Bonfatti Remembered
Those of us who were lucky enough to count Buffalo News writer Jay Bonfatti as a friend suffered a wicked shock last week when he passed away in his sleep while visiting with family on Martha’s Vineyard. He was only 52. The grief has been profound and widespread. Hundreds have expressed their sadness and many more are expected to attend a memorial for him this Saturday, September 6, at the Lafayette Tap Room, from 1-4pm.
Leave it to Jay, the Italian from Boston, to be the man of honor at what promises to be one of the best Irish wakes in Buffalo history.
It will be an eclectic crowd, because Jay knew and touched people from all walks of life. Members of his family are expected to travel from Massachusetts to be at the event.
There will also be great food and music, and a lot of beautiful stories told about a hilarious, compassionate, irreplaceable guy who really made everyone’s life that much sunnier.
He remains, as he was in life, a catalyst.
April 17, 2008
Echo Chamber (April 17): News You Could Have Read Anywhere
- AFSCME Local 264 plans to protest outside of Mayor Byron Brown’s fundraiser today at Kleinhans at 4pm. Check it out.
- News continues to be generated by the October 2006 storm. In Snyder, lawyer Jim Duggan got a court order from State Supreme Court Judge Makowski calling for a halt in the removal of storm-damaged trees on three streets there. The Town of Amherst had ok’d the removal of 44 80-year-old silver maples on Burroughs Drive, Duggan’s street of residence, at the beginning of the week. Contractors began cutting them down on Tuesday, escorted by Erie County Sheriff’s deputies “for the crews’ safety.” Now the two parties will have to work out in court…
- Additionally, the folks at Carvings for a Cause are now offering smaller pieces of art for sale. Items made by local woodworkers from the trees felled after the storm, including bowls, vases, and cutting boards, will now be for sale.
- The Brookings Institution released a supplemental report yesterday showing that Buffalo could receive between $600 million and $1.1 billion in economic benefits if the Federal government were to fully adopt the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) Restoration Strategy. Read the report (it’s only three pages long, for Christ’s sake!) here:
Brookings’s Great Lakes supplemental report
- The Feds raided a Cheektowaga Mexican restaurant—El Caporal—yesterday, which is owned, they say, by an undocumented Mexican alien. Simon Banda allegedly paid for workers to be smuggled acorss the border to work here and in six other restaurants he owns regionally.
April 7, 2008
Echo Chamber (Monday, April 7): News You Could Have Read Anywhere
- Heavyweight boxer “Baby Joe” Mesi is running for Mary Lou Rath’s (R-Williamsville) soon-to-be vacant State Senate seat, making him the fourth Democratic contender in that race. Mesi, whose experience doesn’t extend much beyond the boxing ring, said he will give up his fighting career to become a public servant. The other three contenders are perennial candidate Dan Ward, Erie County Legislator Michele Ianello and Amherst Council member Mark Manna. So far, no Republican candidates have been announced in the race. It’s an important seat for both parties, as the Republican party holds only a single seat majority in the Senate.
- Henry Littles, manager of BMHA’s Marine Drive Apartments, can’t manage his own houses. Littles, who owns 14 properties around Buffalo, was cited by city housing inspectors for numerous violations at properties on Schreck and West Utica streets. Littles says he will fix the problems, which include broken windows, tires and trash in yards, rotting decks and loose gutters.
- A Lockport man, the son of a cancer survivor, plans to hike the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail in support of cancer research. Justin Cassamo, 30, plans to trek from Mexico to Canada through the deserts, mountains and forests of California, Oregon and Washington in honor of his mother, Paula Greck, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 but is now in remission. Cassamo hopes to raise money for cancer research at Roswell, and has set up a Web site—www.hike4lives.org—where pledges and donations can be made. (more…)
April 1, 2008
Echo Chamber: News You Could Have Read Anywhere
March 31, 2008
Echo Chamber: New You Could Have Read Anywhere
- The Sabres squeaked by the Bruins at home last night in a 2-1 overtime victory, keeping playoff hopes alive, but gasping. With three games left, they are still five points behind the 8th place Flyers the 7th place Bruins and 6th place Rangers. Buffalo needs all three remaining games, and for Washington and Philadelphia, Boston or New York to drop each of their remaining three if the Sabres want to make the post season. Of the five teams, Buffalo has the second easiest schedule remaining. One slip-up, though, and it’s all over.
- The governor and legislators have reached a final budget agreement for the state with well over 24 hours remaining to enact it before the 2008 fiscal year begins tomorrow. Major changes include increased school funding, a $1.25-per-pack increase in the cigarette “sin” tax, increased funding for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and rejection of a gasoline tax. The total budget—about $124 billion—constitutes a 4.5 percent increase from the 2007 state budget. (more…)
March 24, 2008
Dyngus Day
Happy Dyngus Day!
Load your squirt guns and grab your pussywillows (should you be lucky enough to find any), because today is Dyngus Day, the Polish-American celebration that comes at the end of Lent. According to the Dyngus Day Buffalo Web site, the modern traditions involving squirt guns and pussywillows started when “farm boys in Poland wanted to attract the notice from the girls of their choice.” Apparently subtlety wasn’t their strong point, so they got the girls’ attention by throwing water on them and whacking them in the legs with pussywillows. The girls got the last laugh, though, when they reciprocated “by throwing dishes and crockery” at the boys. Ouch. Dyngus Day has evolved over the years to become primarily a celebration of Polish-American culture, heritage and traditions. For the lay person, that means Polka, pierogies, kielbasa and vodka. (more…)
March 20, 2008
Echo Chamber…All the News You Could’ve Gotten Anywhere—March 20
Happy Spring! Today’s the Vernal Equinox…
Sabres rally against Lightning…
Reynolds not running again…
Fleeing WNY in droves…
New, cheap bus service…
Collins’ version of CitiStat scaled back by control board…
Mobile tax service offered…
Stocks tumble…
Neighbors recognize Kosovo…
March 19, 2008
The View from Paris #1: How Stupid Is Your Daily Paper?
Last Sunday, I traveled to Paris, France. On Monday, thinking I should check on things back home I perused a few local Buffalo Web sites, including Buffalonews.com, where an article about the Buffalo theater community caught my attention. It was from Sunday, March 16, written by Colin Dabkowski, and titled “How much is too much?”
