Donovan Makeover Plans Get

Benderson Development's plan for redevelopment of the Donovan Building has been blessed by the Planning...

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The True Cost of Sprawl: Ho

Over the last 60 or so years pretty much every town and city across the...

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Liberty Hound to set sail o

For all of you who have been asking when Liberty Hound will open (see history),...

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January 2010 Archives

Regional January 31, 2010 1:00 PM

Land Acquisition, Plaza. All for a Bridge?

Buffalo Rising 49

There are skeptics in the Columbus Park neighborhood, those who believe that the Public Bridge Authority is hellbent on taking homes and building a plaza; they're not so sure the land grab is all for the purpose of a bridge.
In a series of public meetings, starting last Thursday and culminating yesterday, 600 or so people showed up and voted on their design of choice out of the five possible scenarios for a new Peace Bridge. No tally has been issued as of yet, though it looks like bridge # 3 (above) came out ahead. The local environmental group, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, went on record as favoring that bridge as well.
Meanwhile, property acquisition will begin in about 2 years, adding to the list of PBA holdings in the footprint of the new

City January 31, 2010 12:51 PM

Homefront: 19th Street Progress and a New M&T Grant

Elena Cala Buscarino 5

Early last December, Buffalo Rising contributor John Straubinger brought you this story about HomeFront, Inc's 19th Street rehabs. This past week, HomeFront, a not-for-profit community development corporation based out of the City of Buffalo, announced it has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the M&T Charitable Foundation.
HomeFront is currently rehabilitating six homes on one city block, in order to subsequently sell those homes

Regional January 31, 2010 12:40 PM

New Play: Miracle in Rwanda

Buffalo Rising 0

Internationally-known human rights activist Dr. Alison L. Des Forges, who authored a book about the Rwandan genocide, was killed in Flight 3407 last February 12th. On the anniversary of her death, Dr. Des Forges' life and work will be commemorated in Buffalo through a one-woman play called Miracle in Rwanda.
Based on the book Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza, the play (schedule of events below) portrays Ilibagiza's surviving the Rwandan genocide by hiding in a tiny bathroom with seven other women for ninety-one days. Actress Leslie

City January 31, 2010 12:00 PM

Green Tea: Sweetness Has It

Buffalo Rising 0

Prish Moran of Sweetness_7 Cafe is one of our very favorite people, and she's teamed up with another, Atsuko Nishida-Mitchell, to introduce real Japanese green tea to the corner cafe.
Atsuko will be at Sweetness today, Sunday, January 31st, at 3PM, to show you the whys and wherefores of powdered green tea. Though Atsuko teaches and performs the Japanese tea ceremony, today she will simply show preparation and dispense information along with the tea in a casual atmosphere.
"I think Sweetness is the perfect place for this," Atsuko says. We

lifestyle January 31, 2010 9:28 AM

A Pocket Full of Fun

Buffalo Rising 0

By Amanda Gabryszak
Buffalonian Steve Delmonte knew what he wanted to do with his life by the time he was eight years old: he wanted to make people laugh. He has been doing so for the past 30-or-so years with cartoons and illustrations appearing world-wide in Italy, Wales, and Korea, as well as nationally in magazines including Woman's World, First, Ebony, National Enquirer, Scholastic, Barron's and Reader's Digest.
Inspired by cleaning out his studio, this well-known Buffalo-born artist recently had his first book of cartoons

Recent Photos[ BR Flickr ]

lifestyle January 31, 2010 7:13 AM

Central Library Book Review: Dog On It

Buffalo Rising 0

Staff Review by Ann Kling
The Dogs Have It.
Associated Press' Petside.com poll reports that 74 percent of people like dogs. If you're a member of that group and you also like to read about dogs, you're in luck. The Buffalo and Erie County Library owns quite a few great dog books. What do you read after you've read Grogan's Marley and Me? If you like fiction, one of my favorites is Dog On It by Spencer Quinn.
In the book, Bernie and Chet are a private investigation

City January 31, 2010 12:00 AM

The stage is set. Enter Shakti.

queenseyes 4

A few hours ago I attended the grand opening of Shakti Yoga on Grant Street. For me, this will be one of the more memorable evenings in my Buffalo Rising career... and I didn't even get to stay for that long. My whirlwind self guided tour started as I walked across the street towards the former bank building - the full moon was a brilliant backdrop for the towering edifice that stood larger than life in front of me. Just walking up the steps of the 'temple' I felt that I was in store for a real treat. If you had told

City January 30, 2010 11:38 AM

Lost, But Never Gone: Gabrielle Bouliane

Elena Cala Buscarino 3

This morning, Buffalo Rising learned of the death of one of our own from the not-so-distant past, Gabrielle Bouliane. Gabrielle was a poet and videographer with a tremendous life force. She was a force - a no-nonsense, shoot-from-the-hip, tell-it-like-it-is, real life woman - all wrapped in a sensitive understanding of the human condition.
Yeah, Gabrielle saw life for what it was, sometimes with a cynics eye, but she made it beautiful for others through her artistic talents.
Gabrielle was the champion of all poets and

food January 30, 2010 11:33 AM

Somali Star Rises Once More

queenseyes 9

While banking on Grant Street yesterday I happened to take a look across the street at Shakti Yoga's new diggs. As I was examining the building, another nearby business caught my eye - Somali Star. The Somali Star originally opened where the seasonal Cuchifrito Hut is now located, but it was a short-lived operation partially due to the awkward nature of the stand-like structure. Now Somali Star is enjoying the benefits that come along with their new space.

The exterior of the building is nothing to write

lifestyle January 30, 2010 11:27 AM

Tonight! Big Orbit's Members' Exhibition

Buffalo Rising 1

Tonight in Buffalo. There's the Stache Bash at Voelker's, the grand opening of Shakti Yoga on Grant, the Squeaky Wheel "Kite + Chair" opening, and this, the Member's Exhibition at Big Orbit Gallery. Can you hit them all?
The Members'

Real Estate January 30, 2010 8:45 AM

Allentown Lofts Open House This Weekend

WCPerspective 17

Kissling Interests is showing off its Allentown Lofts development at six upcoming open houses. The ten unit residential conversion project at 430 Virginia Street is complete with six of the units leased. Tenants begin moving into the building next week. The public is invited to tour the property the next three weekends; January 30-31, February 6-7, and February 13-14 from 10 AM until 2 PM.

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Regional January 30, 2010 6:50 AM

WORTH A TRI

Buffalo Rising 1

By Tom Tarapacki
For some people, participating in a triathlon is a way to enhance their own physical fitness and take on a competitive challenge. For others, it's also a way to build closer relationships with family and friends.
TRIWNY.com, the only All-Western New York multi-sport series, was created not just to provide fun and competitive athletic events, but to encourage family activity and make a contribution to the community at large. In addition to the triathlons, TRI.Com now offers

City January 29, 2010 5:45 PM

Legal Eagles Circling Calumet Building

Buffalonian4life 22

The ornate Calumet building at the corner of Chippewa and Franklin streets may soon have a new owner. After nearly a year since the property went on the market, and one price cut, the Calumet is reportedly under contract to a law firm that will move its offices to the building's upper floors.

Business First has

lifestyle January 29, 2010 3:06 PM

In the Heights: Hot Musical

Buffalo Rising 1

By Tom Dooney
January. Nights are cold, and days are full of dismal headlines. Happy. New. Year. Relief is on hand for the rest of this week, while Shea's Performing Arts Centers plays host to In The Heights. This is a top notch touring company and you are almost certain to leave the theater as satisfied as the opening night audience, high from contact with this joyous show. To a person, the entire cast is sensational. In The Heights is a lively portrait of the Caribbean community living uptown in New York

City January 29, 2010 12:35 PM

Buffalo Alumni Society: Buffalo Grows In Numbers

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When you're thinking about all of the different way to make a positive impact on Buffalo, one of the first tasks you need to perform is to identify your resources. There are a lot of local people who can provide you with the necessary tools to get moving on a project or an issue. Just think of all the battles we have been through - whether they were related to education, preservation, development, the environment, what have you.

Even though there is an excellent support group in the region, wouldn't it be great to know that there was more help on the way? After all, when you take a

City January 29, 2010 11:00 AM

Q: What Makes This Year's Sabres Team Different? A: Miller (and Myers)

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Last year, the Bufalo Sabres finished 10th in the Eastern Conference - two spots out of the playoffs - with 91 points. Going into tonight's matchup with the Boston Bruins, the Sabres rank 3rd in the Eastern Conference with 69 points in 52 games - on pace for 109 points for the year.

What explains this projected 18 point (or 9 wins) improvement? Have some of the Sabres key personnel - like Pominville, Connolly, and Roy - matured? Nope. Well, maybe, but that's not the key variable. It's all about Ryan Miller. As the most meaningful position in pro sports, a goalie

City January 29, 2010 10:48 AM

Eco-friendly Businessman Gives Insight from Copenhagen

Buffalo Rising 0

By Kim Sabshin

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lifestyle January 29, 2010 10:36 AM

See how they print

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Image by oddsock via Flickr

It's

City January 29, 2010 7:47 AM

Shakti Yoga: Grand Opening

Justine Smith 3 3

Yoga is a popular form of exercise for many people. In many forms of yoga, repetitive breathing and chanting is used as a form of meditation, which allows yoga practitioners to relax and refresh their minds and bodies. Several yoga studios can be found throughout Buffalo. One of the most impressive is Shakti Yoga, in its new location on Grant Street.
Opened by Director Michelle Gigante on 220 Lexington Avenue two years ago, Shakti Yoga will be celebrating its grand opening this Saturday, January 30th, at the new location at 133 Grant Street. Beginning at 7

Real Estate January 29, 2010 12:01 AM

St. Mary's-on-the-Hill: Developer-Ready

WCPerspective 48 2

Sam Savarino is interested in converting the ravaged St. Mary's-on-the-Hill Church into residences, if he can purchase the property from an out-of-town owner. The landmarked circa-1903 church, or what remains of it, is located at the northeast corner of Niagara and Vermont streets directly behind the Connecticut Street Armory.

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