Mayor speaks about former aide's plea: wivb.com
Walmart is proposing a smaller supercenter at an old retail site on Seneca Street at the Buffalo-West Seneca border. The store, which would bring 300 jobs, would "eliminate a vacant eyesore" — a large building that has sat empty and been a target for vandals for about eight years, West Seneca Supervisor Wallace Piotrowski said.
The rumor going around town these days is that it is not going to happen. Customers at Tony's Hairstyling on Seneca St. have been wondering about what they call another empty promise by local officials. I laughed when someone close to the situation commented on here that the project was taking a long time because of "environmental studies." Funny, but in areas WalMart actually wants to build, there are never any such delays. We did some digging and think the reason for the company not building here may have been hidden in the very same article. Just look at WalMart as the Bass Pro of South Buffalo...
Last week, he joined Walmart executives from Arkansas for a meeting with Mayor Byron W. Brown in Buffalo City Hall to discuss the project. Formal plans have yet to be submitted for approval.
Red flag! There's your answer.
Walmart eyes Seneca Street location for new store
Schultz’s new role will involve “a lot of writing,” she said.
DeGeorge also said Schultz’s work will be “heavy on the writing side,” and will include news releases, advisories and speeches.
Schultz, who will be paid an $80,971 salary, has been at WIVB since 1994, according to her profile on the station’s web-site.
So when you get hit with the ridiculous garbage tax and the asinine parking regulations downtown, you can rest assured your hard earned money will be used to put out news releases and speeches. This, at a time when the city is cutting police officers, firefighters, and teachers. If Mickey Kearns or Rich Fontana care about the will of the people, they will vote against this clear political hire when it comes before the council for confirmation. Tell the mayor to have one of his 12 deputy mayors write his speeches for him...
But when when the time came to challenge Karla L. Thomas' eligibility to collect unemployment, Brown's administration made no attempt to block payments.
So Thomas has been collecting the maximum benefit of $405 a week since shortly after her termination in January.
Payments to fired aide provoke outrage
I’m dismayed by those who describe red light cameras as a safety measure instead of what they really are—another way to tax citizens without calling it a tax. These cameras are generally administered by a “for profit” third party, with a cut of the profits going to the municipality. Both parties have a vested interest in manipulating the system to maximize the number of tickets issued. Since my space is limited here, do a Google search for “red light camera scams” to see how this is accomplished in other cities.
The idea that there are drivers who routinely and intentionally run red lights is questionable. If that were true, they would soon be removed from the driving pool via fatal accidents. The majority of offenders occasionally misjudge a traffic light, and pass through the intersection a fraction of a second late.
Michael Sartori
East Aurora
Good letter from Mr. Sartori. Brown, Casey, and Councilman GoLISPek: You're not fooling anyone. We're all on to your ridiculous money grabbing scams...
City enforcers have been slapping some property owners with tickets for having high grass.
Five of Buffalo’s nine lawmakers are calling on Mayor Byron W. Brown to void all summonses issued for grass that was at least 10 inches high, noting that the waterlogged region weathered its rainiest May in history.
“It’s hypocritical to give out tickets if your own lots are not maintained,” Delaware Council Member Michael J. LoCurto told The Buffalo News.
“Cut some people a little slack,” said Council President David A. Franczyk of Fillmore. “We had record rainfall. Don’t pounce on people.”
This would seem to follow the city's m.o. Instead of creating jobs or enticing people to move into the city, the mayor seems heart sent on making Buffalo a difficult place to live in. Red light cameras, alternate parking, high grass, etc. I cut my grass about a week ago. Because of the rain, it already needs to be cut again. Other residents don't have time to cut the grass every week. They are busy working two jobs, so they can avoid having to send their kids to Buffalo's troubled schools. No wonder those who can afford to, move out...
Fines paid by red-light runners who are caught on surveillance cameras would end up helping cash-starved cultural groups under a plan unveiled Friday by Mayor Byron W. Brown.
In a bid to advance a red-light cameras initiative that he has been touting for years, Brown is offering to use $300,000 from the project as one-time grants to dozens of arts groups that had their county funding eliminated this year.
As we've said all along, this is not a safety issue, as Brown asserted when he proposed the legislation months ago. It's simply an attempt to reach deeper into your pockets. This latest ploy proves he cannot be trusted. Watch for Riverside Councilmember Joe Golispek, who is clearly in Brown's pocket, to make ridiculous statements in favor of the cameras this week. He's already been identified by your Blogger as a tool. All this legislation will do, is make it more expensive to live here and drive more hardworking people out of state.
www.buffalonews.com
Mayor Byron W. Brown confirmed Monday that his administration has talked with Mylous Hairston about the possibility of replacing communications chief Peter K. Cutler, who left two weeks ago to pursue job opportunities in Albany.
Hairston stunned co-workers at WIVB-TV on Thursday when he abruptly ended a 20- year career at the station.
Brown stressed that no final decisions have been made about filling the high-profile city job, nor would he speculate on when a final decision will be made. But he confirmed that his administration has talked to Hairston about working for the city.
North Council Member Joseph Golombek Jr. said Kearns’ threat to hold up other projects is typical of how the Council’s ruling majority has operated.
“It’s the worst majority I’ve ever seen on this Council,” Golombek said. “They’re cocky. They’re arrogant. They ostracize the rest of the Council.”
I didn't hear Golembek complaining when a new turf field was put in over at Riverside Park a few years back. He also was very supportive of the new state of the art football field constructed behind Riverside High School. How about something for a neighborhood where the people actually pay taxes? Golombek has been in office way too long and has gotten too comfortable. His district has gone to the dogs since he first took office. He's clearly a fraud carrying around a lot of secrets.
I'm not a huge fan of turf fields, myself. I know they are good for sports like lacrosse, football, and softball. The thing I'd like to see built is the actual gym/educational center. The big question I have is, where are the South Buffalo political families that spoke out for Brown against Kearns? They all said he was great for South Buffalo. Obviously, they really meant he was great for them and their greedy, untalented, conniving relatives.
"Sixty dollars for the day?" asked Pat Crawford, of Stratford, Ont. "That's outrageous. It's not even that much for a [Toronto Maple] Leafs game, and they like to gouge you."
Wayne Edwards of Ottawa, attending the game with his father, Gary, said he usually pays $11 to park at Scotiabank Place there. They paid $60 parking for the three games Tuesday.
"Man, oh, man, they ought to give you a [hockey jersey] for that amount," Wayne Edwards said.
Worse than Croce giving the city a black eye is the mayor's reluctance to condemn it. We're already making the Canadian fans wait two hours at the Peace Bridge because of our leaders inabilities to solve problems. There is nothing that can be done about that right now. However, I'm glad Buffalonians are seeing firsthand, they reelected a wimp.
