Niagara News Source

11/01/2022

“Old habits are hard to change in people and especially hard to change in government,” says Paul Wolf, President of the non-partisan, non-profit New York Coalition for Open Government.http://niagaranewssource.com/2022/01/11/local-government-should-resolve-to-be-fully-open-and-transparent-in-2022/

“Old habits are hard to change in people and especially hard to change in government,” said Paul Wolf, President of the non-partisan, non-profit New York Coalition for Open Government.

21/09/2021

As the NT Council votes 6:30 p.m. TONIGHT on granting permission for NT’s second “Slow Roll” community bike ride, let’s take a moment (in pictures) to remember how much fun and what a big success the first one was.

21/09/2021

6:30 P.M. WED. SEPT. 22 VIRTUAL MEETING … Still have questions about “cryptocurrecy” and “bitcoin mining?” (I bet you do … )
Then join Lauren Darcy — senior planner of ecological Programs at the Buffalo-Niagara Water Keepers — along with former Plattsburg, NY, mayor and economics professor Dr. Colin Read and NY Assemblywoman Anna Kelles to unpack all the buzz around “the cryptocurrency dilemma.” (Presented by the Sierra Club.)
They will discuss the environmental impacts, and in particular “it’s excessive use of energy, and its local impact in North Tonawanda.”
Register for the presentation here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsdeyvqT8tE9O7BE916z-S1TCVRgST-5Uv

10/09/2021

Former Western New Yorkers open up about 9/11 one year later in New York City (2002) ...

Because he lived just two miles from the smoldering, stinking, spewing nightmare of Ground Zero, the former Albion resident reported his Greenwich Village neighborhood seemingly deserted for weeks.

09/09/2021

NT planning board on Wednesday approves Digihost site plan with "bitcoin mining" facility going active Sept. 2022.

After months of trying to keep the Erie Ave. project away from public eyes, failing to hold a proper public hearing on what many argued was a new land use in the city as well as addressing air quality and other concerns from sources that didn’t have a financial stake in the project … members of ...

09/09/2021

NT planning board on Wednesday approves Digihost site plan with "bitcoin mining" facility planned to go active Sept. 2022.

NT Planning Commission votes unanimously to approve Digihost's amended site plan. "Bitcoin mining" facility planned to be operational by Sept. 2022.

01/09/2021

NT Planning Board meeting 6 p.m. Sept. 8 will determine direction of controversial and poorly understood use of Erie Ave. power plant as a “bitcoin mining facility.”

There’s considerable concern regarding a proposed plan to operate a “computer farm” on Erie Ave. — performing energy intensive “bitcoin mining” in trailers there —and run the power plant full blast to power it.

24/08/2021

A former translator for U.S. forces in Afghanistan — who’s now living in North Tonawanda — has been trying desperately for weeks to aid his family trapped in Kabul ... Please share this story as a family's fate hangs in the balance and their hero is yet to be found ...

A former translator for U.S. forces in Afghanistan — who’s now living in North Tonawanda — has been trying desperately for weeks to aid his family trapped in Kabul.

10/08/2021

What's the public benefit here for North Tonawanda? And what will the costs be for residents of the surrounding neighborhoods? This information needs to be shared soon at a public hearing …

This needs to be said in no uncertain terms: before this proposed sale takes one step further the City of North Tonawanda needs to schedule and publicize a public hearing to bring together the community, city officials, relevant experts as well as the individual who’s looking to buy this power pla...

03/08/2021

During a Monday meeting of the North Tonawanda Planning Commission representatives from Fortistar and the bitcoin mining operation looking to buy the plant discuss the site plan. Residents looking for "big picture" answers (like local environmental impacts as well as what "bitcoin mining" is all about) won't get a lot of answers here. Questions weren't taken from the audience, and planning commission members made comments and asked questions only about the agenda items: "A site plan review for construction of concrete slab to house shipping container structures to house computer equipment as well as pads and transformers for power distribution at 1070 Erie Avenue." (Additionally, apologies for missing about the last three minutes of footage — storage ran out — and for my loud and furious typing.

Site plan review for construction of concrete slap to house shipping container structures to house computer equipment as well as pads and transformers for po...

30/06/2021

Video of address from NT mayoral candidate and Alderman-at-Large Austin Tylec (18:41), with opening remarks from City of Lockport Mayor Michelle Roman, Assemblyman Bill Conrad (2:40) and NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (6:30). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqjCkEqS7mA

Address from North Tonawanda mayoral candidate and Alderman-at-Large Austin Tylec (18:41), with opening remarks from City of Lockport Mayor Michelle Roman, A...

21/06/2021

Across Niagara County in Tuesday's (June 22) Working Families Party primary, WFP-endorsed candidates are facing off against cynical game playing that threatens the integrity of the party ...

In Niagara Falls, Lockport and North Tonawanda candidates endorsed by the Working Families Party in Tuesday’s (June 22) primary election are being challenged by phony “paper” candidates and cynical line grabbers desperate at all costs to tilt the playing field in their favor — even when it.....

03/06/2021

It says, “Welcome!” “Have fun!” “Be yourself!” Who doesn’t want that?

Not only is it the right thing to do — granting representation to communities that have been historically denied it and are still discriminated against — it’s also the smart thing to do for a county that’s pinning much of its future hopes on expanding tourism.

13/05/2021

“We seem to be held hostage on this repair,” says NT alderman prodding CSX to fix tracks at Niagara Falls Blvd. and Erie Ave./Shawnee Road ...

The rubber rail crossings at Niagara Falls Blvd. and Erie Avenue/Shawnee Road have worn away and exposed an increasingly dangerous amount of track, especially considering the 40-mph posted limit on the stretch.

10/05/2021

What's the next chapter for economic development in the Lumber City ... ???

NT’s common council meeting last week saw the surprise announcement that Mike Zimmerman, Director of the city’s Lumber City Development Corporation, would be leaving the position May 14.

04/05/2021

With their boneheaded and dishonest legal arguments kicked into the dust, Republican leadership had until 5 p.m. May 3rd to appeal the legal drubbing their frivolous lawsuit again WFP-endorsed candidates had received.

A boneheaded nuisance lawsuit filed by the state GOP — and signed off and supported by the Niagara County Republican party — tried to get legitimately endorsed candidates of The Working Families Party off the ballot. (One of them is Legislator Anita Mullane, above, who’s holding the served law...

29/04/2021

Two years ago, Niagara County said it doesn’t handle ethics cases in NT; now it’s clear the city has taken no steps and still doesn’t have one ...

An NT resident who submitted an ethics complaint and waited two years for a response has now been told in writing the process to establish an ethics review committee will begin “immediately.”

11/04/2021

JOURNALIST EDWIN VIERA WRITES how six schools would have been impacted by toxic emissions from the asphalt plant. Additionally, autoimmune disease is rampant in Niagara County, and another business that produces toxic emissions is not the direction the county should be heading in, says community activist.

Following a great deal of opposition, the Town of Niagara has reversed its position on a proposed asphalt plant being developed by AL Asphalt.

15/03/2021

This WNY open-government group went statewide in 2020, and in celebration of SUNSHINE WEEK is now partnering with NYS Assembly Member Amy Paulin to introduce several amendments strengthening the Open Meetings Law (by mandating municipalities update their websites with vital public information) and making FOIL requests more affordable to individuals by requiring municipalities provide electronic documents instead of photocopied materials. Whether you’re an independent, Democrat, Conservative, Working Families Party member or Republican, open government benefits EVERYONE … !!!

Sunshine Week was started in March 2005, by the American Society of News Editors to educate the public about the importance of open government and the dang...

10/03/2021

A primary race is set for the Working Families Party ballot line in the City of Lockport ...

“Niagara County Legislator Anita Mullane, D-Lockport, announced her re-election campaign for the 13th Legislative District. Mullane is endorsed by the county and city Democratic committees and recently earned the Working Families Party endorsement from the state committee.