Dropping Rink at Brink part of Festival’s ‘transition’

From the Niagara Falls Review: When it was first announced in 2009, Rink at the Brink was described as the “most significant event” the Winter Festival of Lights had ever undertaken. The festival’s acting chairman Jim Diodati (not yet Niagara Falls Mayor) said the 60-by-120 foot outdoor rink would offer a “more dramatic” setting than…

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OLG funds used to cover Falls budget shortfall

From Niagara This Week: Not wanting to stick ratepayers with a potential $62 increase on their tax bills, councillors decided Tuesday to take a $2.9-million shortfall in revenues by taking the money from the City’s OLG reserve fund. The shortfall came about after the Region reversed its tax policy to create a separate primarily for…

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Revisit casino property tax assessment: Region and City

From Niagara This Week: If a reduction in tax assessment for two casino properties in Niagara Falls is allowed to stand, the result will be a “tsunami in assessment appeals,” Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said after a joint media conference with Regional Chair Gary Burroughs Tuesday. Just steps away from the Fallsview Casino Resort,…

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Sleep Cheap Charities reap true to its name

From Niagara This Week: True to the name, charities did reap from an annual fundraiser that allows Niagara residents to take advantage of cut rate hotel rooms in Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati was busy Tuesday, handing out cheques to 18 different organizations who all shared in the $131,075 raised by 2013’s 10th…

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Time to get the job done in 2014, Diodati says

From Niagara This Week: While 2013 represented a year of possibilities for the city, Mayor Jim Diodati said 2014 would be focused on getting the job done on numerous fronts. “It was a great year,” Diodati said in a year-end interview with Niagara this Week. “We’ve moved the ball forward in some big areas.” Sounding…

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Deadmau5 has cutting words former hometown

From Niagara This Week: Mayor Jim Diodati was not all that surprised by comments made by deadmau5 concerning the place where he grew up. “I think what he was saying was not unique to Niagara Falls,” Diodati said. “It’s typical of youth. I doesn’t matter whether you’re from London, Oakville, Ottawa or Toronto. I think…

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City to ‘keep the heat’ on province for gaming help: Diodati

From Niagara This Week: The City will continue to push the provincial government for Niagara Falls to be a part of the government’s gaming modernization strategy, Mayor Jim Diodati says. “We want to keep the heat on,” Diodati said. That was one of the things discussed with provincial officials at the recent Association of Municipalities…

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Niagara Falls Calls For More Casinos and OLG Investment in Existing Casinos

From Yahoo! Canada Finance: The city of Niagara Falls has put out the welcome mat for investment by the world’s gaming sector, unanimously passing a City Council resolution asking Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Finance Minister to allow new gaming sites in the city and to direct Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp. (OLG) to include…

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Big OLG payout for Niagara Falls

From Niagara This Week: The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has issued its first-quarter non-tax gaming revenue payment of $6,433,923 to the City of Niagara Falls for hosting Casino Niagara and Fallsview Casino Resort. “It’s about time,” said Mayor Jim Diodati. “We’ve been fighting for this for a long, long time. There were racinos…

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