Advocates of the development of a new river crossing and truck plaza feel that it would be a boost to the economy by improving the growth of trade and tourism in the Buffalo area. If a poll taker canvassed residents of the Peace Bridge neighborhood, he or she would find little opposition to the idea in its purest form.

I’ve always been amazed that there has never been any thought given to having the Broadway Market embrace the ethnic groups that live in the immediate area (“What the Market Will Bear,” Artvoice v7n26). The market always served the surrounding community. If the population has shifted to more African-American, Muslim, and Vietnamese people, then the markets offerings ought to reflect this. Fresh produce including that used by various cultures available in an area that had food vendors preparing those items along with cultural presentations would make the market more of a draw to the greater region throughout the year but more importantly provide good fresh vegetables, meats, herbs, and spices in the diets of the ethnic groups living in the area 365 days year. People with limited personal transportation as well as those who do not wish to spend the time traveling outside their immediate area to shop would support this. (Why do you think Tops International on Maple Road in Amherst has ethnic food isles and fresh ethnic produce?)

Do you think it would be possible for folks in this area to tone down the Tim Russert gushfest just a little? Looking at print and TV, people have been eulogizing this man to the point of deifying him. Let’s be rational here. We all thought it was terrible that he died so young and so suddenly, but he was a journalist, folks. A journalist who happened to be from Buffalo, who happened to host a nationally televised program, and who liked to inject his cheers for the local sports teams in his signoffs. We expect his family and dearest friends to have many good things to say about him, and that’s reasonable.

What ever happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on the Fourth of July were traffic jams and wayward fireworks? According to our government’s Meat & Poultry Hotline, this year’s top fear is food poisoning by those nasty E. coli and salmonella bugs lurking in inadequately grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Of course, they don’t bother to mention that high-temperature grilling that kills the bugs also forms cancer-causing compounds.