In yesterday's visit to the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, Governor Paterson reiterated his stance on using Buffalo as a statewide model for Sustainable Neighborhoods, as stated in his address last week.
In a last minute change of agenda, Paterson chose to take questions from the audience, where Columbus Park resident, Kathleen Mecca, who has spent a long time fighting the Peace Bridge truck

Buffalo Issue Alerts is a site that originally launched as a Yahoo group in March 2002 as a forum that addresses Buffalo's built environment, with an eye toward preservation.  "Issue Alerts" is aptly named; it is a site in which subscribers can pose or comment on various issues important to the built environment.  
According to the site's founder, local Director of Library and Archives at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society Cynthia Van Ness, "The name came from one of my pre-Yahoo group

It's a cool winter's day in January. You get up and head out for a cup of coffee. Think about heading to the nearest sledding hill. No. Something different. Chillax with friends for brunch. Been there done that. What about heading to the Outer Harbor to join in on some canoe building action? That's the ticket. Throughout the year boat-building enthusiasts get together at the Maritime Museum (open to the public) to learn the art of handcrafting seaworthy vessels indigenous to Lake Erie.

This past Friday

Cancel your house parties!  Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will be airing their Buffalo show, a two-hour special, on January 24th, from 8 to 10PM.  Buffalo ReUse, People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) Buffalo, and WNY AmeriCorps have reserved Shea's Performing Arts Center from 7 to 10PM, so that you and 2,999 of your closest friends can watch it together.  
The show will center

BRO Submission By Matthew Ricchiazzi:
 
I crave good government.  I yearn for competent elected officials.  I hope that the devastating leadership void in our region that has left our governmental apparatus impotent, unwieldy, and poorly configured will cease sooner rather than later.
 
Our government--the City of Buffalo--has been an ineffectual and complacent failure for at least the last three decades.  Enough is enough, and few would argue that an overhaul

With the complete arrival of winter in Buffalo, I decided to revisit a conversation we have had at Great Lakes United several months ago. One of the prominent features of the Buffalo winter scene is the Niagara River Ice Boom.  The installation and removal of the Ice Boom marks a regular celebration of the changing seasons in this magnificent part of the Great Lakes ecosystem. And we were pleased to hear of the announcement earlier in the fall that the storage of the ice boom will be moved this upcoming year to free up prime waterfront space that could lead to increased public access and native

By Vanessa Oswald Several dance instructors, including guest artist Anna Trebunskaya from Dancing with the Stars, are coming to the Adam's Mark Hotel on Saturday, January 16th, for Dancing for a Dream, in which they will teach a variety of dance classes to the public. All proceeds from the event will go to local charities. /city/index.html

I have been stumbling on a treasure trove of urban planning videos lately.  Many focus on New Urbanism.  Several are mid-century vintage that give a priceless look into the thinking that went into the eventual mass desecration of American cities and their surrounding countryside.  The pair of videos linked here are a bit of a combination of new urbanism  meets mid-century suburban idealism.
/city/index.html

By Marilyn Rodgers
I've got a few questions for you based on this Buffalo News article: · Has your committee member; whether of the Democrat, Republican, or Independence parties; ever contacted you for your opinion or vote beyond petitioning? · Have they sent you any literature on various candidates being considered as the chosen representative for the party you belong to? · Have you ever received any

When Chao Li and I first discussed her coverage of the Pants-less Metro Rail Ride and my coverage of the Skivvies Snowball Fight, we joked around a lot about all of the different media angles. These are fun events to cover, even when there are naysayers in the crowd who say, "Who Cares?" I think that there were a couple of those types of comments left this summer after I posted on the Flashmob

By Marilyn Rodgers
Land Value Taxation has received various reviews across the US and throughout the world.  Many efforts have been quite successful and there are various reports that consider it a "must do" for revitalization.  Further, cities have taken it seriously enough to create unbiased reviews for consideration and others in states such as California and Pennsylvania have each instituted LVT with success.
The "Why's and Wherefore's" of Land Value Tax are briefly listed on urbantools.org

Recycle clothes, textiles, bicycles and e-waste including computers, keyboards, monitors, cell phones, rechargeable batteries and more.
Clear the clutter, benefit the environment, and in the case of reusable items, make someone a gift.  Sponsored by the county and city, the drop-off is at Buffalo State College's Rockwell Road and Rees Street from 9:00 to 1:00 on Saturday the 16th.
If you separate your clothes, usable from unusable, some will be recycled at AMVET's, so bring them on down.  Bikes will be used by Buffalo Blue Bicycle in their

While eating at The Lunch Box this past week I came across this old photo in the adjoining lawn bowling clubhouse. Have you ever walked around the Parkside Lodge and noticed that there is an old stone walkway that serves no purpose other than being aesthetically pleasing? Well, that walkway was once a fully functioning bridge that traversed the historic Delaware Park Quarry Garden.

When looking at this photo, it's easy to imagine that the structure was the sister bridge to the one that is located

You know we love Choco-Logo. In fact, we've been accused of liking it too much, but we would find ourselves remiss if we didn't tell you about the deal going on at the Buffalo chocolatier's today.
Today, all day, you can have all holiday packaged chocolates at Choco-Logo for half-price.  Half off of the yummiest way for your body to release all of its happy endrogenous opiates on this day, that's looking a bit drab.
As an aside, we were at holiday party, introducing Choco-Logo owner Dan Johnson to

Back after a three-week holiday break, there was a lot to talk about for this edition of the Buffalo Rising Roundtable, recorded at WBFO studios on UB's South Campus with News Director Mark Scott. Hear the entire podcast here.
Beginning with the Statler, and developer Rocco Termini's idea of turning the building into the home base for

Bill Lenz is a jewelry maker, biker, human canvas, deep-thinker, and a Buffalo boy who comes from good, hard-working, creative stock. 
Lenz's father, William, was a general contractor with Huber Construction, Inc., a family owned business, and Lenz was also a union carpenter with the company.  His mother Joyce was an educator and an artist with the Buffalo Craftsman Society and kept a studio at Tri-Main.  As evolution goes, their son is a good meld of all of his parent's talents,

What do you get when you take a cold winter's day, a business that sells underwear and a bunch of crazy people at Bidwell Parkway? The first annual Splash Panic! Skivvies Snowball Fight. At noon today a small group of people met at the park, dropped their drawers (and just about everything else) and proceeded to pelt each other with snowballs. All of this in the wake of Elmwood Avenue's Splash Panic! unveiling their new line of undies.

A spirited dash in the park ensued before the snow bun-nies raced back to collect

The changing of the calendar year is often time for reflection. With the dawn of the beginning of a century now ten years behind us, this year also allowed for greater review of time. How has the past year, and past decade, treated the natural wonder that sits at our doorsteps?  With the 20th century a decade behind us, have we, as a community, a society, or individuals, embraced new strategies to face old and new ecological problems?
   
Perhaps one of the biggest stories for the Great Lakes in 2009 was the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The Congressional approval

This morning on the way in to WBFO studios, I stopped by Famous Doughnuts to bring radio station's staff a baker's dozen of fresh Buffalo doughnuts.  I gladly accepted #13, though the girl behind the counter said some refuse it based on superstition.
Owner Richard Roehm, who runs the shop at 3043 Main Street with his wife Pamela, has been in the business all his life.  The original Famous location was started by his father in the early 40s, and Richard grew up in the business, which has changed a lot from the early days.
"My father started

You are invited to join me in a reception at Lafayette Church this Sunday from 11:30-1:30, where we will give a presentation outlining our efforts to preserve our building through creative re-use.

Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church was added to the national register of historic places this year, and if we are successful in our plans for re-use, the building will continue to be an integral part of the Elmwood Village for years to come.  We will accomplish this by converting