Interview with electronic music promoter Brian Nelson regarding upcoming trance show at Rendezvous @ Statler City:
How long has Factory Nightlife been around? 
We have been involved with dance music for just about 20 years, we adopted the name "Factory Nightlife" in 2001 I believe (see Facebook).
What sort of music does it promote and who are some of the acts that have come through Buffalo?
We promote dance music

This is the second part of a two part series

The halls of St. Matthew's School were once filled with the sounds of students rushing to their classes, but now the building serves as a temporary home for refugees awaiting a new life. Vive La Casa (50 Wyoming Avenue) is housed in the former school building for the St. Matthew's parish and has been active there for nearly 20 years.

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Over the past year we have closely followed the transformation at Acropolis OPA on Elmwood Avenue.  The one-time diner has quickly become an upscale destination spot as both an eatery and as a chic Saturday night hang-out spot.  Owner Paul Tsouflidis has invested a great deal in the renovations that include a complete makeover of the downstairs space, façade and complete redo of the upstairs space.  By any measure the space is comfortable and classy. But now, some neighbors are organizing against the restaurant owner claiming that any expansion will inevitably lead to excessive

This is the first in a series of spotlighting buildings for sale that could help to transform both residential and commercial neighborhoods. We will be looking at buildings on the West Side, downtown, Black Rock, etc. These buildings are in need of an owner - that is clear. Even more than that, these buildings are in need of people with resources and vision. If we can get a few of these structures back into the functioning fabric of the city, then we will have made great strides in helping to mend the neighborhoods that are both on the upswing and in need of an initial catalyst. Most of the

Three community organizations have joined to support Re-Tree WNY's five-year effort to plant trees throughout the Buffalo area.  On Sunday, Re-Tree WNY launched the "Green Goal" campaign to raise funds for the purchase of trees to be planted along the streets and in parks of Buffalo and surrounding communities.

The Buffalo Sabres Foundation, The Buffalo News, and Entercom Radio have announced their commitment to support the effort.

"We have a sustainable community program, 'The Sabres Green Team', that adopts a project each season

Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Patricia Covley:
Disaster on Lake Erie is a recent addition to the local history collections of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.  Oickle tells the story of the steamship Erie, one of the fastest and most elegant ships sailing between Buffalo and Chicago.  It was a large ship - over 176 ft. long and about 27 ft. wide. 
On August 9, 1841, the Erie departed Buffalo carrying 343 passengers.  Many of these passengers were recent immigrants

If you're not out on the slopes today, and you're kickin' around downtown... maybe heading to Rotary Rink to skate, or your finishing up a Sunday brunch. Whatever the case, the downtown Central Library is hosting a U.S. Chess Federation-sanctioned tournament today that is being sponsored by the Archangel 8 Chess Academy (FB). Yes, Buffalo has a chess academy and the the game/sport is alive and well with all age players feverishly competing for a chance to to go head to head with the area's best and the brightest.
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I can't believe that The Showplace Theater is still sitting empty. The last great show that I saw there was The Damned, and I still think back to how incredible the ambiance was. We were right up close to the stage, in what was one of the more intimate live music venues in the city. Not to say that the word 'intimate' is one that many people would readily choose when describing The Showplace, but when bands played there it was an extremely personal setting. There was no place like it around. Not to say that this was the most lavish club around - it certainly wasn't. But that's what made it so great.

Do you remember how impressive the light show was at the Botanical Gardens last year? Well, Night Lights at the Gardens is back for three weeks in February, returning to our city's temperate oasis. Not like the Botanical Gardens needed to be any more reasons to be a top winter destination... if you've never stepped inside the dome during a snowstorm, then you're missing out on one of the greatest experiences around. 
Add the brilliantly illuminated light show hooked up by Lighting designers SitlerHQ, LLC and Volt Vision, Inc, and you've got yourself a surreal island dreamscape

By Mike Farrell:
When was the last time you strolled into a Buffalo bar, surveyed the bottle display and said, "Boy, could I go for a Genny now?"
Judging by the lack of local advertising and brand-hoisting, it wasn't recently. Many younger Western New Yorkers' tales featuring the Genesee's white cans or infamous Cream Ale "green screamers" vary from hilariously cataclysmic to gastronomically regretful, void of the Beer Advocate-like technical

Now that Delish! is hitting its full stride on Amherst Street (see original post), it's time to take a step back to see just what this business has brought to the Black Rock neighborhood. First of all, I never got a chance to showcase the opening of the second half of the operation. That's the part where all of the cooking classes take place. It's also the room where owner Deborah Clark does her daily food preparations for the lunch menu. "My classes are all sold out,"

A Press Release from the Seneca Nation of Indians

The Seneca Nation of Indians today took out a full-page ad in The Buffalo News pointing out in the wake of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pledge of $1 billion in incentives to the region that the Nation already invested that much in its local businesses.

"The Seneca Nation of Indians Welcomes Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Pledge of $1 Billion to Buffalo and Western New York," the ad headline reads. "This is our home. Where we have invested $1 billion of

Buffalo ReformED's Board of Education report card is aimed at monitoring school board meetings, and increasing transparency and accountability within the district.
The Buffalo Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, January 11th was marked by a huge community presence. Parents, students, and education activists gathered to rally against the Buffalo Public Schools suspension policy, and discuss the lack of progress on improving the policy since the death of Jawaan Daniels, a Lafayette student who was shot after landing an

By Jamie Nash:
After nearly 60 years of being housed on UB's South Campus, a portion of Millard Fillmore College is returning to its roots in downtown Buffalo. The administrative offices of MFC have moved to the UB Downtown Gateway, formerly the M. Wile & Co. building, at 77 Goodell Street. While the administrative team is moving to a new home, current course and certificate programs will continue to be offered primarily online and on UB's North and South campuses.
MFC was founded in 1923 as UB's "Evening Session" for men and

By Chris Catanzaro:
The 3rd Annual Buffalo Powder Keg Festival has been set for Saturday, February 11, 2012 and Sunday, February 12, 2012. The festival has a new location, Niagara Square and along Delaware Ave. will host the outdoor events and warmer indoor activities will be held inside Staler City. The people have been heard and the festival aims to showcase so many great aspects of this fine city we call Buffalo.
The outdoor activities include the always exciting Broomball (street version) Tournament, as well as the always contentious

By Kyle Gunn-Taylor:
On Wednesday, the Buffalo Sabres opened the doors of the First Niagara Center and extended their hospitality to some of the team's biggest fans.
Approximately 20 bloggers from across the city were invited down to the arena and allowed a one-on-one question-and-answer session with team President, Ted Black.
Despite being limited to a "live suggestion box" format, many bloggers came loaded with questions for all different aspects of the franchise.
From the Time

By Kyle Gunn-Taylor:
Pulling into an empty parking lot at a South Buffalo establishment during a Sabres game is like Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson giving up a goal to the slumping Buffalo attack, it just doesn't happen.
Actually it happened Tuesday, however, because of a dispute that has two wealthy companies putting Sabres broadcasts, and fans, in the dark.
The squabble between Time Warner Cable and MSG is a feud that mirrors the recent NBA and NFL lockouts, two entitled entities fighting over

By Jamie Nash:
Looking for something to do next Friday night? PeopleArt Coffeehouse just released its new music lineup for January and February, and it starts on Friday, January 20th at 9pm. If you haven't heard of PeopleArt, they are a coffeehouse and live music venue located in the basement of the Unity Church at 1243 Delaware Avenue. Local musicians in the lineup include RoJo, Grace Stumberg, Bob Farmer, Tom Stahl, and Gaia Miranda.
Every Friday night at 9, for just $5, PeopleArt hosts a two hour performance by a featured local

Sending a vegetarian out on a quest for good Hispanic food is like asking a dog to fetch (and retrieve) a dog biscuit. On the rare occasion, you might find a dog that actually returns with the biscuit (that story next), and even rarer is it that a vegetarian will find much of anything to eat at his or her corner Hispanic eatery. As luck would have it, I actually discovered what I believe is one of the better Hispanic restaurants in town. In preparation for an unfriendly vegetarian experience I opted to bring a meat-eating friend along with me who, it turns out, had actually eaten there before. 
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Meeting highlights include: Adoption of a city manager form of government for the City of Buffalo, conversion of Pearl Street from one-way to two-way traffic in the Ellicott and Fillmore Districts, authorized designating the Erie Freight House located at 9 Ohio Street as a local landmark, adopt a plan to restore funding to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority...
1949 photo of the scow American shows the Erie Freight House on the opposite shore; photo used by permission of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.
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