July 2009 Archives

For the last ten years I have shared a driveway with Carole Fenton. I still remember the first day I met her - I was new to a neighborhood that many people had said was going down the tubes. "Don't buy so close to Richmond," they told me. It was the person who lived in the house in front of me, Carole, who showed me the ins and outs of the block. She told me who the responsible neighbors were and who to look out for. Our dogs became friends, and over the course of time so did we.

This morning I woke up to a phone call that no one would ever want to receive. Carole had drowned

Can you believe July is already over? Good thing there's still one month left of summer! Check out these upcoming events.

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Massachusetts Avenue is now home to a new pet store in Buffalo. Tango's Pet Store opened last Friday at 246 Massachusetts Avenue on the corner of Normal Avenue. Michelle Giomundo, the store's owner, plans to expand the store in the future and sell live animals, but for now it remains exclusively a pet supply store. 
Giomundo lives next door to the shop and saw a need for a neighborhood store like this. As for walkability, the next pet store is a pretty good hike away from Giomundo's neighborhood, and she felt this type of store would succeed in the area.  According

Following on the heels of the 700-block of Main Street infrastructure completion, a new business has raised a flag. Eric Genau has thrown his hat in the ring, helping to lead the downtown charge of entrepreneurial pioneers. Of course, when push comes to shove, none of these efforts would be possible without the crucial real estate investments being made by developers such as Chris Jacobs of Avalon. Thankfully his efforts to rehab the 700-block have paid off, as tenants such as Eric are following the leap of faith.

As far as downtown business locations go, I don't think that Eric could

I'd be willing to bet most of us could use a little bit (or a lot) of exercise.  It's not entirely our fault, we live in a delicious food city.  What are we supposed to do, not eat it?  Nice try. 

But don't worry.  Certified Personal Trainers Daniel Scheff and Giovanni Prezusio in cooperation with the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, are offering affordable exercise classes to improve participants strength, flexibility, and range of motion.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:30 PM in Delaware Park near the intersection of Parkside and the

Monday night, a public hearing was held in Buffalo at Buffalo State's Great Lakes Field Station to collect public opinion on how New York is planning to implement the Compact, which will both protect Great Lakes water from diversions and require everyone living and doing business in the Great Lakes region to do much better job of conserving it. Public comments continue to be accepted till August 14th.

Last year, the historic Great Lakes St Lawrence River Sustainable Water Resources Compact was passed in all eight Great Lakes states and Congress. But what good is a plan if it just sits

By Michael Binetti

A lot of transit talk in Buffalo centers around the expansion of Metrorail. As important as Metrorail extensions are, there is another part of the transit network that is almost never talked about, and that is the buses.

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By Tom Tarapacki

On August 8th a new 5K race will make its debut, one that has a unique cause.  The 5K Celebrity Run/Walk will benefit the Buffalo Broadcasters Association's effort to preserve and  archive old local news footage.

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The CEPA Gallery and the Just Buffalo Literary Center have received two of the competitive Stimulus grants awarded to Buffalo cultural organizations by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The two of only three competitive Stimulus grants awarded to Buffalo presented each organization with $25,000.

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Recently, I told you about Drums Along the Waterfront, which is cool both in name and substance, since it features the best drum and brass companies on the planet.  It should be pretty inspiring, given the tremendous talent it takes to both play music and remain in award-winning formation while performing.  And now you can find out exactly what it takes to perform at that elite level by hanging out with the best of the best; the Concord Blue Devils, often billed as "the New

By now we've all seen the list of Forbes lists. As Elena pointed out, the magazine has placed Buffalo at the top and the bottom of so many lists that it's hard to keep track where we stand in a ranking and more importantly, how we ended up there. Last evening the cybersphere was abuzz as people began to talk about the most recent listing - Buffalo's ranking as number 18 when it comes to best cities to be single in. Along with the ranking was shown a nighttime photo of a bustling Chippewa Street. If I saw the

What is the ideal goal in your theology, or in your city?  Is it possible?

Jesus talked about the "Kingdom of God,"or the "Reign of God," more than anything else, and he used it to describe a community--one on earth.   It described a community where "the first are last, and the last are first,"  and where "swords are beaten into plowshares".  Martin Luther King, Jr. paraphrased the Kingdom as "The beloved community."  Clarence Jordan called

Karpeles Manuscript Museum will play host to an exhibit by nationally recognized fashion and fine art photographer Cheryl Gorski which will debut on August 6th,

We've made a lot of lists on Forbes, but this one really blew our minds.  On a list of Best Cities for Singles, Buffalo was mentioned at #18, up from #30 last year.  What surprised us (pleasantly) was the text that went with it.
While 39 other cities

Over the past year, Tucker Curtin, owner of Lake Effect Diner (and Dug's Dive & The Steer), has been working hard with local farmers and members of his staff to bring fresh, locally grown food to the table.  

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THE BASICS:  Shaw's famous historical drama, drawn from the pages of American history, plays in repetory at the Festival Theatre at Niagara on the Lake through October 11th.  The production, which was directed by Tadeusz Bradecki, runs approximately two hours and twenty minutes, with one intermission.

THUMBNAIL SKETCH: 

An enhanced Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit is expected to breathe new life into the state's historic downtown areas while creating jobs and providing a boost to the economy.  Governor Paterson held a ceremonial bill signing at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society yesterday.

While New York's preservation tax credit was adopted in 2006, the program did not provide adequate incentives to attract sufficient investment to struggling municipalities, particularly those upstate.  The expanded rehabilitation tax credit program provides incentives to developers,

An East Side warehouse will see new life as a business incubator under plans by prolific developer and rehabber Rocco Termini.  Space in the five-story, circa-18951901 (thanks Chris H!)brick building on Cherry Street will marketed to high tech businesses and start-ups, capitalizing on the site's proximity to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.  Termini says legislation signed by Governor Paterson yesterday that enhances the State's Historic Preservation

Now in its scoping phase, the Buffalo Harbor Bridge Project is traveling at a nice clip according to Erie County Harbor Development Corporation Senior Project Manager Steven Ranalli.  There has not been a bridge to connect Downtown Buffalo to the Outer Harbor since the South Michigan Avenue Bridge that connected the inner and outer harbors was demolished by a runaway ship in 1959.
The ECHDC has come up with 4