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Nhi Kha, co-founder and CEO of Sativa Remedy, helps a customer at the shop on Main Street in Tonawanda.
When Nhi Kha’s father was using medical marijuana as he battled Stage 4 lung cancer, she got to see how cannabis can be used in a controlled setting.
But at the same time, she said she was disappointed over the cost and how much red tape there was in the industry. She realized then that it could be done better.
Her father’s three-year ordeal, which ended with his death in 2018, inspired the refugee from Thailand to become part of the cannabis industry in Western New York. Kha started Sativa Remedy in 2018 at her City of Tonawanda shop after she graduated with a dual chemistry and health and human services degree from the University at Buffalo.
But as retailers like Kha and new entrepreneurs make the move toward the sale of recreational marijuana and products with higher THC levels, they are in limbo – awaiting regulations from the state and preparing for the application process expected to begin sometime this summer.
They also will be competing against an unregulated market that shows no signs of fading away and national cannabis retailers swallowing up some local markets.
For our Southern Junction "Dig In, Buffalo" finale, we talked chef/owner Ryan Fernandez into sharing his famous cardamom cornbread recipe with us. The mix of infused cardamom seeds and copious amounts of butter give the crumbling, melt-in-your-mouth cornbread its signature flavor. Watch now >>
Sponsored by Orville's Home Appliances
Sweet Home struggles to get kids back in cafeterias: Sweet Home elementary students spent two years eating lunch in their classrooms. First it was due to Covid-19 restrictions, but now it's because of a space crunch. And now parents of Sweet Home elementary students say it's time to get the kids out of the classroom and back to the lunchroom. Students in most other schools were eating in their cafeterias for months, after Covid-19 restrictions eased. Read more
Pandemic schooling continues to include home schooling: In the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of children in Erie and Niagara counties who were home-schooled nearly doubled from 2019-20 to the following year, from 2,425 to 4,209. And this year, many never returned to school. Read more
U.S./Canada travel is not bouncing back. And officials on both sides of the border are worried: Officials and stakeholders in Buffalo, Fort Erie, Ontario, Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Niagara Falls, Ontario, as well as across the 3,000-mile boundary, are voicing concerns that approach outrage. Local economies depending on cross-border traffic, they say, continue to suffer because of restrictions that long ago became unnecessary as Covid-19 levels ease. Read more
Authorities initially said little about the death of 78-year-old Judith Schrecengost, whose body was found outside a Town of Tonawanda nursing home on a frigid February morning.
Now, investigations by the state Health Department and town police show Schrecengost fell from a third-floor window, whether accidentally or intentionally, at some point in the 15 hours between when she was last seen by Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns staff and when she was discovered missing.
It’s the latest in a series of concerning incidents at Safire Northtowns, and a second Safire nursing home in Erie County flagged by the Health Department. And it leaves Schrecengost’s family convinced Safire didn’t live up to its obligations to keep her safe.
“They took my mother away from me,” her daughter Tina Delgrolice said.
– Stephen T. Watson and Jon Harris
'We are going to push forward': Plan to expand community center revived after Tops shooting: Even before the May 14 hate crime that killed 10 Black neighbors at their local Tops, Sheila Hamilton and her daughter, Jetaun Jones, were on a mission to revive the community center founded by their mother and grandmother, Dorothy J. Collier. They found a kindred soul in Lauren Celenza, an Amherst mom who stepped up after the mass shooting. Read more
Pediatrician, two daughters killed in North Buffalo blaze: An overnight fire at 194 Huntington Ave. claimed the lives of Dr. Jonathan D. Daniels, 53, who was one of only a handful of Black pediatricians practicing in the Buffalo area, and daughters Jordan A. Daniels, 27, and Jensen A. Daniels, 23. Read more
Bill would force Amigone to move crematory or shut it down: State lawmakers, frustrated with the ongoing presence of a crematory next to a residential neighborhood, have introduced new legislation that would give Amigone Funeral Home six months to relocate its Sheridan Park Crematory – or lose its grandfathered status. Read more
Don Paul: Our region escapes weather extremes this week: After a “classic” Fourth of July forecast, Paul notes, “Tuesday is a somewhat tougher call, with scattered showers and thunderstorms approaching early in the day from the west.” Read more
Linguine with white clam sauce at Ripa's Restaurant in Lancaster.
Enjoying peace, quiet and Italian family cooking at Ripa's: “Pre-review research showed that three dishes that impressed me thrilled my predecessor at Ripa’s last review, in 1991. In the restaurant world, that level of consistency deserves a medal,” writes News Food Critic Andrew Galarneau. Read more
Two neighbors sue Grand Island bar and grill over 'pounding noise' and 'raucous' patrons: David Thomas and Glenn Wallace have sued Turner's Port of Call, seeking compensatory and punitive damages plus a court order to curb the behaviors and activities at the establishment that "torments and disturbs" them, according to their recent State Supreme Court lawsuit. Read more
Report clears prison officer who was spit on; video shows he kicked handcuffed inmate: The video, according to internal investigators, showed an Erie County Correctional Facility officer kicking an inmate in the head as the man lay handcuffed on the floor. But when the internal inquiry concluded, the officer was cleared of wrongdoing. Sheriff John C. Garcia's Office of Professional Standards found the corrections officer was trying to prevent other officers from being spit on or bitten by an unruly inmate. Read more
Former Canisius College athletes can proceed with lawsuit: 'Culture on the team was so toxic': Three former Canisius College track and field athletes can proceed with their sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the college, a federal judge has ruled, but most of their claims against the team's coach and also the college's athletic director were dismissed. Read more
Bills questions: What are the options if Tre White isn't full go at the start of the year?: The Bills will have a better feel for how close White is to being game ready when training camp starts later this month at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford. Until then, though, they need to have a backup plan if White isn’t ready to play in Week 1. Enter Dane Jackson. Read more
Intriguing first-round draft targets for Sabres at picks 9, 16, 28: With three early selections, and 11 in the entire draft, GM Kevyn Adams can restock areas that were depleted by graduations to the NHL – particularly on defense – and could potentially take a flier on a player who others might deem too risky for the first round. Read more
• Camp Good Days – a program that provides service and support for families affected by cancer or sickle cell anemia – has returned to normal operations this year after the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated modified events in 2020 and 2021. Forty-two children took part in its 34th annual Junior Good Days camp this past week, Thad Green reports.
• The New York Times paid a visit to Buffalo, reporting on the city’s development and growth. “Major efforts to improve the East Side have been afoot for years, like new job-training facilities and the overhaul of a deserted train station,” writes C. J. Hughes. “And citywide initiatives to pour billions into parks, public art projects and apartment complexes have made Buffalo a more desirable place to live, advocates say.”
• You never know what kind of animals you may encounter in Western New York. New York State Police recently responded to a report of an alligator in a pond in Clarence, WGRZ reports.
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Multiple videos from at least two "takeovers" of Route 33 have been posted to TikTok, showing what appeared to be dozens of cars stopped or barely moving on one side of the expressway.
Investigators are working to identify the body and notify family members, they said.
A Buffalo pediatrician and two of his daughters died in an overnight fire in North Buffalo, according to the Buffalo Fire Department. The mother injured in the Huntington Avenue fire was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center. She was listed in serious condition.
Jessica Pegula told reporters at Wimbledon on Wednesday that her mother, Bills and Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula, is "doing a lot better now."
Six vehicles have been reported stolen from East Aurora in the last two weeks, the town and village's police department confirmed. All six incidents shared one factor in common: At the time they were stolen, the cars were unlocked with the keys or key fob inside.
Buffalo Bills and Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula is "progressing well," according to a statement released by the teams.
TMP knew it was time to shift the production out of a plant on Dingens Street on Buffalo into larger, modern space. Instead of taking that work – and jobs – out of New York state, TMP opted to become part of the revitalization of the former Bethlehem Steel property off Route 5.
"At a time when most people are getting back to a semblance of normality, the border communities in the U.S. and Canada are not nearly where they should be," said Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo. "This is the beginning of the travel season for 2022 and we still have all this redundancy and obstacles that we need to get rid of."
The man was on a multi-day backpacking trip, WGRZ-TV reported, and noted that he had bear spray with him, but was surprised by the bear and did not have time to use it.
The shooting happened shortly after 8:10 p.m. on the westbound expressway near the Delaware Avenue exit, police said in a news release.
Nhi Kha, co-founder and CEO of Sativa Remedy, helps a customer at the shop on Main Street in Tonawanda.
Linguine with white clam sauce at Ripa's Restaurant in Lancaster.
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