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  • Hey, I know. Let's put on a show.

    Number of comments: 3
    A distinct show biz theme to today's Buffalo News Opinion page leaders: - Saving Studio Arena A proposed takeover of the downtown theater by the neighboring Shea's Performing Arts Center is in the works and may occur within a matter of months, according to an article by News reporter Tom [...]
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    Posted: December 04, 2009, 2:08pm EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Redefining success

    Number of comments: 7
    Our second editorial look at President Obama's newly announced Afghan strategy points out an error in some other people's first look. The president, contrary to what his critics on the right are saying, has not set a date certain for withdrawal from Afghanistan. He has set a target … the [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 12:27pm EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Mr. Obama goes to war

    Number of comments: 3
    Here's the story. Here's the text. The video is below [or here]. Here's what we thought right out of the box: - Best-laid plans - Editorial/The Buffalo News President Obama spent the last three months trying to figure out the least bad option to pursue in Afghanistan. Because no easy [...]
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    Posted: December 02, 2009, 12:59pm EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Doing the job(s) right

    Number of comments: 5
    OK. It's easy for us editorial writers to sit here and say someone else should do a better job. It's also necessary. - Fix the jails Erie County's two jails have seen three suicides, 13 attempted suicides, more than 70 incidents of inmate-on-inmate violence (including assaults encouraged by authorities), beatings, [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2009, 3:25pm EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Turkeys in Albany. Stars in Buffalo.

    Number of comments: 6
    The lead editorial in today's Buffalo News Opinion section is something we have written about before. And will write about again. Soon. The Legislature's holiday gift to the state's editorial writers, I guess. - Face the pain The turkeys -- uh, lawmakers -- went home for Thanksgiving without having done [...]
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    Posted: November 30, 2009, 12:18pm EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/27)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hi, everyone. Yes, we're working -- for now. Having given thanks yesterday, we're not inclined to repeat that sentiment much today. We've decided not to give thanks for the conditions at the Erie County jail, as outlined in a state report and federal court papers in recent days. Nor are' [...]
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    Posted: November 27, 2009, 10:41am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/25)

    Number of comments: 2
    Good morning! At today's editorial board meeting, compressed a bit because the four of us are trying to plate 10 pages today (Thanksgiving, Friday and the Sunday section), we decided the State Legislature deserved another roasting for failing to confront any budget realities for the third straight week, and that [...]
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    Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:40am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/24)

    Number of comments: 0
    Good morning, everyone. At today's editorial board meeting we focused on the continuing deficit-resolution delays in Albany, on the annual regional economic agenda review, on data that shows consumers are using cash and spending down credit card debt and on prospects for holiday retail sales. -mike vogel [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 10:37am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board (11/23)

    Number of comments: 2
    Hi, all: It's going to be a scramble this week, with writers taking days off (imagine that) and pages to fill in advance. So today, with one writer, we're looking at only two things -- researching how other states are handling their deficit problems and, for those of you thinking' [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 10:34am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/19)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hi, everyone: At today's meeting we decided one of us will spend more than the usual research time looking at other states' deficits and how they're addressing that issue -- California, yesterday, announced a $21 billion deficit for next year, and it hasn't closed this year's gap yet. We'll also [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 10:55am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/18)

    Number of comments: 0
    Good morning -- Today, we met briefly just to follow up on more extensive talks yesterday afternoon. Here are the topics we settled on this morning: the state's new DWI law, the trial of the terrorists in NYC and proposed changes in local IDA policies. Hope everyone has a great [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 10:27am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Upstate Focus -- stopping the plates

    Number of comments: 3
    Today's editorial is one among several published by newspapers across upstate New York today, on the inaction by the State Legislature as it supposedly confronts a ballooning deficit. We see the citizen push to stop the mandatory purchase of new license plates as a message to lawmakers that fees and [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 12:05am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/17)

    Number of comments: 1
    Good morning, everyone. Took a long weekend. Hope y'all managed without me. ;) At today's edboard meeting, we decided to look at the license plate issue, the Legislature's dithering in Albany while deficit growth remains unchecked, at Sen. Schumer's attention to Niagara Falls issues and at plans to boost teacher' [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 11:16am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • 'Til E. coli do us part...

    Number of comments: 1
    Two editorials today about home and hearth. Or household and kitchen. - Approve gay marriage The Senate should approve the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. The Assembly already has passed it. Gov. David A. Paterson is primed to sign it. Justice demands it. And no single person [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:23am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Bad news. Good news.

    Number of comments: 2
    Over here in the Will Opine For Food corner, the cliche is that editorial writers know how to do two things: Point with pride and view with alarm. We usually say it in that order, I think, because the starting with the alliterative part makes better poetry. But there's usually [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:47am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/12)

    Number of comments: 1
    Good morning: Today we've got some tweaking to do on editorials in the ready queue. We'll be updating our Afghanistan policy and Olmsted parks editorials based on some developments there, and adding an editorial on the city's non-Olmsted parks to the mix. We'll also be looking at what the Senate' [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:46am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • A Veterans Day to remember. Sadly.

    Number of comments: 5
    Veterans Day is one of those holidays that can sneak up on newspaper editors. All of the sudden, right after we've swept up the dust from Election Day, it is time to write the feature stories and the editorials that honor the veterans of America's wars, those who live hereabouts' [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 11:33am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/11)

    Number of comments: 2
    Hi, everyone, and happy Veterans Day to all of you who served. And thanks. At today's editorial board meeting, we decided to take a look at what state legislators did in their brief visit to Albany (we're already looking at what they didn't do, although we decided to expand a [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 10:37am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Focus on the road. Take in the world.

    Number of comments: 2
    Read today's Buffalo News Opinion page, and you'll see why it is hard to grow up in today's world. We want young people to understand that, sometimes, they have to concentrate on what they are doing. - Flag high-risk drivers The simple fact is that not all teenagers are equally' [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:12am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/10)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hi, all: At today's edboard meeting, we decided to look at Paterson's fiscal crisis warning -- nice to hear that reinforced again, maybe someday they'll actually do something. Also, we'll ponder Karzai's anti-corruption pledge and the city's use of GPS units in snow plows. -mike vogel [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:12am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/9)

    Number of comments: 0
    Hi, all. Here's the daily on-our-agenda summary: At today's discussion we decided to look at the House vote on health care reform (surprise!), the weekend issue of pressure to turn an Attica teen into a drug informant, government e. coli protections (or the lack thereof) and the Fort Hood shootings. [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 10:33am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: The state budget mess

    Number of comments: 4
    Today's editorial pages expand from two to four just so we can focus on the state's reluctance actually to deal with its budget crisis and deficits that could hit $10 billion over the next two years. The governor issues strong warnings, but State Senate Democrats may not even attend today's' [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 12:05am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/6)

    Number of comments: 9
    Hi, all. Today's board meeting opened with discussion of the tragedy at Fort Hood, but we're not going to weigh in because the pages are booked through Monday and there will be more time by then for discussion of the motive to emerge. In the meantime, our thoughts are with' [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 10:32am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/5)

    Number of comments: 1
    Go Yankees!!! Oh, yeah, work. Well, at today's edboard meeting we decided to look at the federal move to extend unemployment benefits and homebuyer credits, at problems getting flu vaccine to doctors and clinics, and at city school superintent James Williams' trip to China. And what a season to christen' [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:35am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Where there's smoke...

    Number of comments: 4
    What with all those candidate and issue kisses of death endorsements to get in the newspaper, this eddie about new research on the dangers of second-hand smoke had to wait its turn. - Smoking laws saving lives Where there’s smoke, there are heart attacks. That’s the conclusion of a report [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 11:56am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/4)

    Number of comments: 2
    Whew. Now, welcome to the first official day of the 2010 election cycle. First order of business, though, is to look back at yesterday's elections. That was topic one picked up at today's edboard meeting, and aside from individual races some obvious things stand out -- the abysmally low voter [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 10:38am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/3)

    Number of comments: 0
    Traditionally, the editorial board marks the end of the election season by kicking back with a no-outside-meetings, Hawaiian Shirt Day. We're not sure why, but we think it has something to do with margaritas, and we're still waiting for the delivery. In the meantime, though, we still have work to [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:26am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Blight not unique to Buffalo

    Number of comments: 3
    Another example of great minds running in small circles. An editorial in Thursday's Buffalo News: - Help on easing blight Mr. Donovan, tear down this house. And this one. And this one. And that one over there. That’s the message federal Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan should take with him from [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:23am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (11/2)

    Number of comments: 2
    Hi, everyone. Get out and vote tomorrow -- reach your own conclusions and exercise the most precious right you have in a democracy. In the meantime, very short edboard meeting toda. With our campaign review season essentially over, I have a couple of people taking time off to detox. So [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:18am EST
    by Blog Editor

  • Today's endorsements: Erie County Legislature

    Number of comments: 9
    Today's editorial space is devoted to our endorsements in the Erie County Legislature race. There are 15 seats, but 5 lawmakers (4 Democrats and a Republican) face no major-party opposition (or, for that matter, any opposition). In the remaining 10 races, we recommend votes for 8 Republicans and 2 Democrats. [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 6:30am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Today's endorsement: Kadet

    Number of comments: 6
    Today's editorial endorsement focuses on the Erie County Comptroller race. We recommend Philip Kadet. Current comptroller Mark Poloncarz is a bright, capable negotiator in the financial markets, but he's made the office far too political and the need now is for a numbers person who can use sound financial analysis [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 6:30am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Today's endorsements: Glascott and Weinstein

    Number of comments: 2
    Today's editorial endorsements -- recommendations based on research, interviews and experience, but only recommendations -- urge votes for Cheektowaga Police Capt. John Glascott in the race for Erie County Sheriff and for Dr. Barry Weinstein for Amherst Town Supervisor, the post being vacated by Satish Mohan. Read the Glascott endoresment [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 12:41pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Names and addresses

    Number of comments: 1
    The lead editorial in today's Buffalo News Opinion section unloads on the Pirates of the Hudson and the supposedly independent watchdogs who sold out their independence for a quick million. - Moody's blues The financial markets didn't just collapse. They were sabotaged. And the people who did it have names' [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 11:48am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/27)

    Number of comments: 5
    Okay, no issues-related editorial board meeting today either, as we're deep in the end stages of the endorsement process and you'll be seeing endorsement editorials through Saturday. But you can bet the board spent some time this morning talking about Chris Collins' foot-in-mouth moment -- with his main opponent, and' [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 10:22am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Blood money.

    Number of comments: 50
    The lead editorial in today's Buffalo News Opinion section argues that if the free market can provide better health insurance than a public option, the market ought to be really free: - Let insurers compete It is one thing for the nation's big health insurance providers to object to a [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 4:01pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Iraq's body count keeps growing

    Number of comments: 3
    The lead editorial in Sunday's Buffalo News Opinion section was headlined: - Iraq paid a heavy price Those who favored the war in Iraq are right to claim that, in an important sense, it was a mission accomplished. The vile dictator Saddam Hussein was deposed, along with his secret police, [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 1:51pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Is voting emotional?

    Number of comments: 5
    Hi, all. There was an edboard meeting today, but it was just to discuss endorsements. We'll be busy researching and writing the endorsement editorials, which start Wednesday. In the meantime, I noticed this quote in the paper today and decided to use it as one of our page quote-outs tomorrow:' [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 11:53am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • If you can't say something nice ...

    Number of comments: 3
    For some reason, the chin-strokers on The Buffalo News Opinion page were in a good mood, and today we were able to fit three point-with-pride editorials in the same space where we usually cram two view-with-alarm jobs. [Apparently, it takes fewer words to praise than to condemn.] - Reform — [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 1:14pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting

    Number of comments: 4
    Last day of candidate interviews! And today's topics for research: The anti-blight program proposal, and the county's texting while driving law. -mike vogel [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 10:36am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • More on Monserrate

    Number of comments: 0
    Two of New York City's big newsprint players have pitched in on the Monserrate mess, each with a useful bigger-picture angle: - New York State Senate should police its own - Newsday If the Senate doesn't act, voters will have their say next year. But New York elections seem all' [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 10:18am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Where we stand on the 'Stans.

    Number of comments: 4
    The lead editorial on today's Buffalo News Opinion page determines that the move by the Pakistani army against Taliban and al-Qaida forces in that nation amounts to a mixed blessing for the Obama administration: - Pakistan takes action Being so dependent on the actions of a body that has, in [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 10:17am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board (10/22)

    Number of comments: 0
    Good morning, all: Two more days of candidates, then the debates begin! Anyway, we're still at the daily chores. Today's selected topics include Grand Island tolls, new leadership at the Albright, insurance industry anti-trust changes, cuts to bailout-recipient salaries and bonuses, and funding for Great Lakes restoration. -mike vogel' [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 10:16am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • A gentleman's incomplete.

    Number of comments: 4
    Rather than go at each other hammer and tongs, the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority [the "control board" to its friends] has politely asked County Executive Chris Collins [right] to take another run at his four-year budget plan. The Buffalo News Opinion section appreciates the board's conciliatory gesture, and agrees [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 11:00am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/21)

    Number of comments: 3
    Hello, all: Again, candidate interviews. But also topics -- the proposed 72-hour rule for public Web posting of bills before Congress, Empire Zone reforms, Canal Side and the propositions you'll see on the Nov. 3 ballot. -mike vogel' [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 10:59am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Things don't go better with Tonawanda Coke

    Number of comments: 3
    The other Buffalo News editorial today argues that the apparent air pollution from the Tonawanda Coke Corp. plant is a matter that has to be faced -- if not by the company, then by federal regulators. - Cut plant emissions Company owner J.D. Crane has refused repeated requests to talk [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 1:49pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • At least throw this bum out

    Number of comments: 3
    The Buffalo News leads its Opinion section today with an editorial call for the New York State Senate to - Oust Monserrate It's time for Hiram Monserrate to take his leave. Convicted of a misdemeanor for a vicious assault on his girlfriend, the Bronx Democrat now either needs to resign [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 11:38am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/20)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hello, all: More candidate interviews today, starting almost immediately, but at the edboard meeting we also chose some issues targets: the role of the Wall Street ratings services in ranking derivatives (the things that helped trigger the recession; McClatchy Newspapers has been doing an in-depth series on that), a new [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 10:21am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Throw the bums out.

    Number of comments: 9
    The lead editorial in today's Buffalo News Opinion section questions the conduct of one New York state senator from the other end of the state: - An outrageous hire New York Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. has no business spending $70,000 a year — plus bennies — to install [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 11:48am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/19)

    Number of comments: 0
    Good morning, everyone: More candidate interviews today, and we spent a few minutes today talking about NEXT year's elections and specifically the State Legislature. Some of us think we have a duty to endorse, others are just disgusted at the propspects. Anyway, for today we're looking at some hospitality industry' [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 11:44am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Snowe telling where health reform will go.

    Number of comments: 15
    I was expecting headlines like "Snowe drifts toward public option" or "Snowe driven to make health care work." Maybe that's why I don't write headlines any more. One of the editorials in today's Buffalo News Opinion section lauds Olympia Snowe, the much-headlined senator from Maine, for her willingness to seek' [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 12:43pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/16)

    Number of comments: 0
    Good morning, everyone: There was a coating of Southtowns snow on the car this morning. Seems about right. From my days on the weather beat, I recall the long-term average date for first trace of snow to be Oct. 17. In any event, sure beats three years ago. At today's' [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 10:41am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • New York vs. California

    Number of comments: 12
    New York vs. California. It's a running theme in lifestyles, popular entertainment [Annie Hall, California Suite], politics and food production. Por ehemple: The lead editorial in today's Buffalo News Opinion section -- Help small dairy farms -- argues that New York's style of dairy farming -- small farms that produce [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 12:40pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • New York vs. Kansas

    Number of comments: 0
    Meanwhile, While Erie County's sheriff and executive are doing every thing they can to keep the feds out of what is, by all accounts, a disgraceful jail operation, Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson is inviting the U.S. Justice Department in to help him clean up what is, by all accounts, a [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 12:40pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • New York vs. Iowa

    Number of comments: 0
    And over Iowa-way, state officials are facing their budget short-falls head-on, unlike New York. - Human services to lose 150 to 400 employees - Jennifer Jacobs/The Des Moines Register From 150 to 400 employees at the Department of Human Services will likely be laid off to meet the state's 10 [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 12:39pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/15)

    Number of comments: 0
    Oy. The Ides of October, already. At today's editorial board meeting, we decided to look at Gov. Paterson's spending cuts, the civilian death count in Iraq, the $70,000 staff job the Senate just added, and the city's capital budget. -mike vogel [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 12:38pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Afghanistanism, The Next Generation.

    Number of comments: 12
    The old cliche among editorial writers was that if you didn't have the nerve to write something critical of the governor, the mayor or the school board -- or if they hadn't given you cause to write something critical of them -- you could always write about Afghanistan. Probably, nobody [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 12:32pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/14)

    Number of comments: 3
    Hi, everyone: Another day of candidate interviews ... For topics, we'll be looking at the latest developments in health care reform, the city's ownership of the Busti landmark, Obama's proliferation of "czars" and the language changes in the aviation safety bill. And at a lot of candidates . . .' [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 12:22pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Taking leaves of our senses.

    Number of comments: 2
    Two editorials today that each have something to do with leaves: - Display the treasures With treasures like Mark Twain’s original handwritten manuscript for “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and first editions by astronomers Galileo Galilei, Tycho Brahe and William Herschel, the city’s inability to display these priceless works in [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 11:34am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/13)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hello, everyone: At today's editorial board meeting, shortened by the need to get to the next installment of a boatload of edorsement interviews, we picked up the following topics: the DA's handling of complaints about Steve Pigeon, the Tonawanda coke plant emissions, changes in aid to dairy farms and some [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 10:58am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Peace prize punditry

    Number of comments: 9
    Paul Greenberg, editorialist in chief of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, is among the most admired wordsmiths of his generation -- at least among other editorial writers. Most days, his wise words are hidden behind his newspaper's subscription-only barrier. [Get used to it.] But he was decent enough to share his editorial [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 4:34pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/12)

    Number of comments: 13
    Happy Columbus Day, all: At today's edboard we discussed Afghanistan, the tree program locally and some of the impacts of budget cuts on higher education, especially ECC. We also talked about county finances and the control board, and about the upcoming elections -- today we start more than two dozen [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 11:08am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorial: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

    Number of comments: 30
    This morning's news that President Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize was a bit of a shock. Even, apparently, to President Barack Obama. [Video] . And to us -- we'll be editorializing on it tomorrow, so feel free to weigh in. It helps, of course, if you take' [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 3:28pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/9)

    Number of comments: 5
    Hi, all: Remembering Burt Nelson today. He was a long-time colleague here and worked previously for the Courier, and was the publisher/editor as well of the German community newspaper Der Volksfreud. Burt died this week at 81, (he was still working as a copy editor here) and his funeral is [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 10:53am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/8)

    Number of comments: 0
    Hi, all: Today we talked a bit more about the elections and then picked up some issues topics: the latest health care reform cost estimates, the new commission on books (I've long argued that Twain's original Huckleberry Finn manuscript is the single greatest cultural treasure in this city), and the' [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 11:35am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/7)

    Number of comments: 2
    Hi, everyone: Sorry this is late, but today's board meeting was intense and things just haven't let up. Anyway, for today's topics we'll be looking at Gov. Paterson's spending-cut proposal, the weakening of federal shield law legislation and the county's 22 911 call centers. -mike vogel [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 1:51pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/6)

    Number of comments: 6
    Hello, everyone: A lot of talk at this morning's edboard meeting about the Pigeon/DA issue, following yesterday's rather intense meeting with Frank Sedita. Beyond that, we decided to keep looking at National Grid's rate restructuring bid and just to welcome the national Wright conservancy meeting to Buffalo, because that's the [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 11:12am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • The revolution will not be sponsored.

    Number of comments: 3
    I swore I would not be one of those newspaper writers who filled his space with cute stuff his kids did. But I don't think this qualifies as "cute." On the train each morning on the way to school, my 9-year-old son manages to find various ways to amuse himself,' [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 11:42am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/5)

    Number of comments: 3
    Good morning, all: This morning we opened research into this whole Sedita-Sacha-Pigeon-Clark thing, and Sedita will be in this afternoon to discuss same. We'll also be looking at Erie County jail problems, finishing up a few earlier topics and doing some initial research into electric utility rate restructuring requests and' [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 11:22am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • At the core of a community

    Number of comments: 12
    Thinking about this editorial -- which was written by someone thinking about this article -- got me to thinking. They are about how Buffalo's school boss, James A. Williams, is thinking it is time to move away from the concept of all-city school choice, and all the daily travel it [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 4:01pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/2)

    Number of comments: 6
    Hi, everyone: At today's edboard, the first topic was pretty much automatic -- the county budget. Chris Collins stopped by yesterday to brief us on that (one intersting factor of those briefings always seems to be another insight into where previous administrations were hiding money or deficits). We've been doing' [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:18am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (10/1)

    Number of comments: 0
    Hello, all -- Half the board is out of town (some of you may think that's a good thing), but the rest is soldiering on. At today's meeting we decided to take a look at the policy issues underlying Jerry Zremski's story on the Medicaid squeeze, and at the federal [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 11:14am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorial: Brown eyes the parks

    Number of comments: 10
    So -- who should run the city's parks, now that the county-city agreement is defunct? City Hall? The Olmsted Conservancy? Both? It's a question of stewardship, not ownership -- they're still city parks. Under a contract with the county, the conservancy has been doing a good job of managing the' [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 12:05am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (9/30)

    Number of comments: 2
    Hi, all: I can't believe we're putting together pages with an October date on them. I'm still waiting for summer. At today's edboard, we decided to look at Iran's nuclear facilities and some congressional action, at last, on wrongful convictions. Also talked a bit about the November elections, which will' [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 10:51am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (9/29)

    Number of comments: 7
    Good morning -- or at least it might have been, if you're not a Route 5 or Thruway commuter. If you were, today might have made you think about the wisdom of that harbor plan that would have made the Route 5 corridor there into a local-traffic parkway. And that's [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 11:55am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • William Safire, 1929-2009

    Number of comments: 1
    By the time we met him, William Safire had already won a Pulitzer Prize, owned two of the best corners of real estate an opinion writer can aspire to, joined the panel of Meet the Press, published several books [including one that, I was happy to have the chance to [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 12:25pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (9/28)

    Number of comments: 2
    Hi, all: Only one writer today, and half the day will be taken up with Web work. So only one new topic today -- the mayor's plan to take back the parks and to check into Olmsted Conservancy hiring. -mike vogel [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 11:34am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's editorial board meeting (9/25)

    Number of comments: 14
    Hi, all: Only a cursory meeting today, as all but two of us were needed elsewhere. So the only new topic we'll pick up for today is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's reluctance to rule out new taxes to close the budget gap. Have a nice weekend, despite that. I was' [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 11:51am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorial: Shrink now, expand later

    Number of comments: 22
    Here's the unvarnished message from The News' editorial board: Fix the cost problems with health care first, before expanding the insurance pool to include all those now without coverage. Fix the costs, and insurance becomes more affordable and the number of the uninsured then shrinks. Just expand, and you're just [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 6:55am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard meeting (9/25)

    Number of comments: 2
    Hi, everyone: What we're ruminating on today -- the Niagara County Legislature's call for a new law restricting Empire State Development Corp., and the financial page story about the wealthy fleeing New York State to avoid the Legislature's latest tax-the-rich hit. Who'dve thought? -mike vogel [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 12:15pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (11/23)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hi, all -- Too many "outside" meetings today (three groups coming in) for a long edboard meeting, but we spent some time talking about a special project and we'll pick up daily topics -- the lieutenant governor court ruling, Amherst's deficit and the Patriot Act reauthorization debate. -mike vogel' [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 11:35am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/22)

    Number of comments: 3
    Hi, everyone: A few folks missing, so a short meeting today. We also have the director of the Adirondack Park Council and downstate Assemblyman Richard Brodsky coming in this afternoon so there's a bit of a time crunch; we usually can do only one such policy-maker meeting a day. So [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 10:55am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorial: Cut the deficit

    Number of comments: 8
    Today's editorial reviews the pitiful state attempt to cut its work force by offering a $20,000 buyout -- nowhere near enough to convince anyone not already headed out the door that it would be a good idea to give up a good-paying, obviously secure job. Payroll is a significant part [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 12:05am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • The most important man you never heard of.

    Number of comments: 0
    I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space. - Adm. James T. Kirk Norman Borlaug was from Iowa, too. He worked mostly in Mexico, Africa and Asia, but he might as well have been light years away for all the attention the news media paid little attention to him.' [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2009, 10:47am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/21)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hope everyone enjoys the last day of summer. Here's hoping for the kind of spectacular autumn weather Buffalo can get -- with no surprises. Today's edboard included talk of Afghanistan and the blitz of health care speeches/interviews over the weekend. For topics today we decided to look at Acorn, the [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2009, 10:38am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Playing the race card -- or not

    Number of comments: 28
    Former President Jimmy Carter has decided to play the race card and the Obama administration wants him to put it back into the deck. Who's to say whether it's too late but now that the cat's out of the bag and Carter has made a stand on what he views [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 4:25pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/18)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hi, all: Short edboard meeting today, because not everyone could make it. We'll be doing something on the unintended flaw in the new state public authorities law that could derail development on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and looking at Chris Collins' boost for tourism promotion funding. And then we'll' [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 12:22pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Kofi Annan and global thinking

    Number of comments: 4
    Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan may have been speaking to University at Buffalo students last night when he urged them to "think globally" but his words applied to each and every one of us in the crowd. An elegant choice to kick off the 2009-10 Distinguished Speakers Series at [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 4:12pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/17)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hi, everyone: At today's meeting, we decided to give credit to a Buffalo innovation that's drawing national attention, Judge Robert Russell's veterans court. We'll also be looking at the failure of Gov. Paterson's lame state-employee buyout offer, and at the state Senate's failure to enact meaningful ethics reforms. We also' [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 12:17pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Riding through one of Buffalo's Markets

    Number of comments: 1
    So, I’m riding my bicycle to work and decide to stop at the Downtown Country Market that sets up twice a week along Main Street, being drawn toward the fresh produce and scrumptious apples in particular. This is a far departure from my last foray here when I decided to [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 1:34pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/16)

    Number of comments: 2
    Good morning: So we'll be looking at the mayoral primary, along with everybody else. Our political beat reporter's analysis of the returns is up on the Web, will be expanded in print tomorrow. We're also going to be looking at questions of leadership in Congress (Pelosi and Reid) and at [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 12:00pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/15)

    Number of comments: 4
    Hi, all: Took a day off yesterday to complete recovery from an injury, and there was no editorial board meeting. But there was today, and for topics we centered on work on the Niagara River Greenway, the Brookings Institute's positive view of the Buffalo economy and a combination of court [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 10:53am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/11)

    Number of comments: 6
    Hi, all. Still hurts to type that 9/11 date, as in the header above. Anyway, more mayoral debate (the final one) at today's meeting, then we picked up the county legislature's upholding of Collins; downsizing veto and action on a federal shield law as new topics. Not making the cut, [...]
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    Posted: September 11, 2009, 12:45pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/10)

    Number of comments: 17
    Hi, all: Very long and spirited edboard meeting today, with a lot of debate about both the mayoral race and Obama's health care speech. Still have to put out a Sunday section as well as Friday's editorial pages today so that makes for a real time crunch, but the debates [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 10:37am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • A teachable moment

    Number of comments: 1
    When my brother was in the first grade, he got what may have been the only failing grade of his life. A frowny face on a book report. It was the first grade, you understand, and all the book report had to be was, written neatly, the title of the [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 9:30am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/9)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hi, everyone. Happy 9/9/09. Meant to file this at 9:09 am, but as usual got swamped with the firstwave of work. At today's edboard we spent a LOT of time taking about the mayoral race. The mayor's due in for his endorsement-process interview later today. The only contest for this [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 11:00am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • City of Good Neighbors?

    Number of comments: 22
    So, I'm on the bus this morning and heading downtown. I plop down in the first seat of a momentarily near-empty bus in the disabled/elderly section at the front. Others picked up along the way, a fit-looking middle-aged construction worker type, a late teen/early 20-something and a middle-aged woman also' [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 3:28pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/8)

    Number of comments: 2
    Good afternoon, all: Spent some time talking about federal deficits and health care reform again at today's edboard meeting. We also picked up two new topics -- the Obama school speech and the lack of a hate crime designation for the recent Buffalo beating. Hope everyone had a really good [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 12:46pm EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/4)

    Number of comments: 3
    Good morning -- With one of our small band in Washington and another in Massachusetts today, it was a short meeting. We'll be looking at the state pension system's financial shortfalls and Obama's plan to detail a health care proposal. Hope you all have a fine Labor Day weekend, and' [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 10:32am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: Today's edboard (9/3)

    Number of comments: 1
    Hello, everyone: Today's edboard meeting mostly involved discussion of the economy. That was one of the topics we picked up -- specifically, the uptick in local manufacturing and the increase of productivity but not yet in jobs. Might be a good one to run Monday, along with the annual Labor [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 10:34am EDT
    by Blog Editor

  • Editorials: today's edboard (9/2)

    Number of comments: 4
    Good morning, all: Today's debates were pretty minimal -- we need more coffee around here. Anyway, we're happy FEMA is stepping up for the flooded communites but distressed that individual property owners still are left hanging (picking up on an earlier blog-comment suggestion by gravedancer) and, speaking of left hanging,' [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2009, 10:51am EDT
    by Blog Editor
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