By Paul Lane
CNHI
NORTH TONAWANDA —
A Denver billionaire looks to make Niagara Falls one of the top draws in a series of luxury train excursion he wants to begin offering next year.
Philip Angschtz, owner of the Web site examiner.com, is preparing to launch cross-country luxury train tours in summer 2011, portfolio.com reported. His company, American Railway Explorer Inc., will send 17 luxury train cars around the country, linking Los Angeles, Chicago and Niagara Falls.
The company has offered few specifics, the site reported.
“With the first excursion of American Railway Explorer more than a year away, we are still working out many of the details,” vice president Hans Desa told the site. “We will provide those details as soon as we can.”
Prices are expected to range from $900 to $1,500 per night. Other excursions are expected to visit California, New Mexico and several national parks in the West.
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A Town of Tonawanda native was recently named a top alum by one of the nation’s premier journalism schools.
Jeff Glor, who graduated from Kenmore East High School, was named one of the “25 to Watch” by Newhouse Network, the alumni publication for graduates of Syracuse University’s journalism school.
Glor, a member of SU’s class of 1997, is an anchor and correspondent for CBS News. In his profile, he encouraged aspiring journalists to hone the basics of their craft.
“No matter what happens in our industry, writing will always be most important,” he told the publication. “Become a voracious consumer of news and information. Read early and always.”
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A Niagara County-born author considers his ties to the region to be key in his writing, according to an Alaskan newspaper.
The Homer News did a profile on Rich Chiappone, who recently released the latest in his series of flyfishing stories. He moved to Alaska in 1982 but considers his childhood in Niagara Falls to be a vital part of his eventual love of fishing.
“Growing up so close to the falls, all us kids were river rats,” he told the publication. “We had boats before we had cars.”
His latest book is titled “Opening Days: A Flyfisherman Writes” and is about a group of small-town cocktail waitresses and their adventures involving fishing.
