Positive Buffalo Area News
June 7, 2007
Did You Know?
By Paul Wolf, Esq.

*Employee shortage - There is always a lot of concern expressed about the shortage
of jobs in WNY. According to a recent Business First article, area life sciences
companies are having a difficult time recruiting technicians to assist researchers.
Hundreds of positions are projected to be needed in coming years. Gaymar Industries
in Orchard Park is looking for 20 technicians with associate degrees. Startup
company PersonaDX is looking for 5 lab technicians and 100 in two years, maybe
sooner. Kaleida Health has 440 openings for lab positions. Area colleges are
seeking to address the demand by beefing up programs and attracting student
interest in the field. The problem is a national issue as across the country, 44
percent of laboratories are experiencing difficulty in hiring lab personnel.

*Bear Metal a steel fabricator started in 1999 and located in Buffalo has recently
expanded. The company, which was located in a 5,000 square foot building, recently
moved to a 15,500 square foot building. Employment will be increasing from 6
employees to 10 to handle an increased workload and sales are projected to increase
from $500,000 to $1 million. One of the problems faced by the growing company
according to founder Barrett Price is finding qualified welders. Price has had to
look to Alfred State College Welder’s Training School in Wellsville for workers.

*Hauptman-Woodward located on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus with a staff of
79, has the second largest concentration of structural biologists in the country.

*Block Club, a new free bi-monthly, full color magazine recently released its
first issue. The magazine started by 20-year-old Patrick Finan is called Block Club
to reflect Western New York’s strong sense of community. The magazine, which is
aimed at a wide audience will spotlight locally based businesses. 20,000 copies of
the free magazine are being distributed at locations on Elmwood, Hertel and Main
Street.

What: “Bizarre Bazaar” Fundraiser for the 2007 Buffalo Infringement Festival
When: Saturday, June 16, 2007 from 8 p.m. till quite late
Where: Soundlab, 110 Pearl St., Buffalo, NY (www.bigorbitgallery.org)
How much: suggested donation $5 and up (tickets at the door only; no advance sale)

MORE THAN A DOZEN ARTISTS + ONE INDOOR GARAGE SALE = “BIZARRE BAZAAR”, A FUNDRAISER FOR BUFFALO’S THIRD ANNUAL “INFRINGEMENT” FESTIVAL, SATURDAY, JUNE 16 AT SOUNDLAB

The 2007 Buffalo Infringement Festival is just around the corner (July 26-August 5) and the infringing has already begun! On Saturday, June 16, 2007, join a motley gang of musicians, comics, actors, media artists, and other rogue spirits at Soundlab (110 Pearl St.) for a wild night of fun and fundraising.

Like the festival itself, the benefit will feature a wide range of artists working in many genres and media, all of them “under the radar” in one way or another. The action-packed lineup includes music by Baby Machines, Draconians, Laura Jean and Friends, Ramforkinus, Drivers to Warsaw, and Jack Toft and the Vegetables; theater and performance by Alemaedae Theatre Productions, Caesandra, The Rated-R Rockstar Josh Smith, and Kathleen Foster; and short films and videos by Scott Andrew Kurchak, Ron Ehmke, Andrew Michalski, and Morphine Heart Productions.

As if the action onstage weren’t enough, this “Bizarre Bazaar” will feature an assortment of (truly odd) odds and ends. Call it a Chinese auction, an indoor garage sale, or anything else you like: we call it a great way to walk away with some weird stuff at bargain-basement prices. Want to play it safer? There’s also a 50/50 raffle, guaranteeing some lucky so-and-so will score some cold, hard cash.

The festivities begin at 8 p.m. and continue until the last weary audience member leaves the room, begging for more—all this in exchange for a donation to the festival. (We’re asking folks to cough up a mere five bucks, more if they can afford it.)

For more information on the fundraiser and the festival, click here.