The redesigned Buffalo Rising Magazine hit the streets yesterday after a short hiatus. The new design is much different than both the original quarterly that built the company and the confusing tabloid version that was launched when the magazine went monthly.

The new tagline for the magazine? “Nothing happens here that’s not on our screen.” Or, more succintly, “You already read all of this on the website last month.” (Well, except for a couple of things…which I’ll cover later in this article.)

The articles are shortened versions of posts to Buffalo Rising Online and the pages are also sprinkled with reader comments from the website. Essentially, the new BRM serves as a marketing tool to get people to visit the website and as a vehicle to add value to advertising contracts. Not a bad model, I guess.

What’s notable about the magazine and the website, is what you find when you do a little “digging”.

As described by Co-President and Publisher George Johnson in the latest edition of the magazine,

“We break news of New Buffalo online. Everyday, you can find out about development, neighborhood improvement, grassroots initiatives, cultural and community events, food and the city’s restaurant scene. It’s our beat. It’s what we do best. It’s what we love.”

What’s missing in his description of BR is that they also host discussion about heroin, dog sodomy, and muggings in the city…

Before we get to that, let’s back up a little to frame the discussion properly.

Buffalo Rising eschewed the typical media mindset of dealing with political issues and focused on iterative economic progress and events within the City of Buffalo. They would embark on building a business model around the selling of hope. They built a loyal cadre of readers after asking for wide support from the established blogosphere at their inception.

As Co-Founder and Co-President Newell Nussbaumer told Donn Esmode in 2006 “Unlike a newspaper, we don’t have to cover everything,” Nussbaumer said. “We can focus on community-building issues. We fill a niche that people want to explore.”

BuffaloRising also has a mission and editorial direction and it is markedly different (not better nor worse) than ours. They have always been “hyperlocal” and exceedingly positive.

Nor does the company want to veer out of city centers towards the suburbs – which pretty much rules out serving the huge campus of SUNY Buffalo in suburban Amherst. “The City is the aspirational center,” said Johnson. We are identifying stakes in the community. We want user exhaust.”

BuffaloRising Online (BRO_1.0) grew out of a quarterly magazine that highlighted local business, mostly on the Elmwood Strip, and after nearly a dozen issues, they added a free Blogspot blog that also highlighted positive news and goings-on within the geographic boundaries of the City of Buffalo.

The mission was to spread the good news about what’s cool and happening about Buffalo. It was a good idea and one that served to counteract the never ending drumbeat of negativity found in the pages of The Buffalo News.

BRO_2.0, did away with the Blogspot blog, enhanced the design, and made the whole outfit a bit more corporate, but what didn’t change was that it was fueled by a dedicated cadre of Buffalo lovers who wrote about the city and their passion for living in it.

The new site served the purpose to build an online buzz about Buffalo. They had made the leap from being a member of the online community into the local vernacular. BRO and the face of it, Newell Nussbaumer, were becoming players in the local media scene and in the city as a whole.

Building upon that success, George and Newell brought in a business partner, Barry Heneghan of Think Financial, a local private student loan company. With an influx of angel investment cash, Hyperlocal Media opened swanky new offices in the Cobblestone District, launched BRO_3.0, and switched from a quarterly magazine to a monthly tabloid with a style borrowed from European alternative newspapers.

One thing that seemed obvious to observers was that the loyal cadre of contributors who joined Newell and George at the start of the company were no longer part of the new, capitalized Buffalo Rising. Most of the original contributors, designers, graphic artists, and supporters were replaced by an initial wave of new hires. Now, most of the members of that initial wave of new hires have been replaced - for the most part – by unpaid interns who are in it for the resume boost, not the mission.

While the magazine was “down for upgrades”, there was a renewed focus on building revenue from the website. In order to build revenue online, ad sales needed to increase and one way to ensure that happens is to increase traffic numbers. Which is not a small task when you are already established.

So, how does one obtain a general uptick in traffic? Optimizing your website for search engines and utilizing social networking sites like Digg, Facebook, Reddit, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Twitter, and MySpace would be a pretty good place to start.

A recent tour of Digg.com, the 97th most visited site on the web and the leading social networking and news linking site for creative young professionals, paints a pretty interesting picture.

Since at least mid-June, BRO has been posting negative stories about Buffalo that are saved to a hidden cache page and not posted to or made mention of on the main pages that we are all familiar with.

I didn’t read about the YWCA heroin-at-daycare case on BRO, did you? Yet here it is, and it was Dugg by nearly two thousand users. Which put it on the frontpage of one of the web’s most visited pages, seen in the neighborhood of 200,000 times.

Here’s a story BRO didn’t post (but did) about the man who was beaten with his own prosthetic leg. I especially love the accompanying graphic. It’s been posted to Digg.

To top it off, BRO has even posted stories from way outside city limits - Lockport, County of Niagara, is representing on BRO’s cache site, with sodomizing pitbulls galore. Digg? Check. Over 1,000 Diggs, to be precise.

The stories were submitted to Digg by “Diggleague”, who is identified only as “Alex B.” While it is not obvious that Alex is an employee or intern at BuffaloRising, the fact that he knew the location of these hidden pages would indicate that he is.

When asked about the issue, George Johnson responded, but it wasn’t on the record and I’m not willing to post the details. However, I will say that he didn’t deny the effort to bump traffic numbers.

Also, after being contacted by WNYMedia.net, the original articles were removed from the cached pages on BRO and replaced by new ones with a caption that reads, “Discover up-beat stories, events, and more about Buffalo, NY anytime. Morning. Noon. Night.”

So, while promoting the wonders of Buffalo to the local audience, Buffalo Rising is perfectly content to promote some very ugly, very negative stories about Buffalo (and Lockport, County of Niagara), to a separate worldwide audience in order to artificially inflate web statistics.

Buffalo Rising was founded on core principles of hyperlocal city-only puffery. That it would betray those principles for an artificially manipulated bump in traffic is truly disappointing for those of us who thought that BRO’s principles were founded in ideals, not ad sales.

Original Heroin In Daycare Screenshot

Original Amputee Screenshot

Original Dog Rape Story

According to the Associated Press, there has been a twist in the ongoing investigation into the 2004 death of Army Spc. and former NFL star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.

Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

“The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described,” a doctor who examined Tillman’s body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.

The doctors - whose names were blacked out - said that the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

Other revelations in the new documents:

In his last words moments before he was killed, Tillman snapped at a panicky comrade under fire to shut up and stop “sniveling.”

Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or non-criminal, punishments.

The three-star general who kept the truth about Tillman’s death from his family and the public told investigators some 70 times that he had a bad memory and couldn’t recall details of his actions.

No evidence at all of enemy fire was found at the scene - no one was hit by enemy fire, nor was any government equipment struck.

Of course, the White House has claimed executive privilege to prevent communications about these documents and the death of Tillman from being released.

“The Committee wrote to White House Counsel Fred Fielding seeking ‘all documents received or generated by any official in the Executive Office of the President’ relating to Corporal Tillman’s death,” noted a press release from the Committee.

But the White House has apparently again invoked its executive privilege to hold up the documents sought by Waxman and Ranking Minority member Tom Davis (R-VA).

“The White House Counsel’s office responded that it would not provide the Committee with documents that ‘implicate Executive Branch confidentiality interests’ and produced only two communications with the officials in the Defense Department, one of which was a package of news clippings,” the Committe noted. “The response of the Defense Department to the Committee’s inquiry was also deficient.”

The timeline of events in the death and investigation of Cpl. Tillman’s death have often changed as demands for a more through investigation mounted. Initially, it was claimed that Tillman was killed by the enemy in a hostile firefight. Tillman was posthumously awarded a promotion to Corporal, the Silver Star, and a Purple Heart and the nation mourned the death of a true patriot.

After an investigation by Army Special Operations Command, it was discovered that Tillman was actually killed by friendly fire during a heavy firefight with Taliban militiamen. The report concludes that Tillman was shot three times in the head and that members of Tillman’s unit burned his body armor and uniform in an apparent attempt to hide the fact that he was killed by friendly fire.

With the release of these new documents, it appears that there is growing evidence that Tillman may have been fragged. In other words, murdered, by his own men.

We now have evidence of a crime and a government coverup. A full Congressional investigation into the death/murder of Cpl. Tillman is absolutely necessary. That includes a full release of any and all documentation that would demonstrate how involved the White House was with the intentional coverup.

Being accused of acting unethically by NY State Senator Joe Bruno is like being accused of obnoxious behavior by Billy Fuccillo.

I’m just sayin’…

The Buffalo News is reporting that Buffalo Sabres avoided a salary arbitration hearing with Derek Roy by signing him to a long term contract valued at $4MM per season.

The Buffalo Sabres avoided Derek Roy’s salary arbitration hearing today by signing the center to a six-year contract worth $24 million.

Roy recorded 21 goals, 63 points and a plus-37 rating last season. He finished fifth in points for the NHL’s highest-scoring team. His 42 assists tied him with Brian Campbell for second behind leading scorer Daniel Briere, who had 63.

This was a solid move by Regier as Roy is a player on the come and it was wise to lock him in to a long term deal to assure salary certainty. Although, I’m pretty sure that Bucky Gleason and the rest of the writers at The Buffalo News will find something wrong with deal.

ROy’s skillset is similar to Danny Briere’s and locking him in for six years is a coup.

Buffalo, NY - During a corporate earnings conference call and webcast, AAM’s Co-Founder, Chairman of the Board & CEO Richard E. Dauch confirmed that Buffalo’s AAM plant on Delavan Avenue would be closing next March.

The long rumored mothballing of the facility was announced alongside news that American Axle’s quarterly earnings jumped 67 percent, on cost cuts and efficiency improvements. AAM earned $34 million, or 64 cents per share, compared to $20.4 million, or 40 cents per share in last years quarter.

Most importantly, AAM is reporting a backlog of new business, which increased by $400 million to $1.2 billion for production plans starting in the 2008 to 2012 time period.

The plant closing will signal the loss of 650 local UAW jobs and union leaders have stated that they will work towards obtaining severance packages for those employees.

Representatives at the AAM Guanajuato Gear & Axle Facility which has absorbed much of the work from the Buffalo plant in the past five years could not be reached for comment.

I stumbled across this posting the other day and found it to be quite telling…

It is a speech given by President Bush in South Carolina about the ongoing “war on terror”. All words other than Iraq, Al Qaeda, 9/11, and Iraq have been redacted.

The President: —– — —. —— — ——. —– —, ——-. —— — — ———– — —- ————. -’- —– — – —- — — — —– — — — —–, — —-, — ——-, — —- — — —– —–. —— — ——-. —— — ——- — ——- — — —— —— — ——-.

- ———- — ———- ——– — —- —–, —– —–. —— — ——, ——–. -’- —– — – —- —- — ——- — — —– — ————— — —– ——–, —– ————– —– ——-. –. ——-, —— — ——….

…—– — ——- — September 11th, 2001, — —— — —- ———- —- ——– —— — —– — ——- — — — — ——. —— — ———- — ———–, — —– —- —- ———- —- ——– — ——- — ——— —— — ——- ——–, — —- — ———- — – ——- ——.

—- ———- — ——- - ——- —- — Iraq. —– — —– —- — —- ———- ——– —- — —– ——– — — —— — — —– —–. —- ——- — —— —– — —’– ——– ——– — —- ——-. —– —— — —- ———- — —- —– — - —– —— — ————–. — ——- — ——– — —- ——- — — —– — ——-. — —- ——- — ——.

—— — —– —– — 9/11 ——-, ——- ——- - —— — —. — ——— ——- —- ——– — —- — — ———- — —— — ——- —–, — — —- — ———- — — —– — —- —-. - — —— — September 11th — —- — —- — — ——- ——- — – — – — ——-, — —– — ———- ——– — – —’- —- — —- —- —- — —-. — —- — ——- —- — — — —– — ——- — —– —— — —–.

— — ——- — —- —— — — Iraq. — —— — ——- ——- — —- ——-. —-’– ——– ——– ——-, — — —– — —- ——– — Iraq —- al Qaeda. —- —- ——- ——- —- ——- ——-; —- —— ——– ——– — —- —— ——– ——. —- —- — —– —- Iraq’- ——— — —- — — —- —— — - ——— —- —– — ——- ——- — ——-. — — —— — ——– —— —- —— — ——- Iraq– — —– — - —— — —–, — —- — — — ——– — Iraq — — —— — ——– ——–.

—–’- - —— — ———- —– Iraq, — ——- —– —- - ——- ——. —–’- —- - —— —– al Qaeda- —- — Iraq. —- — —- Iraq — — —- — — ——- — — ——. —- ——– —- - — —- — al Qaeda ———- — —- — Iraq — —- — — —- —– —- ——– — – September 11th, 2001. —- —– —- — ———— —— al Qaeda — Iraq — – Iraq- ———-, —- –’- ———– — Osama bin Laden— —- –’- — ———- — ——— ——-.

——— —— -. —-, —— — —– ——– ——- ——- ——, ——- — —- ——– ——— ——- —– ——- ———- —— - —- ——– ——-, —- –, —-, —— - —– — ———- — — ———-, -.-. —– —– —– — —- —— —- —– — —- — Osama bin Laden. –’- ———- —- — “—– —– — — —— — Iraq.” Osama bin Laden—-, “— — — — — — — — – —. — – — –, — —– —- —— — ——– ——-.” - — —- —– —- — - — —— — Iraq — — —- — — —— — al Qaeda. (——–.)

—– - —- ——– — ——— — —– — — —- al Qaeda — al Qaeda — Iraq — ——– ——–. - —- ——- — —- — —- —- — — —- ——— ——- — — — —- — ——— — — ——-.

- —- —– — —– — —- —- —– —–: al Qaeda — Iraq — ——- — - ——— ———, — — Iraq-. — —- — — —– — ——-. —— 9/11, — — - ——— —- — ———–. — — — — - —— — al Qaeda, — — ———— ——— ——- —- — — ———— ——— —- —— al Qaeda ——-, —- — — — —- Osama bin Laden— — —– ——, ——–.

– 2001, ——— —— ——— ——-’- —— ——– —-, — — —- — ——- — — —- — Iraq, —– — — — ———- —- ——— ———- —- —— — ——- — ——— ——. — — ——– — ———– ——— ——’- —-, ——- — —- — —— ———— — —-, —–, — ——— — — ———. — —-, ——- — — ——— —– ——– —— al Qaeda, ——- ———- — Osama bin Laden, — — ——– — “—— — —— — —–.”

—- —–, — —– ——– ——– —- ——- — — “—— — al Qaeda — Iraq” — — ———- ———- — Iraq — “—— — — — —- —.” –’- —- — —– —- al Qaeda — Iraq — ——– —- — —–’- al Qaeda, —- — —— — al Qaeda — Iraq —- — —- — ———- — Osama bin Laden.

——— — — ———— ———, — ———– —– —— —- al Qaeda — Iraq — —– — “——– —– ——— ——– — ———-.” — —— —- —- al Qaeda- —— ———- — —– — “- ——– — Iraq — —— — ———- ——– … — —- ——– ———- … — — —- — ———- — — —– — Iraq — ——- —— ——– ——- ———.” — —— ——- al Qaeda — — Iraq- ——— — – ——– — ——- — — —- — — — —— ——– — — —– — – —– —–.

——— —— -. —- ——— — ——- — ——– ——— — —– —— ——-, ——– —- — —– ——-, — - ——– ——-, —- –, —-, —— — ———’- —– — ———- — — ———-, -.-. —– —– —– — —- —— ——- — —— — -.-. —— — —- —-. — — ——– — ——- ——— — – ——– —– — —– ——–. — —- — — al Qaeda —— ———- — —- — ————. — — ———— —- ——– — —- —- — ——-. — —— 9/11, — —– —- —- al Qaeda — ———– —– — —— ——- ————– —— — al Qaeda- ——- ——–.

—– — —– —- —- al Qaeda- Iraq- ———- —- —-, Osama bin Laden—- - ——— —— —– — ——- — Iraq- — —- —. ——— — — ———— ———, —- — — - —— ——- — — —–, — —— — — — ——— — ———–. — ——- —– —- — – Iraq. — — ——–, — — ——– ———– — — -.-. —– —- — ———- —. — —- —- — —– —— ——- — — — —- —— ———- — Iraq —– — ———- — —— — ——- — al Qaeda- Iraq- ———-.

——— — — ———— ———, —- — al Qaeda — Iraq’- —– —— ——- — —- ——- ———-. —- ——- - —— — — al Qaeda — Iraq’- —- — ——-, - —– — — al Qaeda — Iraq’- — ——— — —– ——-, — ——– — —— — ———– — — 1990- — — — — —- Osama bin Laden, - ——– — — ——- —– - — —- — ——– ——- ——–. —- —– — Iraq, — —— - —— al Qaeda ———– —– —— ——, - ——- ——– — —— —- al Qaeda — ———–, — — —- ——— — 11– ———- —— —— ——–, — —– —— al Qaeda ——-.

- — —– —, — ——– - —— al Qaeda — Iraq —— —– ———. —, —- ——— — – Iraq-. — —-, — — — ——- ——- Iraq- — — ————. —-’- —- — —-, —-’- —- — —- –: — ——- ——- — al Qaeda — Iraq —- — ————- ——- — ——- — ——- —- al Qaeda — Iraq — – Iraq—– ———. — —- al Qaeda —- ——- - ———- —- —- —– —- ———–. — ——- — — —- Iraq- ——– ——- —- —- ——— — —— — – Iraq- ——- — - ———. — —- — ——-, ——— ——– —- ———– — —- — —–. — ——— — ———— —- ———- — — — — ——– — al Qaeda — Iraq — —- — — ——- — — —- ——- ——- —- —- — — ———– ———, — Iraq–.

——- ———- —- ——- — —- — — ——- ——– — Iraq. — ——– ——— —- ——- — — — ——- — ——- ——- — Iraq — ——- — — ———— al Qaeda ———-. –’- —- —- —– —- — al Qaeda — Iraq’- —- — —- ——– — —- — — ———- — Iraq-. — — —– ———– — —- —— —- — – —— — —— —–: al Qaeda — Iraq — - —– ——- — ——- ———-, — ——- — ——- ———-, — —– — - ——- ——— —— — Osama bin Laden. —- —- —-’– al Qaeda. — Iraq- —— —- —- — al Qaeda. —— —— — —— —– —- —- — al Qaeda. —–’- - —- —— —- — —— ‘Al Qaeda — Iraq.’ They are Al Qaeda. And they are in Iraq.

——— —— -. —- —— —- ——- —- ——– ——— — - ——– ——-, —- –, —-, —— — ———’- —– — ———- — — ———-, -.-. —– —– —– — —- —— —- —- —— —- al Qaeda — Iraq — - ——– ———— ——- al Qaeda- ——- ——- —– —- ———– ——- —- –. —- ——– ——- - —- — ————-. —- — — al Qaeda- —— ——— ——- ——– ——–. al Qaeda — — ——— ————- — - —– ——- — ——— —— —- — —— — - —— ——– — —— ———-, — —- ——— —— — ————- —- — al Qaeda —— ———-. — —- —–, —– —— —- ——– —— —- al Qaeda — —- —- — —— - “——” — - —— — ——- — Osama bin Laden. — —– —–, ————- — — ——– —— —- al Qaeda, — ———– ——- —- al Qaeda ——- — —- ——- — ——- —– —— ——–. — —– —– —–, —– — —– —– — ———- —- — — —- — al Qaeda — — —– ——- ——— —–, — ——– ——- —- al Qaeda ——- — — ——– — — ——– — ——- ——-.

— ———— ——— ——– —- al Qaeda — Iraq —– —- — —– — —– ———-. —- — - —- —— — — al Qaeda ——— ——-. — al Qaeda ———- ——– ——— ——– — —– Iraq- ———-. —- –, —– —- —- ————- — ——— ————- — ——- — ——-, Osama bin Laden— —– Iraq- ————, ——— ——–’- ——— — ——-’- ———- ——- — — —-. — — ———— ——— ——- —- al Qaeda- —— ——- ——— —– — —– Iraq——- ———- —- — —– — ——– ———-, ——- ——– — ——– ——– ——– ———- ——- ———.

— ———— ——— ——— —- — —– — “al Qaeda — — ——– —- — Iraq — —— — —– ———– ——–.” — —- — —- al Qaeda —— ——- — —– ———- — Iraq — —– — “— al Qaeda — Iraq — —- — al Qaeda- ————- —– — ——-, — — - ——– —–.”

——— —— -. —- ——– — ————- —- —– — ——– —— —- ——— ——-, —- –, —-, —— — ———’- —, —–; —– ——– ——- ——- ——, —-, — ——— —— —— — ——, —–, — — ———- — — ———-, -.-. —– —– —– — —- —— —-’- — —— —-: al Qaeda — Iraq — — — ——- ——- —– — Osama bin Laden. —- — —–, —- — ———— ——- — —— — ——– — ——- al Qaeda- ——— ———-. — ——- — — ——–, —- —- —- — —- al Qaeda — Iraq — — —— al Qaeda — — — —— - —— — ——-. —-, —-’- —- ——– - — —- —- - —- —- - —- — - —, — —— –’- ——– —- —– — —- - —–.

— —– —— — —- — ———- —— — —— —- ———– —– — —– — Iraq. –’- ——- —- —- —- — —- — ——– ——- –’– — ——– — —–’- al Qaeda —–, —- — —– — —— — Iraq — - ———– —- — —- — — ——. — –’– — ——– — —–’- al Qaeda, —- — —– —- — —— — —- — — Iraq — — ——— — ——- — — — — ——. — ——- —- —- — —- — —–. — — ——– — —–’- al Qaeda — Iraq; Iraq — ——- — — — — ——; — ——- —- —–, ——- — —— ——- —- —- ——– ——-. (——–.)

—– — —— — —— —- al Qaeda — ——— — Iraq, — — — —- — ———-. al Qaeda — — — — ——- —– ——– —— — Iraq. — — ———— ——— ——– —- al Qaeda — — —- ——— — —– —– ——– —— — ——- ——-: —–, —- —- — —– —–, al Qaeda — —— —- — — ———–, ————- ——- —- — — — —- — ——-.

——, —– al Qaeda ——- — ——– — ———- ——— ——–, — ——— —- — —– — ——– ——– ——- —- ——- —— — —- al Qaeda- —–.

—–, al Qaeda — — —- ——– —– — Iraq —- —— ——— — —- — ——- - —- — ——- ——- Iraq. — ——-, al Qaeda — Iraq ———- ———- — —— - ——- ——— — ——. — ——- —-, —- —- ———- — —— —– —- ——— — —— - —— —— — -.-. —- —– — — — —.

— —- ——— — — —— — —— — — —– — Iraq — —– –, al Qaeda — Iraq —— Osama bin Laden’- —- — —— Iraq - —- — — ——- ——- ——, — —– — – - —- —– — ——- — ——-. —- — — — ———— ——— ——- — — - —– — “——– —- [—– ——- —– ——– ——], al Qaeda — Iraq —— — — — ———, ——— ———– ——–, ——- ———-, — ————- — —- — —– —— Iraq’- ——-.”

— — ——— — Iraq, ——- —– ——–, — —- —- al Qaeda — “—— —– —— —” — Iraq. —— ——–, —– —— —- —– ———- — — — — ——- — —– — —— 3,000 —— — — —-. al Qaeda — —— —– —— — — — Iraq- ——; al Qaeda — —— —– —— — — — ——– ——. — —- — —, — — ——– — — ——-, — —- —- — — —-, –’– —- —- —- —–, — — —- —— —- —– —- —- —- —– —–. (——–.)

—- —- —- al Qaeda — Iraq — — —– —– — -.-. ——– — — —– —- — – - ——- — — — ——. — ——– ——- — —— —– —- ——— — —— — ——– ——-. Iraq — — — —— —- — ———- — — — —- –. — —- — — Iraq —- — ———- —— — —– —– —— — 1993. — —- — — Iraq —- —- ——– — ——— — —– — ——–. — —- — — Iraq —- —- ——– — — —- — —-. — — —- — — Iraq - September 11th, 2001.

— —— — —— —— ——- — — —– — ——— ——– — — ——- ———- —- Iraq —– — — –. — al Qaeda ———- — ——- ———- — – Iraq — ——— ———- — —- —- ——- — ——– — ——- — —– —–. —- — —- — - ——- —- — ——– —, —–, — ——– — —— — ——; ———– —— ——- — ——– — ———-, ——, ——-, — ——— —— — —–. — – —- — ——– —– al Qaeda ———- — ———- — Iraq, —- —– — — ——- ———- —– — ——- — ——-. —- —– — —— — —- ——— — —– ——— ——— — – ———–, — —– ——- ——–, — – — ——- — — — ——.

al Qaeda — – Iraq — — —-’– —– — - ——. — ———— — —— — Iraq — al Qaeda —– — - ——– — — ——-. — —- —– ———-. —- — —– — al Qaeda- — ——— — Iraq —- — —— — —– ——— — —– — —- — —- — —- —– — — ——– — ——’- ——-. — – —- — —- Iraq — — —- —-, — —– —– —- —- — ——- —- - —- —– —– —- —– — — —— — ——- — — ——-. — al Qaeda —– —- ——– ——- — ———- —— — —— —– — — ——— ——- —- —– —- ——- — —— — —- ——-.

– — —- — —– —- — ——, ——— ——– — Iraq —– ——– ————, ——- — ——– — —- ———-. ——– —– —— — —— —— — —–, — — —– —- —- - —— —- ——— — ——- ———- — —– —— ——- ——-, — — —– ——- — — — ——– ——— — – —- — ——- — — ——.

–’– ——- —- — al Qaeda —- - —— —– ——— — —– —- — —— — —– —– — ———– — — ——- — — —— — — — —- — —– —- — – — —–. –, ——- ——— — —– — – Iraq, — —- — –. — — — — –.

—- —- - —- —, —– ——– — al Qaeda- —- — Iraq — — ——- — — —- — —-. —– —-, -.-. — Iraq- —— —- —— —- —– —— — —- —— ——- al Qaeda. ——– —- —- —— — ——–. ———- —- —- —— —- —- — — ———- ——-. — —— — — ——- — ——— — ——- — —– — —– —– — — ——-. — —– — — —– — —— —–, — —-’– ——- ——-, — –’– —— ——–.

— — ——– — — ——–, — — —– — — —–, — —- —- ——- ——– — — —— — —- — ——— —- —-, — —- — —— al Qaeda — Iraq. (——–.)

—— — ——- — —- — —–. -’– ——— — ———- ——- al Qaeda — — Iraq- ———. - ——— ———— —- ——- ———– —- ———-. — —– — —- al Qaeda ———- —— ——— — 9/11, —-’– ——– — – Iraq — —— — —–, — —- — ——– — —- ——— —- — —- —–. —– — ——- ———– — —— —- Iraq — ——- — —— — al Qaeda — Iraq — — —- — Osama bin Laden—— — —– ———— — —- - ——-. — – —- — —— —– ——, — —– — ——— — — —– — — ———- — ——-. — —- —— al Qaeda — Iraq.

– —- ——, –’– ——– — — —– — — —– ———– — —- —-. —– — — —– — —— — —- —- — —— — —– — ——- - —– —- — —- — — ——. —- —- ——– —— — ——– — —-, — —- ——– —- —— —— — — ——- — — –’– —– — ——-.

- —- ———- — — ——-, — - —- —– — — —–, ——- - —- — ——— — — — — —– ——– —— –. - —– — — —- ———-; - —– — — —- ——-. —’– —— — – —- —–: “— ——, — ——-, — —–.” —– — — — — –. — —– —- ——–. — —– ——-. (——–.)

In summary; Bin Laden, Al Qaeda in Iraq, September 11th

Yesterday, Eliot Spitzer became the first sitting New York Governor to address the Buffalo Common Council in their chambers. He urged the council to ensure economic progress in Buffalo and Western New York and to finally move forward on rebuilding the toll and customs plaza on Buffalo’s West Side.

In what was considered a crucial vote, the Buffalo Common Council unanimously supported a draft environmental impact statement for the project.

That vote, and subsequent votes by Fort Erie, ON and the Peace Bridge Authority are necessary if the environmental impact study is to move into the next phase and ultimately receive approval from the federal government.

Since the US Department of Homeland Security declared opposition to shared border management on the Canadian Side of the bridge, politicians have raced to the fore to declare support of a US plaza. Rep. Brian Higgins, Mayor Byron Brown, Gov. Spitzer and now Buffalo’s Common Council have declared their support for a massive expansion of the customs and immigration plaza.

While this is all well and good, the debate over an expanded plaza on Buffalo’s West Side is soon to reignite. Health and air quality concerns, traffic disruptions, bridge construction requirements, etc., will all be back on the table and dominating the airwaves.

Of course, this all could have been avoided if Homeland Security Director Mike Chertoff had agreed to Shared Border Management…

The West Village Renaissance Group (WVRG) announces its Rededication Ceremony for Johnson Park (National Register of Historic Places and Buffalo’s first park established in 1837) on Saturday, July 28, 2007 at 9:30 am.

At that time the WVRG will unveil the new historic display case detailing the history of the West Village and our city’s first Mayor, Ebenezer Johnson, as well as the architectural renderings for a $1.2 M+ five-year park renovation project that will be finalized Johnson Park’s 175th anniversary.

Renovations to the historic site include a jogging track, meditation labyrinth, special sections for children’s “chalk-walk” and hopscotch areas, the reinstallation of a retro fountain, conservatory for year round use by residents and local school children, and other items such as dog stations, bike racks, new curbs, turf, and garden areas.

Speakers will include Ellicott District Councilmember Brian C. Davis, NYS Senator Antoine Thompson, and others. The Hutch-Tech Cheerleading Squad will also appear.

The Johnson Park Restoration Fund has been established through the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and plans are now being developed to launch an Endowment Fund to guarantee the perpetuity of maintenance and other needs for future generations using this significant greenspace.

This event kicks off others to be featured both Saturday and Sunday during the Garden Walk.

Visitors and guests are also encouraged to visit the local gardens on the Garden Walk

LP Ciminelli, currently the contractor of record for the Joint Schools Reconstruction Project, donated in-kind services for the installation of the historic marker. Other partners in this event include Re-Tree WNY, Home Depot, The Zenger Group, and M Rodgers – FCS.

In a new podcast feature at WNYM, we’ll be featuring the daily local news headlines as read by Lancaster Stan, pictured above. He’ll occasionally have guests join him for the news report, but today he went it alone.

Sure, it’s stereotypical, parochial, small-minded, and base…but, if we can’t be those things on a blog, what good are we? Satire is good.

If you think it stinks, well, hopefully it’ll get better. Stan threw this piece together in a hurry.

In a Sunday editorial, The Buffalo News takes on the idea of the state giving us rebate checks rather than cutting the base tax rates.

The state of New York has been relatively flush with cash in recent years, coffers fed by its progressive income tax and its sales tax. A use for that money that is both wise and politically popular has been to mitigate the pain of ever-higher property taxes for homeowners around the state, and doing it in a way that eases the individual tax burden without hurting the local school districts that are so dependent on that property tax revenue.

The editorial staff argues that these rebates are primarily intended to be reminders that our legislators are “on our side”, that they are looking to help out “the middle class folks.” After all, there was nothing that made me more ambivalent to be a New Yorker last year than receiving my tax rebate check.

Especially since it was printed twice at a cost of $3MM and came with names of my legislator, state senator, and governor plastered all over it. A subtle reminder to head off to the polls to vote for more manna from heaven, right? Especially when I received separate mailings from all three reminding me that they fought to get that check sent to me.

As a common sense, small government ideologue in North Buffalo; I am held hostage to the whims of high taxin’ liberal union lovers. Every year, the majority chooses to send Sam “Tax ‘em High” Hoyt back to the Assembly along with whatever lackey is filling the State Senate seat (currently Antoine “Vote Against My Own Bill” Thompson).

Nonetheless, it would have been useful for The Buffalo News to point out that we will again receive those bribes rebate checks (if we remember to apply separately) this year. Our lawmakers, in concert with Gov. Eliot “Day One” Spitzer crafted and passed a $120.9 billion budget that raised spending more than 7 percent, or more than twice the rate of inflation. So, natch, we need a rebate!

With that knowledge in mind, I think the $200 rebate check I’ll get in the mail just isn’t gonna be enough to satisfy me. How about comprehensive tax reforms that make this state a more hospitable place to live and do business? Anyone care to look into that one?

As you have undoubtedly read over on his blog, Alan Bedenko (aka BuffaloPundit) has declared his intention to take the 4th District seat on the Erie County Legislature from eighteen year incumbent Mike Ranzenhofer.

Typically, I am loathe to support any political candidate as I generally find the local electoral process to be loathsome, pandering, and well, complete bullshit. Often, the voters are left with the choice of a turd sandwich or a moldy biscuit…so, I generally stay away from campaigns unless I truly believe in the candidate and his/her capability to be an agent of proactive and positive change.

When Alan first told me of his plans to run for office, I wondered if he was absolutely insane. After all, it takes incredible stamina, desire, and capital resources to take out an entrenched and well financed incumbent, especially when that incumbent resides in a gerrymandered district which is heavily populated with Republicans typically unfriendly to Democratic candidates.

However, Alan is a different kind of Democrat. Aside from the fact that he is an honest man, he is the owner of a political resume which, I believe, makes him a viable candidate in the 4th district. I always like to say that Alan casts himself as a liberal, until of course, he actually debates one.

He is a fiscally conservative Democrat with a common sense approach to budgeting, spending, and as proven on his site over the years, generally despises reactive governmental measures.

I’ll be working to support his campaign with my time and money and I hope that many of you take the time to listen to his ideas and support his efforts as well.

You can start by joining us at his official campaign announcement at Clarence Town Hall on Monday July 23rd at 6:45 pm. After that, you can volunteer to help at phone banks, lit drops, and door to door grip and grins.

Let’s see to it that Alan gets an opportunity to make a difference.

After reading Geoff Kelly’s article in Artvoice this week, I closed the paper and smiled. Why? Because the honeymoon for Byron Brown is finally over. After a year and a half of middling progress, fence sitting, and general ambivalence about significant issues in the city, Mayor Brown and his Capo, Steve Casey are finally being critically reviewed. Artvoice stepped up to the plate to begin the inquisition about the methods and tactics of this low rent political machine.

Now, I don’t have much of an opinion on Judy Einach, nor will I vouch for the veracity of her claims but, it is common knowledge around the city that Brown and Casey have taken City Hall by storm and rule the city with an iron fist. They enforce adherence to second floor policy with intimidation, threats, and bullying.

One of my favorite memories of my time in Buffalo happened while I was working on the City Court campaign for my good friend Chris Duggan. It also serves as one of hundreds of stories which describe the manner in which the Brown/Casey crew run Buffalo. Chris was facing Craig Hannah, who was surprisingly appointed to the bench by Mayor Brown after his work on the the Mayoral Campaign and his ancillary efforts to kill the investigation of Communication Director Pete Cutler’s alleged drunken hit and run of a motorcyclist shortly after the election.

The Republican Party gave us a list of 300 homes within the City of Buffalo on which we could place signs for the Duggan Campaign, so, we spent a Sunday dropping signs and literature. At a prominent corner in North Buffalo, I placed the sign for Duggan on the lawn as instructed by our committeeman. Within seconds, the homeowner ran out his front door and began to scream obscenities in my general direction and actually kicked the sign down in a panic. Why? His response: “If Steve Casey sees that sign on my lawn, I’m a dead man walking when it comes to city contracts, are you fucking insane? Tell the committee to take me off the list and get out of here before Steve sees you, he lives around the corner.”

That’s one way to run a city, eh?

I intend to spend the next few weeks working on a parallel with Artvoice to expose citywide corruption and exploring the battle for the soul of the Buffalo Democratic party that is currently being waged between the establishment party (Len Lenihan/Sam Hoyt) and Grassroots, Inc. (Steve Pigeon/Byron Brown).

It’s time to get back to what we do here at WNYM; stir the pot, expose hypocrisy, and have fun.

While these two things may seem as incongruous as me turning down second helpings at dinner, they represent the best that WNYM has to offer this weekend…

Gabe over at The Urban Denizen discusses the original street grid used to plan the City of Buffalo and wonders if Buffalo was all that well planned. The reason I like Gabe’s writing is that he regularly challenges the conventional preservationist and local urban planning schools of thought. A fresh perspective on old issues.

As magnificent as Olmsted’s parks and parkways were to the city, they were built at what was then the city’s suburban periphery. Most of these areas evolved into being single-use mansion enclaves for the very wealthy.

Olmsted’s parkways were grand-scale public works that added a great character and uniqueness to the city as a whole but lacked addressing the needs of building social cohesiveness for specific small neighborhoods. Small parks and squares accomplish this goal better than gigantic city parks.

Over at Beer-O-Vision, Ethan continues his exploration of craft brewing in Buffalo and Western New York with a segment on scientifically enhanced beer glasses and a fantastic interview with Paul from Southern Tier Brewery.

Enjoy.

The second edition of Block Club magazine is now on the streets. I picked up my copy while having a crepe and a smoothie over at Steel Crazy Cafe this afternoon.

As with the first edition, the magazine is laid out using vibrant colors on full gloss paper stock. The content is solid, the ads are many, and the design is cool. Overall, a nice hyperlocal magazine that covers not only the city neighborhoods, but extends its reach to the idyllic villages of East Aurora, Orchard Park, and Williamsville. Their website is still under construction, but should be out soon.

I wonder when the next issue of Buffalo Rising Magazine will be out? They might want to get moving as Block Club is eating into their market space and there are rumored to be some new local print magazines on the horizon…

I haven’t done one of these posts in quite some time…if you aren’t familiar with the series, it’s just a collection of nonsense and observations that are unworthy of an individual blog post.

Top 11 Songs On The BuffaloGeek iPod

Technologic - Daft Punk
Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
Sister Christian - Night Ranger
Icky Thump - The White Stripes
C.R.E.A.M. - Wu Tang Clan
Children’s Story - Slick Rick
Hollywood Swinging - Kool & The Gang
Blood Of The Lamb - Billy Bragg & Wilco
Train In Vain - The Clash
Maybe I’m Right - Pete Yorn
99 Problems - Jay-Z

- Is there a catchier local commercial jingle than the one for Marineland? “Everyone loooooooooves Marineland!”

- After taking the downtown housing tour during Buffalo Old Home Week, the winner for coolest interior and most creative use of space goes to The Warehouse Lofts, designed by Jake Schneider.

- One of my favorite local websites is Complaint After Complaint. Sure, it can be filed under angsty hipster whining, but I read it every day and generally find something to make me laugh. Example:

This upsets me every time I go and I have now beat it by ignoring it. Here’s the situation. You want a quick meal and you don’t have time to go inside so you have to go through the drive though. You get to the speaker and a lovely voice says, “Welcome to Burger King, how may I help you?”. You instinctively tell them what you want…only to find that it’s not a real person. It’s a recording to keep you busy until the person that is alive and employed comes to the speaker. So by then, I have already placed half an order and then I have to repeat myself…I hate repeating myself. So no, I have outsmarted them by not answering the initial message. It’s a simple solution to a problem that never should have existed. Goddammit I hate that voice. Why is it even there? Who thought that it was necessary? Who said, “You know what, let’s have a voice that talks to people that doesn’t listen and then, 10 seconds later, have a real person ask you the same question after you’ve placed an order. That’s a good idea. I am a genius. I am going to go get one of my perk blowjobs that my high paid position offers me as a benefit. God I hate my wife.”

PS: I love your Whoppers.

Good times…

- Sorry, Mike. You’ll never “SEE ME RIGHT HERE!” Fords suck and you’re a low rent Fuccillo wannabe..if that is indeed something to aspire…

- I am often baffled by the small minded nature and pettiness of businesspeople in Buffalo. Fear of competition, lawsuits, threats, intimidation, bullying, sophomoric gossip, and outright lies. If there is one thing WNYMedia will always be, it is ethical. Karma is not something to be toyed with…

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s probably a good thing.

- When we announced the winner of the WNYMedia.net Free TV giveaway, we expected the winner to show up and claim his prize sometime during business hours. Unfortunately, the winner must have thought he needed to kick in our back door and claim his prize at 3AM. If the winner could swing by the office sometime this week (between the hours of 9AM-5PM), we have the rest of your prize pack available for pickup.

- Integrating a search functionality into this site has been a massive pain in the ass. It’s coming. As are some individual tweaks for the bloggers. Hey, I know it’s taking a while, but I’m occupied with running this damn business. If you want to sell ads or help tweak the site, shoot me an email at chris at wnymedia dot net

- Pownce is the shizzle.

- I’ve started a new hobby, crew on a sailboat during Wednesday night races along the Lake Erie Waterfront.

- I shaved my goatee. Hopefully, this won’t cause Nate to quit working at WNYM as our IT guy and resident bear lover.