The Urban Land Institute's Young Leaders Group of Western New York (ULI YLG of WNY), a subsidiary of the global nonprofit research and education organization, the Urban Land Institute, will be learning about Kissling Interest's Remington Lofts project in North Tonawanda next Thursday. 

The presentation, "Thinking BIG at Remington: How Work/Live Lofts Spur Economic Activity", will tell the story of a $20 million, 160,000 square foot adaptive reuse project, The Remington Lofts on

The Irish Classical Theatre Company has been nominated for Best Event Website in the 16th Annual Webby Awards.  The nomination comes for The Wake 2011 website, partytodiefor.com, developed by Crowley Webb.  
Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.  The IADAS, which nominates and selects The Webby Award Winners, is comprised

In late March, the Seneca Nation of Indians and Seneca Gaming Corp. ="In late March, the Seneca Nation of Indians and Seneca Gaming Corp. unveiled a re-designed $130 million Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino on the Nation's 9.5 acre territory in the Cobblestone District. When complete in the summer of 2013, the new casino will replace the current, slots-only casino that opened on the territory in 2007. The new design features a main stone-faced building containing the newest and highly popular slots, table games and a small, American-style restaurant and bar facility. A four-story parking

Preservation Buffalo Niagara is recognizing outstanding preservation projects and those contributing to preservation efforts at its annual awards ceremony May 30, 11:30 AM in the Statler's Golden Ballroom.  Award categories were established to acknowledge distinguished contributions to our community through preservation activity. Recipients will be recognized in several areas including: preservation craft; rehabilitation/adaptive use; stewardship; neighborhood conservation; planning/reconstruction; and

Erie County and the cities of Buffalo, Lackawanna and Tonawanda, with the support of the Association of Erie County Governments (AECG) have joined together to address the growing countywide abandoned property problem. 

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz was joined at an official signing ceremony late last week by representatives from Buffalo, Lackawanna and Tonawanda as well as from AECG and other officials, to announce an intermunicipal agreement and joint application seeking to be one of the first five communities in New York State to create a land bank.

"I look forward

The sixth annual Buffalo Enviro-Fair will be celebrating Earth Day with booths from area eco-organizations in front of City Hall on Friday, April 20th, with their traditional offer to not-for-profits to exhibit at no charge.

"We strive for a great, diverse Fair and don't want any organization that legitimately is green and unable to pay for a booth to be left out of the Enviro-Fair," stated Paul D. Maurer, Chairman of the event.
 
The event started in 2007 as the area was planning their first volunteer tree plantings with a visit from Al Gore at the University of Buffalo. 

Historic preservation tax credits have been a critical component for a number of redevelopment projects in Buffalo.  Their use is spreading to the suburbs.   Tzetzo Companies is planning to restore the historic Kronenberg Building located at Main and Buffalo streets in the Village of Hamburg.  
The long-vacant two-story building, which many feared would be demolished, was purchased by Tzetzo on March 14 for $250,000.  It will join a number of newly built and rehabbed properties in the village which has benefited from a Route

South Buffalo's Patrick Kane just bought a 6,000 square feet, 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath mansion on Old Lakeshore Road in Hamburg. The price? A cool $2.68 million. 
Kane, of course, plays for the Chicago Blackhawks. Over his career, he's earned more than $30 million while scoring 123 goals in 395 games. So paying a few million for a house isn't going to be a financial burden. 
This is either the most expensive or second most expensive house purchase in Erie County

The University at Buffalo will receive a state designation for a Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics, and will be awarded $200,000 in funding to establish the center.  The designation and funding for the center will be included in 2012-13 state budget.

UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics will use robotics and data-intensive computing technology to focus on discovery and commercialization of innovative new materials, including synthetic replacements for natural elements that are growing scarcer.

With the creation of the center, UB will

An expansion project at the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum at Michigan Avenue and Seneca Street is winding down.  Spearheaded by museum founder James T. Sandoro, the $6.3 million project expands the existing museum by 35,000 sq.ft.

The museum celebrates the Pierce-Arrow, the Thomas Flyer and several other Buffalo-manufactured automobiles, as well as locally produced trucks, bicycles, and auto accessories. 

The Pierce-Arrow was once one of the most recognized and respected names in the automobile industry. 

UB Associate Professor of Architecture Christopher Romano and his students give are giving a presentation about new and sustainable methods in the field of innovative construction. The free event is being held tomorrow night, March 20, at Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Avenue.

Professor Christopher Romano holds a B.P.S. in architecture as well as a professional M.Arch. degree, with a concentration in architectural theory and design, from the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 2005, he received the chair's award for consistent, high-caliber design work performed in the studios. His research

A collaborative effort by three major community pillars has produced badly needed funding for Western New York's tree re-planting charity.  The Green Goal campaign has recently concluded its five week campaign to raise donations for Re-Tree WNY, a program of Keep Western New York Beautiful.

"We are very pleased that Green Goal raised such a significant amount of money with the January/February campaign," said Michael Gilbert, Vice President of Public and Community Relations for the Buffalo Sabres.   "The Buffalo Sabres Foundation

St. Bonaventure played Florida State tough all game. They jumped out to an early lead. They held the lead at halftime. 
They held the lead until just over 5 minutes left in the game when, after a 16-2 run, Florida State finally found a way to lead. 
The Bonnies, a #14 seed, were trying to win their first NCAA tournament game since 1970. But it didn't happen. While trailing by 3 points with 10 seconds left, Da'Quan Cook made a strange - and fateful - decision to drive the lane and take a 2 point shot. It missed. He got the ball back and,

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority (PBA) is proceeding with longstanding plans to demolish seven PBA-owned vacant homes on Busti Avenue between Vermont Avenue and Rhode Island Street.  PBA wants the homes removed to expand the Peace Bridge Plaza.  But before the wreckers roll, the PBA is allowing interested parties the opportunity to acquire and relocate the houses free of charge.  Subject to paying all removal costs of course.  757, 765, 771, 777, 783, 791, and 793 Busti Avenue are all on the wrecking list and are

By Aaron M. Renn

We constantly read about the infrastructure crisis in America. I'll have more to say on this at a future date, but it is pretty clear that we need to spend more money in a whole lot of areas: airports, roads and bridges, public transportation, and more.

Yet it's very easy to see that so much of what ails transport has nothing to do with a lack of funds and everything to do with a lack of will. I took a train ride on the Northeast corridor last week that really drove it home to me.

Start with the sorry state of Penn Station in New York City, America's

Many people doubted it would happen. But the Bills proved the doubters wrong (this time). 
Today, the Bills announced they have signed Stevie Johnson to a 5 year contract, keeping the controversial wide out in a Bills uniform through 2017. Reportedly, Johnson will earn $7.25M per year in his new deal; not bad for a 7th round draft pick. 
Johnson, of course, is the Bills most prolific receiver with 170 receptions for 2,077 yards and 17 touchdowns over the past 2 years. Losing Johnson would have created yet another hole on the roster. Now,

By Joanna Panasiewicz

As Western New Yorkers, we are lucky to be situated on the Great Lakes where we can take advantage of this amazing freshwater resource for our drinking water, recreational activities, transportation, tourism, energy generation, and more! According to the U.S. Geological Survey, only 1% of all of the water on Earth is usable by humans. We need to protect this resource for generations to come.

The Western New York Stormwater Coalition would like to remind people that there are many activities in our daily lives that can affect the water quality of our

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman isn't very popular in Buffalo.  
He presided over the "No Goal' travesty that cost the Sabres a chance at the Stanley Cup. And he wasn't just the league commissioner when this went down. He was in the building. Bettman was sitting in a box in the former HSBC Arena when Brett Hull scored an overtime goal to win Game 6 - and the Stanley Cup - for the Dallas Stars in the 1999 Finals. 
Of course, 1999 was the year the NHL routinely called back goals for the newly enforced "skate in the crease" rule.

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise's (BNE) ongoing marketing efforts north of the border continues to pay dividends as the region's economic development group has attracted three more Canadian companies to the region in as many months.

In November Nutrablend foods finalized plans for their second expansion here, while December saw Avanti Advanced Manufacturing Corporation announce their first U.S. operation.  In January, Blockbuster Costumes confirmed that they would be the next Canadian based company to locate in western New York.  These companies

According to multiple reports from USA Today, TSN and The Hockey News, the Sabres have traded Paul Gaustad and a fourth round draft pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a first round draft pick. 
Guastad, who has played with the Sabres since the 2005-06 season, has racked up 71 goals in 479 NHL games. The centerman had 585 penalty minutes in his career with Buffalo. He was top 10 in the league in face-off percentage for the past 3 seasons. 
To his credit, Gaustad was well-liked in the community. He lived in the City and was frequently