Current News

The Niagara 1812 Legacy Council received the Bi-National Beacon Award at Monday's Travel & Tourism Beacon Awards presented by Visit Buffalo Niagara. The awards ceremony took place at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in conjunction with National Travel & Tourism Week, which runs from May 3 to 11.

Timothy M. Downs, Ph.D., has been named provost and chief academic officer at Niagara University. The Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., president of the university, announced the appointment.

CBS Cares and National Stroke Association have partnered to create three PSA messages to raise awareness on the risk factors commonly associated with strokes and to highlight the groups most susceptible to strokes overall.

AllSportsWNY.com, a website created and administered by WBBZ-TV Vice President and General Manager Bob Koshinski, reported a four-member voting trust was created by Ralph Wilson before his passing. That group will ultimately decide who has submitted the winning bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman praised the State Assembly Monday for passing first-in-the-nation legislation banning a form of plastic pollution he said is an emerging threat to New York's Great Lakes and other bodies of water.

Roxanne Cardone, office coordinator for the Center for Events & Management Development at Niagara University, was named NU's Outstanding Employee of the Quarter. Cardone, a Lewiston resident, was presented with the award by the Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., Niagara president (as pictured).

The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University is hosting a free workshop for artists and art teachers, "Safety and Health in the Art Studio," from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, May 31.

The sixth annual "Run with the Rapids" 5K race will be held Saturday, May 17, in downtown Niagara Falls. This USA Track & Field-sanctioned race benefits the Downtown Niagara Falls Business Association. Race registration and the post-race party will be held on Old Falls Street, USA.

The Western New York Regional Economic Development Council will hold two consolidated funding application workshops for potential applicants to learn more about the fourth round of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's initiative to stimulate job creation and economic growth through the Regional Economic Development Councils. The workshops will be held May 13 in Amherst and May 29 in Fredonia.

In 2014, up to $750 million in economic development resources from 33 state agency funding programs will be available to applicants through the CFA.

Register by visiting http://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/content/western-new-york or by calling 716-846-8206.

Cinco de Mayo translates to May 5. ... Unless you're in Lewiston. In the village Monday, Cinco de Mayo meant a free taco at The Spicey Pickle. Photos, video.

Meghan Ebert, a junior at Lewiston-Porter High School, is raising funds to attend a competition unlike anything her classmates compete in during the year. Meghan competes in the sport of rodeo and has qualified to go to the National High School Rodeo Finals in Rock Springs, Wyo., this summer.

The public is now invited to review and comment on CWM Chemical Services LLC's proposal for its facility in Model City, Niagara County, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced today.

NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution has announced bandleader Everett Bradley and show announcer Jon Harris have joined "The Meredith Vieira Show," premiering in national syndication on Sept. 8. Geoff Rosen and Matthew Strauss have been named co-executive producers for the daytime show, which has now been sold to local stations in 98 percent of the U.S.

Coach Blake Shelton will perform the single "My Eyes" from his best-selling album "Based on a True Story ..." on tonight's live telecast of NBC's Emmy Award-winning musical competition series "The Voice."

The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University will present its sixth "Meet Me at the CAM" art history series on five consecutive Thursdays starting May 15.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the conviction Monday of Steven C. Richards and his immediate retirement as Town of Niagara supervisor. Richards, 61, of Lawson Drive in Niagara, pleaded guilty to official misconduct, a class A misdemeanor, before the Hon. Christopher J. Burns in Niagara County Court. Sentencing is scheduled for July 14.

"Steven Richards has admitted that he misused his position and used town resources to benefit himself personally, abusing both his office and the trust placed in him by the public," Schneiderman said. "He has vacated his office and submitted his retirement papers last week. With Richards' retirement and guilty plea, we have ensured that hardworking Niagara families will no longer have to pay for their town supervisor's personal use of town property and resources."

They are lines that often divide, but on May 17 at 11 a.m., Western New Yorkers will cross the lines of race, ethnicity and poverty to show that Buffalo stands for a more united future.

The annual Lewiston Smelt Festival took place Friday along the village's waterfront. Check out our mega photo gallery for images from the event.

Congressman Brian Higgins has announced the deadline for submitting entries to the Congressional Student App Challenge has been extended to May 30.

Enhancements to the nature trail at Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara's Wheatfield site have been selected as a finalist project in the "Green America Awards" competition.

The City of Niagara Falls will soon be home to a $6 million sports and educational facility, which will offer a number of programs and services for members of the community. Once built, The Niagara Community Center (run as a nonprofit organization) will be located next to Niagara Catholic Junior-Senior High School at 520 66th St.

It may be nestled just outside the small City of Niagara Falls, but Niagara University is offering world-class opportunities to its students. The university is giving college students the chance to live in New York City and intern at CBS Broadcast Center - a dream for any aspiring broadcast journalist.

Whether you love to sail, or like to keep your feet on solid ground, the 15th annual Jack Beatty Memorial Hospice Cruise and Clambake has something for everyone. The Cruise and Clambake is scheduled for July 11, rain or shine, at the Youngstown Yacht Club.

When walking into Blum's Swimwear and Intimate Apparel, one is immediately taken aback at the size and expansive selection. At the front entrance, your eyes are met by the biggest selection of swimsuits you have probably ever seen, and at the back entrance the selection of intimate apparel makes your average department store or big name store's selection pale in comparison.

It all started with a simple idea by Niagara student Jordan Hernandez. Why couldn't Niagara University have an "SNL"-esque sketch comedy show by students, for students? That was how "Tuesday Night Live" was born. "Tuesday Night Live," or "TNL," is the newest standard for student entertainment at NU, and it only seems to be growing.

It is a rarity when a musical artist and venue have the perfect chemistry to mesh together. When it does happen, it is a magical thing. Upstate New York is lucky enough to have one such artist-venue combination, which perennially excites thousands.

Teenagers, specifically college students with a lot of free time, account for a large number of people frequently going to movie theaters. Students are always searching for a movie to see on the weekends.

Ever since the 1950s, television has become a staple in American households. Like all things in this ever-changing world, television - the way we watch it and what we watch - is always changing.

Located in Western New York, the Flower City, or Rochester as it's properly called, is an area drawing in more and more residents. Some are coming from neighboring cities, others from nearby states and even more are students that attend the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester and any of the other area colleges who fall in love with the area and just can't leave.

Spring has finally arrived, and everything is starting to bloom.

With thousands of print articles, television and radio broadcasts produced on a daily basis, the news is everywhere we look. With evolving technology and media, there are multiple ways to consume news through newspapers, magazines, websites and television shows.

From local to national media, stories are designed to shape our public knowledge and perception of our community and the world around us. For Niagara University students, that objective has become more difficult as news stories have become more entertaining and less educational in recent years.

"I feel like they do provide information right away, but some of it is fabricated and dramatized in order to make it interesting to keep readers wanting more," said sophomore Katie Mayes.

We have all watched a TV show in a room surrounded by people. Together you react in fear, shock and excitement. However, have you participated in this same experience virtually?

News outlets learned Friday that Town of Niagara Supervisor Steven Richards resigned his position, effective immediately. It was reported Richards told his fellow board members he was "retiring."

When we last saw Jack Bauer, his country abandoned him. The government, the agencies he had protected so many times, sought his end. He was on the run, and going off the gird.

When Jack Bauer returns Monday, after four years in exile, he will once again risk his life to protect American lives.

Why?

Because he's Jack Bauer.

"24" is about to join a very small, very elite club.

The show and its characters are returning to television four years after the series ended thanks to a 12-part event series, "24: Live Another Day." In doing so, the "24" franchise joins a small list of TV shows that returned with new stories after being canceled.

The Lewiston Event Center (formerly Frontier Lanes) is a perfect example of before and after construction work.

The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce Water Street Landing as the recipient of the Lewiston Business of the Year Award.

Village of Lewiston residents could have three candidates for mayor on June 17.

Jacqueline Lampman, a 30-year resident, is gathering petitions to run on an independent party line.

On April 22, Lampman lost her bid to secure the Democratic Party endorsement. She was selected to run for trustee, but was set to decline when her party was disqualified April 23.

Lampman wanted to run for mayor, and is now pursuing the office, "Because, in my career, I've risen to positions of authority," she said. "It kind of fit in that that's where I would go."

On Saturday, May 10, Lewiston No. 1 Volunteer Fire Co. will sponsor "Firefighter For A Day '14." The recruiting event is being held in conjunction with "RecruitNY," a program aimed at assisting volunteer fire departments across New York state recruit new members.

Celebrate the Sisters of Mercy with the second annual "Fun with the Nuns" event at the Millennium Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga. Join Emcee Danny Neaverth Sr. Wednesday, May 21, from 6-9 p.m. for an evening of "Fun with the Nuns," which includes a "Raffle with a Twist."