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A Pennsylvania substitute teacher has been arraigned on charges stemming from a sexual relationship she allegedly had with a student. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, Emalee Kedzierski, 28, of Harborcreek Township, Erie County, was employed as a substitute teacher at a local school district. While working as a substitute, she allegedly began a sexual relationship with a juvenile male victim. Millcreek Animal Control officer resigns after allegations of animal mistreatment Police allege that Kedzierski also supplied alcohol to the victim. The alleged crimes reportedly occurred between June 1, 2021, and July 4, 2021. Kedzierski reportedly was charged with institutional...

Ten days after a Trafalgar Poll showed Kathy Barnette running an unusually close third in the Republican primary for U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, talk and support have been mounting for the TV commentator whom few — if any — had given a chance against two multimillionaire front-runners. Last week, Sen. Joni Ernst issued a surprise endorsement for Barnette — one of two women in the six-candidate primary for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey and the only contender who is Black. Iowa Republican Ernst, vice-chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and a conservative stalwart, is considered a promising...

A veteran New York state judge killed himself less than two weeks after his home was raided by investigators, according to one of his attorneys. John Michalski, an acting justice on the Erie County Supreme Court, died by suicide Tuesday at his Amherst home, where federal and state law enforcement officers had executed a search warrant 12 days earlier, the Buffalo News reported. He was 61. “It’s heartbreaking,” defense attorney Terrence Connors told the newspaper. “He was such a good guy. This just didn’t have to happen.”

Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) in Erie County, New York, found itself the subject of national headlines this week for its work incorporating anti-racist principles into its curriculum. ...The curriculum has received pushback from the right along with accusations that its teachings are "anti-white" and inappropriate for school... ...Dr. Fatima Morrell, BPS' associate superintendent for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Initiatives, led the charge for the incorporation of BLM-based curricula for grades K-12 for the 2020-2021 school year. It is derived from the organization Black Lives Matter at School, an educator-driven movement advocating for racial justice in education. Its guiding principles include...

Stefan I. Mychajliw Jr., the comptroller for Erie County, New York, has taken a stand for liberty and small businesses098and has used his legal authority to prevent the Erie County Health Department from collecting, cashing, or depositing fines issued for violating COVID-19 restrictions. Fines for COVID-19 violations in Erie County will now be sent directly to the comptroller’s office instead of the Health Department. “I am exerting the accounting authority given to my Office by the Erie County Charter. Changing accounting policies fall under my authority as Erie County Comptroller. This change in policy does not require approval by the...

Martin Gugino — the 75-year-old man who was shoved to the ground by Buffalo police in a video seen by millions — is a long-time peace activist and “gentle person,” according to friends. The resident of Amherst in Erie County is a member of the People United for Sustainable Housing Buffalo and anti-nuclear group Kings BayPlowshares, the Buffalo News reported. “He’s a gentle person who really believes that he must stand up for what he thinks is right,” said Gugino’s pal Terrence Bisson. “That’s why he went to the demonstration. He would never resist physically any kind of orders. He’s...

An Erie County man who describes regret over voting for President Donald Trump in 2016 didn’t vote for him, according to news organizations that checked his voting record. Mark Graham is featured (featured in videos created by America Bridge, a Democrat-supporting political action committee, or PAC. The ads are part of a $5 million advertising campaign being waged by American Bridge in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.)

Three years after a presidential election that came down to 77,000 votes in three Midwestern battlegrounds, Democrats and Republicans are eyeing a much larger battlefield ahead of the 2020 contests, one that stretches from the picturesque coastline of rural Maine to the high desert of Arizona. Both President Trump’s campaign and the Democrats vying to replace him are scrutinizing a political map in flux, one in which attitudes and alignments are shifting and new regions are coming into play.As many as a dozen states could be up for grabs next year as economic and international uncertainty pairs with a cauldron...

New York Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz: This Sunday ICE is planning raids on immigrant communities across our nation. Buffalo is a welcoming community to immigrants so we may be a target. If you need help please call the NYS New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636. #ICEraids #FamiliesBelongTogether #FamiliasUnidasMark Poloncarz, Country Executive, Erie County, New York New York "New Americans" Hotline

<p>Former Erie County Democratic Party chair G. Steven Pigeon has been charged in an eight-count indictment accusing him of bribing a state Supreme Court justice.</p> <p>Pigeon, 56, of Buffalo, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services wire fraud, three counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of federal programs bribery and three counts of violation of the Travel Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.</p>

Four words that he uttered at a news conference last May helped Timothy B. Howard win a third term as Erie County sheriff. The words were “I won’t enforce it,” and Howard was talking about the SAFE Act, a controversial new state firearms law that has outraged gun owners. The support of angry firearms owners helped the Republican sheriff to a big win Tuesday over his Democratic Party opponent, retired Sheriff’s Deputy Richard E. Dobson, and Sheriff’s Lt. Bert D. Dunn, a Law and Order Party candidate who lost the Democratic nomination in the September primary. Howard, 63, of South...

Although much attention was focused on the elections on Tuesday of decidedly left-of-center Democrats in Boston and New York City, little reported was the major gain of Republicans in two Northeastern states long considered "no man's land" for the GOP. Republicans took considerable new ground in contests for city halls and county offices in New York and Connecticut. In New York, Republicans re-elected county executives in Westchester and Nassau Counties, captured the mayoralty in Binghamton and a majority of the county legislature in Erie County for the first time since 1977, and won a special election for the state Assembly...

(Buffalo, NY, May 4, 2005) - - You're seeing this story first right here! He missed four meetings in a row, and News 4's Mylous Hairston has learned that Erie County lawmaker Chuck Swanick will soon hop a train and return to his old career as a railroad engineer. After 25 years in County Hall, Chuck Swanick may be riding the rails out of the Erie County legislature. News 4 has confirmed the Republican lawmaker has a job lined up with CSX. James Louis, chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Local 421, said, "Chuck Swanick has re-applied to come...

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Group seeks to unseat incumbents throughout Western New York By ANTHONY CARDINALE News Staff Reporter 2/5/2005 More than 40 politically minded people from all over Western New York showed up Thursday evening for a meeting of a new organization intent on unseating incumbents in the next election. Primary Challenge zeroed in on Erie County legislators who support a penny increase in the sales tax. "We have been in existence for four weeks, and already we have mobilized a small army," said Leonard A. Roberto of Batavia, head of the group. This first public meeting was held in Veterans Park Baptist...

Lately there has been a cry coming from Freepers in the Buffalo, Niagara Falls areas that we get a chapter going. We at one time had a Chapter, we need to do it again. Our first meeting was held 02/24/2001 There are all to many issues on the table this year that need to be addressed. Just in Erie County alone the issue most pressing is the pay raises for the County Executive, Sheriff, Controller, Clerk and the Legislature. The democrats have openly endorsed J F Kerry. State Sen Byron Brown will be the annointed one for Mayor of Buffalo....

Joel Giambra Considering Run at U.S. Senate WBEN Newsroom - Monday, January 5, 2004 06:08 PM Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - Erie County Executive Joel Giambra is among the top New York Republicans being considered to challenge Charles Schumer in this year's U.S. Senate race. Giambra tells NewsRadio 930 WBEN he's been in contact with GOP leaders in Washington and Albany to discuss a possible Senate run. Giambra says he's still in a "listening phase," and has not yet come to a final decision. He says he'll likely make a decision within the next 30 to 45 days, and would only...

ALBANY - County Executive Joel A. Giambra is asking state leaders to raise the sales tax by 1 percentage point and use the more than $1 billion in new revenue to fund Medicaid, the health care program for poor and elderly people. If the state were to approve such a plan, the total sales tax in Erie County would be 9 percent. But counties then would be able take the money that they previously spent on Medicaid and use it to cut property taxes or pay for services, such as police. The unusual call for a sales tax increase comes...