The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority has begun to solicit bids from contractors to demolish seven derelict buildings it owns on Busti Avenue—the same properties that City of Buffalo officials ordered the PBA to bring up to code just four months ago.

For years, residents of Riverside, Kenmore, and the Tonawandas have had to contend with living among industrial sites. For residents and politicians, it’s a double-edged sword. These industries provide jobs and contribute taxes, but some also release dangerous chemicals into the air, many of which cause illnesses.

There’s a lot of talk about this magical “clean” coal going around, and as nice as it would be to change our carbon expulsion without changing our energy source, anyone looking to coal for clean energy might as well be advocating unicorn power.

At Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, councilmembers honored the work of Sidney Parnes, a former Buffalo State professor and a pioneer in the field of creativity. More importantly, the city took inspiration from Parnes and finally came to a creative solution to approve an urban farm on Buffalo’s East Side.

Our global economy is the weakest it has been in more than a half century, and the recession is starting to affect independent retailers in Buffalo. Over the past two weeks, two of the region’s signature boutiques, Chique Boutique in South Buffalo and Definitely Buffalo in Downtown Buffalo, have announced that they are shutting their doors.