News Staff

Renovation of the Bewley Building into ground-floor commercial space with upper floors of affordable apartments is making progress, with PathStone Development Corp. receiving an Empire State Development grant last week for the project. Lockport City Council will get an update August 27th.

Cambria residents will have the opportunity to comment on three proposed laws at a public hearing set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Cambria Volunteer Fire Co. hall at 4631 Cambria-Wilson Road.

In Buffalo, the JFK pool was closed for the summer after an incident involving an adult and a young lifeguard. The adult “physically assaulted and threatened a young lifeguard at the pool, causing staff to fear for their lives,” according to officials.

Nearly a dozen Puerto Rican flags have been stolen along Niagara Street on Buffalo’s West Side – days before the city’s annual Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day Parade.

Bills running back James Cook returned to practice on Tuesday following a weeklong ‘hold-in’ as he seeks a contract extension. He began declining to participate in practice on Aug. 3.

The union that represents the corrections officers and lieutenants who work in New York’s prisons knew a strike was fomenting among its membership before staff started walking off the job in February, and they say state officials did nothing when they were informed of the impending crisis.

In Buffalo, the JFK pool was closed for the summer after an incident involving an adult and a young lifeguard. The adult “physically assaulted and threatened a young lifeguard at the pool, causing staff to fear for their lives,” according to officials.

A Buffalo woman, 36 year old Carmen Martin, was sentenced to 1 1/3 to four years in prison after she killed a bicyclist and injured two others in a collision in June 2022.

The SPCA Serving Erie County is not accepting animals for the time being. On its website, the West Seneca location said it is at maximum capacity. The SPCA cited multiple animal cruelty cases and a lack of resources at the shelter as reasoning.

Nearly a dozen Puerto Rican flags have been stolen along Niagara Street on Buffalo’s West Side – days before the city’s annual Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day Parade.

A 17-year-old male died after drowning early Sunday night in a pond in Niagara County, New York State Police said Monday. Police responded to the pond at 6:42 p.m. in Royalton and tried to find the teen, but were unable to locate him. He was found hours later in 10 feet of water.

A Buffalo woman, 36 year old Carmen Martin, was sentenced to 1 1/3 to four years in prison after she killed a bicyclist and injured two others in a collision in June 2022.

The City of Buffalo announced on Monday that it will close the pool at the JFK Recreation Center for the summer after incidents “involving violence and disturbances” that reportedly took place throughout July.

The Chautauqua County Health Department is encouraging all residents and visitors to stay informed about Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and to be cautious when going in the lakes.

A third-prize-winning Powerball ticket worth $50,000 was sold in Lockport. The winning Powerplay ticket for Saturday’s drawing was sold at the Speedway at 6233 S. Transit Road.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced the company is shutting down its Dojo supercomputer project, which was expected to play a role at the automaker’s Riverbend facility in Buffalo.

State Police and multiple emergency crews responded Sunday night to a water rescue on Deerview Drive in the Town of Royalton in Niagara County.

A Wheatfield man is dead after getting stuck under a rotary cutter in Wheatfield on Friday morning. Officials said a 911 call reported an unresponsive male, identified as 67-year-old William Sacher, stuck under an agricultural rotary cutter around 10:50 a.m

A third-prize-winning Powerball ticket worth $50,000 was sold in Lockport. The winning Powerplay ticket for Saturday’s drawing was sold at the Speedway at 6233 S. Transit Road.

James Cook, the NFL’s co-leader with 16 touchdowns rushing last season, is conducting a “hold-in” by being with the Bills but refusing to practice in an escalating bid to secure a contract extension on the final year of his rookie deal.

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office released details following two incidents that led to arrests at Six Flags Darien Lake Theme Park. One incident happened on June 28, when a 22-year-old man from Angola allegedly got into an altercation with somebody younger than 17 years old. The man “struck that person more than once In the facial area,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Friday.
The nation’s most beloved wildfire prevention ambassador is celebrating another milestone birthday. Smokey Bear, the iconic figure who has taught Americans about fire safety for more than eight decades, marked his 81st birthday on Saturday, after beginning his journey in 1944 with the U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council
NASCAR Xfinity Series star Connor Zilisch suffered an apparent injury after slipping and falling off of his car in Victory Lane. Zilisch, 19, earned his sixth win of the 2025 season at Watkins Glen International. He was climbing out of his car to stand on the driver’s door and celebrate when he lost his balance and fell to the ground

Four astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after hustling to the International Space Station five months ago to relieve the stuck test pilots of Boeing’s Starliner. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Pacific off the Southern California coast a day after departing the orbiting lab. “Welcome home,” radioed SpaceX Mission Control.
Amherst Police are looking for information to find 16-year old Jacir Cessess Police say that he was last seen on July 28 wearing a black head covering, a black sweatshirt, black jeans and white sneakers, he is listed at 5′ 10″. According to police, he may be in the City of Buffalo. Anyone with information should call 911 or the NYS Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-3543.
An Air Quality Alert remains in effect for Western New York, as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to drift into our region. That’s leading to hazy skies and poor air quality, which could pose health risks, especially for those in sensitive groups.. It’s not as bad today has it was earlier this week, but here’s what you need to know.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined a bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general in demanding that 37 voice service providers immediately stop routing illegal robocalls through their networks. A multistate investigation found the companies had transmitted thousands of fraudulent calls to people in New York and nationwide, with scams impersonating utility and financial companies, Medicare, Amazon, tax relief services, and more.

A 16-year-old Clarence High School student has died from injuries sustained in an electric motorcycle crash earlier this week in a parking lot off Transit Road according to New York State Police. Daniel Bechtel died Thursday after being taken off life support. Daniel crashed the e-motorcycle into a grassy median, according to New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan, who confirmed details of the crash on Friday afternoon.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal farming accident in the Town of Wheatfield. The accident was reported just before 11am Friday as a person stuck under an agricultural rotary cutter at a property on the 2500 block of Lockport Road.

A Buffalo man was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison on Friday after a shooting on Main Street left one man dead last year. Officials said Ronald O’Neil, 41, shot 42-year-old Darius Spates, Jr. multiple times on the 3100 block of Main Street on May 26, 2024.

A woman was found dead after a fire broke out in Westfield on Wednesday afternoon at 7984 McKinley Road. Alice Waters, 43, of Ripley was found dead inside one of the burned structures.

Shea’s Buffalo Theatre renovations, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park development and a new science exhibit each received NYPA funding this week. The Western New York Power Proceeds Board awarded $10.4 million in economic funding to the three Buffalo projects at its meeting.

After Lockport Common Council members revisited concerns on losing unspent state transportation funds on Wednesday, Finance Director Dan Cavallari confirmed Thursday that the city can carry over the allocations to next year.

A series of proposed zoning changes in Cambria have some local small farmers speaking out. The proposed zoning changes would raise the minimum acreage to be considered a farm from 5 acres to 7, a change that some farmers say could hurt their operations.

Hundreds, even thousands of dead fish are washing up along Lake Erie, catching beach-goers by surprise. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said it’s a natural event triggered by strong northeast winds. Those winds pushed cold water from the bottom of the lake up to the surface a process called upwelling.

A 3D manufacturer, KAV, is making Buffalo, its permanent home, bringing new manufacturing jobs to the city’s 1st Ward.

The Erie County Clerk’s Office held its “William J. Donovan Purple Heart Recipient Book of Merit Ceremony” and raised the Purple Heart flag on Thursday, honoring the heroes who were injured or lost their lives while fighting for our nation’s freedom.

A Buffalo man is behind bars and a woman remains hospitalized following a brutal assault in the city’s Lovejoy neighborhood. Julian Taylor, 31, was arrested on multiple charges after police report that he used a shovel to violently assault his girlfriend.

State officials are urging people to stay alert for back-to-school shopping scams as families head to stores looking for deals early amid inflation concerns and looming tariffs.

Repairs and projects in the Buffalo Public Schools, Main Street, the Buffalo Museum of Science and more are delayed due to inaction by the city comptroller, acting Mayor Chris Scanlon and other local officials said Wednesday.

An Air Quality Alert remains in effect for Western New York, as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to drift into our region.

Josh Allen will not play in the Bills first preseason game on Saturday against the New York Giants, head coach Sean McDermott said Thursday.