News Staff

Buffalo has selected a site for animal shelter, opening set for 2026. Acting City of Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon provided an update on Saturday afternoon for plans regarding the relocation and transformation of the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter. A new facility will be purpose-built with a focus on health, safety, and comfort the press release said. An anticipated opening will be in 2026.
Seneca Nation President J.C. Seneca says New York Governor Kathy Hochul will visit the Seneca Nation Territory on Tuesday and is expected to formally apologize to the Seneca Nation, as well as former students and for their descendants of trauma experienced at the Thomas Indian School. The news of an apology to be made was first mentioned March, but there was no date at the time set for when that would happen.
Cheektowaga Police and Fire Dispatch received calls with reports of possible gunshots fired in the area of the Kensington Expressway near Maryvale Thursday night. the expressway was shut down at 8:41 p.m. Police said an off-duty Detective was traveling eastbound on the Kensington Expressway and found a male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The man was sent to a local hospital. The incident is under investigation

The City of Buffalo Police are asking for the community’s help in locating 68-year-old Darrel McGhee. Darrel was last seen on May 15 at 9:30 a.m. leaving Eye Care Vision Associates on Elmwood Avenue. He has not returned to his home on Porter Avenue according to police. Police records describe Darrel as a Black male. with dementia and may be confused or disoriented, and does not drive. Anyone with information about Darrel’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.
South Park High School unveils Conspicuous Service Crosses for fallen alumni with no known family. Nearly 30 former students from South Park High School were honored for their sacrifice in service on Saturday. The South Park High School Fallen Warrior Project identified 29 former classmates who have no known remaining family members. The individuals were honored with a New York State Conspicuous Service Cross.
Saturday afternoon New York State Police located and pursued a stolen vehicle that resulted in officers getting stabbed. Troopers out of SP Amity had located a stolen vehicle in the Village of Bolivar and attempted to perform a traffic stop in the parking lot of a Crosby’s Gas Station. During the arrest of the female suspect, she “violently resisted” and stabbed a trooper above the eye and another in their head, they said in a press release.

A Buffalo man has pleaded guilty to several charges, including murder, in connection to two shootings and a stabbing in 2024. Emanuel Stokes, 29, pleaded guilty Thursday.

The man convicted of stabbing Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage in 2022, leaving the prizewinning author blind in one eye, was sentenced Friday to serve 25 years in prison. A jury found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty of attempted murder and assault in February.

A Tonawanda man has been charged after he allegedly shot into a car that was sitting at a red light on Friday morning. Dameek Dennis, 21, is accused of shooting into a car in the area of Parkside Mini-Mart at Sheridan Parkside Drive just after 9:50 a.m. Friday. Nobody was hit by gunfire.

There is no evidence to suggest that a house explosion in Hamburg earlier this week was “intentional or criminal,” the Hamburg Police Department said Friday.

A Depew man, 37 year old Brian White, faces charges of robbery and criminal possession of a weapon after he allegedly robbed the same Kwik Mart on French Road in Cheektowaga three times in two days.

Lafayette Square will be bustling Saturday at 2 p.m as it’s expected to fill up with thousands of people marching for women’s rights as part of the Western New York Women’s March.
The event, organized in honor of Victorious Women’s Month, aims to promote equality, dignity, and justice for all.

43 year old Luke Darling of Buffalo has been accused of injuring an 18-year-old in a crash while driving under the influence of alcohol in Lancaster in March, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.

A Lockport hotel is wrapping up a $4 million makeover in preparation for a rebrand to Spark by Hilton and the introduction of a new banquet/conference center.
The 95-room hotel at 515 S. Transit Road will reopen in late June.

In a public work session in Lockport Wednesday, 2nd Ward Alderman Anita Mullane asked about what seemed to be a reduction in the length of the approved road construction project for the north section of Davison Road.

The NFL has released the 2025 schedule and the Buffalo Bills will have five prime time games this year. Of the five prime time games, three of them will be at home, including the season opener on Sunday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens.

Buffalo Public Schools on Wednesday night voted 6-3 at a special board meeting to expand the process of finding an independent investigator to look into recent allegations made against the school by a Buffalo police detective.

Wednesday marked three years since the racist mass shooting at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue that left 10 people dead. The Buffalo community honored the victims in a ceremony at the 5/14 Honor Space.

A retired Buffalo police officer, 66 year old Antonio Roman, was sentenced to five years of probation Wednesday morning after he shot a 14-year-old in the leg during a suspected burglary last year.

Major construction began Wednesday in Genesee County for a solar energy project. It’s expected to be complete late next year.

The Bills’ season kicks off with a playoff rematch against the Ravens in a prime-time opener Sept. 7 on Sunday Night Football, and concludes its regular schedule against the Jets on the first weekend of January.

Wednesday marks three years since the racist mass shooting at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue that left 10 people dead. The Buffalo community honored the victims at the 5/14 Honor Space.

A multimillion dollar Walden Galleria loan is past due, and the lender is taking action that could lead to foreclosure. Pyramid Management Group’s loan currently has a $220 million balance.

A Buffalo woman, 23 year old Niyonna Cunningham, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree vehicular manslaughter after she killed a pedestrian while allegedly driving drunk last November.

Lockport common council will vote on a resolution today intended to protect residents from the hazards of propane unloading at a west-side railroad facility.

Niagara Arts & Cultural Center officials say they have reached an important milestone and are pushing forward in their ongoing restoration of the former Niagara Falls High School at Pine Avenue and Portage Road.

Jamestown-based Moonlight Electric has donated and installed a backup generator free of charge to the family of a young boy battling chronic lung disease.

Shuttle bus drivers and cashiers at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga have been striking since 9 a.m. Monday. They’re looking for higher pay and better benefits.

Nursing home workers at Ascension Living Our Lady of Peace in Lewiston reached a tentative three-year agreement with their employer on Tuesday night, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East announced.

A federal judge on Monday denied a motion to dismiss one of the hate crime counts the Tops mass shooter is facing. Payton Gendron’s attorneys previously filed a motion to dismiss the charge tied to the people who were at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue during the attack who weren’t killed or injured.

This year’s Taste of Buffalo event is less than two months away and will feature 40 local eateries and food trucks. The festival runs July 12 and 13 in Niagara Square. Go to tasteofbuffalo.com to find out more.

There is a new segment of the Scenic Niagara River Shoreline Trail. A new, 2.5-mile multi-use path was opened in the Town of Wheatfield in Niagara County, which will make it easier to people to travel the trail either by bicycle or on foot.

One person was killed in a ‘catastrophic’ home explosion on West Lane in Hamburg on Monday night. 78-year-old Joene Pease was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband was pulled from the rubble.

A judge has rejected the Tops mass shooter’s motion to dismiss his hate crime charge. The ruling centers around charge 27 in Payton Gendron’s federal indictment.

There’s a growing concern about a so-called “bomb train” possibly coming to a rail yard in the City of Lockport; a reference used for tanker train cars that carry propane or other explosive material.

A half dozen new amenities – including a microbrewery – are coming to downtown Niagara Falls as part of a $2 million-plus investment by a new partner at the Comfort Inn – The Pointe.

The Bills were not selected for an international game this year, meaning there will be nine home games in the final season at Highmark Stadium.

A house explosion in Lake View Monday night has now been confirmed to be fatal. One person died, and another was taken to ECMC after a home exploded on the 5800 block of West Lane Monday at 8:49 p.m.

More than three years after a shooting and stabbing at McKinley High School, an investigative report of that incident conducted by the Buffalo School District has still not been released publicly.

No threats were found at Sweet Home High School following a lockdown that occurred Monday afternoon after a “reported incident.”

A Buffalo man, 34 year old Michael Benitez, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison after he started a fire on train tracks in his backyard in Farnham almost two years ago.

Bicyclists were already making their way along the new Artpark Trail Connector during a New York State Parks press event Monday morning.

Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon took a small victory lap Friday when Governor Hochul visited Buffalo. Two of his key budget proposals were included in the state budget bill that was signed by Governor Hochul Friday Morning. “I can’t thank the governor enough for her support, the members of the Western art delegation that fought hard to get Buffalo what it was looking for,” said. Scanlon
Wildroot flower shop hosts a free Mother’s Day Market with over 60 vendors on May 11 in Buffalo. One local business is making sure Western New Yorker’s are prepared with plans and plenty of gifts to celebrate the moms in their lives. Wildroot Floral, a local flower shop, is hosting a Mother’s Day Market on Sunday, May 11 featuring over 60 vendors.
The air traffic controllers directing planes into the Newark, New Jersey, airport briefly lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks, renewing concerns about the nation’s aging air traffic control system that President Donald Trump wants to overhaul The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday. That’s similar to what happened on April 28.