NEWS & INFO

Plans for the long-anticipated return of the Thunder of Niagara Air Show have been grounded once again after organizers confirmed that the event scheduled for this summer at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station will not take place in 2026. Officials with the 914th Air Refueling Wing announced Monday that the 2026 show has been cancelled due to operational demands tied to ongoing military missions overseas. “Due to the allocation of resources to ongoing operations in the U.S.

Authorities are investigating a fatal accident that occurred Monday afternoon in Niagara County after a man was seriously injured while cutting a tree. According to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, the incident was reported on March 9th at approximately 3:24pm when the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a 911 call reporting that a man had suffered severe injuries during a tree-cutting accident. Deputies and emergency medical personnel responded

By: Scott Yerger      Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already increasing its role in everyday life and we are seeing its rapid evolution right before our eyes.  So, what can we expect when it comes to AI’s role in the future of medicine. In the next 10 years AI is expected to fundamentally reshape medicine, but not by replacing doctors, by augmenting them. Current Landscape      On the healthcare administration side, AI will expand its role in driving down cost by automating

Less than a year after launching a highly visible neighborhood policing initiative, the Buffalo Police Department has discontinued its Foot Patrol Integration Unit with city officials pointing to staffing limitations, overtime costs and operational challenges as the primary reasons for ending the program.      The decision was confirmed during a recent Police Oversight Committee meeting at Buffalo City Hall after Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope questioned Inte

After months of debate and public input, the North Tonawanda Common Council has adopted revisions to the city’s longstanding noise ordinance, lowering allowable sound levels in residential areas and updating enforcement standards.      The measure passed by a 3–2 vote, establishing maximum dBC levels in residential zones at 60 between 7am and 10pm and 50 between 10pm and 7am. Aldermen Gabrielle Richards and Will Schulmeister opposed the changes, arguing that the city should h

A major project aimed at strengthening military readiness and expanding regional economic activity is underway at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. Officials have formally broken ground on a new $6.3 million advanced training facility for U.S. Air Force reservists.      The project, announced at the end of February by leadership of the 914th Air Refueling Wing, will introduce modern simulation technology designed to allow aircrews to train for complex aerial refueling mi

The Niagara University community continues to mourn the devastating loss of sophomore hockey player Bradly “Burdy” Burden whose life was cut short in a violent early-morning crash in Niagara Falls–an accident investigators say unfolded with catastrophic force and left behind heartbreak stretching from Western New York to his hometown more than 4,000 miles away in Alaska.      The following information is based on information that has been publicly reported and law enforcement

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

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 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

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

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

Mayor Sean M. Ryan today testified before the New York State Legislature at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2026 Executive Budget Proposal, where he laid out the City of Buffalo’s fiscal condition and called for a partnership with the State to restore long-term financial stability.      In his testimony, Mayor Ryan described a city operating under the weight of years of unrealistic budgeting practices and one-time revenue solutions that have depleted City reserves

New York State Senate Republican Minority Leader Rob Ortt is urging state officials to investigate Candlelight Cabinetry in Lockport following weeks of uncertainty surrounding the company’s operations and the status of its workforce.      Ortt, who represents the 62nd Senate District and serves as the top-ranking Republican in the State Senate, announced that he and Assemblyman Paul Bologna have formally requested that both the New York State Department of Labor and the Offic