CHEERS



• VOLUNTEERISM: (Jan. 30) Niagara Falls has a true treasure in the Rev. Calvin Babcock. The tireless community activist is a volunteer with the Niagara Beautification Commission and LaSalle Pride. His latest endeavor is removing a 40-foot pine tree that recently fell and became lodged in Cayuga Creek. The obstruction threatened to cause flooding upstream but Babcock and other volunteers won’t let that happen. It’s a classic case of neighbors helping neighbors. And we salute you.



• ‘NIAGARA’ BILLS: (Feb. 6) We’ve heard crazier ideas. Actually this one does make a lot of sense. In the name of regionalism, local fans such as Glenn Fitzgerald, a marketing and sales manager, are throwing out the idea of renaming the Buffalo Bills the Niagara Bills and having the team move to Niagara Falls — which is a lot closer to Toronto, a prime market. Fitzgerald points to the Boston Patriots move to Foxboro, Mass., and their transformation into the New England Patriots as a comparable success story. Could it happen here? Officially, no one’s making any plans but time will tell. “Say it about a thousand times,” Fitzgerald said of the Niagara Bills name, “and it doesn’t sound so wacky.”



• WOLVERINES: (March 20) No matter what happens this weekend in Glens Falls, the Niagara Falls Wolverines basketball team deserves a lot of credit for a season that’s seen the team go 23-0 — so far. Ranked No. 1 in the state, the team will face Syracuse’s Christian Brothers Academy Saturday afternoon in the Class AA state semifinals at the Glens Falls Civic Center. It’s the Falls’ fifth trip to Glens Falls in six years. Reason enough to celebrate — but we’re still hoping for a lot more to cheer about this weekend.



• COURTHOUSE COMPLEX: (March 27) It’s been a long time coming and as far as reporter Rick Pfeiffer and photographer James Neiss are concerned, it was worth the wait. The Gazette duo took a tour of the 135,000-square foot complex last week and were quite happy to see how it was taking shape. The complex is expected to be turned over to the city on May 12 with courts likely to open June 1. It’s exciting to see such a needed project come to a close in the city — and live up to the hype.



n NYPA RATE FREEZE: (March 27) This isn’t so much a cheer for the New York Power Authority’s decision to freeze rates for all of its customers until April 2010, but NYPA officials’ reasoning for doing so. Meeting with the Gazette editorial board Tuesday, NYPA CEO Richard M. Kessel admitted the rate freeze wouldn’t have happened if not for the public backlash and a letter from Gov. David Paterson. “Did public pressure make a difference? I think it did and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Kessel said. “It never hurts to listen and react” We wish a few more authority heads would do a little more listening — and a lot more reacting.



• ONLINE ROAD WORK: (April 17) Keeping tabs on road repairs in the City of Niagara Falls has gotten a lot easier. Thanks to the city’s Web site, color-coded maps that show streets where improvements have already occurred and roads where maintenance, re-paving and reconstruction work are scheduled to take place will soon be available to city residents — at the touch of a mouse. Making information more accessible to the public is always a good thing.



• A COOL MILLION: (May 15) Congratulations to Niagara Falls resident Betty Lou Ross, who has become the newest millionaire thanks to the New York State Lottery. So what’s she going to do with her windfall? Besides other things, “I’m going to help people who need it.” she said. It’s a great way to share the wealth.



• A SUPER ERA: (Aug. 14) Last weekend, Bills fans rekindled their glory days with the induction of Ralph Wilson and Bruce Smith into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The AFC Championships, the trips to four Super Bowls, the great wins, the hard losses. All these and more were recalled as Buffalo was cast into the national spotlight once again. Wilson, the Bills owner, helped found the American Football League in 1959. He is an institution in Western New York. Smith remains the league’s all-time sack leader with 200 and an 11-time Pro Bowler. He also is a fan favorite. So once again, thanks for the great memories.



• ANIMAL LOVERS: (Aug. 14) The story about a 6-month-old cocker spaniel that was dragged behind a car in Lockport last week tugged at the heartstrings of animal lovers. And once again Western New Yorkers showed their heart with donations that covered the initial $3,776 emergency bill. Linda Tilton, the manager of K&K; Food Mart, got veterinary care for the puppy and plans to adopt him. She also deserves kudos.



• DWI BLITZ: (Sept. 4) As regular travelers of the Robert Moses parkway we couldn’t have been happier to see Niagara Falls police conducting a DWI checkpoint at John Daly Boulevard and Falls Street late Friday/early Saturday. Falls cops only nabbed five drunken drivers but stopped 762 vehicles during the four-hour detail. As Traffic Division Capt. Salvatore Pino said, “Roving patrols would have given us more arrests. But we wouldn’t have reached 762 and we told those people we are not going to arrest you today because you didn’t drive drunk. We told them, we will arrest you if you drive drunk in the future and how much is it worth to get that message out to that many people?”



• BACK ON THE BEAT: (Oct. 2) Falls K-9 Officer Mike Bird and Traffic Officer Walt Nichols are back on the job. They were both wounded when they responded to a man with a gun and shots fired calls in the 1000 block of South Avenue on Feb. 7. Bird, an eight-year veteran of the department was struck by flying pellets that lodged in his left cheek. He expects to undergo surgery soon to remove them. Nichols was off the job for six months, returning to the streets in late August. “It’s good to be back,” Nichols said.



• ON THE AIR: (Oct. 9) 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.



• A FUTURE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT? (Nov. 13) A Gazette news carrier foiled a burglary early Tuesday which led to the arrest of two Niagara Falls men. Officers said the carrier was delivering papers in the 2600 block of Niagara Avenue at 5 a.m. when she noticed the side door of a home ajar. The carrier later told police she thought the open door was suspicious, so she went to the front of the home and called cops. And the rest is history. Good job.



• OPEN FOR BUSINESS: (Nov. 20) The Niagara Falls Police Department opened its new South End substation on 19th Street Tuesday. The added police presence should be a welcome relief for residents in the crime-plagued corridor. Shabbir Hussain, owner of the Valero gas station and mini-mart at 19th Street and Ferry Avenue, said, “I like it. This is very good. This good for the community and good for us.” Let’s hope so.





JEERS

• CITY HALL SECURITY: (Jan. 9) Our first thought is what do the mayor and city administrator have cooked up for the coming months that they think they’re going to need police protection? If you haven’t heard, entering Niagara Falls City Hall these days requires signing in with a Falls police officer before going about your business. Why? No one thing really. Basically City Administrator Donna Owens thought it was a good idea, Mayor Paul Dyster said Friday. Falls police Superintendent John Chella said the availability of some additional manpower for at least the first three months of 2009 has allowed him to station an officer full time at City Hall. What happens in April? We’ll see. We’ve got a better use for the city’s additional police manpower — have them patrol City Market and the Tops plaza on Portage Road where a 73-year-old woman was knocked to the ground in the parking lot and had her purse stolen in broad daylight on Tuesday. We haven’t heard of that happening too often at City Hall.



• THIRD STREET: (Jan. 16) It’s been more than three years since a whole host of state and local officials gathered to pat themselves on the back for what a great job they’d done on the $3.7 million Third Street streetscape project. What has that $3.7 million brought so far? Pretty much nothing. Remarkably, there are actually fewer businesses on the strip in 2009 than there were in 2005. What’s to blame? Many say the ill-conceived streetscape project which cut the number of on-street parking spots and caused property values to skyrocket. How do you turn it around? That was a much more difficult question to answer.



• CITY ENGINEER: (Feb. 6) During his first year in office Mayor Paul Dyster said his new administrative hires were key to moving the city forward. It’s looking like the city is going to have to wait a few weeks — at least — for Ali Marzban, the new city engineer. Hired in December after a nearly yearlong search, Marzban was expected to start work by now but don’t expect to find him in City Hall. Dyster explained Wednesday that Marzban is still in the process of looking for a home in the Falls and will be visiting the city in the “upcoming weeks.” There’s now no firm start date for Marzban — who’s being paid about $25,000 more annually than his predecessor. Where else does this happen? Pardon our impatience but there’s a lot of work to be done around here and time’s a wastin’.



• LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: (March 6) This isn’t a knock on the Doris W. Jones Resource Center on Ninth Street. It’s a fine facility that we’ve ventured out to for various meetings and events many times over the years. Was it the right spot for Gov. David Paterson’s town hall meeting? We don’t think so. An event of this magnitude should’ve been located in a much more accessible, larger facility such as Niagara Falls High School or Conference Center Niagara Falls. But don’t take it from us. Here’s what one attendee had to say: “This is a terrible location,” said Joel Rose. “First of all, it wasn’t the easiest place in the world to find. This is where you come if you don’t want people to find you.” About 550 people did find the governor, but considering our problems these days, it should have been a lot more.



• NOT EASY BEING GREEN: (April 17) We’re a little disappointed with Niagara County Community College students and everyone else out there who failed to take advantage of Summer Rayne Oakes’ talk at the school on April 7. In town for the college’s Steps to Green week, the 24-year-old model and Cornell University gradate has been on the Discovery Channel, CNN, and written up in many major magazines and newspapers, from Germany to Norway for her work as an environmentalist. About a dozen students made it to her presentation, the centerpiece of the week’s events. Oakes didn’t miss a beat though, she simply got rid of her microphone and joined the group offstage to tell her story — and it’s quite a story. Check out features editor Michele DeLuca’s write-up on our Web site.



• GAS PRICES: (June 12) Here we go. Summer’s almost here and gas prices are rising with the temperatures. AAA said the average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline in the area is up another 5 cents to $2.68. As usual, the national average retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline is less, about $2.61. At least we’re not paying $3.50 a gallon — yet.



• DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT: (Sept. 4) The city’s Economic Development Director Peter Kay and Fran Iusi, director of business development, were recently invited to a Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board meeting and their words didn’t offer any hope for a turnaround downtown. Specifically, Kay had to be corrected by advisory board members on what the city owns on a portion of Old Falls Street and Iusi later admitted the city does not currently have a formal marketing strategy. It all just leaves you shaking your head — once again.



• TURNING UP THE HEAT: (Nov. 20) National Fuel’s plan to close its customer service center on Packard Road is stoking the fire. City officials, county lawmakers and residents just aren’t crazy about the planned Dec. 31 closure. The move would mean Niagara County residents would have to drive to downtown Buffalo to receive service they can’t get over the phone. That’s just bad business.



• SOUTH PARKWAY ENTRANCE: (Nov. 27) Remember seeing renderings for the traffic loop at the John B. Daly Boulevard entrance to the south Robert Moses Parkway? Yeah, that was a while back. Don’t expect to see anything more than that anytime soon. A lack of funding also is holding up plans to reconfigure the south parkway’s entrance into the city and Niagara Falls State Park. The whole thing began more than two years ago. Last April, state park officials presented three different scenarios to the public on how to modify the parkway from John B. Daly Boulevard to the Rainbow Bridge. Mark Thomas said comments from that forum have been taken into account and the design process is moving forward. Like the north section, however, all of the needed funding isn’t in place to undergo any construction. The south reconfiguration is expected to cost about $15 million, but only $5 million has been budgeted, mainly for the scoping and design process. Thomas said another round of public meetings will be scheduled this spring. Hope you like things the way they are.