Category: PostNews

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The president and CEO of Catholic Health will hold a press conference at Mercy Hospital regarding the ongoing contract negotiations with CWA.

CWA strike continues as union and Catholic Health fail to meet at the bargaining table to resume negotiations

Catholic Health says he will also take some questions from the media at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon.

Mercy Hospital strike: Union committed to work ‘as long as it takes’ to reach agreement

You can watch Sullivan speak in the video player above.

Biden Mandates “Vax or Test” Requirement for Larger Employers 

On September 9th, President Joe Biden announced a new mandate: all employers with 100 or more employees must ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require weekly testing of unvaccinated workers. Biden announced he would also require contractors doing business with the federal government to be fully vaccinated.  

The details of this mandate will be in an OSHA regulation that has not yet been released. The BNP will alert you as soon as the details are released.  

Shortly after Biden’s announcement, the BNP hosted an HR expert to discuss how employers can navigate this mandate. The presentation is available here. 

The BNP has many resources to help you vaccinate your workforce, available here.  

Fate of Infrastructure Uncertain 

Speaker Pelosi planned to hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure framework by September 27th, but the House’s lack of consensus caused the vote to again be delayed. Progressive members have vowed to hold up the bipartisan infrastructure legislation until the Senate passes the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which contains key tenants of the President’s “Build Back Better” agenda. However, the reconciliation bill in its current form lacks majority support in the Senate.   

The BNP supports the bipartisan infrastructure legislation and has met with some of our regional representatives to explain its benefits. We will continue to keep you informed as these contentious negotiations unfold.  

To learn more and urge your representatives to support the bipartisan infrastructure bill, visit our site.  

Border Closure Extended Again 

On the same morning that the White House announced it would welcome vaccinated European travelers in November, DHS Secretary Mayorkas announced the U.S. was extending the closure of the Canadian border through October 21.  

The BNP has been outspoken about the need to reopen the border since the spring.  

In the BNP Annual Member Survey, administered two weeks ago, 57% of BNP members said they have been negatively impacted by the U.S.-Canada border closure.  

Minimum Wage Increased 

The minimum wage in upstate New York will increase to $13.20/hour, effective December 31. Because of a 2016 law, the state Department of Labor has the authority to raise the minimum wage annually, until all regions reach $15/hour. More information is available here.  

Comptroller: Employers May Face UI Rate Increases 

NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli recently released a study analyzing the state’s unemployment system. The findings were concerning and highlight a problem on which BNP has been sounding the alarm. In the report, DiNapoli concluded that “action is needed to avoid hiking costs for New York businesses and slowing the state’s economic recovery.” 

BNP partner organization Upstate United penned an op-ed in The Buffalo News explaining the report and the issue. 

In the BNP’s welcome letter to Gov. Hochul, we mentioned stabilizing the UI system as something she should prioritize in her first 100 days. Since then, the BNP has followed up with a detailed explanation on actions the state should take to prevent exorbitant rate increases. For more information, visit our blog. To contact state lawmakers about this crisis, use our one-click advocacy tool.

Key Elections Looming 

Election Day is less than four weeks away. There are many important local races this year, which will shape our communities mightily.  

To vote, voters must be registered by October 8. Mail-in ballot applications must be received by the county board of elections by October 18. Early voting is also available from October 23-31. 

The BNP urges all members to participate in these critical elections and support candidates who understand the needs of our regional economy.  

BNP Hosts Panel on Hochul 

In an effort to help members learn what to expect from our new governor, the BNP recently assembled a panel of Albany experts and insiders. Panelists included Bernadette Hogan (NY Post), Bob McCarthy (The Buffalo News), Karen DeWitt (NYS Public Radio), and Jack O’Donnell (O’Donnell & Associates).  

The insightful discussion can be viewed by BNP members here. 

The post BNP Advocacy Insider – October 2021 appeared first on Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Congressman Brian Higgins says the federal government should make a program aimed at fighting gun violence permanent.

The federal VIPER task force was launched in Buffalo and other parts of the region in June to try and bring down gun crime.

A few months later, Higgins is now commending VIPER’s success.

In early September, the program was extended through October. And Higgins says he wants to extend it for a second time.

Right now, it’s set to expire at the end of the month. Higgins says it’s been working.

“VIPER has been remarkably successful at stemming gun violence and saving lives,” Higgins says. “Buffalo has seen a 50 percent decrease — a 50 percent decrease in homicides since the program started.”

Higgins says gun violence is a local and nationwide problem.

He cited a recent report by the FBI showing the number of murders in the U.S. spiking by 30 percent over the past year.

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Cheektowaga man Travis Zukic, 29, responsible for killing 23-year-old Hannah Morse, and attempting to kill a responding Cheektowaga Police officer, will spend an indeterminate sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office says Zukic learned his fate Wednesday morning from an Erie County Judge.

Zukic shot and killed Morse with a shotgun at the 7-Eleven on French Road in Cheektowaga she was working at on March 1, 2020, officials say.

Police identify woman shot, killed inside Cheektowaga 7-Eleven

Two other women were also working inside the store at the time of the shooting.

After shooting Morse, the DA’s office says Zukic intentionally fired a single round from his shotgun at a Cheektowaga Police officer as they entered the 7-Eleven to investigate. The officer was not hurt, and police took Zukic into custody.

Investigators tell News 4 this was a random attack.

Zukic pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder on August 25.

Cheektowaga man admits to murdering 7-Eleven employee inside French Rd. store

“This one of the most senseless and gruesome crimes that has been prosecuted by this office since I became District Attorney. This defendant randomly targeted these women while they were at work and forced them at gunpoint into a back room where he decided to murder Hannah Morse as her two co-workers watched in horror,” DA Flynn said. “Hannah was pursuing her dreams and working at this convenience store to pay for her college tuition when this defendant decided to end her young life. The two surviving victims will be forever traumatized by what they witnessed on that tragic day. I hope that the family of Hannah Morse feels that justice has been served by this defendant being sentenced to potentially a lifetime of imprisonment.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Italian food is once again being cooked up in DiTondo’s storied Seneca Street kitchen. But as the restaurant reopens after a three-year hiatus, it has a new name, new owners and a new vision.

Rita DiTondo, a great-granddaughter of original owner Sebastiano DiTondo, and her father, John, bought the restaurant from John’s cousins in 2019. She and her husband Fabio Consonni, an Italian-born chef, reopened in a renovated building Wednesday as “DiTondo,” without the S.

Buffalo restaurants duke it out to see who serves the best meatball

The restaurant is currently open for lunch Monday through Friday, noon to 2:30 p.m., and features 60 seats indoors plus 30 more outside on a covered patio. But gone are staples like spaghetti parm, meatballs and Italian sausage. The new menu, which will rotate on a seasonal basis, is currently limited to a handful main dishes, two sides and dessert.

“The restaurant’s new lunch menu evokes feelings of comfort, family and nostalgia, sentiments that have been associated with DiTondo for decades,” the restaurant said in a press release. “The menu focuses on regional Italian cuisine, pulling inspiration from Italy’s 20 diverse regions and Fabio’s experiences working in kitchens in both Europe and the United States. The wine list has been curated by Rita (a trained sommelier) and will highlight Italian wines from small family-run wineries, with a focus on sustainability.”

Jay’s Artisan Pizza, owned by 23-year-old, recognized as one of the 50 Best Pizzerias in the U.S.

Main dishes include:

Lasagne: Lasagna with bolognese meat ragu ($16)Crespelle: Crepes with mushrooms and fontina cheese ($14)Trofie: Trofie pasta, pesto, potatoes and green beans ($14)Parmigiana: Eggplant parm ($12)Involtini di vitello: Stuffed veal rolls, olives and tomato sauce ($16)Zuppa: Fall soup: Beans, squash, kale and pecorino ($12)

Sides are focaccia pugliese (flatbread with cherry tomatoes and olives, $8) and insalata (seasonal salad greens with nutritional yeast, $6). For dessert, panna cotta and honey ($7) and tiramisu ($7).

The restaurant’s original facade was recreated during renovations and dropped ceilings were removed, allowing for sunlight. The original bar is still intact near the entrance. Parking is available in the restaurant’s usual corner lot. (Restaurant at 370 Seneca St., lot at Seneca and Cedar.)

DiTondo is planning to add dinner hours in the coming months.

“We are honored to carry on the legacy of the DiTondo family and reintroduce this beloved Buffalo restaurant, which has been a treasured and familiar place for family, friends and colleagues for more than one hundred years” said co-founder Rita DiTondo. “We are embracing the old and the new, and decades of DiTondo tradition are guiding this next chapter for the restaurant. We welcome back the people who have dined and made memories here for generations and we invite anyone who would like to experience all that is happening in downtown Buffalo, in the Larkin District and in between — along Seneca Street.”

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warns of scam emails posing as him

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — Every 10 years, the legislative district map in Niagara County gets redrawn.

Based on 2020 census data, the county has released its proposal for changes to the legislative districts. There are 15 districts in Niagara County.

“The five members of the commission reviewed the initial census data and unanimously decided that, given the relative stability in population across the county and the fact the current legislative map was unanimously adopted by the Legislature 10 years ago, our focus would be to bring districts into compliance with a minimal amount of disruption to the current district map,” Steve Brady, chairman of the Redistricting Commission, said. “The map we are proposing would make no changes to 10 of the districts and only slight population adjustments to the other five.”

MORE | See the new plan here.

Comparing the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Niagara County’s population of 212,666 is a drop of more than 3,800 people.

The county says that the “ideal” legislative district is 14,178 people based on 15 districts.

Niagara County says two public hearings on the proposal will take place next week:

Tuesday, October 12 at 6 p.m. in the Niagara Falls City Hall Council Chambers — 745 Main St., Niagara FallsWednesday, October 13 at 6 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers, Niagara County Courthouse — 175 Hawley St., Lockport

SALAMANCA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Salamanca City Central School District Superintendent Robert Breidenstein will retire at the end of the school year.

The school district announced his resignation on Wednesday morning. It will take effect on June 30.

Breidenstein’s career in education began in 1990, when he served as a mental health counselor, and then a school counselor, in Genesee County.

He went on to serve as an administrator in a number of school districts, including Orchard Park, West Seneca and Tonawanda.

In 2011, he became Superintendent in the Salamanca school district. During this time, he helped secure more than $125 million in financial aid for six Indegenous Land districts in western New York.

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) — The southbound side of the South Grand Island Bridge will be closed on Wednesday night so that a crew can perform pavement repair work at the south end approach.

The closure will go from Wednesday night at 8 p.m. until Thursday at 5 a.m.

During this time, all traffic will be diverted to the northbound side of the bridge.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Niagara Falls cardboard manufacturing facility has been fined $375,000 and ordered to make changes after violating air and water quality laws.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says Cascades Containerboard Packaging committed the following violations:

emitting noxious odors to the surrounding neighborhoodfailing to properly operate and maintain the anaerobic digester and two activated sludge reactorsoperating unpermitted air pollution emissions sources within the facility’s wastewater treatment plant and sludge processing and handling systemsfailing to report equipment malfunctionsreleasing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emissions that exceeded the allowable ambient H2S concentrations off-site

As part of a consent order, Cascades must monitor their emissions and conduct comprehensive air sampling. Additionally, improvements such as replacing temporary covers on sludge reactors with permanent ones must take place.

Another part of the consent order requires that they maintain a 24-hour odor complaint hotline (1-833-461-8898) and email for public use (niagara@cascades.com).

If Cascades doesn’t comply with this order, they could face additional penalties.

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — If you’ve seen a giant boot on wheels driving around Western New York, your eyes are not deceiving you. L.L. Bean’s “Bootmobile” is in town and is hard to miss on the University at Buffalo north campus.

A four-person team representing the Freeport, Maine-based company is traveling around the Northeast and visiting college campuses. The Bootmobile brought a pop-up “Adventure Together” shop in tow featuring outerwear and the “Bean Boots” that started it all.

Molly Swindall drives the fourteen-foot tall fiberglass duck boot and is no stranger to getting behind the wheel of odd vehicles. She used to drive the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

“We’ve been driving around all over the Northeast and we’ve already started to see the leaves change and it’s been absolutely ‘bootiful’ so we want to make sure people are equipped with the things they need to see those bootiful trees in a couple weeks as well,” Swindall said.

L.L. Bean store coming to Boulevard Consumer Square shopping center

If you want to check out the size 708 boot and pop-up shop, Wednesday is your last chance. The L.L. Bean team will be outside the UB North Campus Student Union from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more details, click here.

Those who check out the Bootmobile have the chance to win an L.L. Bean $300 gift card and receive a boot keychain.

Bootmobile team: Molly Swindall, Tucker Van Dusen, Wilson Cramp, Bob York and Janis Shane

Bootmobile exterior

Bootmobile interior

Bootmobile exterior

Bootmobile front end

Bootmobile back end

Adventure Together pop-up shop

Adventure Together pop-up shop

L.L. Bean product box truck

Here are some Bootmobile fast facts:

The vehicle is a converted Chevy Silverado 3500. Its eyelets are made of upside-down bundt cake pans. The shoelaces are mooring ropes. There are a total of three Bootmobiles in L.L. Bean’s fleet.