Early last December, Buffalo Rising contributor John Straubinger brought you this story about HomeFront, Inc's 19th Street rehabs.  This past week, HomeFront, a not-for-profit community development corporation based out of the City of Buffalo, announced it has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the M&T Charitable Foundation.  
HomeFront is currently rehabilitating six homes on one city block, in order to subsequently sell those homes

Prish Moran of Sweetness_7 Cafe is one of our very favorite people, and she's teamed up with another, Atsuko Nishida-Mitchell, to introduce real Japanese green tea to the corner cafe.
Atsuko will be at Sweetness today, Sunday, January 31st, at 3PM, to show you the whys and wherefores of powdered green tea.  Though Atsuko teaches and performs the Japanese tea ceremony, today she will simply show preparation and dispense information along with the tea in a casual atmosphere.
"I think Sweetness is the perfect place for this," Atsuko says.  We

A few hours ago I attended the grand opening of Shakti Yoga on Grant Street. For me, this will be one of the more memorable evenings in my Buffalo Rising career... and I didn't even get to stay for that long. My whirlwind self guided tour started as I walked across the street towards the former bank building - the full moon was a brilliant backdrop for the towering edifice that stood larger than life in front of me. Just walking up the steps of the 'temple' I felt that I was in store for a real treat. If you had told

This morning, Buffalo Rising learned of the death of one of our own from the not-so-distant past, Gabrielle Bouliane.  Gabrielle was a poet and videographer with a tremendous life force.  She was a force - a no-nonsense, shoot-from-the-hip, tell-it-like-it-is, real life woman - all wrapped in a sensitive understanding of the human condition.  
Yeah, Gabrielle saw life for what it was, sometimes with a cynics eye, but she made it beautiful for others through her artistic talents.
Gabrielle was the champion of all poets and

While banking on Grant Street yesterday I happened to take a look across the street at Shakti Yoga's new diggs. As I was examining the building, another nearby business caught my eye - Somali Star. The Somali Star originally opened where the seasonal Cuchifrito Hut is now located, but it was a short-lived operation partially due to the awkward nature of the stand-like structure. Now Somali Star is enjoying the benefits that come along with their new space.

The exterior of the building is nothing to write

The ornate Calumet building at the corner of Chippewa and Franklin streets may soon have a new owner.  After nearly a year since the property went on the market, and one price cut, the Calumet is reportedly under contract to a law firm that will move its offices to the building's upper floors. 

Business First has

When you're thinking about all of the different way to make a positive impact on Buffalo, one of the first tasks you need to perform is to identify your resources. There are a lot of local people who can provide you with the necessary tools to get moving on a project or an issue. Just think of all the battles we have been through - whether they were related to education, preservation, development, the environment, what have you.

Even though there is an excellent support group in the region, wouldn't it be great to know that there was more help on the way? After all, when you take a

Last year, the Bufalo Sabres finished 10th in the Eastern Conference - two spots out of the playoffs - with 91 points. Going into tonight's matchup with the Boston Bruins, the Sabres rank 3rd in the Eastern Conference with 69 points in 52 games - on pace for 109 points for the year. 

What explains this projected 18 point (or 9 wins) improvement? Have some of the Sabres key personnel - like Pominville, Connolly, and Roy - matured?  Nope. Well, maybe, but that's not the key variable.  It's all about Ryan Miller.  As the most meaningful position in pro sports, a goalie

By Kim Sabshin    

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Image by oddsock via Flickr

It's

Yoga is a popular form of exercise for many people. In many forms of yoga, repetitive breathing and chanting is used as a form of meditation, which allows yoga practitioners to relax and refresh their minds and bodies. Several yoga studios can be found throughout Buffalo. One of the most impressive is Shakti Yoga, in its new location on Grant Street. 
Opened by Director Michelle Gigante on 220 Lexington Avenue two years ago, Shakti Yoga will be celebrating its grand opening this Saturday, January 30th, at the new location at 133 Grant Street. Beginning at 7

Watts Architecture & Engineering, PC, recently submitted to a Cleveland, Ohio design competition, and the concept - of a design competition - is one that could benefit Buffalo.
Architect Marie Carone part of a team of nine at Watts, led by Kirk Miller, Rebecca Bortolin and Stephanie Koch, who answered the call for designs for a downtown mall in Cleveland that would create a connection between the downtown core and the Lake Erie waterfront.

AmericanStyle Magazine, a popular nation-wide publication, has launched its annual readers' poll in an attempt to find the Top 25 Arts Destinations in the country.  

Buffalo has once again been nominated within the mid-size cities category for contemporary art.  In

Tuesday night I went to a dinner party on Grant Street that was a real eye-opener. The affair was a joint venture between Sweet_ness 7 and Freddie J's Barbecue - two West Side businesses that may have different clienteles, but both have the desire to bring a community together. The evening included a jam session, a barbecue smorgasbord and a mix of people that should come together more often. Fred Daniel designed the function to co-mingle

Though I am happy for the positive change on the West Side, and for the Powell family, there are a number of assumptions behind the show that should not remained unchallenged.

Of course, the show said little about God, so to say that it is sharing a theology might not be the most precise of language, but it does have a specific and identifiable worldview that touches on the great faiths.  It also promotes theologies that are both helpful and harmful.

My favorite theologian, Bono, has said: ""...the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

Did anyone else see Eric Starchild digging holes at the corner of Lafayette and Elmwood with a pickaxe today? I can officially say that now I have seen just about everything. Last week I had heard that Buffalo's favorite jewelry peddler was embarking on this new adventure. I was told that he was starting up a series of craft classes at Lafayette Church. It was difficult for me to picture Eric seated at a table teaching crafts, when up to this point I have only seen him as an on-the-move purveyor of all-things-Eric. Then again, if you had told me that he would be swinging at the dirt in the middle

Paying homage to country and family, Olympic-bound Sabres goalie Ryan Miller's mask features Uncle Sam, his Michigan State mascot, and his late cousin "Matt Man," who lost a battle with cancer.
Miller is being looked at as the likely starter for the United States Olympic hockey team, sporting number 39 (US teammate, goalie Tim Thomas will wear  number

In the works since 2007, Queen City Farm was never able to take ownership from the City of the property that was to be the home of QCF.  Last night, the structure at 194 E Utica St, a.k.a. the Engel House, burned to the ground.
According to QCF Executive Director Rod McCallum, grant requests for renovation fell through as the economy plunged, and QCF turned attention to developing its vision for the surrounding property while trying to keep the Engel House secure for future renovation.
"At about 2:30 this morning my wife got out of

As a result of the event "United We Stand in Buffalo," a new website for all news and information  relating to the Buffalo LGBT Community has been launched. The first page of the site provides up-to-date news and information and the Event Listing section provides information relating to events, meetings and other gatherings that LGBT citizens might find important to their needs. In addition, one of the first things reported on the site was the installation of a Buffalo police surveillance

FRANK, an acronym for "Find Resources And New Knowledge," is a new online resource of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society's Library and Archives collection, expected to benefit historians, students, genealogists and educators, as well as the general public.   The name is also a tribute to local historian Frank Severance, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and former First Lady and Buffalo native Frances "Frank" Folsom Cleveland. This database includes detailed bibliographic