Ten Lives Club (TLC) is throwing an unusual happy hour for animal lovers called Beer For Cats. The happy hour includes drink specials, theme baskets, raffles, a silent auction and chance to purrrty with your friends. The fundraiser will benefit Non-profit Cat Adoption and Rescue Group, Friday May 7, 4-7pm at Mister Goodbar at 1110 Elmwood Ave.
 
If you're not familiar with TLC, the organization relies on donations to help feed, medicate and house over 225 cats (including their cats in foster care) of the program. TLC believes every cat deserves tender love and care. That's why their

Young Audiences of Western New York, an arts provider for children, has created an artist residency for schools based on the local history of the Underground Railroad.
 
The new effort has two goals. First, Young Audiences was looking to bring more African-American artists onto its roster of 150 regional and national artists, and, second, it wanted to create a program to help children understand racial and social disparities. The local history of the Underground Railroad seemed a natural fit to tie to these goals, and funding from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo allowed

Buffalo & Erie County Public Library: Staff Review by Gwen Collier

The first thing that you should know is this is not your typical diary book.  In fact, it is not a diary at all -- it is a journal by a nerdy middle school boy named Greg Heffley and his adventures in trying to be cool.  Throughout the journal, we see Greg embark on several attempts to fit in--even at the expense of his brothers and best friend Rowley.  He is the middle child and regardless of how it seems, his brothers seemingly get away with murder while Greg is punished for every little

This Saturday, March 27 from 6pm-10pm AIDS Family Services will be hosting its 16th annual fundraising gala in the Porterview Room at D'Youville College.  
AIDS Family Services offers services and counseling that promote the well-being of the mind, spirit and body. In addition to that, they also offer educational programs for the community in terms of dispelling the myths surrounding HIV/AIDS, a food pantry, and emergency assistance programs for persons living with HIV/AIDS. 
The theme of this year's fundraiser is "Island Heat," and

Last summer I had the pleasure of working on an exciting project in Black Rock that, for a number of reasons, has had a tough time getting support. The project in question is Rock Harbor Village - an eco-friendly student village proposed by Atlas Steel's Ed Hogle. Although the project has been waiting in standby mode in hopes that a higher education institution, such as Buffalo State College, would see the upside of the project, Ed has been busy looking for alternative ideas to run with in order to keep the

Mayor Bryon Brown rallied the troops yesterday to support the City's bid to attract Google's ultra-high speed, experimental Google Fiber for Communities to Buffalo. The five o'clock downtown rally organized by Jeffrey Ross of InfoTech Niagara was at times like an IT convention or a Buffalo Bandits game, whoops and cheers interspersed with high-minded dialog on the particular suitability of the Buffalo market for the experimental network.

Google Fiber enthusiasts

The Buffalo Public Schools - and the Buffalo Board of Education in particular - have been the center of debate for years.  Despite the critical role the public school system plays in Buffalo's long-term health, voter turnout for school board elections is typically underwhelming.  Indeed, less than 5% of registered voters generally vote in school board elections.  That's unacceptable and we need more candidates

In the last couple of years we've seen a plethora of intriguing developments take place on Connecticut Street. We witnessed the establishment of a bank, along with the building of loft-style apartments (thanks to the Christianos of Left Bank). Old world businesses like The Golden Key Tavern, Mineo and Sapio and Vilardo Printing still anchor Connecticut, beckoning further developments such as Horsefeathers and now Bella Tootsie.

Bella Tootsie is a shoe-spa-boutique specializing in fashionable-yet-affordable ladies' heels, sandals and boots. Annette Caldwell is the proprietor behind this

The University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences has received a multimillion dollar collection of archaeological and ethnographic objects that will be on display this weekend at the UB Anderson Gallery.  The premiere opening of the exhibit - "Cravens World: The Human Aesthetic" - will take place this Sunday, March 28, from 1-5 p.m. for anyone interested in checking it out.   Admission is free of charge.

The 1,100-piece collection was donated by former student Annette Cravens, MSW '68, who personally collected all of the objects during more than 40 years of traveling

Big Orbit Gallery has opened a new art exhibition by Frederick Wright Jones, entitled "The First Meeting of the National Rifle Association for the Advancement of Colored People - in my Head", which will be on display at the gallery through April 17.

The exhibition's unusual title refers to a collection of action figures and puppets that represent current and historical figures who have played a role in the ongoing struggle for racial equality and issues of class inequality and violence. It is intended to represent Jones' dreams of a solution to gun and other related violence

If you plan to be up early, will be hungry, and want to support a good cause this weekend, we have an event for you. The Growing Green Urban Youth Farm and the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) are sponsoring Flapjacks for the Farm 2010, an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on March 27 at Trinity Episcopal Church on Delaware Avenue.

The tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12, and will be available at the door on the day of the event. All proceeds from the breakfast will go to Growing Green and MAP. The website for the event offers tickets for any

If you're like me, maybe you've heard of some the 21st Century Fund's past initiatives, but you were never exactly sure how the process worked. How did past winners make it all the way to the finals in order to land the $100,000 grand prize? For starters, in order to be eligible at all, the organizations must all be non-profits. Then there is the project criteria that requires, among other qualifications, project readiness, impact on the community, and ongoing sustainability. If you look at past winners, you

With the recent success of the exhibit Body World, the Museum of Science is hot to find inventive ways to draw new crowds to its 'front door'*.  Body World welcomed over 160,000 visitors in 88 days and set records for exhibit attendance. According to Mark Mortenson, President and CEO of the Buffalo Museum of Science, "The Body World exhibit set records for attendance, revenue and profit generation. What was great about the Body Worlds exhibit is it proved that Buffalo is worthy (and lucrative) for these unique, world renown exhibits." Now, how do you keep the momentum going? You look to see

Dinorah is an AP Studio Art student at McKinley High School. Her medium is photography. Her concentration problem focuses on the problems and issues that young women face. She will also be exhibiting photos that will be included in the breadth section of her portfolio. The photographs are striking and thought provoking and well worth viewing.  April 29th, 7 -10 PM at Delaware and Chippewa SPoT.

Did you discover photography through school or on your own?

I discovered photography through my school. I have always liked art and was very interested in

The Buffalo Small Press Book Fair is an annual rite of Spring on Porter Avenue at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum.

With three fairs under his belt and counting, Chris Fritton, the organizer of the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair, is bringing together another event not to be missed: A free event with lots of handmade and self published books and art. The 4th annual Buffalo Small Press Book Fair takes place on Saturday March

By Vincent Sherry:

Maintenance issues emerged as a concern today as the Common Council's Community Gardens Task Force discussed a resolution approved last week that would facilitate urban gardens and farms on vacant city-owned property.

Performance-based leases will allow the city to reclaim inadequately maintained land, which has been a problem previously, but the measure does not currently address design matters that could ease mowing in the spaces. It is among concerns expected to be tackled as the effort develops. 

The discussion follows

On Saturday, March 27 Meszaros International Center of Entrepreneurship (MICE) will hold a
Youth Entrepreneur Training Program graduation ceremony for 40 students from Buffalo and Western New York, from 9:00am-2:00pm at Hutch Tech High School, 256 South Elmwood Avenue.
 
Les Meszaros is the driving force behind this unique third year program - a program that equips students with the ability to enter the real world if they choose not to move on to pursue a higher education. Les, a former CEO who has had the opportunity to conduct business with the likes of Intel, and has also

Some people might scoff at the idea of retiring in Buffalo. I completely understand that as many people get older their color pallets of choice tend to gravitate towards yellow and orange pastels, and hearty pastimes such as skiing give way to strolling around easy-to-navigate smooth grass surfaces. I get it. Believe it or not, there are some folks who would rather live in Buffalo during their golden years... people like Ed Hogle (of Atlas Steel) who once told me that he could pick up and leave at any time to go chase golf balls in Florida. At one point he actually flew down there to see what all

Fed up with your slow internet connection? Want to show off your Buffalo pride? Take part in the Buffalo Google Rally, taking place on Wednesday, March 24 from 5pm-6pm outside of the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. This is the last chance that Buffalo residents will have to show their support for the proposed Google Fiber Initiative to come to their city.

The Google Fiber Initiative is an experiment that Google says will enable participants to test run ultra-high-speed Internet connections in select locations across the United States. If the Fiber Initiative goes

The City of Sacramento's first and one of the nation's longest "Green Streets" was completed last fall.  The project brought new sidewalks for residents and businesses in an area that never had sidewalks; ornamental streetlights; and planter strips featuring 100 trees, 200-plus shrubs and 4000 perennial grasses planted over a new storm drainage system, instead of a traditional curb and gutter.  It stretches along five blocks of Dixieanne Avenue in a transitioning industrial/residential