Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, giving Buffalo families more time to trick-or-treat and drivers more reason to slow down on neighborhood streets.

Children may be difficult to spot at dusk, especially in dark costumes or when stepping out between parked cars.

Families can add reflective details, carry flashlights, choose costumes that are easy to walk in and remind children to cross at corners.

Drivers should watch sidewalks as well as the road ahead, and anyone celebrating at a party should arrange a safe ride home.

Clocks turn back early Sunday, bringing earlier evening darkness to next week’s commutes.

Motorists should stay alert for pedestrians and deer, particularly around dawn and dusk across Western New York.

Keeping walkways lit and clear can help trick-or-treaters reach the door safely.

A little extra care can help Buffalo children enjoy Halloween and make it home safely.

At the Buffalo Hyatt Regency, a more than two-year union campaign has become a test of whether hotel employees can organize without fear.

Workers seeking better pay, manageable workloads and predictable schedules say they also faced disrespect from managers and poor treatment of immigrant colleagues.

A new Western New York Workers’ Rights Board report alleges unfair labor practices and efforts to undermine the union campaign.

At a June 2025 hearing, front-desk worker Tiba Salvatore said management’s behavior changed after employees began organizing and alleged that a manager made racist and degrading remarks.

The report presents those claims as workers’ accounts, not findings about an individual manager.

The National Labor Relations Board issued a rare bargaining order, directing a path toward negotiations amid allegations that workers could not freely choose union representation in an election.

Now, Buffalo hotel workers are looking to bargaining for lasting improvements in their hours, treatment and working conditions.

Twenty years after the October 2006 snowstorm, Western New Yorkers still remember how quickly an autumn night became an emergency.

Heavy, wet snow fell before many trees had shed their leaves, weighing down branches across Buffalo and nearby communities.

Some areas received roughly two feet of snow, but fallen trees and power lines caused the most lasting disruption.

Blocked roads slowed repair crews, while families faced dark homes and worried about staying warm.

For some households, the power stayed out for close to two weeks.

The storm remains a reminder that dangerous winter weather can arrive while autumn is still in full swing.

Keeping flashlights, charged devices and warm clothing ready can make an outage easier to weather, especially when neighbors check on one another.