Buffalo Schools Part II: Kids Out in the Cold

by Jamie Moses and Peter Koch

The Buffalo Public Schools and the Joint Schools Construction Board control $1.7 billion ($1 billion building project and an annual school budget of $700 million). That is far more than the $300 million for operating the City of Buffalo. Far more than Delphi, Bass Pro, Seneca Casinos, GM, Ford, the Bills, the zoo, etc. Yet out of 164,244 registered voters in Buffalo, only 13,139 people voted in the 2004 School Board election. And in 2001 only 5,526 people voted, less than three percent of registered voters. This is a problem!

by Andrew Kilian and Jamie Moses

'Ronica Lake (born and bred in Buffalo) has recently returned from her misadventures abroad. Like many who return, she is discovering how much more her hometown has to offer than she remembered. 'Ronica believes she is ready for "Nickel City," but is Buffalo ready for Lake Effect? This evening we find our intrepid heroine in her daily routine...

The Death Penalty: Capital Crime Against Humanity?

by Ken Ilgunas

In this year’s international execution competition, the U.S. finished fourth with 40 sanctioned killings. We only executed fewer convicted criminals than China, who took the gold, Iran (silver) and Vietnam (bronze). While most Americans might shudder at being grouped with countries with such terrible human rights records, the death penalty is still alive and well in the U.S.: 64 percent of Americans favor it, according to a recent Gallup poll. This past week, Kenneth Lee Boyd was the 1000th person executed since the Supreme Court declared the death penalty constitutional in 1976. Many opponents argue that the death penalty is an ineffective and inhumane deterrent and that our justice system is not failsafe (several condemned to death row have been cleared through DNA testing). Should we remain one of the world’s top executioners, or is the death penalty the only suitable punishment for a capital crime?

Yes, We Murder Journalists

by Michael I. Niman

Remember Fallujah? It’s the Buffalo-sized Iraqi city that we had to destroy in order to save back in April of 2004. Over 30 Americans died and over 400 American troops were wounded and airlifted away. And at least 1,200 Iraqis were killed. A Red Cross official reported that American forces used cluster bombs and chemical phosphorous weapons inside the city. The target of the U.S. assault, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, along with up to 80 percent of his fighters, managed to slip out of town, leaving the Fallujans to catch the brunt of the American attack. In the end, the city was leveled.

Knocked Down and Dragged Out

by Nadia S. Pizarro

For the past two months, motorists on Kenmore Avenue near Englewood observed fellow citizens taking advantage of their right to protest. Five to ten picketers at a time, depending on the weather, have handed out fliers and toted professionally printed signs that say “Please Don’t Shop, Budwey’s Kenmore Ave., Non-Union.”

Try These On For Size

by Jim Corbran

Think of the Milan and the Zephyr as your grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies; the day she made the Milan she just didn’t use as many chocolate chips as the Zephyr version, but they were still yummy.

by Javier

Actor George Takei (pictured above), best known to TV audiences for playing Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the original “Star Trek” TV series, just finished playing psychiatrist Martin Dysart in the East West Players company production of Peter Shaffer’s Equus. Based in Los Angeles, the company, which is now celebrating its 40th anniversary, is the nation’s pre-eminent Asian American troupe. During the run of the show, Takei made national headlines by openly discussing his gay private life.

Creative Contrasts: The Coda

by Arthur Page

Favorite restaurants are like old friends. You spend some of the happiest times in your life with them, and you mourn their passing with no small pain in your heart.

Ran Webber

by Cynnie Gaasch

Why you should know who he is: Ran Webber’s training in architecture is evident in his paintings on paper. This month he travels to Florence, Italy to participate in the Florence Biennale. He has been a working artist since the ’70s, having managed a gallery called the Gallery Wilde as a part of the larger Franklin Street Art Project in the ’80s, during which he became somewhat notorious for his “Supergraphics” public mural/graffiti projects. He spent some time in day jobs, including working at Fisher-Price, and retired recently in order to return full-time to his art making. He has shown extensively over the years, and his work can be seen at www.ranwebber.artspan.com.

John Lennon

by Mark Norris

In case you haven’t heard: Thursday (Dec. 8) marks the 25th anniversary of John Lennon’s murder. Of course, it isn’t just the brutal nature of his death that continues to fascinate the public but also what he stood for in his lifetime that enraptures new audiences and worshippers. For better and worse, this fascination also ensures the demand for a steady stream of new product. Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, oversees the release of new CD compilations of her husband’s music, produces stage-musicals based on his life and uses his artwork on everything from postcards to infant’s clothing. To her credit, Ono makes sure that Lennon’s legacy isn’t exploited to the point of becoming Graceland-esque. On the other hand, Ono’s involvement in some of the re-issues of Lennon’s work has been cited as heavy-handed, occasionally questionable and sometimes downright misguided. Further, while Ono was once widely viewed as “the dragon lady who broke up the Beatles” (at worst) or “John’s accomplice in some foolhardy ventures” (at best) she is now simply seen as Lennon’s widow and estate keeper. This must be a difficult pill to swallow for an artist, filmmaker and musician in her own right whose work has yet to be fully celebrated.

Praying for Oblivion

Anyone interested in setting up live shows or collaborating in any live setting should get in touch. The scene needs more cohesion. Website is up with two free mp3 downloads at:

by Chuck Shepherd

■ The Official Shoe of Illegal Immigrants: Artist Judi Werthein’s high-top sneaker “Brinco” went on sale recently ($215 a pair) at boutiques in San Diego and New York City, with tiny accessories (compass and flashlight on the shoelaces, secret pocket in the shoe’s tongue), but she also gives away many pairs in Tijuana because she actually designed the shoe for Mexican migrants to wear when they sneak across the border into the United States. (The back of the shoe has a drawing of the country’s patron saint of migrants, and a removable foot support has a crude map of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a November Associated Press report).

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Science writer Carl Sagan liked to say that “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” He often invoked that idea in his crusade to debunk theories he considered outlandish, like the proposition that extraterrestrials are visiting our planet. While I think Sagan’s measuring stick is usually quite useful, you should be careful about applying it too fanatically in the coming week. Surprising and marvelous possibilities are headed your way, and at least one of them will be very real but impossible for your rational mind to validate.