By Steve Lingle:

During a time when most local stories reported are about cutbacks and layoffs, one East Side business is bucking the trend, by expanding and creating jobs.

In a celebration on Thursday afternoon, Eberl Iron Works commemorated the completion of an 8,600 sq. ft. warehouse expansion at their Sycamore Street facility. The expansion increases Eberl's capacity by 46% and will allow for increased inventory, assembly, flexibility and job creation toward their continued growth.

"The expansion of this facility is a clear indication of our commitment

During the end of the nineteenth-century and into the twentieth-century, the Hydraulics neighborhood was a thriving, self-sufficient community within the larger City of Buffalo.  The area had a unique identity and culture and offered all available public, religious and community services to its residents.  Although the neighborhood had lost its namesake, the Hydraulic Canal, the community continued to have a strong self-sufficient identity within the larger city of Buffalo.  The Larkin Company, manufacturer of soaps and toiletries, was certainly the most notable business which

One of the things I love about using Google is the constant addition of new and helpful features to mapping and search, usually with little or no fanfare.  One of my favorite features on the search page is that da Google tries to "guess" my search based on what I'm typing in, by constantly comparing against millions of similar searches.  It gives me an idea of whether I may be on the right track to finding what I want, and often even corrects my spelling.  Lately, it seems like whatever I search for, thousands of others have been on a similar quest.

That's why I knew I

By Scott O'Connor:

On Friday August 27th at 7:30pm Olmsted Parks Conservancy will be presenting an outdoor showing of the one hour documentary "The Olmsted Legacy, America's Urban Parks" at the Quarry Bridge in front of the Parkside Lodge - 84 Parkside Avenue. This first film by Rebecca Messner narrated by Kevin Kline and Kerry Washington explores the formation of America's first great city parks through the eyes of Olmsted himself.

A visionary of landscape architecture and urban planner, Fredrick Law Olmsted was architect

I picked up a great new book a few weeks ago.  It is a reprint of a book titled "The Picture Book of Earlier Buffalo".  It first came out in 1912 published by the Buffalo Historical Society as the 16th volume of the Buffalo Historical society Publications series.  It is a picture book of earliest Buffalo showing scenes that no longer exist and are recognizable only by the description of location in the text.  The original book was published during a time of massive growth in Buffalo.  That growth in the early 20th century was quickly eliminating remnants of Buffalo's original

It's funny how things turn out sometimes. In a world where it is increasingly the right thing to do by supporting homegrown projects and businesses, University at Buffalo dropped the ball when it dropped Buffalo CarShare (BCS). It was a crushing blow to the company, not because CarShare was dependent on UB, but because it would have been such a natural relationship and source of growth. After all, CarShare was incubated at the university. Instead of tucking its tail between

Saturday, August 21st, 2010 will mark the first annual "Ride Along the Waterfront", a 7 mile bike ride and 2.3 mile canoe/kayak paddle brought to you by the Black Rock Canal Park Steering Committee, the Niagara River Greenway Commission and the Northwest Buffalo Community Center. The bike portion of the event will begin at 9 a.m. (with registration beginning at 8am) at the Erie Basin Marina and ride to Black Rock Canal Park (currently the Ontario Street Boat Launch). It will be followed by the paddle event launching from Black Rock Canal Park at 10:30 a.m. with registration beginning at 9 a.m.

The burgeoning artist community still abounds in Buffalo, this time with a green twist.  The first-ever Eco Art Show will be held this Saturday, August 21, from 4 - 7 p.m., hosted by Blue Sky Design Supply in Buffalo's Cobblestone District.

Eco-friendly paintings, ceramics, sculptures and photos will be on display for purchase.  Some of the art will remain at Blue Sky Design Supply throughout the last week in August for people to view.  All of the subjects are either eco-conscious or they promote sustainability. For example, the photographs are of landscapes or natural

Submission by Lou Bordonaro:

The horrible crime of this past weekend has somehow made its way a half mile up Main St. and into the Chippewa Entertainment District.  With growing public concern over safety in Downtown Buffalo, and local leaders and business owners calling for changes to be made, several solutions have been offered.  Though the idea to prohibit anyone under 21 from entering Chippewa St. has its doubters, it would have less of an impact than changing closing times throughout the county.  The thought of closing off a street and subjecting patrons

Could the despicable shooting Saturday morning set back the progress made downtown over the last two decades?  Yes, according to leading downtown developer and restaurateur Mark Croce.  He says the Chippewa District is already in the midst of a slump and if safety issues are not addressed immediately, the hit to downtown's office, retail, residential and entertainment sectors could be substantial and long lasting.

Chippewa, an attraction that introduced downtown as 'fun' and 'safe' to a generation of college kids and adults, laid the foundation for revitalization elsewhere in

I finally got around to stopping into Blue Fin to check the place out, and to see what sort of menu items we could expect to find. The restaurant is about two weeks away from opening - barring any sort of permit of code compliance issues. Upon examining the 'kitchen starters' I found some standard Japanese fare such as edamame, shumai and gyuza... the items that we have come to expect at Japanese restaurants. While the Ika Maru (grilled squid served with spicy mayo sauce) piqued my interest, I was disappointed to see Chilean Seabass (or Patagonian toothfish) on the menu. With so many great fish

Submission by City Honors Fosdick Masten Park Foundation:

Last week, over 40 Buffalo Public Schools math and science teachers were given layoff notices. The district has chosen this avenue as one way to cut back on costs and lessen the district's deficit. It has no choice but to follow New York State Education Law which basically states that the last to be hired are the first to be "fired." This group of teachers has only been in the district a year or two and represent some of the most talented hiring the district has done to date.

Specifically, two of those teachers

Thanks to everyone who sent us the link to treeHugger.com this morning regarding its post on why moving to Buffalo is a green move. From the days of being known as The City of Light to being cast into the Rust Belt category to having the ability to reinvent the city, Buffalo's proximity to fresh water, and the electricity drawn from it are once again looking appealing. With freight costs skyrocketing due to oil prices and heat waves becoming commonplace in parts of the country, Buffalo's proximity

A lot of people don't have the time to dedicate to organizations that are looking for large commitments. There are others who love the ongoing projects because it keeps them busy in the world of non-profits. For those who never seem to have the time, Brush Up Buffalo is a short-term commitment that requires one day of your time. On September 18th, volunteers will be painting fifteen low-income homes in the Kensington-Bailey area. It takes 25 people to tackle each house. Than means that 400 volunteers are need to get the job done.

Those who

For some time now, PUSH Buffalo has been working towards rehabbing Massachusetts Avenue Park (formerly vacant lot on Massachusetts Avenue between Winter and Lawrence - next to Boys and Girls Club). The group's plan is to offer fun, safe park amenities to families on the West Side. When the park is complete, it will boast a splash pad, a multi-purpose field, refurbished basketball courts, an amphitheater and a skate-park. It was only recently that PUSH introduced a program in conjunction with The Urban Soccer Initiative (USI), a

By Steven Dietz:

The Delaware Neighborhood Tour of Homes has sold out!

The residential architecture of Buffalo enjoys national attention, and yet we locals take for granted the beauty and taste that fills our avenues and streets. We bustle down Delaware Avenue in our cars and think we know the houses and their styles. But do we really know much beyond their majestic surfaces, or anything of the joy and suffering they've sheltered for a century or more?

Not unless we stop to savor these houses with their

A living inner-city demonstration classroom that features habitat restoration, native plants, and sustainable site development/construction while explaining the benefits of bio-diversity is planned for three acres of unused property at the front door of the Central Terminal.  The Buffalo Urban Habitat Project and Classroom is seen as a Buffalo first and a model that can be repeated elsewhere as greening and urban farming gain favor in a shrinking city.

The project is seen as more than just a landscaping effort.  The improvements will remediate the site, create habitat, become

I hadn't seen my childhood friend Brian Allen in a long time until he showed up at the Music is Art Festival a couple of years ago. Brian is a former Buffalonian who, along with his wife, established an all-natural vitamin water geared towards kids called 'bot'. At the time, Brian was looking to dole out samples at the festival so that kids and their families could taste test the product. Fast forward a couple of years and Brian is now branching out into The Lexington Co-op and Wegmans as well as numerous smaller outlets.

Developing a vitamin water that appeals to kids was an awesome

By Salpi Doering:

The Buffalo Rebuilding Together Project began renovations on July 19th, 2010 to give 13 year old Justin Zirpola the ability to go outside after six years.   Dozens of volunteers with collaborating partners AmeriCorps, Bona Response Group, Cricket Communications Inc., Essential Care for Children, Hospice Essential Care, Make a Wish Foundation and WNY AmeriCorps have been gutting out a Milton Street house to turn it into a handicap equipped home for Justin and his father Sal Zirpola.

Justin, confined to a hospital bed, was born with Downs Syndrome,

Back in November of '09 I wrote about a mostly vacant space on Elmwood across from Price Rite. The first floor was (and still is) home to Horizon Realty, while the second and third floors were close to vacant, and had been for a while. It seemed to me that two spacious floors in the Elmwood Village could use a creative boost - maybe a creative collaborative.

I decided to write a post calling out to some creative types who might be looking for inexpensive rent, but more importantly a shared creative environment