HARBORCENTER VP and Director of the Academy of Hockey Kevyn Adams announced today that Adam Mair has agreed to join the HARBORCENTER Academy of Hockey staff as a coach.

Doodle Bugs! Children's Centers in Cheektowaga, Clarence, East Amherst, Lancaster, Orchard Park and West Amherst recently hosted an annual toy drive and collected children's toys to be donated to Toys for Tots in time for the holiday season.

The Western & Central New York Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society announced Deborah and Rocco Surace will serve as co-chairs for the society's 22nd annual Diamond Ball at Samuel's Grande Manor.

Dunkin' Donuts will show its support for one of America's most iconic holiday toy collection drives this holiday season through a second-year partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves' Toys for Tots program in Western New York.

Six Doodle Bugs! Children's Center locations in Buffalo recently hosted an annual food drive and collected 2,026 nonperishable food items to be donated to local organizations in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Complete Senior Care veterans were recently presented with certificates of appreciation from active service members and local boy scouts for their dedication to this country. At the same time, the "Holiday Heroes" card repurposing campaign began.

Gov. Cuomo has announced that, as part of his Buffalo Billion initiative, New York will build a state-of-the-art anchor hub facility for high tech and green energy businesses at RiverBend in the City of Buffalo.

Two companies at the forefront of the clean energy revolution, Soraa and Silevo, will collectively invest $1.5 billion into the project and relocate major parts of their operations to Buffalo, creating 850 permanent jobs and at least 500 construction jobs and attracting additional manufacturing companies to the site.

RiverBend, formerly Republic Steel, is a 90-acre site that is ready for development.

Doodle Bugs! Children's Centers, a leading education-based child care organization in Western New York, makes it a priority to help teach children about the importance of generosity and thankfulness through the activities in its curriculum. However, staffers also practice what they preach.

City of North Tonawanda Mayor Robert G. Ortt, along with Doug Taylor, president/CEO of Taylor Devices and other local officials, held a grand opening "ribbon-cutting" event at Taylor Devices' facilities located in the Buffalo Bolt business park.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has been awarded a $500,000, three-year grant from the New York State Office of Mental Health to operate a "Get Well/Stay Well" program to serve seniors residing in the Niagara community. The project will be operated in collaboration with The Dale Association, a well-known provider of mental health and elderly services in Niagara County.

At a press conference this morning at the First Niagara Center, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula announced general manager Darcy Reiger and coach Ron Rolston have been fired. Former Sabres star Pat LaFontaine has been brought on as president of hockey operations. He, in turn, has brought back former coach Ted Nolan to serve as interim coach.

Stingrays swim through water with such ease that researchers from the University at Buffalo and Harvard University are studying how their movements could be used to design more agile and fuel-efficient unmanned underwater vehicles.

The University at Buffalo won two awards from BUILDINGS magazine's eighth-annual America's Best Buildings of the Year, a contest for commercial and institutional facilities.

New Directions Youth and Family Services, a leading provider of services for at-risk children and families in Western New York, celebrated the grand opening of the Wayne A. Secord Therapeutic Preschool in Lockport with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Wound Center of Niagara celebrated its grand opening Thursday with a ribbon-cutting and open house at 620 10th St., Suite 700 - directly across the street from Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. The center was developed by Memorial and RestorixHealth, one of the nation's leaders in comprehensive wound care and wound management programs.

Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara supported the United Way by raising almost $300 through a series of bake sales coordinated by employees and program participants.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. has announced the completion of the renovation and efficiency upgrades to its administrative center at 6950 S. Transit Road in Lockport.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the completion of Phase 1 of the restoration of Prospect Point, which is one of the most popular areas of Niagara Falls State Park. The ribbon-cutting took place at the same time that ground was broken for Phase 2 of the restoration project. The project is part of Governor Cuomo's NY Works program.

"Niagara Falls State Park is one of Western New York's most valuable tourism assets - a stunning natural wonder that attracts millions of visitors from all across the world each year," Cuomo said. "Under our NY Works program, we have completed the first phase of restoring Prospect Point as part of an ongoing project to improve the state park and enhance the experience of those who come to visit. Coupled with our efforts to revitalize the community of Niagara Falls, this investment in the park will help attract more visitors, boost tourism in the whole region, and grow the local economy."

Roswell Park Cancer Institute is proud to announce several faculty members have collectively received more than $6.7 million in grant funding from federal agencies and other sources. These awards help fund important research that aims to develop new approaches to prevent and treat cancer and to improve RPCI patients' quality of life. Of those, Kelvin P. Lee, M.D., chair of the department of immunology, received three grants totaling more than $3.9 million.

Two grants are from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. They will help fund Lee's work in immunology. One is a four-year award for $2.02 million that will aid exploration of how immune responses occur and what molecular pathways are involved.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, the Winery at Marjim Manor will celebrate the holidays with "The Lighting of the Manor." Six Christmas trees, various displays and Hanukah menorah will be ablaze. The festivities begin at 1 p.m. at 7171 E. Lake Rd, Appleton.

Admittance will be a new hat, scarf or pair of mittens for the designated tree.

As part of the festivities, Manor wine presenter Kim Seddon will play Christmas carols, and Santa will be available for pictures. Nando's Pizzelles will return with a myriad of flavors. Mulled wine and mulled apple cider and other holiday treats will also be available. There will be hourly wine specials and giftwrapping.

Congressman Brian Higgins cheered a proposal announced by the Federal Communications Commission chair to eliminate federal regulations that support sports blackouts.

"Blackout rules are unfair, outdated and alienate dedicated fans," Higgins said. "I support the FCC chairwoman's proposal to eliminate federal policies that defend and allow blackouts. We will be asking the full FCC board to follow through with this recommendation, and the leagues and teams to embrace the change as a way to reach a larger audience and do the right thing for their fans."

Amberleigh Retirement Community in Williamsville celebrated its 25th anniversary as an independent retirement community in Western New York.

New York State Sen. Mark Grisanti, who serves as chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, has announced that, after working with town officials in Orchard Park, he has been able to secure $200,000 to help replace Green Lake Dam.

Green Lake Dam was recently reclassified by the state Department of Environmental Conservation from an intermediate hazard to a high hazard, which drew concerns from many residents and community stakeholders in Orchard Park.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center recently completed improvements to its main entrance to enhance patient and visitor access.

HARBORcenter President John Koelmel made several announcements regarding hockey programming at HARBORcenter, including the hiring of Kevyn Adams as vice president and director of the HARBORcenter Academy of Hockey, a premier hockey training and development program at the complex.

Women's Services Director Susan V. Martin, left, and Mitika Bailey of Niagara Falls get acquainted with Bailey's newborn daughter, Ne'vayeh Katrina Pace, at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

City of North Tonawanda Mayor Robert G. Ortt announced the city was awarded a grant in the amount of $343,000 from the New York State Office of Community Renewal to make improvements at the Carnegie Art Center.

Paul and Paula Mayers of Lockport have won a handmade Amish quilt in the Niagara History Center's 25th annual quilt drawing. This year's quilt was a double-wedding-ring pattern of black and red on a white background.

Amberleigh is celebrating 25 years of excellence in caring for seniors at its silver anniversary party. The Oct. 25 event runs from 2-4 p.m. at 2330 Maple Road, Williamsville, and the public is invited. Champagne and refreshments will be served.

Dr. Barry Weinstein (Amherst supervisor) and Assemblyman Ray Walters will be presenting proclamations. All attendees will be entered in anniversary drawings to win a full day at Excuria Salon with lunch, or a four-hour limousine service for eight from Aces Limousine Service. Tours will also be given.

Wireless networks span the globe. But like a frightened toddler, they don't go underwater.

That may soon change, because University at Buffalo researchers are developing a deep-sea Internet.

Air monitoring conducted on the west side of Buffalo, near the U.S. Peace Bridge Plaza, indicates that air quality in this area is consistent with levels in the city overall and meets federal standards, according to a study released by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The study is the first phase of the Air Quality Study of the Impact of the Peace Bridge Plaza on the Surrounding Neighborhood, which will assess changes in air quality associated with the redesign of the Peace Bridge Plaza and access to I-190.

Leading a coalition of seven states, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has announced the filing of a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act by failing to adequately limit air pollution emissions from new residential wood heaters. In the legal papers, Schneiderman's coalition contends the EPA's existing emissions limits, which haven't been revised in 25 years, are outdated and leave out popular types of residential wood heaters - including outdoor wood boilers, which have proliferated in many areas of New York.

The University at Buffalo Center for Assistive Technology has received a $ 4.7 million competitive award from the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitative Research.

The 2013-18 award was announced as CAT celebrates its 25th anniversary and brings the total amount of extramural support generated by the center to about $100 million since its founding in 1988.

Lockport Mayor Michael W. Tucker joined federal, state and local dignitaries Oct. 9 to mark the beginning of restoration of the famed Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks. Remarks were made during a community celebration on Canal Street in the heart of downtown Lockport.

The University at Buffalo and Kaleida Health have announced the joint appointment of Carroll McWilliams (Mac) Harmon, M.D., Ph.D., as chief of the division of pediatric surgery and director of the pediatric surgery fellowship at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; and pediatric surgeon-in-chief (chief of surgery, pediatric surgery) at Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo. His faculty appointment will be professor in the UB department of surgery.

Harmon, currently professor and director of pediatric surgical research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine, will begin his new positions at UB and Women & Children's Hospital on Jan. 1, 2014.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Thursday the state and the City of Niagara Falls will partner to launch the Downtown Niagara Falls Development Challenge, a major competition to select a team of world-class designers, developers and operators to envision and develop signature projects in the downtown area that will attract significant private sector investment and accelerate the revitalization of Niagara Falls. The goal of the competition is to transform downtown Niagara Falls into the ultimate tourist destination to attract and retain visitors from around the world, by building and enhancing the amenities and attractions available in the area.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens announced a lawsuit Tuesday to prevent Amigone Funeral Home Inc. from reopening its crematory in a residential neighborhood in the Town of Tonawanda. The crematory, which the A.G.'s camp said has a long history of generating offensive odors, soot, and excessive noise into the neighborhood, has been the source of persistent community complaints. While a July 2012 agreement with Schneiderman's office resulted in Amigone suspending operations at the crematory, the funeral home has recently signaled its intention to restart operations.

State Sen. Mark Grisanti, in partnership with City of Tonawanda Mayor Ron Pilozzi, Time Warner Cable and SunnKing, hosted a free electronics recycling event in the Town of Tonawanda.

The attendees at the 13th annual Technology & Homeland Security Forum are already up on languages like Java, SQL, Python and ASP.NET. But this year, the only languages that some of their presenters are familiar with are Alpo and Milk Bone.

Michael J. Mitchell, M.D., F.A.C.S. and Aaron Wilson have been appointed medical director and program director, respectively, of the Wound Center of Niagara.

A general, vascular and laparoscopic surgeon, Mitchell is a graduate of Canisius College and the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine. He completed his surgical training at SUNY Buffalo. He is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

A Niagara Falls native, Wilson holds a Bachelor of Health Science degree from the State University of New York at Brockport and spent five years working in orthopedics and wound care at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown before returning to school to complete a Bachelor of Science in nursing at Binghamton University.