Staff Reports
CHEERS
• ON THE AIR: It’s pretty cool to turn on one of the highest rated television shows and hear Niagara Falls mentioned again and again. That was the case Thursday night as “The Office” set its sights on Niagara Falls for Jim and Pam’s wedding during a special hour-long episode. In this case, what happens in Niagara Falls isn’t staying in Niagara Falls.
• THIRD PARKING: At long last it looks likes something’s getting done about the poor parking situation on Third Street. City Council members approved a contract Monday to hire American Paving & Excavating, Inc. to construct a dozen parking spaces on the now vacant land at 446 Third St. The site had previously been home to the shuttered Lotus Acupuncture Spa, which was purchased by the city and demolished last month. The new lot is scheduled to be open to vehicles by November. Now we just need a few more reasons for people to actually want to park on Third.
• COMMUNITY CARE CAMPAIGN: So far for the eight-week Community Care Campaign, the United Way of Niagara has raised $186,716, according to campaign chairperson Cortland Van Deusen. It’s a nice amount but it’s only about 20 percent of the goal of $863,954. There’s still a lot of time left — the campaign wraps up on Nov. 13. Individuals interested in supporting the campaign can contact the United Way at 285-8461 for more information.
JEERS
• STATE BUDGET: Once again things are looking grim as state lawmakers are looking at a more than $3 billion budget deficit this year. As it stands right now, Gov. David Paterson is ordering the Legislature to come up with $2.5 billion worth of budget cuts by Wednesday. Will they do it? What do you think? The Senate’s Democratic majority Thursday spoke instead of the need for additional financial forecasts in the coming weeks and “the governor’s own budget-cutting proposals.” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is even disputing the administration’s deficit estimates. We’re in a lot of trouble.
