A proposed Erie County law might give local small businesses a better shot at winning contracts from Erie County, a huge regional consumer of goods and services.

(No subscription needed) Buffalo News reporters Sandra Tan and Justin Sondel pick five local government stories to watch this week. Here's why they're important and why we're covering the stories.

Erie County approved a $1.95 million security deal with the Buffalo Sabres after a last-minute debate over whether team reimbursements cover the true cost of sheriff’s deputies.

Erie County officials aim for zero suicides, but 101 people died by suicide last year. A look at what's happening here and nationwide.

New agreements will increase Erie County’s reimbursement for security at Sabres games and pay deputies for escorting NFL officiating crews.

Preview key issues facing Buffalo’s local leadership this week. The Buffalo News unpacks what is under consideration, what could happen next and why it matters to Western New Yorkers.

Public records provide a closer look at how Erie County legislators spend their time and carry out a part-time elected job.

Despite expanded outreach, new data reveals persistent racial and gender gaps across Erie County police departments, particularly outside Buffalo.

Hundreds attended a relocated Homeland Security job expo in Buffalo, where some applicants received conditional offers as protesters demonstrated against ICE recruitment.

As Erie County’s homelessness crisis grows, hotels have become makeshift shelters — shifting the burden into suburban communities and raising concerns for residents and homeless families alike.

The Department of Homeland Security career expo in Buffalo is still happening tomorrow and Wednesday, just not at the Buffalo Convention Center. And the political drama and commentary over its initial cancellation is nowhere near dying down.

Erie County and Buffalo Convention Center officials canceled a DHS career expo over planned ICE recruitment, protest risks and public safety concerns, drawing criticism from a Republican county lawmaker.

A 46-year-old Buffalo man became the fifth person linked to Erie County’s jails to die since 2025. He was found unresponse just past midnight on Saturday.

Mark Poloncarz and Jeremy Zellner address speculation about party leadership, state jobs and their political futures as Erie County Democrats look ahead to an eventually changing of the guard.

Erie County taxpayers spent more than $800 million on Bills stadiums over five decades. Here’s where the money went – and what changes now.

The upkeep costs for the county's downtown Holding Center and Alden Correctional Facility are expected to reach astonishing sums, with no new jail in the cards.

An Erie County Clerk’s Office employee, who bypassed background checks to illegally give someone he knew a pistol permit, has been sentenced to 25 hours of community service and a one-year conditional discharge.

Anthony “Tony” Lewis, was a longtime Buffalo State professor but he’s remembered for reviving the city’s stand-up comedy scene, among many, many other things.

Another challenge to longtime Erie County Democratic leadership is raising questions about party power, internal divisions and who shapes Erie County’s political future.

Buffalo Bills fans have been clamoring for safe sidewalks near the stadium for years. Plans are in the works to give them what they want.

Erie County is gambling that rare lawsuits will cost less than pricey insurance, taking on greater liability risk for any altercations between stadium goers and sheriff’s deputies.

Erie County plans to drop costly insurance covering sheriff’s deputies at Bills games, betting rare stadium claims will cost taxpayers less than soaring premiums.

It took more time for inmate Antonio Pizarro to be found dead in an Erie County jail cell than it apparently took for two inmates to kill him.

Antonio Pizarro was targeted and killed by two inmates in the Erie County Holding Center, one of whom restrained him while the other one choked him to death

Antonio Pizarro's body was found in his Holding Center jail cell Saturday, but he didn't die on his own. It appears he was specifically targeted and killed by two others.

Antonio Pizarro died Saturday in the Erie County Holding Center, and it appears he was killed by others inside the jail.

Another cultural organization, this one serving low-income Puerto Rican youth and families, has been flagged by the Comptroller's Office for financial issues, but the story is not uncommon.

Jeremy Zellner lost a primary as an incumbent in the party he has run for 14 years. He wants to pull the party back together, and his status as chairman could be at stake.

Two local Democratic establishment candidates went down in defeat in Tuesday's primaries against progressive rivals who overcame funding shortfalls and heavy-hitter endorsements.

Adam Bojak won the Democratic primary in the 149th Assembly District in a surprise over the endorsed Democrat, Karen Hoak.

Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera defeated Sen. Jeremy Zellner in a Democratic primary Tuesday, ousting the leader of the Erie County Democratic Party from a seat Zellner won less than five months ago.

New technology makes it easier than ever to rapidly change product prices, prompting a New York law to bar "personalized pricing" that takes advantage of shopper purchasing history.

No elected official is keen on spending up to a half a billion dollars to build a new Erie County jail. But the two current jails will still cost millions.

After a high-profile courtship, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Buffalo historian Lindsey Lauren Visser tied the knot Friday at Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna.

Assemblyman Jonathan Rivera is challenging Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Zellner for a State Senate seat. Rivera lacks political endorsements and big money, but he's drawing on support from organized labor and waging a door-to-door campaign.

Erie County began leasing cars eight years ago as a way to update its fleet while saving millions. But did it really save anything? Here's why it's hard to know.

Erie County has its own luxury suite in the new Bills stadium, but the County Legislature on Thursday approved a policy that restricts who can use it and how.

It took three tries and a bipartisan veto override, but the Erie County Legislature finally approved a youth hunting law that will allow young hunters, ages 12 and 13, to legally shoot deer.

The use of facial recognition to help identify shoplifters at Wegmans supermarkets has morphed into a new law that will bar local, commercial businesses from collecting biometrics data on customers.

No Erie County parks or golf courses are selling food, and the reasons are complex. Now, the county wants to issue special, temporary permits to allow private food trucks to serve food in county parks.

An Erie County Clerk's Office employee admitted to fraudulently giving out a pistol permit ID and other unauthorized documents, enabling another man – who was barred from owning any guns – the ability to buy four handguns.

A former prosecutor who helped put John H. Walker and late Darryl A. Boyd in prison after a 1976 murder is now urging Erie County not to pay settlements of more than $21 million to Walker and to Boyd’s estate.

A proposal from Sen. April Baskin, D-Buffalo, would require county jails to promptly take inmates to a hospital if they are a danger to themselves or others.

Daniel "D.J." Granville, former narcotics chief for the Erie County Sheriff's Office, faces a misdemeanor charge of failing to safely store a gun after it was recovered Tuesday night in a vehicle "abandoned" in Niagara Square after a collision, according to a Buffalo police report.

"I have read too many child fatality reports to sign a law that could potentially result in a child dying because of its passage," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said.