Our thanks to Paul Wolf with the City for providing us this news!

• M&T Bank has made it to the prestigious Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations based on revenues.  With $4.3 billion in revenues, M&T ranks number 496.  The Buffalo Niagara region has not had a company on the Fortune 500 list since 1994.
• Astronics Corp., an East Aurora-based aircraft lighting and electronic systems maker won orders in the amount of $17 million from five different airlines to supply systems that allow passengers to run their laptop computers and others electronic devices by plugging them into seat outlets.  The biggest order was worth $9 million from an Asian airline.
• Logistics Dynamics, an Amherst-based company that manages shipments for product manufacturers and distributors, increased sales 132% in the first quarter of 2007.  Sales in 2006 were between $6-8 million and are expected to grow in 2007 to $12-15 million.  The company anticipates adding 30 positions to its current workforce of 25 in the next few years.
• An information technology firm has opened for business at 715 Main Street, at the corner of Main & Tupper.  IT Solutions has leased 7,000 sq. feet of space in a building that has been vacant since 2005.  IT Solutions provides web hosting, web design, hosting, web design, network monitoring and security and offsite data backup. The firm has three employees in there twenties who are part of a new generation of Buffalo businesses. Owner Steven Murphy can be contacted by e-mail at steve@buffaloits.com steve@buffaloits.com> or by phone at 852-0523.

Thanks Paul!

sapphire blue

Originally uploaded by fubuki.

Tonight, join the Buffalo Old Home Week gang at McGarretts (Elmwood & Bidwell) for cocktails, 5 PM. It’s a great way to meet new friends and catch up with old friends.

And make sure to stop at one of the restaurants pre or post happy hour, participating in the Dining Out For Life in Buffalo. All of the restaurants give between 25-50% of their profits and the money goes right to the two local AIDS organizations in town. It’s usually busy, so make reservations!

See you out tonight!

004 tree lined

Originally uploaded by Parkaboy.

CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH JOINS GREAT AMERICAN CLEAN-UP,

PARTNERS WITH RE-TREE WNY FOR EAST SIDE PLANTING

Buffalo, New York – Corpus Christi Church will host a major spring clean-up on Saturday, April 28 from 9:00A.M. – Noon. In addition to the usual “sprucing-up,” this year the church is also partnering with Re-Tree WNY to plant a total of 100 trees on Sears, Clark and Playter Streets.

Volunteers are asked to meet in front of the monastery, located at 199 Clark Street, and to come prepared with their own rakes, brooms, shovels, work gloves and other tools. The clean-up and planting will be held rain or shine – please dress appropriately. Lunch will be served at noon for those who participate.

Corpus Christi’s event is part of its ongoing initiative to raise public awareness of this spectacular house of worship; to welcome both former parishioners and new visitors to its doors; and to help beautify the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. The clean-up is held in conjunction with the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation, the Broadway Market and others in Buffalo’s Historic Polonia District. All are invited to join in this annual clean-up campaign.

About Corpus Christi Church – Corpus Christi Church is located at the intersection of Clark and Kent Streets, better known as “Superman Corner” in a reference to the super hero’s alter ego. It is a fitting description for the amazing transformation that has taken place in the parish since 2004, when the Pauline Priests and Brothers purchased the parish complex in a miraculous “eleventh hour” accord that saved the church from closing. Since then, the parish has experienced a remarkable rebirth that can be seen in attendance for cherished religious traditions such as the blessing of Easter baskets on Holy Saturday, May Crowning and the outdoor procession that marks Corpus Christi Sunday. Parishioners and supporters from the larger Western New York community have made extensive improvements to the exterior grounds of the church buildings. Volunteers have also completed interior improvements to the ancillary church structures. All of these projects have helped to stabilize and advance the immediate vicinity.

About the Great American Cleanup – The Great American Cleanup is the largest annual community improvement program in the U.S. This year’s Cleanup, which runs through May 31,

is expected to involve as many as 2.5 million people, volunteering more than 8 million hours to clean, beautify and improve 15,000 communities during 30,000 events in all 50 states. Activities will include beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter and removing scrap tires, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs.

Started in 1999, this popular program is sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, Inc., a national nonprofit community improvement and educational organization with a network of more than 540 local, statewide and international affiliate programs. Through partnerships and strategic alliances with citizens, businesses and government, Keep America Beautiful’s programs educate individuals about litter prevention and ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and properly manage waste materials. These programs motivate millions of volunteers annually to clean up, beautify and improve their neighborhoods, thereby creating healthier, safer and more livable community environments.

About Re-Tree WNY – Re-Tree WNY was established in November, 2006 by a group of Western New York residents who saw first-hand the devastation done to our community’s beautiful living resource — our trees — and decided to take action to re-forest every public area that was destroyed by last October’s devastating snowstorm . Their five-year plan has as its goal to replace the approximately 30,000 trees in Western New York that were damaged or destroyed last fall.

April 16, 2007

CONTACT:

Michael Gainer

Executive Director, Buffalo ReUse

Cell :  716-949-0900

Email:  info@BuffaloReUse.org

Web:  www.BuffaloReUse.org                                                                         

Don’t DUMP!  Donate!   Buffalo ReUse advocates recycling.

City bulk trash pickups send tons of reusable materials to the landfill.

The City of Buffalo bulk trash pickups are now in full swing and Buffalo ReUse would like to advocate that residents donate building materials that otherwise would be dumped in area landfills.   This past Sunday, April 15^th, Buffalo ReUse volunteers were busy with salvage efforts, saving materials from homes scheduled for demolition, and picking up materials from residents eager to recycle and cash in on a tax deduction.   Peter Grine, a Buffalo ReUse and Allentown Association Board member picked up a salvaged door on his way to volunteer on Sunday morning stating, “People are throwing a lot of good materials away.   I don’t think they understand that these doors have value.”

Andy Goldstein, Erie County Recycling Coordinator to the City of Buffalo, “We still have a lot of education to do when it comes to recycling in Erie County, we need to encourage people that recycling supports the community by reducing disposal costs and the environment by giving materials a longer life.   Supporting building materials reuse also significantly reduces our dependence on fossil fuels and consequently protects against the threat of global warming.”  

Residents who would like to donate building materials, appliances, or furniture, have several options.   Buffalo ReUse and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore both provide the service of picking up materials from homeowners and both can offer tax deductions for the donation of reusable materials.   Contact Michael Gainer, Buffalo ReUse, at 716-885-4131 or Tim Stalker, Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 852-6607, to donate materials. 

Buffalo ReUse is a non profit organization committed to developing the practice of deconstruction to divert reusable materials from the landfill, create job opportunities, and create momentum in the community for positive change.   Buffalo ReUse recently received a grant for $187,000 from Empire State Development to develop the practice of deconstruction in Buffalo and will begin their first deconstruction project the weekend of April 28 ^th.  Board Member Andy Murphy commented, “we’ve been working so hard over the past year to communicate our ideas, write grants, and network in the community, it’s exciting to get validation from the state for our effort.”  

For the past three weekends, Buffalo ReUse volunteers have been salvaging materials from homes that will be soon demolished as part of a collaboration with Hannah Demolition.   Before long, Buffalo ReUse will be offering these materials for sale to the community.  Ultimately, they will have a full-time retail operation in the City of Buffalo.  

–
Michael Gainer
716-949-0900

Buffalo ReUse seeks private homeowners who have demonstration houses for deconstruction. The ideal candidate house would be the following:

* Privately owned
* 1½ stories
* No basement

If you can help, call 716–949–0900 or email us at info@buffaloreuse.org

Western NY Book Arts Collaborative Meet-up and Open House at the Roycroft.
Tuesday April 17, 5:30- 8:00 p.m.
Roycroft Copper Shop- 31 S. grove St.  East Aurora, NY
Join us for an informal get together of the Western NY Book Arts Collaborative on the historic Roycroft Campus!

RSVP
716.655.0261

Event: Selected films and videos by former Buffalo-based filmmaker Bernie
Roddy, including world premiere of Death Of A Maniac. Bernie Roddy will be
there in person!

When: Friday, April 20, 8pm
Where: Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
Cost: $5/$4 members
Contact: Dorothea Braemer
E-mail: dorothea@squeaky.org
Phone: 716-884-7172
Web page: www.squeaky.org

Bernhard Roddy holds an MFA in Media Study from the University of Buffalo
and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Rochester. He teaches courses
in philosophy, media and the arts and likes to combine materials in an
interdisciplinary practice that is both visual and activist.

Roddy¹s films and videos have been screened at the New York Underground Film
Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Anima Mundi, the Black Maria Film
Festival, Cinematexas, and many other venues.

Roddy will show a selection of his work, including Truth, Relativism, Time &
Object, Dire Mastery and Death of a Maniac.

Truth (1998), Relativism (1999), and Time & Object (2001) are 16mm animated
films which convey contemporary philosophical problems through visual and
temporal change. Dire Mastery (2003) is a dramatic film appropriating video
techniques that are used when video supports psychotherapy during individual
treatment.

Death of a Maniac (2006, premiering here at Squeaky Wheel!) is an
experimental documentary about Roddy¹s father and his responsibility for a
family crisis lasting about ten years during Roddy¹s early childhood.

Roddy will be available to discuss his work and answer questions after the
screening.

First of all, happy birthday (and many happy returns) to Revitalize Buffalo’s fearless leader, Amy. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make it out for the party but I was sending good birthday wishes your way.

I spent Easter weekend in Syracuse with the fam, and early Sunday morning I drove to church to take some photos of the altar decorations my aunt had spent so much time on. As I passed the parish center on my way to the church, I saw a familiar dove-shaped blue and white “peace prints” sign in the window. Sister Karen’s message of peace has taken root here in Buffalo and is spreading far and wide.

Because I’m an idiot, it didn’t occur to me to take a photo of the sign in the window but here’s a shot from inside church instead.

The Western New York Book Arts Collaborative is a relatively new organization, but they’re already making a name for themselves with their ambitious slate of book-related workshops, projects and events. Their most recent event was a book arts fair held this past weekend at the Karpeles Museum on Porter Avenue. I entered expecting to see maybe a few people milling around but nothing exciting. How wrong I was! The event was a huge success, and the museum was filled to overflowing as people lined two and three deep to view the exhibits featuring nearly any kind of small-press printing imaginable. Both of Buffalo’s Karpeles facilities (Porter Avenue and North Street) are wonderful assets we can be very proud of, as is the Western New York Book Arts Collaborative. Kudos to all involved for a great event.