Buffalo is lucky to have so many talented artists. The city is full of amazing painters, actors, musicians, etc. that produce work in both main stream and underground realms, all of whom help to contribute a vibrant cultural landscape for all of us to enjoy. Some of these artists excel in more than one medium - a painter may also be a musician for example. Rarely do we find an artist with so many different talents that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what sort of artist he or she is. That happens to be the case with John Harris. 
When I first met John, about four

Are you fascinated by boats? I mean the incredibly handsome wooden boats of days gone by. We are lucky to have an organization here in Buffalo that is dedicated to recreating those beauties that are normally seen in exotic boat books and magazines. You may recall that the Buffalo Maritime Center (BMC) recently set up permanent shop in Black Rock. Well, not that spring is here and boating season is right around the corner, the Buffalo Maritime Center would like to invite you to come and check out its operation. From the BMC:
BMC volunteers have been working

By Nicholas Miller

You may have heard, Buffalo lost a bid to host the annual conference of the National Association of Sports Commissions due to the dated condition of the current convention center and the not-so-vibrant condition of Main Street.   You can almost hear it now, can't you?  Soon there will be cries from every direction that Buffalo ought to replace its convention center with a bigger and better model.  To not do so would be leaving money on the table, right?  How is Buffalo

If you had shown me this photo and asked me what it was and where it was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. That's because last fall Mutual Riverfront Park (see background) was nothing more than a vacant plot of land along the Buffalo River. Yes, there was a plan, but how often do we see a plan materialize virtually overnight? In this case (photo) we now see a building on the left that pays tribute to the Historic Mutual Rowing Club. The recreated building will 'once again' house kayaks, canoes, rowboats, etc. The

By David Torke - fixBuffalo:
The Fairfield Library, already a landmark in the hearts and minds of thousands of Buffalonians, is poised to become an officially designated city landmark. Unless, of course, a developer has his way. The building has been vacant since 2005, when Erie County closed the branch. The building stands prominently on a sweep of green lawn at Amherst and Fairfield streets in Parkside, a familiar landmark for over 100 years, even for those who never walked in its doors. The building opened as

In response to a recent BRO commentor saltecks' question, "So whats going on with 500 Elmwood? The City should show some cojones on that one," (referring to this post) I decided to reach out the The Elmwood Village Association (EVA) to inquire about process and proper procedure... as well as consequence for obviously skirting the latter. 
Although former EVA Executive Director Justin Azzarella has

The last time that we paid a visit to Ship Canal Commons (in the fall), we were anticipating the arrival of a new pedestrian bridge that would traverse the canal's waters (see background). While so many of the other functional and aesthetic design components were in place, the crowning utilitarian fixture was still on its way. I recently inquired about the bridge, and was happy to hear the news from David Stebbins (lead photo), Vice President, Buffalo Urban Development Corporation (BUDC),

One local business that has existed here in Buffalo for the past 25 years may be one of our strongest assets for future development. Peter J. Smith & Co., located at 1896 Niagara Street in Black Rock, is a full-service urban design, urban and regional planning, economic development, and landscape architecture firm. With experience working in communities of all sizes and in locations throughout the United States, as well as internationally, this firm offers expertise that their staff of 11 loves to employ at the local level. 
"We employ people from Buffalo,

By Michael Hargrave:
This weekend the West Side Bazaar will be celebrating its 1st anniversary. While the vendors prepare to celebrate a year of success, the Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI) is already celebrating that success in a different way. WEDI, the organization behind the West Side Bazaar, is working to expand the Bazaar. Ben Bissell, Economic Development Coordinator for WEDI, said they are going to be looking to fill a new Bazaar with 20-30 vendors, a huge increase from the current Bazaar's six vendors. 
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The 2012 event schedule for the Buffalo Central Terminal has been released, and with it we are seeing some familiar programming such as the Toy Train and Railroadiana Expo and the Dyngus Day celebration (expanded this year). Deco Fest is making a return visit in 2012, and for those ghost hunters and zombies out there (there are many) the terminal will become the site of three-day paranormal and horror convention - one of the largest in the northeast. Each time you attend an event at the Buffalo Central Terminal you help the architectural icon towards its ultimate salvation. So pick a festival,

After witnessing some truly unimpressive facade mishaps around town, it's nice to see someone actually spending some time and money in order to spruce up a building. The former Claiborne Liquor location has gone from being jacked-up to looking impressive - and the work is not even complete. The liquor store had been at this 149 Elmwood location for as long as I can remember, and during that time it always had a rundown appearance. 
When I first saw that work was being performed on the building, after Claiborne moved down the street, I asked a couple of the neighbors who

There has been a buzz going around this past week that Buffalo is finally going to get an Ethiopian Restaurant. A sign had gone up in a window on Amherst Street announcing the news. That's when I started getting phone calls and emails asking if it was 'my guy' who had finally found a location. As much as I wanted it to be Wass (my guy), it was not, but nonetheless I was excited to learn that Buffalo would soon have Ethiopian food. 
After digging around, I learned that the operators of Lucy

By: Kyle Gunn-Taylor
As Sabres GM Darcy Regier tossed and turned dreaming of getting a 1st round pick for Paul Gaustad and finding a Junior B team that might be willing to take on Brad Boyes' $4-million cap hit, myriad trade rumors swirled in the gusts that swept over Buffalo, Monday.
As the 3:00pm NHL trade deadline neared, it seemed as if Regier's alarm clock might have forgotten to arouse him from his daily nap. When the alarm finally went off around 2:55pm, a little earlier than usual, it was just in time for him to realize

As part of its efforts to promote sustainable energy solutions in the local community and the greater Western New York region, the WNY Sustainable Energy Association will continue its monthly speaker series tonight with Terry Yonker, co-chair of the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative, Alliance member and WNY Sustainable Energy Association Trustee.
Yonker's discussion, "Addressing Climate Change in the Great Lakes: React or Adapt?" will touch on the probable impacts of global warming on the climate of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem, and

Everyone knows Lloyd Taco Truck. And everyone loves Lloyd Taco truck. 
They pioneered the food truck movement in Buffalo. They helped shape reasonable food truck laws which allow trucks to co-exist with brick-and-mortar restaurants. 

The only problem with Lloyd - there's just one. 
But we can all help solve that problem. 
Lloyd has just announced a Kickstarter project to raise enough

This is the third in a series discussing key intersections along the Scajaquada Expressway, as it is downgraded to a boulevard. Once again, the key elements to be improved upon at this Grant Street intersection are traffic calming on the boulevard and access and egress to Grant Street, Buffalo State College and surrounding neighborhoods. You can see that the on-ramps and off-ramps have been cleaned up and converted into intersections controlled by stoplights. As with other intersections along the boulevard, this plan helps to tie together roadways, while the new arterial environment frees

The term "Communications," when applied to one's work, is so broad that it likely touches everyone in some way. All of us, some more than others, must communicate to push our mission forward. It's one of those broad generalizations that touch all of us, but so few of us really know how to do it effectively and efficiently.
Whether you work in a field directly tied to communications such as media, public relations or marketing, or you work in fields such as human resources, education, business, or health care that require you to communicate to various audiences, internally

By Erica L. Eichelkraut:
This Friday, March 2 from 5-11pm, the 500 Block of Main Street will be rockin' as they host another Rock The 500 Block Party. The event was originally thought of while in a meeting with Councilmen Pridgen's office, Buffalo Place and multiple 500 block business & building owners, who wanted to think of a way to show off all of the great changes that have been happening in the area.
Join them this Friday night for a block-long open house celebrating local art, music & downtown Buffalo.
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The future of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks is starting to look greener and healthier thanks to many of the organic initiatives that we have seen implemented in recent years. As forward thinking ideas of 'plant zoos' and 'maintained meadow areas' move from concepts to realities, Olmsted Parks are uniquely positioned to become sustainable examples of how organic practices can lead to living better lives. The goodness of green doesn't stop

The Seneca Buffalo Creek Development Advisory Board today outlined a grant application process for $1 million in projects designed to boost infrastructure, landscaping, lighting and signage in areas around the downtown Buffalo casino.

The process announced today is the result of nine months of work and a series of board meetings that involved input and guidance from stakeholders such as the Seneca Nation Council; Erie County; the City of Buffalo; the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority; Seneca Gaming Corp.; the Seneca Nation Planning Department; the Old First Ward Community Association;