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Cover Story

The $1.4 Billion Dollar Question

by Jamie Moses

On January 5, the Buffalo News reported that the Buffalo School Board was questioning LP Ciminelli’s profits during the billion-dollar schools construction project. That’s not surprising, considering in the last phase of the “billion dollar” project $28 million was vaguely listed as “incidental costs” and $41 million was simply unaccounted for.

News Feature

What's Not Debatable?

by Paul Wolf, Esq.

Debates between candidates competing for public office are an important part of democracy. In 1858 Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas as candidates to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate held a series of seven debates across the state. The first televised general election debate for U.S. President was held in 1960 between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

News Feature

Before We Get Ahead of Ourselves...

by Arthur J. Giacalone

The timing was perfect, given Western New York’s short-term and long-term needs. The report evaluating potential locations for a future stadium for the Buffalo Bills surfaced just when local sports fans desperately required a distraction from weeks of playoff games without our home team on the field, and from our hockey team’s unprecedented losing streak.

Puck Stop

How Not to Do a Banner Ceremony

by Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell

Just a few days before Dominik Hasek night here in Buffalo, Anaheim enshrined Teemu Selanne into their rafters with a ceremony extravaganza which was almost over the top.

Getting a Grip

Why I Don't Want Your Damn Stadium in Downtown Buffalo

by Michael I. Niman

People like new things. I get it. That’s what shopping malls are all about. Within this culture, it’s to be expected that the conventional wisdom says we need to replace a 74,000 seat football stadium that cost $22 million to build in 1973, with a sparkly new one that will seat about 74,000 people and cost upwards of $800 million.

What's Brewing

What's Brewing: Presented by Consumer Beverages

by Willard Brooks and Chris Groves

Gorden Biesch fully embraces authentic German lagers in a way that very few breweries in the USA do. Schwarzbier—which literally translates as Black Beer—is black in color and has a pleasant roasted malt quality—sort of a lager version of a stout.

Art Scene

Works by Three Buffalonians on Display at Studio Hart

by Jack Foran

Works of three artists on a common theme of Buffalo as a work in progress are currently on view at Studio Hart, 65 Allen Street. The artists are painter and preservationist Sara M. Zak, photographer and urbanist Chris Hawley, and retired architect and planner Carol Case Siracuse, showing pen and ink drawings and watercolors.

Theater News

Stagefright

by Javier

Stage and TV star John O’Hurley (pictured above) will be playing Billy Flynn when the touring production of the musical Chicago plays Shea’s, once again, February 17th—22nd. O’Hurley is best known to TV audiences for playing J. Peterman on Seinfeld and as the former host of Family Feud.

Artvoice B.O.O.M!

Round 2, Week 1: The Proles vs. American Stories

Welcome to the ninth installment of Artvoice’s Battle of Original Music—a contest we call BOOM, for short. Visit boom.artvoice.com to listen to our contestants, The Proles and American Stories.

Classical Music Notes

BPO Goes All Mozart

by Jan Jezioro

The musicians of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra have a long tradition of celebrating the January 27 birthday anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In years past, BPO musicians held an annual birthday concert of Mozart’s chamber music at the Lancaster Opera House. In recent years, the celebration has been moved to Kleinhans, where guest conductor David Alan Miller will lead a pair of concerts this Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2:30pm.

Film Feature

Locally Produced Kung-Ku Film to Debut in Buffalo

by Jordan Canahai

Buffalo filmmakers Matt Lord and Joe Giambra of Mighty Niagara Productions, in association with Jiang Hu Cinema, are excited to debut their new short film, Return of the Hill Kings, within the coming weeks.

Film Reviews

Cake

by E. Ladd

American Sniper

by Jordan Canahai

Listings

On The Boards Theater Listings

Movie Listings (Friday, January 23 - Thursday, January 29)

Film Now Playing

Featured Events

AV Hit List: Top Event Picks for This Week

See You There!

Letters to Artvoice

On Charlie Hebdo...

by Liana Vardi, Professor of History at UB specializing in the history of France

President Obama Went Awol

by Donald A. Moskowitz, Londonberry, NH

Graphic Traffic

Journey Into Mystery: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

by Carolyn Marcille

Axe Cop: Volume 1

by Diana Guild

Fables: The Deluxe Edition, Book One (HC)

by Diana Guild

Offbeat News

News of the Weird

by Chuck Shepherd

Ms. Connie Lay passed away in Aurora, Indiana, in November, leaving a last will and testament that calls for her German shepherd, Bela, to be promptly buried with her—even though Bela is still alive and peppy.

Horoscopes

Free Will Astrology

by Rob Brezsny

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): According to my analysis of the long-term astrological omens, 2015 is the year you can get totally serious about doing what you were born to do. You will be given the chance to slough off all that’s fake and irrelevant and delusory.