Local

Longtime political operative G. Steven Pigeon, whose many past roles includes Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman, was formally charged Thursday morning with six counts related to an alleged incident five years ago involving a girl, according to prosecutors, was younger than 11 years old at the time.

Starbucks Workers United, the group of baristas trying to make Buffalo-area locations the coffee giant’s first unionized stores in the U.S., says almost a third of workers participating in the union vote are ineligible.

Mike Desmond reports on Eastman, still doing business in Buffalo more than a century later

Farmers warn a 40-hour work week will put them out of business and are urging a state wage board to vote against it.

Former Deputy Buffalo Mayor Steve Casey's firm L.S.A. Strategies was ordered to pay restitution for defrauding former Erie County Legislative Chairman Charles Swanick.

It was nearly two months ago when Trini Ross took the reins as the new US Attorney for the Western District of New York. As she’s explaining, the reckoning is continuing in the criminal justice system, as some of its basic tenets are examined, like sending people away to long prison sentences and forgetting them.

The US Supreme Court was hearing arguments Wednesday on a Mississippi abortion ban which many see as a case that could cut back on or revoke the Roe versus Wade decision allowing abortions across the country. New York’s own abortion legislation would be unaffected if the landmark 1973 decision is ultimately overturned, says a UB expert.

Erie County officials say Monday’s COVID positivity rate was at 12 percent, with 832 new positive tests reported for that day. During Tuesday’s COVID briefing, county leaders discussed ongoing efforts to curb the spread. They’re also concerned for an anticipated post-holiday increase, while also keeping their eyes on COVID’s latest variant, Omicron.

Two local communities will receive $10 million for downtown transformation projects through a competitive state program.