Igor Zutic, a researcher at UB, has been pondering the usefulness of magnets and how they could transform the world of computing. He believes that magnets could aid with high capacity and low energy memory, data storage and data transfer devices.

In the most recent issue of Science, Zutic and UB physicist John Cerne talked about Japanese scientists who demonstrated a materials ability to turn its magnetism on and off at room temperature. All materials have electrons and those electrons have something called "spin". The spin can be either up or down and when the electrons within

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

There's a new café in town, though not one that you can readily track down. Why? Because it's on wheels, which gives this mobile café the ability to seek out those who thirst for coffees, teas, gourmet hot chocolate espresso drinks and iced mochaccinos. It's called Rolling Joe Café*, and its owner Rich Spears has struck up an agreement with Olmsted Parks to deliver a variety of hot and cold drinks to a clientele that might not expect to encounter a café in a non-commercial district. That's kinda the beauty of the operation - when I first encountered the coffee camper I noticed a bunch of prospective

It's over 400 ft' tall, beautiful, historic, empty and leaky.  Lafayette Ave. Presbyterian Church's tower never really served a purpose other than looking good, and now it is causing us a headache.  Setting up scaffolding and doing the repairs will cost around $30,000.  This is may be a small amount of money for some organizations, but it is not for us.

Our status as a National Historic Landmark should help--eventually.  It has allowed us to apply for and receive a preservation grant from the state's environmental protection