One of the great ironies of the War of 1812 is that while the Niagara Region has been called the cockpit of the war, much as Virginia was during the Civil War, the people of this region had nothing to do with any of the issues over which the United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. However, by the time the war ended, both sides of the Niagara River had been devastated, with houses and forts burned, fields trampled, and thousands dead, wounded, or captured.

Another irony is that, despite this region's being so important in the conflict, the War of 1812 may be America's

Bernice Radle, chair of Young Citizens for ECC, today made her case to shift the college's allied health programs to downtown Buffalo directly to the ECC Board of Trustees. The young professionals advocacy group, formed in April in response to ECC's plan to build a $30 million Health Sciences Center for Excellence in Amherst, is keeping the heat on high.

Radle's pitch to the Board of Trustees comes after her group's successful effort to convince members of Western New York's state delegation to support a change in ECC's plans. Young Citizens for ECC points to the college's 2007 proposal,

The  Inaugural Lord Bedlington Cup Football (Soccer) Match and cup presentation is tonight, June 29, at 6:30 p.m. The match will highlight the Bedlington football club's week long visit to Western New York, which also will include youth soccer clinics conducted by players from Bedlington and FC Buffalo earlier this week and with the Terriers and Niagara United in Niagara Falls, Canada on July 2.

Tonight's match will be held at  Robert E. Rich Sr. All-High Stadium, 2885 Main

With a the now focus on wooing filmmakers to shoot in NYS, there are some in the local film community who are chomping at the bit to get organized, so that when the industry does look at Buffalo, we are prepped to participate. Often times studios can't rely on the cities that they embark upon, unless they are assured that there are enough resources to rely upon. Buffalo's Film Commission is just a piece of the puzzle, securing film gigs, scouting locations, etc.

When it comes to the local film community, there are plenty of actors, directors, producers, set designers, editors, writers,

By Nicole Schuman aka @buffalogal:

You know the type.  Your friend who can't let go of the Smartphone. You sit down to dinner. "Hey, you ready to order?" "Oh just give me a minute.  I have to check in. Oh look, Master Chompers is also here. Let me tweet him and say hi!"... Groan.

Or is this you?

Social media has infiltrated every aspect of Buffalo life. From QR (Quick Response) Codes on posters, to Perry's Ice Cream year-long supply of ice cream Facebook contest, to following the latest Sabres' trades on Twitter (#bradrichardstobuffalo is trending

By Thea Hassan:

Riding past Lafayette Square yesterday afternoon, I noticed some men with t-shirts reading, "get trashed in the square." Intrigued, as this is one of my favorite summertime activities, I biked over for a closer look.

To my surprise, and only mild disappointment, it wasn't booze they were talking about. They were collecting trashed electronics. The event was EcycleBFLO, sponsored by Sunnking Electronics Recycling. Sunnking is a business located in Lancaster that recycles electronics in an environmentally-friendly way. After removing components that are

By Thea Hassan:

Buffalo ReUse has announced plans to expand to a second location in the Schiller Park area.

ReUse is set to open the new location on the corner of Genesee Street and Hagen by August. The former bank branch site was donated by HSBC Bank USA, and will feature a recycled home improvement supply store, a tool lending library, and space for workshops ranging from first time homebuyer programs to home energy seminars.

"It will be a small satellite store... a smaller version of what is already up and running," said Michele Johnson of Buffalo ReUse.
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On July 12th and July 13th, the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation will host Placemaking Workshops for the Buffalo Harbor Bridge.  Each night is dedicated to a single bridge location - Erie Street and Main Street.  In addition to the "null" or "no build" scenario, these two locations were determined to be feasible alternatives under the scoping process completed in 2010.

The public is encouraged to attend the Workshops, walk the proposed sites, find out about the progress of the project, engage in breakout sessions to

Interview by Tara Sasiadek:

The Buffalo Expat Network, the Emerging Leaders in the Arts and HandsOn Greater Buffalo are pleased to present the echo: Art Fair which connects experienced collectors and first-time buyers with emerging local, regional and international artists in a centralized and creative environment; the Buffalo Central Terminal. echo: Art Fair will showcase a broad scope of fine art disciplines, including

It was just about a year ago today when I posted on what I felt was an opportunity to take a dead space on Court Street and turn it into a vibrant urban plaza. Since then I have run into various staff members at Visit Buffalo Niagara - VBN (formerly the Convention and Visitors Bureau), and each time I have made it a point to mention the opportunity. Surprisingly, the powers that be expressed a serious interest in the concept and even began to research what it would take to pull it off.

This past Wednesday

The mural at McKinley high school is underway. After weeks of preparation (see background), artist Augustina Droze has begun to paint the massive work of art that will eventually portray the parks within the Olmsted Parks System. I was fortunate enough to run into Augustina yesterday morning as she was preparing to go over the process of painting a mural with a Buffalo State College class called Public Art and Murals. Professor Philip Ogle, Chair of the Fine Arts Department, was going over

By Andrew Delmonte, Buffalo First!

Buffalo First! is proud to announce the passage of legislation allowing for Benefit Corporations in New York State. The measure was passed by the New York State Senate (bill S79-a, 62-0) on June 16, 2011 and by the New York State Assembly (bill A4692-a, 139-0) on June 17, 2011. The bill has been sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo.
 
When signed into law, the bill will make New York the fifth state to allow businesses to be recognized by law as Benefit Corporations.

The National Trust for Preservation's "Buffalo Unscripted" project has released a detailed filming schedule for dates from July 16 through July 23.  Buffalo Unscripted is a film project being produced in advance of and as part of the upcoming National Trust conference in Buffalo this August. From the "Buffalo Unscripted"  web site:

This July 16-24, the National Trust for Historic Preservation will hit the streets of Buffalo to tell the real story of a city that everyone seems to have an opinion about - whether they live here

By Rebecca Bratek:

Ten years ago in the fall of 2002, James Burritt and a friend sat around a table at SpoT Coffee discussing what was missing in the Buffalo music scene in terms of choral groups. They threw some names around, made a few phone calls, and hoped to form something out of this dream. Only two months later, this new group was established and performing its first concert.
           
Now, ten years later, the Vocalis Chamber Choir is ending its ninth season in the Western New York music scene and is a

-Emma Fabian, Buffalo, NY
 
Now you can have your ceremony at home
my mother said to me
during a late night phone call
on June 24th
 
and in all my life
never had a better phrase been uttered.
What followed was
the best sigh of relief,
 
then the best smile
and, eventually, the best tear.
At least it felt that way at the time.
For I can finally allow myself imagine getting married in Buffalo, NY.
 
This is the city where I was born,
the city where I played little league soccer
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Four experts joined together last Wednesday at Canisius College to discuss the past and the future of the Larkin District. Chris Hawley, a preservationist and an urban planner with the City, offered an in depth look into the history of the Larkin Company as well as the area before Larkin. Dr. Jack Quinan, one of the leading Frank Lloyd Wright scholars and distinguished professor at UB focused on Wright's magnificent Larkin Administration Building.

Trinity Episcopal Church, 371 Delaware Avenue, has received a $178,615 grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service (NPS) through the Save America's Treasures (SAT) grant program, for the preservation/rehabilitation of this historic church. Sixty of these grants totaling $14.3 million were are awarded in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services

By Thea Hassan:

The emerald ash borer beetle has reached Erie County. Discovered last week in South park, the arrival of the invasive species could be bad news for Buffalo's ash trees.

You may have read the Buffalo News article on the subject, "Tree lovers gird for beetle invasion." If you are not a tree lover, do not fear. This beetle may be destructive enough that even those with ambivalent feelings about trees can be concerned.

First discovered in Michigan in 2002, the invasive species can

Interview by Tara Sasiadek:

The Buffalo Expat Network, the Emerging Leaders in the Arts and HandsOn Greater Buffalo are pleased to present the echo: Art Fair which connects experienced collectors and first-time buyers with emerging local, regional and international artists in a centralized and creative environment; the Buffalo Central Terminal. echo: Art Fair will showcase a broad scope of fine art disciplines, including

Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Ann Kling:

This fourth book in the Lady Julia Grey series does not disappoint.  After an idyllic eight month honeymoon in the Mediterranean, Julia and Nicholas Brisbane are called by the eccentric March family to India to help solve the mystery of Freddie Cavendish's death.  Freddie was married to Jane, the former lover of Julia's sister, Portia.  Jane is pregnant and believes Freddie was murdered .  But why? For his brother Harry to inherit the tea plantation?  If so, are Jane and her unborn child