May 2011 Archives

City May 31, 2011 2:40 PM
GO-Buffalo’s 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits: Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
By Green Options Buffalo:

In our series, 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits, you will be introduced to 30 new businesses that will offer you great discounts for riding your bike and wearing your helmet. Thirty businesses that want to say, "Thank you," for choosing not to drive your car.

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra - 1/2 off or Buy One Get One Admission

There is icing on this cake. Bicycle Benefits gives you one more day and one more magnificent example of a community coming together to support sustainability.

There are few institutions quite as iconic to Buffalo as the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO). This world renowned symphony orchestra has garnered critical acclaim throughout their history and continues to impress the world at large. Brilliant conductors have graced the stage of Kleinhans to lead this magnificent orchestra and that tradition continues today with JoAnne Falletta. The first female conductor in the history of
City May 31, 2011 12:36 PM
Maintained Meadow Areas (MMAs)
By Thea Hassan:

Portions of the parks within the Buffalo Olmsted Conservancy are getting a sustainable makeover. The park management group aims to convert at least 20 percent of each park to maintained meadow areas. These areas will contain native plants only, and mowed once or twice per year.

"Managing and maintaining a man made landscape, which all public parks are, is anything but natural," wrote Steven Nagowski, of the Buffalo Olmsted Conservancy, in an email. "We have to cut the lawns, fertilize the trees, water the plants and occasionally spray for diseases
City May 31, 2011 12:30 PM
Buffalo Creek Development Fund Created

Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter and Seneca Gaming Corp. Chair Karen Karsten today announced allocation of $1 million to boost infrastructure, landscaping, lighting and other amenities in neighborhoods around downtown's Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

The funding,

City May 31, 2011 10:27 AM
Buffalo Foundation Celebrates the “Spirit of Buffalo”
By Rebecca Bratek:
 
The Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, a non-profit, businessmen's organization founded in 1981 that is committed to bettering the City of Buffalo, has announced its newest project--a Sculptural Art Initiative entitled the "Spirit of Buffalo." This initiative will bring five outdoor art pieces to various locations across the city and surrounding areas over the next five years.
           
"The Renaissance Foundation wanted to do something in the area of the arts," said Jake Schneider, president
City May 31, 2011 9:02 AM
“Rock-a-Bully”
Michael Vick.  For some people his name is equated with an awesome football player.  For many others, however, it conjures up images of illegal dog fights with innocent dogs used as live bait.  The latter scenario does not paint a pretty picture for the lives of countless pit bulls and "bully" breeds.
           
One such little soul bears the name Zelda.  Zelda is a stocky pit bull mix who was used for breeding.  When her breeding years were over she was used as live bait in the fighting ring right here
Recent Photos[ BR Flickr ]
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City May 30, 2011 6:30 PM
GO-Buffalo’s 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits: The Burchfield Penney
By Green Options Buffalo:

In our series, 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits, you will be introduced to 30 new businesses that will offer you great discounts for riding your bike and wearing your helmet. Thirty businesses that want to say, "Thank you," for choosing not to drive your car.

The Burchfield Penney - 1/2 off or Buy One Get One Admission

There is a painting of Charles Burchfield's entitled "For the Beauty of the Earth" where the trees burst forth as if they grew simultaneously with the rising sun. Everything is charged with the light of morning as
City May 30, 2011 10:24 AM
Remember The Meaning
Reposted from BRO on Memorial Day 2005. I'm back from Forest Lawn with an updated photo, which I will do each Memorial Day:

While driving down Main Street earlier today, a couple of I couldn't help but notice the thousands of little American flags adorning the grave markers at Forest Lawn Cemetery. I remembered that when I was younger a friend of mine's job was to plant all of those little flags. I never thought too much about it other than they were an awesome sight to behold.

Today was different. There was a beautiful light shining on the motionless flags. And Main
City May 30, 2011 12:01 AM
Buffalo’s Vacant Lots- Lessons from Other Cities

by Kevin Powers

I recently had the opportunity to represent Groundwork Buffalo at the 2011 Brownfields Conference sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Experts in brownfield remediation, vacant property rehabilitation, and community revitalization presented on topics ranging from community and schoolyard gardening and urban agriculture to land banking, soil decontamination, economic revitalization, and ways to attract green collar jobs to aging industrial communities.

While I was there I heard truly inspiring

City May 29, 2011 4:15 PM
Painting for Preservation Visits East Side Barn on Saturday

The Painting for Preservation crew will be on the east side Saturday morning, June 4, 'capturing' the Vaux Barn.  The wooden structure is located on Mills Street, just south of Genesee Street.  It was designed by Calvert Vaux, Frederick Law Olmsted's partner.  Vaux prepared the designs for the park system's buildings.  The barn is believed to have been used in some capacity by the nearby The Park, originally called The Parade and now named Martin Luther

City May 29, 2011 12:32 PM
Buffalo’s gardens lead to green: Cities take notice
It's refreshing to read articles touting Buffalo as a leader when it comes to gardening. With the advent of Buffalo in Bloom, the Garden Walk, and the National Garden Festival, other cities are coming to Buffalo and taking home more than a few gardening tips. The Wall Street Journal (AP) has a great article on garden tourism, where Buffalo is featured as a forerunner when it comes to flowery attractions. The article reminds us that these types of grassroots initiatives not only bring visitors to our city, they also bring much needed outside dollars. From the
City May 29, 2011 11:32 AM
GO-Buffalo’s 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits: The Buffalo Chamber Music Society
By Green Options Buffalo:

In our series, 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits, you will be introduced to 30 new businesses that will offer you great discounts for riding your bike and wearing your helmet. Thirty businesses that want to say, "Thank you," for choosing not to drive your car.

The Buffalo Chamber Music Society - Buy One Get One or 1/2 off tickets

Bicycle Benefits gets even better with the addition of some of the finest cultural institutions in the country, including the second oldest chamber music society in the world: The Buffalo Chamber Music
lifestyle May 29, 2011 11:24 AM
Second Chance Sundays: Dexter and Elroy
Second Chance Sheltering Network, Inc. is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit animal rescue group serving the Western New York area.  Their goal is to help place homeless animals while simultaneously helping interested individuals find a new furry companion.  Every Sunday, we will be running a homeless pet spotlight to help these animals find a good home with a loving family.

Meet the Boys!

Dexter (grey) and Elroy (black) are just too cute to be males, but they are!  These 8 week old little lovers came to us with their siblings and mama from a home
lifestyle May 29, 2011 11:18 AM
MY THOUGHTS BE BLOODY by Nora Titone
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Carol Ann Strahl:

The death of Abraham Lincoln remains one of the seminal events in our national psyche.

"My Thoughts Be Bloody" is a quote from Hamlet, one of the most popular roles acted by both
 Edwin and John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln's assassin). This is a story of the Booth family with all the dynamics of love, betrayal, anger and jealousy. Its focus is on Edwin Booth, whose talent and entrepreneurship has been overshadowed in history by the dastardly deed of his younger brother.

So many interesting
City May 28, 2011 5:50 PM
60 Cars Goes Far in Allentown
I always wondered why this large parking lot in Allentown at the corner of Arlington and Wadsworth was always empty. Especially since it's so hard to find a parking spot in Allentown. Not that I'm a big fan of frontage parking lots to begin with, but if they exist already then they should be used. Even the mini marts in Allentown charge for parking.

Apparently Mark Goldman, owner of Allentown Hardware, had the same idea - he and three other businesses are renting the lot in order to alleviate parking in the neighborhood. "We're going to stripe it this week... we're going to keep it
City May 28, 2011 12:40 PM
Uncertainty, Absences, And Unanswered Questions
By Hannya Boulos - new director of Buffalo ReformED:

The Buffalo Public Schools are at a crucial juncture: 3 months remain until the 7 lowest achieving schools in the district must be turned around under new management. 52 million dollars and thousands of students' futures are hanging in the balance.  With so much at stake, there should be more concrete answers or at least effective plans in place. Unfortunately, t

The turnaround plans are just part of the puzzle of confusion, as administrative absences, chronic miscommunication, and unanswered questions continue
City May 28, 2011 10:02 AM
GO-Buffalo’s 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits: Squeaky Wheel
By Green Options Buffalo:

In our series, 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits, you will be introduced to 30 new businesses that will offer you great discounts for riding your bike and wearing your helmet. Thirty businesses that want to say, "Thank you," for choosing not to drive your car.

Squeaky Wheel - $2 off any show over $5

Media literacy is just one of the ways that Squeaky Wheel empowers people of all ages. Teaching kids how to analyze the sometimes misleading messages of the media world empowers them to make more informed choices. Teaching those same
City May 27, 2011 3:35 PM
Pasteurized Tees: The #1 in Custom
When I first heard that a t-shirt company was opening on Elmwood I wasn't sure if the everyday concept would fly. After all, the competition for t-shirts is tough because it's a fairly low barrier to enter the market. Also, a business would have to sell a ton of t-shirts to hang in there... the place was going to need a good hook.

Fortunately Michael Bowen, the owner of Pasteurized Tees, does have a hook, and it's a good one at that. Actually, the premise behind the business is fascinating. This is how it works:

1. Send almost
City May 27, 2011 1:53 PM
Gearing up for The Bash: You need Uncle Sam’s!
By Amanda Kilmer:

There is no need for a treasure map to find a gem hidden away in the Larkin District. Riding down Exchange Street, it starts to feel like time is in reverse--crumbled brick buildings, abandoned trains in stations, and massive industrial-sized buildings. It almost looks like a city left behind and you begin to wonder if the rapture happened just a few days late.

But then you hear the sounds of steel being cut and you realize there are others around. Breathe.

Don't let this neighborhood fool you, though. It is getting a makeover, going through
City May 27, 2011 11:48 AM
GO-Buffalo’s 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits: Theatre of Youth (TOY)
By Green Options Buffalo:

In our series, 30 Days of Bicycle Benefits, you will be introduced to 30 new businesses that will offer you great discounts for riding your bike and wearing your helmet. Thirty businesses that want to say, "Thank you," for choosing not to drive your car.

Theatre of Youth (TOY) - $5 off your ticket


The Theatre of Youth (TOY) is part past, part future and all Buffalo. The historic Allendale Theatre has been saved and revived by a company that sets its mission on nurturing the next generation of knowledgeable, engaged youth.
Real Estate May 27, 2011 12:10 AM
Iskalo Purchases Large Downtown Property

Iskalo Development purchased a quarter of a downtown block on Wednesday.  The firm purchased 337-345 Ellicott Street from Ellicott Huron LLC for $1.1 million.  The non-descript, 33,000 sq.ft. building on the .72 acre site was formerly leased by Verizon to house and service its vehicle fleet. 

Though on the edge of downtown, the property is midway between Lafayette Square and the Theater District, and two block from Main Street and Fountain Plaza.  All have witnessed significant redevelopment activity in recent years, as

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