Unfortunately, I can’t write about the fantastic week i’ve had. It’s been a good week—local concerts, lecture series, coffee shops, walks in the park. I’ve had friends come from out of town, and watched the sunrise. All things seem to pale in comparison to what has been going on in our neighborhood. I’m sure your mothers and sisters and friends and TV reporters have told you, but we have what appears to be a serial rapist about. Rape isn’t new to Buffalo. Sorry folks.

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UB Believers, introduced by UB President John B. Simpson, university officials, and community leaders, is a group with a plan.  This comprehensive plan not only involves creating a better UB, it involves creating a better community in which the school exists.  And for that fact alone, I give the minds behind UB Believers a round of applause.  Personally, I have seen other examples of colleges that merely existed in the cities in which they reside.

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The Elmwood Village Association has just released a short YouTube video as a teaser for a press conference tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in front of Globe Market on Elmwood Avenue.  The video promises that they have a big announcement but it’s a secret until 10:30 tomorrow morning.  What could it be?  We will certainly be at Globe Market tomorrow morning to find out! 

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Being a sneaker-freak I was so excited to see a sneaker shop move into a vacant store front on Elmwood Avenue!  Usually I have to make a trip up to Toronto to pick up a good pair, but now all I’ll have to do is walk down the street. 

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If you’re looking for something fun to do this evening, stop by Insite Gallery on Elmwood Avenue.  Tonight, gallery owner Elisabeth Samuels is hosting an artist reception for the fall show, A Sense of Place.

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Last night I met with Amy Kedron from Buffalo First to discuss their upcoming Buy Buffalo Bash and Buy Buffalo Week.  We spoke about a lot of other things, too—local economies of present and past, big businesses in smaller cities, the homeless population, among others.  One event that caught my attention was Poetrees, a collaborative public art/environmental initiative that’s one more in a growing list of post-October Storm arts projects.

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During my time in Los Angeles I encountered what could have been the strictest parking enforcement in the universe. Although I did see parking enforcement officials driving around all the time trying to find their next victim, my belief is that they mainly worked underground. Once a meter expired, they would slip out of the closest manhole or sewer drain, print up your ticket and then slither back down to the underground.

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I caught up with a friend last night at SPoT, and we had a grand old time talking about absolutely nothing.  Sometimes those non-conversations are the best conversations.  You fire off those non-sequitor ideas and thoughts that run through your head all the time, in search for someone’s ears for validation or commentary.

I’m not talking about world-changing plans for peace or even Peace Bridge reform.  I’m talking about Paula Deen.

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The skies over Niagara Falls will be filled with color and whimsy as the 2007 Niagara International Kite Festival kicks off today.  This four day event will take place adjacent to the falls today and tomorrow.  The exact location of the event is determined by weather and wind, but it will occur somewhere near the vicinities of Terrapin Point, USA and Table Rock, CA.  The festival then moves to Reservoir State Park in Lewiston for Saturday and Sunday’s festivities. 

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In a region like WNY, partnerships can be the lifeblood of small companies.  Generally when I think of a partnership I think of it in a business deal, two people working together to accomplish more or something to that extent.  Rarely when I think of partnerships, do I think of one between a school, its students and a small business.

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