Over the past year, environmental organizations and dedicated citizens have worked together with the Community Foundation for Great Buffalo to create a shared vision and agenda for the environmental movement in our communities. Known as the Western New York Environmental Alliance, this group, which represents over 170 groups, officially announced its action plan recently. 

In the hope of fostering

By Aaron Bartley

In preparation for PUSH's annual "Buffalo Takes Manhattan" party, I spent last Monday crisscrossing NYC in search of chicken wings, Labatts and other Buffalo cultural treasures.  My pilgrimage took me to five different establishments that serve as homes

From September 9th through September 13th, the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center will host the 63rd Annual Buffalo International Horse Show, a "AA" rated competition by the United States Equestrian Federation. The event caters to riders of all ages, divisions and skill levels, with all proceeds benefiting the BTRC. 
The BTRC has the only indoor riding facility in the City of Buffalo, located at 950 Amherst Street. The facility was originally built in 1922 by a group of local businessmen and was named the Saddle and Bridle

The newspaper advertisement touted "The Super Bowl of Success". For less than six American dollars, I was in. With a dozen or so world class speakers, including three ex-presidential candidates, I just had to go. And you know how much I love to view speakers from past posts : /regional/index.html

As you may have noticed, we periodically update our readers on BuffaloRising.com traffic. We've taken the time to assemble a traffic review of the first seven months of 2009 - it sheds some interesting light on local internet traffic trends and larger internet trends. 

From January 1 - July 31, 2009, BuffaloRising.com received 1,319,447 visits - an increase of 17% over the first seven months of 2008.  At the same time, unique visitors have increased 35% to just over 462,000 and

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Buffalo Rising T Shirts are on sale from now until Saturday at midnight.  Use coupon code THREEBUCKS to save - you guessed it - $3 per shirt. 
Get shopping. 

By Larry Brooks

The next few weeks present a window of opportunity for citizens to make a difference on one of the largest environmental hazards in Western New York. Until September 8th, the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) will be accepting comments on its Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which has explored how to cleanup the site.

The

While statewide legislation is pending in Albany concerning texting while driving, some local and state politicians are looking to make the laws even more stringent on the local level.  Though the law pending in Albany would prohibit the act of sending or receiving a text while driving, the act of

If you can play an instrument, the Buffalo State College Philharmonia needs you. This is a call for all local musicians to audition for Buffalo's new community orchestra, led by maestro Paul Ferington.
The Philharmonia is composed of Buff State faculty, students (both music majors and those not majoring in music), WNY professionals, music educators, and any capable community enthusiasts who are ready to commit to this high performance symphonic group.
Ferington, a resident conductor for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, is looking for musicians

So many of the ingredients that made Buffalo prosperous are gone, and they aren't coming back.  Manufacturing will never return to its previous highs and the Erie Canal will never pump cash through our town.

But we haven't completely outlived our usefulness--far from it!  This is a fantastic place to live, with incredible resources, even if we're still moving forward out of an outdated economic (and possibly governmental) model.  We're Buffalo Rising, even if we aren't Buffalo Risen.

Our fate, as a city, seems brighter, but comparable, to that of the traditional

Come see beautiful and ridable pieces of art at "HOGS & Hubbard." 

Recently, a photo was found (below) of Elbert Hubbard, a major proponent of the Arts & Crafts Movement and founder of the Roycroft, riding a 1913 Yale motorcycle. The discovery inspired

And they're coming really soon.  As in THIS THURSDAY soon.  And I had no idea, which stinks because these guys are great and you should definitely check them out.  They're playing the Mainstage Theatre at UB. 

Tickets are sort of expensive at $38 a piece, but they're a very unique group, whose sound is led by lead singer Colin Meloy.  With Meloy's distinctive voice and storytelling influenced lyrics often aided by upright bass, accordion, and various organs, The Decemberists offer an interesting

By Maria Sabastian

In 2004 or so, I played with my then-band down in Monticello, NY, just outside of the original Woodstock site in Sullivan County.  I was unaware until then that the site of

On Sunday, August 16th, Trattoria Aroma will celebrate its commitment to buying locally grown food -- as well as the farmers who provide these delicious foods -- by hosting a dinner event at the Oles Family Farm in Alden. Breen Shea, the restaurant's general manager, said Trattoria Aroma is dedicated to buying local because it's better for customers' health and the region's economy.
Shea also said Trattoria Aroma works with the Oles Family farm frequently, so it was only fitting

The Buffalo Rising Store continues to grow with the addition of specialty dog products from the Domino Dog Boutique!  Domino Dog was inspired by the owner's two French Bulldogs, Duque and Ava Rouge, who prove pets are just as diverse in personality as people are.

 
From the beginning, Domino Dog craved the latest in accessories and decadent treats to pamper your pooch.  As

CityView Property's Genesee Gateway project at the intercept welcome of downtown Buffalo is rapidly speeding toward completion. Windows have replaced boards, while scaffolding is in place with workers fixing outer walls and brick facades. A giant crane is spotted, towering over the circa-1850's historic building landscape, bringing steel to the mid-block gap in the Genesee Block's urban fabric. 

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Any self-respecting Buffalo Bills fan knows that this is the 50th season of their rich, somewhat painful history. (1960-2009. The math is confusing for some. Just think about it.)  Anyway, in order to pay proper homage to our team, the Bills and the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society are pooling resources to provide an extensive football exhibit, set to run from Sunday, August 9, 2009, to February 7, 2010. 

The exhibit will display such unforgettable Bills moments as Mike Stratton's 1964 "hit

We've all heard the doomsday theories that the world is coming to an end. Heck, it's about to be released in multiplexes everywhere in the form of 2012, a big-budget action movie centering on the theory that the Mayan calendar predicts the end of it all in December 2012. Another theory that's gained ground in recent years -- that global warming will eventually make our planet inhospitable -- is the focal point of a piece published earlier this week in Slate magazine, which quotes Robert Shibley, a UB professor

...he also nails, saws, glues and otherwise dissembles and re-assembles what some people might otherwise dismiss as junk into clever and precious artwork. As Richard Rockford says on his website: 

"I try to create art that causes the viewer to start seeing old things, discarded things, items around them everywhere, as having beauty of color and texture. I take old surfaces - wooden panels, ink-stained blocks, deconstructed household furniture - and without