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan announced the return of "LIVE'S Search For Unstoppable Moms," a chance for viewers to honor and celebrate the exceptional moms in their lives.

The Historic Riviera Theatre, 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda, presents its Family Film Series during the month of February.

NBC Sports Group's coverage of the NHL Stadium Series begins this weekend with coverage from both Chavez Ravine and the home of the Bronx Bombers, when the Anaheim Ducks face the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by a cross-river battle between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils at Yankee Stadium on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, part of more than 35 hours of hockey coverage across NBC and NBCSN this week.

Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, offered the following statement Tuesday:

Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, wrote to the acting commissioner of Social Security, Carolyn Colvin, expressing his concerns with the proposed plans to close the Amherst Social Security office.

City of North Tonawanda Mayor Robert G. Ortt has announced the city, in partnership with the City of Tonawanda, has been awarded $99,995 in federal funding under the FY2013 Tactical Team Grant Program. Funding for this initiative is provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's State Homeland Security Grant Program.

The Western New York community continues to show support to homeless and abandoned animals. Heart of Niagara Animal Rescue reports an outpouring of support for the organization's second annual "Heart to Heart" fundraising event, "A Taste of The Niagara Region."

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 ...

The Niagara University Family Business Center will hold its next breakfast forum Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Giancarlo's (Tony Walker Plaza), 5110 Main St., Williamsville. The event begins at 7:30 a.m.

Buffalo Sabres captain Steve Ott takes a moment away from signing autographs at the AT&T store in the Walden Galleria Mall to pose with Jackson, Grady and Kobee Decker. Ott was at the AT&T store to meet with fans and to assist the company in educating the community on the dangers of texting while driving.

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.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered the following remarks Monday:

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released the following statement today in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

Tickets.com, provider of state-of-the-art technology solutions to more than 1,000 sports and entertainment clients around the world, and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres today announced a long-term extension of their partnership centered on the ProVenue platform.

The Buffalo Junior Sabres youth organization today announced details for the upcoming season, including team coaches, tryout dates and player fees. The organization also announced additions to its website, buffalojuniorsabres.com, which has been expanded and re-launched.

Descendants of the Townsend family of Lewiston recently donated an original 1815 Village of Lewiston map to the Historical Association of Lewiston. It is the oldest original map now at the Lewiston Museum.

The University at Buffalo will host a Commercialization Lecture Series event on Jan. 30 to introduce businesses and entrepreneurs to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's START-UP NY initiative, which creates tax-free zones for certain businesses in university communities across the state.

Speaking at UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, UB Associate Vice President for Economic Development Marnie LaVigne, Ph.D., will provide attendees with information on START-UP NY, which is available to new and expanding businesses, and companies looking to relocate from outside New York.

The Niagara County Department of Health, which directs and coordinates the Niagara County Medical Reserve Corps Unit 0220, was awarded a $20,000 MRC Challenge Award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials, in partnership with the office of the surgeon general.

From Feb. 13-16, in collaboration with the Castellani Art Museum, NU Theatre will present "A Piece of My Heart" by Shirley Lauro, directed by adjunct professor Amanda Lytle Sharpe. This readers' theater production will be performed at the Castellani Art Museum amidst a specially curated art exhibit.

Area football fans and visitors to New York and New Jersey will have a unique opportunity to welcome Super Bowl XLVIII to the region, as the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, in partnership with Macy's, will produce the "Super Bowl Kickoff Spectacular," a free, ticketed event featuring performances by Daughtry and Goo Goo Dolls, with additional acts to be announced, and a first-class Macy's fireworks show.

The Canisius College Joseph J. Naples '41 Conversations in Christ & Culture Lecture and Performance Series presents Peter C. Phan, Ph.D. Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m., in the Grupp Fireside Lounge of the Richard E. Winter '42 Student Center. Phan's lecture, titled "Vatican II and the Asian Catholic Churches: Reception, Renewal, Revival," is free and open to the public.

Will Smith and U2 have been booked as the guests for the premiere of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," set for Monday, Feb. 17.

Adell's School of Dance recently held a successful hat and scarf drive. Students, their family members, and school staff dropped off items at a Christmas tree in the front lobby. Those items were then donated to the Niagara Falls Boys and Girls Club.

Eleven former teams return for another sprint around the globe on a special all-star themed edition of "The Amazing Race," while brains, brawn and beauty face off in "Survivor," as both Emmy Award-winning series return this February.

Paul Lee, president of ABC Entertainment Group, has announced the premiere dates for a new season of "Dancing with the Stars," Monday, March 17 (8 p.m., ET), and the pick-up of an all-new Disney•Pixar holiday special, "Toy Story That Time Forgot" for the 2014 holiday season, following the recent success of "Toy Story Of Terror!".

NBC has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order for "Emerald City," a reimagining of the classic Frank L. Baum books that have inspired everything from "The Wizard Of Oz" to "Wicked."

On the heels of the successful airing of "The Sound of Music Live!" in December, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt announced the network will present a new television production of the classic musical "Peter Pan" as a live telecast Thursday, Dec. 4.

Nationally syndicated morning talk show "LIVE with Kelly and Michael" announces the lineup of guests who will join hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan this week.

Friends of the Ransomville Library will hold a used book sale Friday, Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with a bag sale from 3 to 4 p.m.), at the Ransomville Library, 3733 Ransomville Road.

Remember when I told you a couple weeks ago about the whip-poor-will call and music dating you to old memories? It happens to everyone I'm sure.

News from the New York State Association of Counties finds sales tax receipts are slowing in a number of counties upstate, reflecting a still fragile recovery among consumers from the prolonged recession that began in 2008.

The fourth quarter in New York shows a mixed picture and uneven impact of sales tax on a county-by-county basis. While aggregate sales tax collected statewide is up by 5.24 percent ($26.7 billion compared to $25.4 billion), much of the total dollar increase is generated from strong growth in New York City, Long Island and downstate counties, likely due to Hurricane Sandy rebuilding.

Monday's Town of Porter Board session was very ordinary - save for an abrupt break for an executive session to iron out board differences over a summer part-time salary schedule from the board's reorganization meeting earlier this month.

Eighty-seven school districts - 13 percent of school districts statewide - have been designated as fiscally stressed under State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli's Fiscal Stress Monitoring System, in a report released this week.

And Lewiston-Porter has the unfavorable distinction of being ranked the second-worst school district in New York state in terms of "significant fiscal stress," the report finds.

DiNapoli's office evaluated 674 school districts with fiscal years ending on June 30, 2013.