Chris Jacobs

With control of the New York State Senate on the ballot Election Day, state legislation about child abuse by clergy has moved onto the political scene.

For supporters of Buffalo's Elmwood Village, the good news is major development along the popular shopping strip. The bad news is that there are a lot of vacant storefronts. However, there is a push to figure out why the gap.

The economic comeback that has inspired so many in Buffalo of late includes significant investments by local developers.

Domestic violence advocacy groups are getting a financial boost by way of grants from the State of New York.

It is a disease that does not get much attention, but for those who suffer from Lyme disease or have close family members who do, it is an awful health problem for which they say there is not much help out.

There is an increasingly vocal group in Western New York. Its members are suffering from Lyme disease or are family members of those with the tick-borne disease. They packed an Erie Community College South auditorium Monday night to complain they are not getting the help they need.

Local governments will have more money to spend on paving and other road repairs. The state budget boosts spending on road, bridge and other infrastructure needs, as State Senator Chris Jacobs recently announced.

Four local police departments are receiving state public protection funds that had been approved for each agency years ago but had never been delivered.

The campaigns for the Erie County Clerk's office have not begun in earnest, but candidates for the post are beginning to line up.

Again this year, it looks as if state aid for schools will be the major source of problems in buttoning down a state budget by the end of the week when the current budget expires.

The State of the State is coming to Buffalo Monday afternoon, as Governor Cuomo has moved the Constitutionally-mandated message and speech from Albany to six sites around the state. Monday morning he will deliver the address in Manhattan before flying to Buffalo for an appearance at the University at Buffalo's Center for the Arts.

While Donald Trump's victory in the Presidential election came as a surprise to many, there was one local Republican figure who believed in Trump's possibilities from the start. According to Buffalo News Political Reporter Bob McCarthy, developer Carl Paladino "saw something that nobody else did, including the pollsters."

Presidential candidate Donald Trump may be losing support from some national Republican figures, but he maintains a strong following throughout Upstate New York. That's the view of Buffalo News Political Reporter Bob McCarthy, who notes that Congressman Chris Collins is bucking the trend by remaining firmly in the Trump camp.

Across New York, thousands of residents are getting pistol permits, with the applications rising rapidly statewide.

The Erie County Board of Elections has issued mixed rulings regarding two petitions in the upcoming race for the New York State Senate 60th District.

Chris Jacobs, the Erie County Clerk and former Buffalo School Board member, is now officially a candidate for the New York State Senate seat that will be soon given up by its current holder.

Western New Yorkers will be dealing with that rarest of political prizes in the State Legislature: an open seat following Senator Marc Panepinto's decision to not run for a second term.