Winter Year Round In The Falls

I have always said that we need to embrace our heritage as a "snow city" instead of being embarrassed about it. Tuscarora businessman Joseph Anderson obviously agrees. The former owner of the Wintergarden in Niagara Falls is finishing up an attraction that brings winter to Niagara Falls, year round.

Scheduled to open June 15, Snow Park Niagara Falls features a tubing hill and a skating rink that features synthetic "ice". For $30 you can have two hours on the tubing hill and unlimited access to the skating and the other snow play area.

Overall...a great idea. Hopefully the implementation will be as good. I have said for a long time that we need to capitalize on our national reputation, not shake our heads everytime Leno mentions it.

Ratings Slip At Channel 2 Isn't Big News

Alan Pergament's story about local news ratings wasn't really big news to me. Channel 2's confrontational journalistic style and overuse of the "Holding People In Power Accountable" has given Channel 2 more of a sensationalistic feel than that of a credible news outlet.



I watched YNN for awhile when it first launched, and although I was intrigued by it, the production values were not as slick as the established local guys. The graphics are busy and amatuerish and sometimes the b-roll doesn't match the story. I am sure that in its early stages, there is not as sizable a crew to be collecting footage for each story. I think the YNN Channel is a great foundation on which to build, however, after watching for awhile I realized that not enough stuff happens in Buffalo Niagara to support a 24 hour news only format. If used as the foundation of something bigger, YNN would be a great platform for 24 hour local programming, with regular news breaks. It would be great to have a station that featured local arts programming, political programming, sports programming, etc. and still left a healthy sized hole for news. There is so much going on in this region that it could support weeklies that offered analysis and commentary in each of those areas. Certainly, a whole host of 30 minute to 1 hour features could be developed.



My favorite part of Pergament's article is the part where it points out that TV News is quick to cover the industry wide slip in newspaper readership, but doesn't at all cover it's own side of the downturn. Shocking really.

I Never Served

I never served. I grew up in the 70's and early 80's. A relative time of peace. Viet Nam was over and although we were still Cold Warring with the Soviets there wasn't much going on militarily. The military had crappy PR back then. It was almost like you only went there if you couldn't do anything else. There was no "Be All You Can Be" or "The Few The Proud". They didn't try to sell you on all the cool programs, maybe because there weren't as many programs as computers were still in their infancy. It's not like I wouldn't have served, it just never even occurred to me.



I never served. There wasn't a lot of military in my family. My mom's dad served in WWII in the Navy. He was in the South Pacific, but didn't see much combat. At least he didn't talk about it much. One of my mom's four brothers enlisted in the Navy during Viet Nam. I don't think he ever made it to Viet Nam. He served near Greenland. My dad's brother was in the army, but I never even heard one story about that.



I never served. I have been to a lot of different monuments to the different wars. We spent almost half a day in DC looking at the different war memorials. I don't know that I even know anyone's name on any one of those monuments. I don't know if I even knew anyone who lost a husband or a son or a brother. That has never stopped me from crying when I stand in front of the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial in DC. Every time I am there I visit it. I don't know why I have an affinity for that particular monument, but it leaves me awestruck every time I see it. There is something acoustic in the design that sucks all ambient sound out of the air. There is a eerie, but majestic silence down near that sleek black wall.



My grandpa (mom's dad) died recently, and at the end of funeral ceremony my son played "Taps" while my two cousins, in Air Force dress blues saluted their grandfather. It was at that moment, while I cried, that I knew I had missed something. I never served when I was of that age, but now I serve. I serve by thanking veterans every chance I get, with applause as they walk by in parades or with a thank you when I am near. I serve by being as patriotic a role model as I can any time I am front of kids. I serve by teaching kids that it is veterans who have made all of our freedoms possible.



It is not at all the same as wearing the uniform. I am the first to admit, but at this time, at this age, it is all I can offer. Thank you to all veterans who served. Thank you more to all who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to all military families who gave up their loved ones for a short time or forever.

Men Vs. Wild

Having nothing to do with anything, I just saw that Will Ferrell will be joining Bear Grylls on "Man Vs. Wild" for one trip. Not for nothing, but would you want to go out on that show with Bear? If you become a liability, do you also become dinner? He's eaten worse.

Another Casualty

Alicia Lukasiewicz has resigned as Corporation Counsel for the Brown Administration, and she has good words for her former boss, Byron Brown. Good words for her boss's handler, Deputy Mayor Steve Casey.......um......not so much. According to the Buffalo News story, Lukasiewicz had "strained relations" with Casey.

First time we've heard that about Casey, right?

Bills Lottery Tix

Sports Illustrated reported earlier this week that the Washington Redskins are the second team to sign a deal with a state lottery to create a team themed scratch off lottery ticket. The Patriots were the first. Go figure. I'm stunned that Jerry Jones didn't just buy the lottery and turn it into a subsidiary of the Cowboys, although there would be a complex formula that dictated how the state would get it's money, and the Cowboys wouldn't really want to share.

In this time of trying to find new revenue streams to keep the Bills in Buffalo, I hope that Russ Brandon is working overtime to make this a reality in Buffalo. Here's some suggestions for the tickets.

• Twice a year, the tickets could be more expensive, you could only buy them in Toronto, and they could pay out in Canadian funds.
• The tickets are cheap, but you have to pay a lot to park while buying them.
• You can't watch the lottery draw on Time Warner, because they don't carry that channel.
• You can't buy a ticket unless you sign up for a credit card and get a free Bills hand towel.
• Even though there isn't a winner, the guy in charge gets rehired every year.
• Once there is a winner, it'll be 10 years before there is another winner.

Just a few ideas to get the ball rolling.

Why?

Buffalo Pundit posts today about how there is some blatant untruths posted at www.newwnypolitics.com . I guess what's the strangest thing to me is that when you actually visit the site there is a veritable who's who of Western New York politicians. The same is true when you visit www.politicswny.com . Although I don't really go to either site, I have heard frequently that they are "pay to play" websites. Buy ad space and you get good press. Don't buy ad space and you get trashed by editors Glenn Gramigna (newwnypolitics) and Joe Illuzzi (politicswny).

So the big question is....why would any self respecting politician (is there such a thing) lower themselves to this level of play. I am definitely an idealist, who believes that politics doesn't have to be this way, although I have no proof thereof. Living in Buffalo my whole life where "gotcha" and trash politics are the norm.

Replacing Hardwick on Hardline

With Radio Host, and Poli Sci prof Kevin Hardwick tossing his hat in the ring for the Erie County Legislature race, there is a job opening at WBEN. Hardwick will be challenging two term incumbent, Michelle Iannello for the 1oth District seat that represents the Tonawandas and Grand Island. True to Buffalo political form, the mudslinging began almost before Hardwick had finished his announcement. Hopefully we can have a race that focuses on issues like the Powers/Davis race or the Konst/Volker race during the last election cycle.

More importantly than who gets the Legislature seat, is who gets the radio show. Here are some potential candidates.

Maria Genero - Maria's bounced from job to job. Probably won't be long before she's looking again.

Rob Ray - Politics is rough and tumble, and so's Rayzor. Rumor has it he is looking for more than just the sideline duty, but Jeaneret and Robitaille are hanging on to the booth. If it comes to blows, hopefully they keep the sweaters on because I don't want to see what Jeaneret's got up "on the top shelf where momma keeps the cookies".

T.O. - He has the key for everything now so WBEN won't have to make a new set.

Steve Pigeon - Fair, impartial, unpartisan.......right.

Airborne Eddy - Where's he been anyway? There's nothing more "offbeat" than Buffalo Politics.

Dick Cheney - He is looking for work. He is bizarre. The show name will have to be changed to "Hardline with Hardliner".

Hopefully Hardline won't fade to black. Kevin's done a great job with it over the years and it has been a great forum for local politicians and politics. People who are really interested in the issues, instead of voting based on a 30 second political spot, could learn a thing or two on "Hardline with Kevin Hardwick".

Hey, T.O., can I borrow your keys to....the City?

I am pretty sure that Pundit says everything I wanted to, right after I got past the speechless part. I looked for the right words, and really, the only one that works is surreal. The whole thing, from signing him in the first place to his accepting the key to the city from a star struck Byron Brown is just surreal. I particularly like the part where he says that everyone says that we are just missing a few pieces to the puzzle and wherever he goes they say he is one of those pieces. I actually heard from his past cities of residence that he was a piece, but puzzle wasn't the word that followed that.

The B-Team Blasts Summer Into Buffalo

Last night the B-Team hosted the Summer Lovin' Buffalo Blast at the Town Ballroom. The party was a fundraiser to help the B-Team fund some of their local philanthropic initiatives. The party was indeed a "blast". Radio and TV gal, Janet Snyder was there to keep the party rolling and there were beach games, great tunes, good food and drink and a lot of fun on Main Street. Sadly, it was about the only thing happening on Main Street last night.

The B-Team is a group of people who have the mission of making Buffalo a better place. Pretty simple. To that end they have worked on projects like The City of Light, which bought and installed Christmas lights in a neighborhood that wouldn't have been able to do it on their own. In winter the B-Team hosted the "Bored Games" with the proceeds going to the Literacy Volunteers of WNY. That's just two of the many projects this crew has taken on. There is an article on B-Team at Buffalo Stuff. Worth a look.

These guys and girls are the real deal. They love this region and are willing to give of themselves to make it a better place. When you see their name on an event I think you will find it well put together and benefiting something worthy. Check out their website to see what they are about.

CVB, Solar Convention and the Bed Tax

I spent the day at public day of the National Solar Convention at Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. Overall, it was a nice event. Kudos to the Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau for landing this fish. Certainly, when I think of places to hold a convention/conference on Solar technology, I wouldn't necessarily think of Buffalo. That would be why I am not the head of the CVB.

I spoke with many of the vendors about solar technologies, and about Buffalo, and no one had a bad thing to say about their time here. Several vendors were very impressed with the volume of traffic they were seeing during Saturday's Public Day. Unfortunately, I did not get to attend the Governor's speech on Friday night.

On another CVB issue, things are heating up in the Buffalo News about Chris Collins assertion that the bed tax is just another form of revenue for the county. Additionally, his forcing out of Richard Geiger as the CVB Director is another direct assault on an agency that actually manages to bring outside revenue to town. It's amusing that Republicans are up in arms about the forcing out of GM CEO Rick Wagoner, based on the idea that they are getting government money and will have to follow some government behests, but local Republicans don't seem to be outraged by the same practice on the local level.

The CVB is one of the few agencies that bring tax revenue to the region WITHOUT raising taxes on the already overburdened residents. Their efforts should have a dedicated source of funding that is not able to be withheld for political reasons. Collins ran on a platform of running county government like a business. Any good businessman recognizes the necessity of a good marketing plan, and having the money to implement it. The CVB will not be able to be successful without funding of their marketing initiatives, and bringing it in-house as an actual county-run agency, as it appears Collins would like to do, will not help the ultimate mission of the bureau.

Golisano, Florida and Responsible New York

A lot of hay has been made about Tom Golisano's decision to move his primary residence to Florida. Me, I think it's what rich people do when they get older. I suspect that Golisano's reason for moving isn't as much about saving money on taxes, although $13K per day is nothing to sneeze at. I think he probably would have gone anyway, but he gets to use the move to make a point that he has been trying to make for a long time.....that New Yorkers pay too much in taxes. He tried to make the point with his PAC, Responsible New York, which I think tanked because of his choice of the political thug, Steve Pigeon to run it. Turns out that there may have been some felonies committed in the operations of Responsible New York. Anybody shocked by that?

A few words for Tom Golisano. Thank you, sir, for the good things you have done for our region. The purchase of the Sabres, the huge donations to the likes of Niagara University, and the calling attention to the issues like our overwhelming taxes are just a few of a long list of philanthropic or community serving endeavours. I wish you well in your new home. Would you consider taking Larry Quinn and Steve Pigeon with you?

A few words to everyone else. Losing anyone from our community is a sad day. Losing a large patron of the community, even worse. Be clear, though. Golisano will probably still be active in this community, as he already has a lot invested here. I imagine he is looking forward to enjoying the fruits of his labor, and that is easier to do without wading through snow to get to the car. Golisano has an opportunity here. He is heading to warmer climes and he gets to make a point on his way out the door. It is way more poignant a point when a billionaire makes it than when a recent college graduate who can't find a good job makes it.

On Friday, May 1, we launched http://www.buffalostuff.net/ . Everyone of us involved in this project believes, like most diehard Western New Yorkers, that this is the place to live. We love the small town feel and the great people. We love the food and the fact that there is no shortage of things to do...year round. We love the distinct four seasons, and the fact that there great things to do in each of those seasons. Obviously, we love our home.



The focus of Buffalo Stuff is on the things we do for fun in this area, AND the people who give of themselves to make those things a reality. We'll update the content frequently, and there are other things to do like take our polls or see our thought of the day, usually relating to something that happened on that day in history.



Many of the other online publications in WNY are very blog based. We love the idea, but because we are focusing on people, we don't want every story to be a conversation. Our mission is very positive, and it is not uncommon for some angry, negative people to criticize others to make themselves feel good, so we decided to keep the blogging separate from the stories.



As I said, the focus of Buffalo Stuff will be the fun things you can do in the Buffalo area. We have regular departments in Art, Music, Theater, Dining, Shopping, Sports, Literature, Politics, and History to name a few. You've got other suggestions, we'd love to hear them. You can post them here or send them to us via e-mail at submit@buffalostuff.net .



There's alot of good things here, and we hope to enjoy them together.