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Artvoice Weekly Edition » Issue v9n46 (11/17/2010) » Section: Letters to Artvoice


An Open Letter to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation

by Chuck Banas
Buffalo’s Inner Harbor project suffers from a failure of strategy, and therefore a failure of leadership. My intent, therefore, is to write to you today not to lecture as an expert (for I do not claim to know all of the answers) but yet to make a sincere and ultimately convincing argument for a shift of strategy.

A Modest Proposal For Education

by Ben Perrone
Our current school system is broken and attempts to make it work have never been successful. We have a continual battle between the school board, parents, and unions that produce small increments of change and improvement, and we accept the terrible results for graduation and test scores. It’s like trying to keep the old car running when it has Ílong past its usefulness. It’s time for a sea change that will bring many protests from all sides. I would like to propose a new system of public education that would bring more harmony and better results for students, parents, and teachers, and therefore society as a whole.

Downsizing the County Legislature

by Michael Madden
The controversy of the election commissioner’s action took away any meaningful discussion of the pros and cons of this proposal. To give a little background, the previous class of the legislature unanimously—including all of the Republicans—voted to downsize to 13 members and a four-year term. The Erie County executive vetoed this proposal. All of the Republicans and a few Democrats—with a legislator absent—failed to override his veto. The next class of legislators, which had been politically manipulated by the county executive, voted to downsize to 11. The Republicans and one Democrat wanted it to be nine.



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