NEWS & INFO

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

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,

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 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

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

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

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

Mayor Austin Tylec used his annual State of the City address at the Riviera Theatre to highlight a wave of residential development, infrastructure upgrades and redevelopment efforts underway across North Tonawanda, while also defending the city’s financial management amid ongoing labor tensions and rising project costs.      Framing the city as one on the upswing, Tylec pointed to visible construction activity and what he described as steady fiscal footing.      “North Tonawa

A long-fought battle in downtown Niagara Falls has entered a quieter phase, but the stakes for local taxpayers may be higher than ever.      For more than two years, the City of Niagara Falls and a private development firm known as Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) have been locked in a legal and political conflict over the future of a multi-million stretch of land near John B. Daly Boulevard, directly across from Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino. At the heart of the dispute ar

A Niagara Falls student is being recognized for his calm and decisive response after stepping in to save a fellow student who was choking during lunch.      Dan O’Grady, a junior enrolled in Jeff Brown’s Computer Technology program at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center, was eating lunch at Niagara Falls High School alongside his friend, Welding student Aiden Hewitt, when the situation turned dangerous.      “We were sitting at a table with our friends just laug

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino traveled to Albany on Wednesday, February 12th to formally request $200 million in state funding for his proposed Centennial Park events center, using his appearance at a joint legislative budget hearing to press lawmakers for what he described as transformational investment in the city’s future.      Speaking before state legislators during the annual budget session – often referred to as “Tin Cup Day” (i.e.: begging for money) because of