Articles by: Mike Hudson

A skunk enjoys a meal from a garbage can. Skunks are experiencing a population explosion here in Niagara Falls.

Surfeit of Smelly Skunks overrun Niagara Falls, City Hall helpless

Community News September 22, 2017 at 5:04 am

  Here at the Niagara Falls Reporter, we’ve often said things stink at City Hall, speaking metaphorically and meaning the wholesale waste of taxpayer money, the sweetheart deals given to developers, consultants, law firms and construction companies which are unethical, if not illegal. But Councilman Kenny Tompkins is a literal guy.    Read More

Since few of the 8 million tourists who come here every year venture outside of Niagara Falls State Park, it's doubtful Cuomo, Uniland or Gov. Cuomo are stupid enough to spend $75 million on "Wonderfalls" in the pretty much empty, decaying downtown of the city of Niagara Falls.

IDA bets on DiCienzo’s downtown waterpark; Meanwhile, Wonderfalls remains a pipe dream

Niagara Falls September 15, 2017 at 5:36 am

Michael DiCienzo’s proposed $20 million indoor water park in downtown Niagara Falls got a big boost this week from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, which granted a $6.6 million tax break package to the project. Mr. DiCienzo first announced the project in May with a larger scope that wouldRead More

City gets slap on the wrist for Headline-making Sewage Disaster 

City gets slap on the wrist for Headline-making Sewage Disaster 

State and National News September 15, 2017 at 5:28 am

New York State will fine the Niagara Falls Water Board a measly $50,000 for discharging thousands of gallons of black, fetid and stinking water near the falls during a busy tourist weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. The agency will be required to make changes at its aging wastewater plantRead More

In one of the great love stories of all time, Councilwoman Grandinetti once called Mike Hudson "ignorant."

It’s like déjà vu all over again… Same Retreads Survive Primary

Niagara Falls September 15, 2017 at 5:06 am

 Kristen Grandinetti. Who among us can figure out the sorceress-like spell she’s cast upon the Niagara Falls voter? Garnering some 1,457 votes in the Democratic primary Tuesday, finishing third after incumbent Andrew Touma (1,784) and newcomer Bill Kennedy, she still clinched a spot on November’s general election ballot. Her recordRead More

Time for a change here

Time for a change here

Uncategorized September 15, 2017 at 5:05 am

The main difference between the primary election and the general election coming up this November is that, in the primary, voters are bound to vote only for candidates running on the party lines they are registered in. Democrats can only vote for Democrats and Republicans only for members of theRead More

Print Version – September 8, 2017

Print Version – September 8, 2017

Online Newspaper September 8, 2017 at 3:01 pm
Voters voting in polling place

Primary key to City Court judicial race here, winner take all

Uncategorized September 8, 2017 at 4:15 am

Because the race for Niagara City Court Judge allows any registered voter to vote for any candidate, Tuesday’s primary may well be more important than the general election in deciding who will be the next to don the black robe and preside over a north Main Street courtroom. Three candidatesRead More

Angler holding Lower Niagara River steelhead

WATERBOARDED – An open letter to the Niagara Falls Water Board

Niagara County September 8, 2017 at 4:11 am

To: Gretchen Leffler, Colleen Larkin, Renae Kimble, Nick Forster and Dan O’Callaghan, Niagara Falls is being waterboarded. In general parlance, waterboarding is a form of water torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the individual to experience theRead More

The opulent Niagara Falls Water Board administration building.

FISH ON DRUGS

Niagara County September 8, 2017 at 4:10 am

New study finds high levels of drugs, antidepressants in Niagara River fish Everyone knows Niagara Falls has a serious drug problem. But a new study shows that the problem isn’t confined to humans. Even the fish in the Niagara River are swimming around high. In the study, researchers detected highRead More

City Council race a chance for Real Change in Niagara Falls

City Council race a chance for Real Change in Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls September 8, 2017 at 3:35 am

By Mike Hudson If you take the view of Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster – that everything in the city is good and getting better under his leadership, you should get out and vote next Tuesday, Primary Day. Incumbents Kristen Grandinetti and Andrew Touma both agreed that their record, tiedRead More

(Above: Prospect Point, paved with Champlain Stone’s substandard granite.)

Bid Rigging at Niagara Falls State Park; Granite Gate exposed

News, Niagara Falls, State and National News September 2, 2017 at 5:14 pm

Bid Rigging at Niagara Falls State Park Will Granite Gate be ignored? [see our earlier story for more info on how to blow $50 million paving over a state park] By Frank Parlato A case of apparent bid rigging at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and HistoricRead More

Print edition – Sep 1, 2017

Print edition – Sep 1, 2017

Online Newspaper September 1, 2017 at 2:35 pm
Print Edition – Aug 18, 2017

Print Edition – Aug 18, 2017

Online Newspaper August 18, 2017 at 10:15 pm
Print Edition – Aug 11, 2017

Print Edition – Aug 11, 2017

Online Newspaper August 13, 2017 at 12:04 pm
Is the S&P credit downgrade of Niagara Falls the beginning of the end?

Is the S&P credit downgrade of Niagara Falls the beginning of the end?

Niagara Falls August 13, 2017 at 11:58 am

By Darryl McPherson It was announced on Tuesday that the financial outlook for the City of Niagara Falls was changed from “stable” to “negative” by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), one of the Wall Street credit rating agencies.  Sometimes a government has to sell bonds on the market in order toRead More

Gov. Andrew Cuomo forgot to include payment in the Seneca Casino contract renewal. But faithful Dyster still has faith and hope.

Are there truly no consequences?

Niagara Falls August 13, 2017 at 11:57 am

Somewhere, somebody, dropped the ball.  Big time. That ball contained the hopes and dreams of local politicians, who believed it held a financial windfall in the form of revenue from casino gaming in New York.  Starting in 2002, that shining orb would bounce in every year, and the community wouldRead More

Why not replace this empty parking lot with an ice-skating rink, like the city plans to do elsewhere in the city, and the state plans to do on Goat Island in Olmsted's once-natural Niagara Falls State Park?

How to Make the Train Station Great Again!

Niagara Falls August 13, 2017 at 11:53 am

It’s impossible not to notice that during the 23 and 1/2 hours a day when the four score or so daily Amtrak passengers at the new Niagara Falls International Railway Station and Intermodal Transportation Center are not in the process of arriving or departing, the station takes on this empty,Read More

Beaver Island State Park

Concern for Environment should be Conservative cause

Grand Island August 13, 2017 at 11:49 am

By Nate McMurray Town Supervisor of Grand Island I was in a public park in San Francisco once and I saw a young woman pray to a tree. Yes, a tree. And it wasn’t even a particularly nice tree. She was covered in crystals, she spoke loudly, and made grandRead More

Niagara County Legislature Majority Leader Randy Bradt, R-North Tonawanda, urges criminal probes of the Niagara Falls Water Board Thursday at the County Courthouse in Lockport.

AS RUMORS OF CRIMINAL ACTIONS SWIRL, LOCAL LEADERS DECRY ‘WASTEWATERGATE’

Niagara Falls August 13, 2017 at 11:49 am

As Niagara County’s Republican-dominated Legislature met Thursday night to pass a series of resolutions seeking multiple criminal probes of the Niagara Falls Water Board in the wake of the sludge-dumping scandal—and with one local law enforcement official confirming that such probes are already underway—one unidentified lawmaker couldn’t resist the urgeRead More

Candra Thomason City Council Candidate Standing for You – September 12, 2017 Primary

Candra Thomason City Council Candidate Standing for You – September 12, 2017 Primary

Uncategorized August 13, 2017 at 11:46 am

By Candra Thomason As the September 12th Niagara Falls City Council Primary draws near, I would like to remind those that saw my announcement earlier this year and inform those that missed it, that I Candra Thomason am running for Niagara Falls City Council. Now More than ever before theRead More

.wpzoom (color:black;}