If Niagara County Democratic Party Chairman Nick Forster entered Tuesday night hoping for redemption, he found none. Despite being given the political equivalent of kryptonite with the fall from grace of former State Senator George D. Maziarz, the bombastic Democratic boss has failed to convert the county from its currentRead More

The Reporter has it on good information that all may not have been “on the up and up” with regards to election day here in the city of Niagara Falls. “I hope the Board of Elections is looking into this,” posted Niagara Falls Police officer and Air Force Reserve TechnicalRead More

By Frank Parlato Mike Hudson, 61, passed away in his home in Los Angeles at around 8:30 pm Pacific time, Friday, October 27, 2017. He died of sepsis from a lacerated bowel. He did not appear to be suffering from any illness, and had no pain until about 24 hoursRead More

A profound sadness descended on all of us on the Reporter staff over the weekend on news of Mike Hudson’s passing. Mike was a guy much loved by everyone who knew him, even if mostly through his music, or his writing. It is here, in the newspaper that Mike founded,Read More

By Councilman Kenny Tompkins As I continue to review the 2018 Niagara Falls city budget, one word runs through my mind: Disappointed. I am disappointed in what I see. There are no tough decisions being made with regard to department and personnel expenses. There was no mention of new revenueRead More

The speed limit on Mapleton Road in front of the sprawling Starpoint Central School campus in the town of Pendleton has been lowered to 40 mph, and some have questioned the reasonableness of the adjustment. Previously 45 mph on the long, straight stretch of road, with no intersections in theRead More

Fellow Islanders, The year 2017 marks the 100-year anniversary of women in New York State gaining the right to vote. When you vote on November 7, you will get a sticker with a logo created to commemorate the occasion. I’m sure you’ve noticed that three of the Town Council candidatesRead More

Dear Islanders, The two Town Councilmen who are leaving office, Ray Billica and Chris Aronica, wrote a letter last week. Their message, essentially, was that we need to elect Town Council Candidates who will do the will of the people rather than the will of a select few. And thus,Read More

Mike Hudson, 61, passed away today in his home in Los Angeles at around 8:30 pm Pacific time. He died of sepsis from a recently torn bowel. He did not appear to be suffering from any illness, and had no pain until about 24 hours prior to his death. OnRead More

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster knew well in advance that the Seneca Nation of Indians planned to end its revenue sharing agreement with the state in March of this year, and rejected an invitation by tribal leaders to enter into discussions that would have resulted in direct payments to theRead More

“Baby steps.” It’s a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-Step programs to warn those with substance abuse problems not to try and take on too much at once. Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster and his reliable rubber stamps on the City Council, Kristen Grandinetti and Andrew Touma, haveRead More

Back in Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood’s motto was, “Take from the rich and give to the poor.” Not a bad objective, but one that’s been revised by Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster. “Take from the working poor and give to the non-working poor,” might well be his motto. Last week,Read More

Is local government stalling, wearing down citizen opposition? The debate over a new, high-density housing subdivision proposed for the town of Lewiston seems to be winding down, as only a handful of citizens attending the Lewiston Town Board meeting Monday evening voiced opposition to the new construction. For the thirdRead More

With a recent state audit confirming that the city will be completely broke by December, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo stating unequivocally that no addition aid would be forthcoming in the wake of the abrupt end of cash from the Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster and Councilmembers KristenRead More

When an idea fails miserably twice in recent memory, why not try it a third time? That seems to be the logic being applied by Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster and John Percy’s publicly funded Destination Niagara USA in announcing yet another winter festival here, this one called “Jingle FallsRead More

The 2018 Niagara Falls city budget, otherwise known as Mayor Paul Dyster’s massive tax increase, has every chance of passing, despite the outcry raised by taxpayers in what is already the most highly taxed municipality in the state. At Monday night’s City Council meeting a vote was taken on aRead More

Declares Victory, then retreats back to Albany “Niagara Falls Unemployment Rate highest in New York State” blared the headline for our lead story on August 13 of this year. As we reported, the Niagara Falls unemployment figure for June, 2017 was an appalling 7.7%, by far the highest of anyRead More

Another day, another scheme to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on low rent housing in a city already so vacant that private landlords are just giving up. You can’t throw a rock around here and not hit some politically connected insider with a yen to house the downtrodden and walkRead More

Even stinkier than the skunk invasion written about just weeks ago on these pages, a smelly landfill rivals only the city’s own Buffalo Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant in terms of the putrid, nauseating stench that now blankets much of the city, particularly during the summer tourist season. Complaints about theRead More

  The silence emanating from Mayor Paul Dyster’s office was deafening in the wake of a statement by his close personal friend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, that there will be no additional state aid for Niagara Falls in the wake of the botched casino compact extension the governor himself signed. LastRead More