Coaches, local politicians, parents and players crammed into the NTAA room at Rescue Fire Hall in North Tonawanda today to protest encroachment on a sport that’s been at the heart of NT athletics for generations.

However, state lawmakers citing medical evidence say tackle-football for kids under 12 — whose bodies are still developing — is dangerous and can lead to serious and permanent conditions including Alzheimer’s.

Youth-tackle advocates, however, say all contact sports are potentially dangerous and involve concussions, and they wonder why football is being singled out.

Also, youth football coaches are better trained in keeping kids safe, and [...]

Fusion voting is a scourge on New York State and needs to be eliminated to help stop the party-invasion tactics that have corrupted the Conservative and Independence parties and makes a mockery of our electoral system.

Fusion voting is also an important vehicle for allowing choice among voters, gives third parties a stronger voice influencing the platforms of major parties and has been constitutionally protected by the courts since 1910.

Those were some of the arguments made at Tuesday’s NYS Fair Elections Hearing, the last of four taking place across the state ahead of a Dec. 1 deadline for creating a public finance program.

The aim is to limit the [...]

For businesses at the Niagara Falls International Airport campus, the “high-speed” Internet is slow, unreliable and “far too expensive,” according to Niagara County Economic Director Michael Casale (above left).

Casale cited an airport stakeholders’ assessment during last week’s economic development committee meeting that also found the complex suffered from having just a few internet providers.

“The stakeholders mission is to make the airport more inviting for businesses,” Casale said.

With a $400,000 grant from the Empire State Development, the airport might get the internet it needs to be more competitive. 

“There is no [...]

In a stunning betrayal of open government and transparency, the Niagara County Republicans sabotaged a compromise Tuesday to move most public speaking to the first 30 minutes of its legislature meetings.

Last week, during the legislature’s Administration committee meeting, Paul Wolf of the Buffalo Niagara Coalition for Open Government spoke and recommended passing a legislator’s resolution that would move “For the Good of the County” speaking to the beginning of the meeting.

Currently, residents wishing to speak to the legislature about non-agenda items must wait usually two or three hours to do so. 

Additionally, the meeting is adjourned so [...]