Category: Western NY

New York’s failure to review permits for the state’s worst air polluters in a timely manner has meant some businesses have gone years without conducting tests to determine how much pollution they are spewing into the air, according to documents obtained by The Buffalo News. It’s a lapse in oversight by the state’s Department of…

Officials with the City of Buffalo are asking residents for their cooperation to ensure streets are accessible for snow removal and cleanup crews. As the city’s Department of Public Works focuses on clearing snow from side streets, residents who park on streets with alternate parking regulations must move their vehicles by 6 p.m. today to…

ALBANY – A Siena College poll of 834 registered New York voters released Tuesday showed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s favorability and approval ratings have improved, but that both remain below 50%. The first-term Democratic governor and Buffalo native scored a 39% favorability rating, up three points from an October Siena poll. Hochul’s approval rating improved five…

Heavy lake-effect snow starting Friday and continuing through Sunday affected delivery of The Buffalo News. Commercial truck driving bans and road closures are currently in place that prevent us from delivering Saturday’s paper. The newspaper will be delivered as soon as driving bans are lifted and it is safe for our contractors. We thank you…

The Buffalo Niagara region’s jobless rate inched up in October. The unemployment rate increased to 3.6% from 3.4% in September, according to state Labor Department figures released on Tuesday. The number of people counted as unemployed increased by 3.8% from a month ago, to 19,300. But at the same time, the size of the region’s…

The future of a gas power plant in North Tonawanda was thrown into question Thursday. A State Supreme Court judge ruled the New York State Public Service Commission should have considered the state’s climate law when weighing whether a cryptocurrency mining company, Digihost, could acquire the power plant. The PSC granted Digihost’s petition to purchase…

The City of Buffalo is further delaying the enforcement of winter parking restrictions. The regulations will not be enforced until Dec. 1, due to unseasonably warm weather conditions forecasted for the upcoming weeks, said City of Buffalo Mayor Christopher P. Scanlon. The restrictions are being delayed for parking on bus routes between the hours of 1:30…

ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday said the operators of the Sumitomo Rubber USA plant in the Town of Tonawanda closed the facility, leading to the loss of 1,550 jobs, without any prior notification in a “shock to the community and to the employees.” “This has been a real kick in the teeth to…

Three cases of rabies have been confirmed in raccoons and a bat that were caught during the past two weeks in the Town of Lockport, the Niagara County Department of Health reported. The first raccoon was captured and removed on Oct. 23 on Parkwood Drive by a nuisance wildlife control official, the health department said.…

A customer at a convenience store in Lackawanna won the $36,388.50 top prize in Friday evening’s Take 5 drawing, New York Lottery officials announced. The winning ticket, which was purchased at the 7-Eleven store at 1329 Abbott Road at Ridge Road, matched all five winning numbers: 2, 8, 9, 16 and 22. There were 154…