Best Christmas song in the last 50 years?

What with this being the end of the year, and given that it’s going to be a pretty slow news cycle (i.e., your friendly neighborhood Buffalopundit is hard up for crap about which to write), let’s review what we talked about in 2007.

Ah, remember Shorter Buzz? We all wish Mary well on her hiatus. I hope it’s packed with Catholicism, beer, Wagner / Bach, and all things German.

Spitzer was on Day 4, and made a rousing speech calling for statewide unity, growth, and prosperity. We’re approaching day 365 and I don’t know that we’re any closer to that at all. The speech was light on “war with Bruno” and “licenses for illegals”.

I posted very lightly about “Troopergate”, because I didn’t find it interesting. What I do, however, find interesting is that anybody working for the piece of crap that passes for New York State government has access to a helicopter or a private jet. All in all, I was unimpressed by Governor Spitzer’s first year.

Hevesi and Holt found themselves in a world of trouble.

In January, people were still talking about the WNYMedia.net bloggers being blacklisted from WBEN. Good times.

Bass Pro. The story that keeps on giving - writing about a store that we’ve been chasing for half a decade or more. In 2007 we turned to Bass Pro on the Central Wharf. It was in January that we first heard rumblings of that aborted trial balloon. I still think it’s a perfect location, so there.

Also, remember this rule for any discussion about Buffalo development or preservation: Must be done vs. would be nice.

February was a bit slower, but we were embroiled in Albany politics 101, which dealt with the selection of Hevesi’s replacement. Same old, same old.

Much as idiotic arguments over strips of grass in front of Greek Diners are same old, same old. Thank God all other problems are solved so that we can really focus our ire on Diners.

I asked Buffalonians to take pictures of their winter beaters (which is a double entendre) and submit them to Flickr.

Dale Volker, WNY’s best unintended comedian, got into it with Scott Brown. “So, a 34-year incumbent walks into a public hearing…” At least he didn’t call anyone a “Bohunk”. That day.

By February, WNYMedia.net had its own space - a studio and everything. In other news, we still have it!

In February, I called the XSPAND tax lien sale at 105% “found money”. It still has yet to be approved.

Homeland Security needed some information on cross-border travel in WNY. Because, um, we live on the border.

In March, Al Coppola got his payback a freshly-created city job not long after he tried to spoil the race for cousin Marc waged a valiant effort to return to the State Senate.

There was some discussion on teh intertubes earlier this year about a flea market downtown. I can’t imagine it would be that difficult for someone to get a deal to use a downtown surface parking lot to set that up, but as it stands now nothing’s happened. It is Buffalo, after all, and if we can’t have precise perfection, we’ll settle for nothing less, dammit!

Cigarette taxes = Genocide. Godwin laughs.

By late March, we had promises of a signed Bass Pro deal. Yeah, right. But I liked it nonetheless. It was dead before it took its first breath, though. It’s interesting how much “debate” goes on in this town over what to do with the areas now overridden with weeds and asphalt. Some even started making comparisons to places that don’t compare.

Ultimately, however, WNYMedia.net and the WNY Coalition for Progress co-hosted a well-attended and well-received panel discussion on the Canal Side project.

Remember City Hall stonewalling on the story about Byron Brown’s kid taking the family car without permission? Sometimes it’s smart to just let the story go, and let it play out in 2 days rather than 2 weeks.

As early as April, I predicted Collins’ victory. I thought it’d be a squeaker. I was wrong. As a side note, don’t talk about using an 89 cent pen to help run your town when that pen should only be costing you a dime.

Whoever bought this ad in the Buffalo Challenger should be outed and subject to outrage and ridicule.

Freshman State Assemblyman Mike Cole drank too much at an Albany bar whilst watching a Sabres game, and all he got was this lousy censure. Meanwhile, Freshman Senator Antoine Thompson took to the floor to argue against the passage of a bill that he himself co-sponsored.

Remember June, when WNYMedia.net was down for, like, a week all so we could bring you a craptacular white-on-black template that pretty much everybody hated?

Me, neither.

At least the template-that-never-was was gone by December.

2007 introduced us to Jon Powers. 2008 is your chance to vote for him.

Hell, even I gave it a shot. And I won in Cheektowaga, even though I got creamed everywhere else. I posted some stories taking the county Control Board to task, but no one really seemed to care very much. Too bad. I’m going to keep writing them. I will also continue to mock Six Sigma. I don’t care how superbly awesome it might be. The whole terminology is begging to be mocked. Six Sigma black belt?

For the record, here’s a short list of stuff I want to see built in Western New York. Can you Digg it?

In September, this blog turned 4. Potty training has been slow, but it knows its A-B-Cs. We also saw the inaugural use of the Failboat, symbolizing the vanguard of political excellence in WNY and NYS.

Speaking of which, who thought the County Clerk’s race would become more interesting than the race for County Executive? You’re playing kindergarten. He’s playing in the big leagues.

I find that I hardly used the “Don’t Tase my ____, bro” often enough. But it was so apt for Vince Anello’s brother, Matteo.

In the immortal words of Public Enemy, don’t believe the hype.

The Bass Pro story may be more boring now, without Tim Tielman around to verbally assault it, but that’s why we have Route 5. Fatigue starts to set in, though, when we undergo yet another “dialogue” about “planning”, when neither word is quite right. With Route 5, we have the added attraction of Buffalo Rising acting as the unofficial spokessite for the Waterfront Coalition. The doctrine of laches came up as an overall response to that group, and WBFO appearances by Buffalo Rising writers and Common Councilman Mickey Kearns contained oh so much fresh meat for this blogger. As does just about any inane anti-suburb flame. The Waterfront Coalition paid for a billboard that has the distcintion of being both ironic and stupid. The Coalition of Enough, Already was only too happy to take the humorless Waterfront Coalition’s arguments a few steps further. And WNYMedia.net wants its outer harbor plan considered by the powers that be.

But at least we got some of the best threads ever out of it.

In his best of 2007 list, Buffalo News TV critic Alan Pergament gives an award to Alysha Palumbo:

Best TV News Critic: Channel 4’s Alysha Palumbo defended herself against a blogger’s criticism by responding with something critical of her superiors’ news judgment.

Here’s the thread where she and her red pantsuit took me to task.

It’s pretty clear that Richard Florida is on to something when he talks of the Tor-Buff-Chester megaregion to which we may belong. There should be more discussion about this, but only if the federal government starts being smart, rather than scared, about cross-border traffic and commerce.

As we close out 2007 and her fiscal year, we pause once again to thank Canadian shoppers, who helped bump Erie County into the black.

Last week, Geek and I had an opportunity to sit down with Erie County Executive-elect Chris Collins, with video provided courtesy of the lovely & talented Marc Odien. Here are some excerpts:

Collins on the Waterfront:

Collins on the hiring process:

The day after Christmas marks the start of what we affectionately know as winter-until-April. Or as the Canadians call it, “Boxing Day”. At least the lights will be up for a little while longer.

Peace,

BP

This story is an absolute outrage. Yet another in a laundry list in what Andrew Sullivan calls “Cheney’s America”. She’s also got a blog. In Icelandic, so have fun with that. In any event, the story:

During the last twenty-four hours I have probably experienced the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected. During these last twenty-four hours I have been handcuffed and chained, denied the chance to sleep, been without food and drink and been confined to a place without anyone knowing my whereabouts, imprisoned. Now I am beginning to try to understand all this, rest and review the events which began as innocently as possible.

Last Sunday I and a few other girls began our trip to New York. We were going to shop and enjoy the Christmas spirit. We made ourselves comfortable on first class, drank white wine and looked forward to go shopping, eat good food and enjoy life. When we landed at JFK airport the traditional clearance process began.

We were screened and went on to passport control. As I waited for them to finish examining my passport I heard an official say that there was something which needed to be looked at more closely and I was directed to the work station of Homeland Security. There I was told that according to their records I had overstayed my visa by 3 weeks in 1995. For this reason I would not be admitted to the country and would be sent home on the next flight. I looked at the official in disbelief and told him that I had in fact visited New York after the trip in 1995 without encountering any difficulties. A detailed interrogation session ensued.

I was photographed and fingerprinted. I was asked questions which I felt had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I was forbidden to contact anyone to advise of my predicament and although I was invited at the outset to contact the Icelandic consul or embassy, that invitation was later withdrawn. I don’t know why.

Seriously, read the rest. Imagine the horror that this well-to-do Icelandic tourist endured because she had stayed in the US for 95 days in 1995 when she was only supposed to stay 90 days. Now imagine what non-well-to-do, non-Nordic visitors with minor past violations have to put up with.

What’s the point of claiming we stand and fight for freedom when we behave like a police state?

Luckily, at least her government knows how to behave.

Chris Collins has appointed the following:

1. Mark Davis is the CEO of the Talking Phone Book, and he will be Collins’ Deputy County Executive

2. Alfred Hammond, Jr. is the director of Six Sigma implementation, a new county department that will, according to Chris Collins in an interview yesterday with WNYMedia.net, be funded by a state efficiency grant issued by the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority.

We’ll be looking into these folks’ credentials, so if you know anything about them, have at it in comments.

Two commenters in this thread, responding to the video contained therein, complained about it in an unexpected way. Paul Francis, whose arrogance and condescension know no bounds or apparent justification, wrote:

This forum is Buffalo’s official sounding board for mere commentators whose self-annointed pursuit is bashing the folks who do actually work hard advocating for the city. These commentators - oh wait, pundits - then sheepishly shrug their shoulders when those advocates savor a victory. Hopefully this knock on the Waterfront Coalition is one of those instances.

Hell, some bloggers are actually out fighting for this town. None here!

The notion that I’m not out fighting for this town is the biggest pile of horseshit I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t mind taking that hit from someone who actually has a record of some sort of activism that trumps mine. But who the hell is Paul Francis? What’s his record? Who is he to dismiss my record? For four years - a time when there were only a small handful of blogs in this town - I’ve been promoting the city and talking it up.

Harvey Garrett has also engaged me in comments and in email, and we’ve gone back and forth and reached stalemate with respect to the merits of Route 5, but he is very offended by the satirical video because it mocks people who are concerned citizens. He writes,

What happened to you two (and WNYMedia)?

Now, if you’ve already been to Geek’s site, and are thinking, “Pundit’s ripping off Geek’s idea“, you’re kinda right. But I haven’t really responded on my own terms, so apologies for the duplication.

Harvey tells me that we crossed the line. That we “took it too far”. I responded, “Being racist or defamatory or bigoted would be taking it too far. Making fun of a group’s political position is not.”

Here’s how I responded to Harvey’s query as to what “happened”:

Or would, say, Tim Tielman or the Riverkeeper enjoy it if I started a coalition calling for the immediate implementation of Bass Pro on the Central Wharf building in spite of the 2004 master plan, etc., because I think that’s a better idea. Or would they mock the living shit out of me? Because if I did do that, believe me - they wouldn’t deign to call me a “concerned citizen” or “activist”.

Like a lot of people in this town, I get up in the morning, get my kids ready for school, say goodbye to my family, go to work, do the best job I can, have lunch, go back to work, do a good job, drive home, see my wife & kids, play with my kids, have dinner, watch TV, pay my taxes, pay my bills, do chores, go to sleep, lather, rinse, repeat. I could just end it there.

But I also get active in the community. I singlehandedly organized a well-received & attended discussion panel on Bass Pro. I helped organize screenings and panel discussions on Darfur, on the media in America, on the future of politics, on Wal-Mart’s affect on communities, on the Iraq War. We co-sponsored “The Cost”. On top of that, I sacrificed a great deal of time and money to run for elected office, something from which I’m still recovering, and I’m considering becoming active in Clarence town government.

That might seem like a weak resume to some who do far more good than I, but I’m as much an activist as any of the people on that waterfront coalition, and through the work that I’ve done and the things that I’ve advocated for, I have earned the right to tell it like I see it, and to criticize whatever I feel like.

Others have suggested that this is merely part of an ongoing, nonexistent war between WNYMedia and Buffalo Rising.

Let’s examine.

Buffalo Rising is a local media outlet which, like the Buffalo News, is not above reproach or criticism. When they post something I find silly or comment-worthy, I’m going to do so. Buffalo Rising generally eschewed politics throughout its history. Until recently, that is. In the last couple of months, it has become the Komsomolskaya Pravda - the official organ - of the Waterfront Coalition. Buffalo Rising has staked out and promoted a distinct position on a political issue. I have found the arguments made and the language used to oftentimes be worthy of critique. I have commented there, and here, about it. Because I generally comment about politics and media in Buffalo, what Buffalo Rising has done with the Waterfront Coalition is, essentially, a perfect storm of comment-worthy material on this issue. End of story. Anyone reading more into it is flat-out wrong.

So, yes the video was silly, but we thought it was funny. We fully expected that many people would find it dumb and unfunny, and that’s fine. Hell, half the skits that make air on SNL suck eggs. The notion that we shouldn’t have done it because it’s mean to well-meaning people is unpersuasive.

With a hat tip to All Things Buffalo, check out these hilarious shirts:

The Thruway Authority has unsurprisingly voted to increase tolls along the stretch, claiming that fewer motorists means less toll revenue. Oh, and we need to improve the roadway and pay for the Erie Canal to the tune of $80 million/year.

It now costs $18.50 to get from the Major Deegan to the Ripley exit; $16.66 with an EZ-Pass discount. A discount that the Thruway is, incidentally, cutting in half.

All I know is that when I cross the border on Route 90 into Erie, PA, the road is not only smoother and maintained better, but it’s also gratis.

That’s so I can have the privilege of paying 6% sales tax on my purchases (7% in Philly & Pittsburgh) - except for most clothing - in a state with the 20th highest combined tax burden in the country. (New York is number 2).

And that’s what’s so frustrating. An entity that gives its employees and members free rides on the Thruway, and other perks, spends an inordinate amount of money on self-maintenance. The State DOT is fully capable of maintaining a toll-free state Thruway. The Thruway is one Authority we can do without.

Also - why exactly does the Erie Canal cost $80 million per year to maintain? Are there no savings that can be wrung from that figure?

If we had a tax burden similar to Pennsylvania’s, don’t you think the state as a whole would be significantly better off?

The South Buffalo ethanol plant on the water is going forward.

Some see this as a positive.

Perhaps. But being less energy efficient than gasoline, and significantly less efficient than diesel, Ethanol and E85 are not, I think, the answers to our energy needs.

Furthermore, ethanol plants stink. Literally. Not only do they emit an alphabet soup of volatile organic chemicals, but

Much of the objectionable odor from ethanol plants comes from drying the leftover corn mash after the ethanol has been separated. While bad odor does not mean the emissions are hazardous to the health, the odor can be irritating to some individuals.

Sure they can (and most likely will) install some sort of emissions control equipment, but the plant will nevertheless be within 400 feet of homes, and not at all far from the already Skyway-blighted, political-stasis-ridden Canal Side project.

The prospect of shopping at Crate & Barrel while inhaling rotting corn mash, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde seems somewhat off-putting.

Maybe that’s why most ethanol plants are in rural areas. You know, where the corn is?

You like books, I like books. (Currently, I’m reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, which is a nice break for a season-long read of Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich).

If you’re inclined to do some Christmas shopping at Barnes & Noble, bring along one of the vouchers here, and part of the proceeds from your sale will go to the Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo and WNY. It’s a great organization that teaches kids and adults to read. The price of your book purchase won’t be any higher.

This is good between December 16 - 23rd at the Barnes & Noble locations on Niagara Falls Boulevard and on Transit Road, near Main.

While Buffalo bickers over elevated expressways and chain stores, and while Williamsville stubbornly refuses to make Main Street more pedestrian-friendly, some folks in Niagara County have banded together to make some positive changes to their community through consensus and planning, rather than lawsuits and billboards.

Most importantly, all the stakeholders are at, or invited to, the table. Developers, electeds, and average people. Tip of the hat to “Be Buffalo” for linking to this plan.

The Transit North Historic Canalway Corridor was created in 2006, and comprises Pendleton and the Town & City of Lockport. Take a look at their powerpoint presentation that explains who they are, what they are, and what they propose in terms of future marketing and development along the Transit Road corridor north of Tonawanda Creek. There is even a *gasp* online opinion poll that solicits your ideas and input in terms of some of the structures now present, and proposed design standards, for the corridor. Fill it out.

The Transit North Committee, with representatives from effected communities, agencies and the business community, will help to create a unified vision for Transit North that will create a sense of place and an economically vital environment.

The Transit North corridor will be revitalized through the use of common themes, clearly marked elements, aesthetic standards, economic development and cohesive land use patterns to develop a gateway that creates a sense of arrival and a place worth remembering.

The goals are simple:

The powerpoint slides contains photos and drawings of their ideas, and the types of development they envision for that corridor. Places like the Cleveland area’s Legacy Village and Valley Square in Bucks County, PA. The shorthand for these developments is “lifestyle centers”. What they really are is open-air malls that replicate the old main streets of yore. The reality of life in much of WNY, and particularly that part of the Lockport/Pendleton area, is that people go shopping via car. So, do we want more nasty stripmalls or do we want something that looks inviting and ugly? Do we want people driving from one end of the plaza to the other, or can we figure out a way for them to walk it?

By making South Transit Road in Lockport more attractive, and by setting uniform zoning and design standards for that corridor, they can attract more residents, businesses, and retail. It’s not so much the vision that’s important. It’s the cooperation and inclusiveness in the effort.

*Sniff* Why is the Buffalo News being so mean to Chris Collins? I mean, he’s not even been inaugurated yet, and already people are criticizing him. *Sniff*. Oh, the humanity!

You know how when you’re a kid and you’re a fan of someone or something, you dream of someday meeting them, working with them, hanging out with them? Well, if there was one person in show business I would love to work with - in however small a capacity - more than anyone else, it would be Ricky Gervais. From his masterpiece The Office, to the brilliant Extras, or even the fantastically funny podcasts, he has that distinctly British combination of brains and humor that make most American expletive-hucking comics look like dribbling morons by comparison.

Last night, HBO aired the series finale / Christmas special of Extras. Caution - spoilers ahead. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been thinking more lately about the ‘08 Presidential race. Yes, I’ve looked on in horror as, e.g., Mike Huckabee’s star ascends in direct proportion to his attacks on Mitt Romney’s religion. I’ve been satisfied by Giuliani’s fall after it was learned that he fudged the books, Enron-like, to hide the fact that New York City was paying for a security detail to accompany him during trysts with his lover-now-wife in the Hamptons. And what about the Ron Paul Revolution? He can’t crack double digits, but he’s the nominee!!!!! Bank on it!!!!!!

On the Democratic side, I’ve been quietly supporting New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, but he’s not going anywhere. He’s run something of a clumsy campaign. It’s between Obama and Clinton. Richardson is running for Secretary of State at this point - a post for which he is eminently qualified. So, as between Obama and Clinton, I’m leaning very much towards Obama.

We need a sea-change in Washington. Among the Democrats, he’s the one who can pull it off based on his intelligence, his experience, and his penchant for openness and transparency. I get the impression that he’ll do what he can to dramatically alter the way Washington does business, and he’ll do it without pissing off everyone in his way. Then consider his major competition.

Hillary Clinton.

How much baggage do those two words come with? How polarizing is she? Remember the 1994 conservative backlash and how that helped deepen the divide between Democrats and Republicans? I don’t have any particular problem with her at all, but when I think of whom I want in the White House to follow up a Bush, I don’t think I want her. This country is in need of emergency repair - a uniter, not a divider. Hillary is a lot of things, but a uniter, she’s not.

Put simply, I don’t think Hillary Clinton is whom this country needs to lead it deeper into the 21st Century.

Read this passage from the Boston Globe’s endorsement of Barack Obama:

Obama’s critics, and even many who want to support him, worry about his relative lack of experience. It is true that other Democratic contenders have more conventional resumes and have spent more time in Washington. But that exposure has tended to give them a sense of government’s constraints. Obama is more animated by its possibilities.

In our view, the choice on the Democratic side is between Obama and Hillary Clinton. Clinton has run a diligent, serious campaign, and her command of the issues is deep and reassuring. But her approach is needlessly defensive, a backward glance at the bruising political battles of the 1990s. Obama’s candidacy looks forward.

Obama’s memoir, “Dreams From My Father,” is divided into three main sections. The first is a reflection on his youthful search for identity. The second recounts his days in Chicago, which include the first stirrings of a religious life. The third is a roots pilgrimage to Kenya, to better understand his often absent father. It is hard to read this book without longing for a president with this level of introspection, honesty, and maturity - and Obama published it when he was only 33.

We’ve had a Bush or a Clinton in one of the top two spots since 1981. Twenty-six years. I was twelve years old. It’s enough already.

Whom are you supporting and why?

As long as the power & heat are on, a snowstorm is a good thing. We watched movies, ventured out in the snow for some errands, trimmed the tree, and otherwise just took it easy.

The American Psychological Association agrees with me that Bratz are evil.

Because we can never have enough activist groups.

Has Spitzer overreached? His pissing match with Senate President Joe Bruno, and his almost universally disliked licenses-for-illegals plan have sent his poll numbers plummeting to a 48% job disapproval rating. Remember the guy won with a Collinsesque mandate for change.

The Buffalo News yesterday lauded the baby-steps to reform that Spitzer has accomplished, but there is more to do. Will he become a shadow of his former self over the upcoming months, and falling into the Pataki trap of going along to get along? Or will he instead redouble his efforts to lurch the state towards fundamental reform by re-examining just how confrontational he needs to be?

Piecemeal signature projects in upstate cities - Peace Bridge and Canal Side in Buffalo - are all well and good, but as we constantly harp on here, until and unless the economy of Western New York is rendered more attractive to prospective and current residents, immigrants, and businesses, it will all be for naught.

We’re still shrinking. We’ll just have a nice waterfront or a new bridge for our shrinking population.

As the News says,

That kind of change would become much more likely if each legislative chamber would first reform its internal, topdown rules that discourage the free flow of ideas. That’s hardly the point of a democracy.

Upstaters can be pleased with Spitzer’s infrastructure projects. But as useful and expensive as they stand to be, they are the easy part. It is urgent that he not let up on the state reforms needed to make upstate an economically competitive place to live and do business. Until that is done, this state will continue to bleed.

New York is the second most expensive state in which to do business, behind only Hawaii.

Hawaii has an excuse. New York is running out of them.

What can we do to cajole our state legislators to take seriously the problems that face Western New York and upstate, and enact the sorts of political changes that might help spur economic an