There's no place like home

Looks like Council hopeful Linda Bain is hoping to surpass Mary Martino and Lackawanna's Andrea Haxton as the wackiest Council broad in WNY. I think what she needed to do was praise the Councilmembers a little more. "Demoyne, it was very nice meeting you. And you do look like a football player"...

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Dick Clark 1929-2012

I'd be remiss (I don't even know what the hell that means) if I didn't mention the passing of American television icon Dick Clark. New Year's Eve will never be the same. Here's a tribute video that someone who cared more about him than I put together...

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One man's take on Council interviews

I haven't had the time yet to watch the entire Council interviews yet. However, blog reader M. Colpoys did and provides this insightful evaluation. He was very high on the way kickboxer A.J. Verel and Matt Fisher presented themselves. I agree with him on the absurdity of Darius Pridgen's lead question to all the candidates. He asked each candidate to give the current Common Council a grade. Could you imagine being in an interview, and the man running the interview asks you to grade him and the seven people sitting next to him? How bizarre is he to even ask that question? Did he think anyone was going to give them an honest answer? I would have given them a D- right to their faces. Of course, that's why I'm not a politician...

Watched the whole thing. Verel was clearly the most impressive. Actually answered questions with proposed solutions, rather than platitudes about investing in the district and serving the community. Fischer was a close second, and was my clearcut choice before watching Verel. Verel has an adult's view of what government is meant to be. He talked about encouraging and incentivizing activity rather than just throwing money at problems. He talked about the central role of the body, and not just the multiple pigs at the trough each fighting for their own share that is so pervasive in legislative bodies today. Burke acquitted himself very well, but lacked the depth that Fischer and Verel displayed. Clearly a solid guy with a good message, but not enough. Gartler was pretty weak, and Bain showed nothing but rah, rah spirit and platitudes about hard work. No substantive solutions. All I could think of was Rob Schneider in Water Boy. You can do it!

Where do these council members come from? Pridgen doesn't take the time to meet them individually, and then the only thing he can ask them are two inane questions, one of which is a total set up? Kudos to Burke for being the only respondent to call him out, and with a deft touch as well. You could tell Verel wasn't going to bite on that one either, with his knowing smirk being the initial response. Who the hell is Michael Locurto, and why was he not more engaged? Franczyk was about as patronizing as one could be, while at the same time trying to play gotcha with his trivial questions.

By the way, I have no horse in this race. Don't even live in the district, but obviously have strong ties, which is why I watched. Overall a pretty vapid exercise, with not much meat on the bone. Verel really impressed me, and he obviously cares, based on the commitment he has shown via his involvement in the political process on several fronts. It will be fascinating to see who they pick. The cynic in me says they want someone they can run roughshod over in the budgetary process in the short term. Let the people of the district hash it out after that in November. I hope for better, but after watching that dog and pony show I doubt that will be the case. Oy!

M. Colpoys

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When one domicile equals two residences

You didn't need to read the Buffalo News today to know this was going to happen. We explained to our readers two weeks ago that Bryan Bollman was a South Buffalo resident in name only. He is being championed by a group that simply wants to put politics ahead of the district. This group is led by Councilmember Rich Fontana, who coincidentally, happens to be Bollman's boss.

Bollman's voter registration record on file with the Erie County Board of Elections earlier this year indicated he lived on Gold Street in Lovejoy. His record was subsequently updated in late March.

Bollman also collected signatures on a candidate petition last year for Fontana's re-election bid, and on the documents he attested that he lived on Gold Street. On a petition dated July 11, 2011, a copy of which was obtained by The Buffalo News, Bollman listed the Gold Street address, which is not in the South District.

So, clearly this charade and affront to the residents of South Buffalo is over. What annoys me is the outright B.S. that is now coming from the perpetrators...

Fontana does not believe the situation is that cut-and-dried and has asked Corporation Counsel Timothy A. Ball for a legal opinion.

"A man can have many residences," but only one domicile, said Fontana, who likened the situation to people who are snowbirds and are registered to vote in one place, while they may live in two.

Is he kidding us with this ridiculous nonsense? Two residences! Come on, Rich. This is the type of crap you said you were against when you ran against David Czjyka fifteen years ago. The Buffalo News might be dumb enough to buy it, but the residents of South Buffalo will not be. Tell Tim Ball not to waste his time or our money studying it. If Bollman was a non-politically connected person, he would have been thrown off immediately (just like the Seneca Street business owner from the West side who tried to run). Domicile? How about getting away from the political nonsense like this and lower taxes and bring jobs into the city.
Council candidate's eligibility questioned

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Then and now

The man who killed a defenseless four year old nineteen years ago, is up for parole again. Now 32, Eric Smith committed the unspeakable crime when he was just 13. I don't envy the parole Board.

I do think Smith should remain in prison, for the protection of society. This case reminds me of the Niagara Falls sociopath William Schrubsall. Schrubsall beat his mother to death the night before he was supposed to deliver his high school valedictorian speech. Psychiatrists pleaded for his release, claiming he was reformed and would not be a threat to society. Schrubsall committed some minor sexual assaults and fled the area. Years later, he was found in Canada living under an assumed identity. In Canada, he had committed numerous violent sexual assaults against young women.

Sadly, Smith is right where he has to be. I've seen interviews with him and actually feel sorry for him. There is no doubt he was terrorized for the way he looked and acted as a child. However, what he did is evidence of a sociopath. I think it would be a big risk to let him out again. I'd be interested in hearing other people's thoughts on this one.
19 years later, kid who killed faces us again

Teen killer speaks out 16 years later: wivb.com

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Council interviews

Thank you candidate Patrick Burke for sending me this. Here are the interviews for the vacant South District Common Council seat. Some of these people might be running in the Fall. I would encourage readers with the time to educate themselves on the candidates...


Video streaming by Ustream

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Council set to make their choice

I told you the new Council appointment would turn into a three ring circus. However, I was clearly wrong when I said it would be smooth sailing for Matt "Don't call me Charley" Fisher. Perhaps the Council's majority heard he was bad mouthing the Blogger behind his back and realized he was finished. Who knows?...

-Looks like Rich Fontana's cheap ploy to get Brian Bollman on the Council has failed. I'm told he has withdrawn, after it became apparent he hadn't lived in the district for a full year. Apparently, when getting signatures for his boss last year, he listed a Gold Street (Lovejoy) address. Interestingly enough, the City Hall Rooster has announced he will be running for Masten District Councilman this Fall.

-The Buffalo News said the Council had narrowed the field to three candidates yesterday based on the supposedly all-important interview (Fisher, Bollman, and A.J. Verel). Now today, I'm hearing they might be rallying behind local nurse Linda Bain. Bain was not on their short list yesterday. Today, she is the favorite. The majority will stop at nothing to choose someone they can control. But, at least she wasn't dumb enough to badmouth me to a lifelong friend (at least not yet.)

-Speaking of Fisher, I'm told he had a difficult time getting the Democratic endorsement on Saturday. Apparently, his supporters on the Committee didn't show up and the meeting had to be delayed until they had enough members present. According to state law, I'm told they needed 22 members present. The 22nd person didn't arrive until well after the scheduled start of the meeting. Not exactly an auspicious start or a vote of confidence. Makes you wonder where the others were? Perhaps they heard Fisher has been speaking badly about the Blogger and decided he was "bad paper." 22 years working in the district with thousands of people and a guy comes up from down South, with half my education, and talks down about me. Get the gong ready. Yes, the same gong we used for Chris Fahey. It's going to be a great year...

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Graystone Hotel

Carl Paladino is willing to fix up a run down, falling apart building in a part of town that has seen better days and Occupy Buffalo thinks it's something to protest? They are upset about the tax break he is getting and the fact he is marketing it towards middle to high income residents. Because the last thing this city neighborhood needs is tax paying residents with disposable income who aren't going to commit crimes.

Why don't they just be honest and say they are protesting Paladino because they don't agree with his politics? This project is a great thing for the neighborhood. He's taking an eyesore, fixing it up, and putting it on the city tax rolls. If he walks away from it, which one of these communists are going to refurbish the building? Buffalo already has enough low income housing. It's called 98% of the city. No wonder nobody takes these well intentioned people seriously...

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Radford must be on drugs

Sam "the Grandstander" Radford is calling for students at the lower performing schools to transfer into better schools, because, you know, all of a sudden, they'll learn how to read Shakespeare and behave in class. You see, it's not the fault of the underachieving students or their parents. It's the teachers who are at fault. Just to show how ridiculous Radford is, he is calling for chronically poor students to be transferred into City Honors and Hutch Tech. Where does he buy his marijuana anyway?...

"Even if you want to transfer, it's not like you have high-quality options that are available," she said. "Parents don't really have a choice."

Radford said he is prepared to challenge the legality of the district's decision not to offer schools such as City Honors and Hutch-Tech as transfer options.

Hey idiot: The reason City Honors and Hutch Tech are good schools is because they are selective in who they choose to go there. Does Radford really think the parents of the high achieving students want to have their kids sit next to disruptive students? And that's exactly what many of the students at the lower achieving schools are: disruptive. Here's a crazy idea: How about ending the flimsy excuses and start holding the parents of these chronically disruptive students accountable? It's not the schools that are under-performing. It's the particular students at the schools. But really, Radford doesn't care about that. He just wants to see his face on TV and his name in the paper and make all sorts of ridiculous and outlandish complaints.

Students' right to transfer is cited in city

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College degree? We shall see

Erik Bohen, if you're out there, please consider preventing this anointing and run for Councilman this summer. Mickey Kearns said he ran against "11,000 Doors" Fahey so the voters would have "a choice". Where is our choice for Councilman? I guess that's not important anymore.

In spite of the support he would most likely receive from Brian Higgins and his team of benchwarmers, I think Bohen could actually win this race.

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