NEWS & INFO

By: Sumit Majumdar CEO of Buffalo Biodiesel & Limited Partner of Verite Capital Partners      The modern farm is facing a dual challenge: managing waste sustainably while maximizing productivity in an era of unpredictable climates and rising input costs. The solution, increasingly, is sitting right in the middle of the farmyard: the anaerobic digester.      Far from just a waste disposal unit, a modern digester is the heart of a circular energy and nutrient economy. By unders

By: Sumit Majumdar CEO of Buffalo Biodiesel & Limited Partner of Verite Capital Partners      I started as a small business entrepreneur from a traditional East Indian family. We never spent what we did not have. I applied that to my first business venture; what a mistake that was when it came to growth. Borrowing money to pay bills is bad, but borrowing money to increase revenues AND your bottom line is good—if you are sure you can service that debt. Let's take a look at wha

By: Frank Parlato Special to Niagara Action      Please stop an insane mayor from destroying the city with a hockey arena that the city cannot afford. He'll do it if he can. He wants a legacy, maybe.      It's hard to even explain. Mayor Robert Restaino of Niagara Falls, in a city that can't afford it, wants to build a two-hundred-million-dollar-plus hockey arena.      He doesn't have the money to build an arena with no team to play in it. An arena that will cost fifteen mill

For more than 40 years, Canal Fest has been inseparable from the Erie Canal. It has been defined not only by rides, parades, craft tents and fireworks, but by geography. The festival has long unfolded across both banks of the canal that divides the City of Tonawanda in Erie County from North Tonawanda in Niagara County earning its identity as a true “Twin Cities” event.      This summer, however, Canal Fest will not line the Erie Canal at all.      Instead, the eight-day cele

Just weeks after prosecutors say an elderly South Buffalo man was killed while walking his dog in a marked crosswalk, the woman accused of causing the crash went online with a message. It was not an apology. It was not condolences. It was not even acknowledgment.      Instead, Renaiyah A. Cornelious told the world that God had forgiven her.      According to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Cornelious, 32, was arraigned on felony charges including Vehicular Manslau

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 7:05pm on February 25th after reports a domestic incident and attempted assault on 101st Street in Niagara Falls. The 911 caller - a third party - said that a teenage male had a knife and was screaming at his mother. At that time, the neighbor said he/she did not see the incident begin and could not give additional information. The caller then contacted dispatch again and provided additional information, stat

Community Missions of Niagara Frontier will receive $694,280 in state funding to continue its work through the SNUG Street Outreach program, part of a nearly $21 million statewide investment announced by Governor Kathy Hochul.   Community Missions is one of 15 organizations selected to receive a portion of the $20.9 million allocated to support SNUG operations in 2026. The program, administered by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, focuses on reducing g

Doug Mooradian officially announced his candidacy today for Niagara County Legislator in the 7th District, pledging to deliver accountable and results-driven leadership for the residents of Wheatfield and North Tonawanda. For more than two decades, Mooradian has dedicated himself to strengthening the community that he has been fortunate to call home. A trusted business professional and lifelong volunteer, he has served as a board president, fundraising chairman, youth coach,

Niagara Falls could receive a significant boost in state aid under a proposal unveiled by Governor Kathy Hochul. In her executive budget, Hochul is seeking $150 million in new assistance for municipalities outside New York City including a $100 million increase in Temporary Municipal Assistance If approved by the state Legislature, the funding would be distributed based on existing Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) formulas. Under the proposal, Niagara Falls would r

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 1am on February 24th after reports of a two-vehicle motor vehicle accident at Main Street and Cleveland Avenue in Niagara Falls. The 911 caller - a third party - said it was a two-vehicle accident and that it was "bad." The same caller said that the impact caused the engine to eject from one of the vehicles. Police, medical and crash management teams were dispatched to the scene. The severity of injuries for

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 6:05pm on February 22nd after reports of a possible child abduction on Military Road in Niagara Falls. A 15-year-old male said that he was just abducted, escaped and ran for help. Dispatch noted that there was a suspicious black vehicle in the back parking lot of Judie's Lounge with two passengers. Law enforcement responded to the scene. Limited details are available after law enforcement responded to the sc

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 1:30pm on February 21st after reports of an attempted armed robbery on the 1300 block of Pierce Avenue in Niagara Falls. The 911 caller said that a mixed-race juvenile with a skeleton tattoo on his right hand displayed a black handgun as he demanded money/other items from him. There were three juveniles in total. After the incident, the three suspects ran towards 17th and Pierce. Each suspect was wearing all

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 1:15am on February 22nd after reports of a medical emergency on the 200 block of Knowlton Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The 911 caller said said that she found a male party who was not breathing with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. She further told dispatch that there with a significant amount of blood. Dispatch advised the female to begin CPR. This did not occur. However, the female then exited the l

Buffalo Police officials have suspended a department captain who met in person with Officer Lance Woods hours before he was arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of his wife in Sanborn. City and police officials confirmed Wednesday that the captain – whose name has not been released – has been placed on paid suspension pending the outcome of an internal investigation. The department said the captain spoke with Woods at the D-District station on Hertel Avenue Saturday eve

Seven construction workers have been connected to pornographic graffiti discovered inside the new Highmark Stadium earlier this week, according to sources familiar with the investigation.   The vandalism, which appeared in both completed and still-under-construction sections of the facility, prompted an immediate response from project leaders. Areas impacted reportedly included secure locations requiring special access credentials such as luxury suites.   Work at the stadium

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 10:20pm on February 19th after reports of a possible hostage situation on Oliver Street in North Tonawanda. The 911 caller - a third party and mother of the victim - told police that her daughter was being held against her will in an apartment. The caller told police that the name of the male suspect was Jamal Burton. Police responded to the scene. It is unknown if the male suspect was arrested. No further in

An off-duty Buffalo police officer who fatally shot his wife inside their Niagara County home is now facing prosecution by the New York State Attorney General’s Office as local and state authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Valentine’s Day incident.   Lance L. Woods, 53, a Buffalo Police officer assigned as a school resource officer, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Alexis Skoczylas, 35. Skoc

By: Scott Yerger      Healthcare spending is reaching unprecedented levels, with national expenditures projected to surge to $8.59 trillion by 2033, accounting for more than one-fifth of the total U.S. economy. While medical innovation continues to reach new heights, the financial burden on employers, families, and public health systems is creating a critical affordability crisis.  Addressing this challenge requires a dual understanding of the modern drivers behind these spik

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Niagara Falls Police responded to the 1000 block of Cleveland Avenue around 9:25pm on February 17th after reports of an aggravated assault.   Upon arrival, officers spoke to the victim who stated he was standing on the eastern wall next to 1055 Cleveland Avenue (One Stop Convenience Store) when an unknown male walked up next to him and hit him in the face with an unknown object. Officers did observe the victim to have a laceration to his face goin

An investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office concluded that students of color and students with disabilities in Buffalo Public Schools were suspended at significantly higher rates than their white peers and students without disabilities.      The findings stem from a review of district discipline data from 2019 through 2023 school, excluding the COVID-19-impacted year. According to the Attorney General’s report, in the 2022–2023 academic year, Black second

By: Tom George      Governor Kathy Hochul hosted a roundtable with law enforcement and elected officials to announce the “Local Cops Local Crimes Act” which prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for civil immigration enforcement. Hochul made the announcement surrounded by more than a dozen District Attorneys, county sheriffs, police chiefs and county executives from across the state.      The Act

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 4:50pm on February 19th after reports of an armed robbery on the 1900 block of Welch Avenue in Niagara Falls. The 911 caller said that two black males approached him and threatened to shoot him if he did not hand over all the cash he had on him. The males robbed $5 from him. The victim said that during the altercation the black male with the firearm struck him with the gun. Police then received a second call

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 6:12pm on February 19th after reports of a hit-and-run incident that occurred in the area of 17th and Willow Avenue in Niagara Falls. The 911 caller - a third party witness - told police that a vehicle purposefully tried to run the party over with a vehicle. The striking vehicle did take off. Officers did attempt to obtain the make and model of the vehicle but were reportedly unsuccessful in doing so. The vic

LISTEN TO POLICE AUDIO BELOW Law enforcement received a call around 9:20pm on February 19th after reports of menacing with a weapon during a domestic incident on Forest Avenue in Niagara Falls. The 911 caller - a third party - said that she had just gotten a worrying call from her mother. She said that her boyfriend held a knife up to her neck during an argument threatening to kill her. Police responded to the scene. It is unknown if the boyfriend was arrested. No further inf