Is Niagara Falls a City within a park?
Flynn expected to see action tonight for Portland
March 29, 2012 By
Niagara Falls native Jonny Flynn might get a big chance tonight as the Portland Trail Blazers are expected to be without starting pint guard Raymond Felton for the second straight game.
Flynn was traded to Portland two weeks ago and on Tuesday, he saw his longest playing time of the season.
NFTA gets extra money, but sticking with fare increase
March 29, 2012 By
The state budget passed early and it had some good news for the NFTA, which will see a $2.9 million hike in aid, but officials say they’re not going back on the 25-cent increase they already approved.
Originally, the authority said it might cut routes and service as it tried to make up a $15 million shortfall.
Also, according to reports, the governor is allowing the NFTA to tap into a $16 million pot of capital money for upstate transit authorities that was never released.
The new fares for bus routes will be two dollars and that goes into effect on May 1.
Video: Lewiston’s Hibbard’s set to open new addition next week
March 28, 2012 By
When the owners and staff at a local landmark tried to assess the needs of modern-day Lewiston, they realized a slice of the past might be exactly what’s in order.
That’s the reason for the expansion at Hibbard’s, which is scheduled to become a full-service restaurant next Monday when the addition opens and the business starts selling more than just custard.
Marley McCormick, longtime manager at Hibbard’s, said the idea resembles the one the family had decades ago, when the group sold fish fries and hamburgers.
“In the past few years, we’ve found a need for a restaurant like that. Obviously, we have a lot of great restaurants here, but they’re all sitdown, you spend an hour or two. But not something you can something on the fly,” McCormick said. “We have a lot of pizza. But not so much sandwiches, hamburgers, good summer day food. That inspired us to reincarnate the old dream of the custard and the hot dog.”
McCormick said the old restaurant was on the same grounds as the new addition.
“I don’t know what the layout was like,” she joked. “It was way before my time.”
Hibbard’s will make hamburgers and cheeseburgers with their own recipe, and will offer Hofmann’s hot dogs out of Syracuse.
“They’re delicious,” McCormick said of the hot dogs. “And we’re making our own beef on weck as well. We’ll have daily specials, like mac and cheese and different sandwiches. And we’ll have fresh-cut curly-Q French fries.”
McCormick said plans for the extenstion started at the end of the season in 2010, but it took a while to get the ball rolling. The restaurant is owned by Jim and Harold Hibbard, Jim being the brother of the original owner while Harold is the son of the original owner.
With a new contractor on the project, however, the site should be ready by next week, and with a big summer of events scheduled for Academy Park, McCormick said that’s sure to keep things busy.
“There are definitely using this space a lot better. They’re going to put more parking in and they’re hoping to have more events there,” McCormick said. “And that would be beautiful for us. You can go wrong with the park right across the street, right?”
The new addition will be open year-round, and although the hours will start from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., McCormick said that will be adjusted accordingly.
“The good thing about having the restaurant open is that we can serve the custard year-round,” McCormick said. “We can get people their fix.”
See McCormick below discussing the new restaurant.
5th annual Stand Against Racism
March 28, 2012 By
The 2012 Stand Against Racism is a movement that was initiated by the YWCA in 2008 in order to raise awareness that racism still exists in our communities and that it can no longer be ignored or tolerated. Our objective is to bring organizations together, who believe that united we can eliminate racism.
Together with 70 YWCA Associations throughout the USA, we invite your organization to become a
New human resource website helps keep Lew-Port student’s memory alive
March 28, 2012 By
Maybe more than most, Jeannine Brown Miller understands the human in
Soapbox with Craig Avery (March 28, 2012): Ron Anderluh, Niagara Street Business Association
March 28, 2012 By
A great example of successful management of the services offered by business associations, Ron Anderluh speaks about his role on Niagara Street, and as a board member of the Niagara USA Chamber.
We need your comments! Please listen to this week’s Soapbox and hear what each agency and association has to say.
Then let us know if you have ideas related to the topics.
History All Around Us: The Holley-Rankine House
March 28, 2012 By
525 Riverside Drive, Niagara Falls, NY
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Holley-Rankine House served as the residence of men prominent in the economic, political and social life of Niagara Falls, a city which owed its early development to the abundant power available from the Niagara River. Numerous mills, which had been established along the river in the early 19th century, were by mid-century consolidated into several companies. One of the largest of these was owned by Porter Brothers, a firm created in the 1840s by A. Augustus Porter and Peter Porter, together with George Washington Holley (1810-1897) who was a distant relative of the Porters. Holley, whose family was involved with politics, was elected to a term in the New York State Assembly in 1853. He was later appointed to serve as U.S. Consul in Naples before becoming Deputy Collector of Customs at Niagara Falls in 1865.
In 1855, during his tenure in the state assembly, Holley purchased from Peter Porter a wooded tract of land overlooking the Niagara River, just above the American Falls. On this land he built his substantial villa, which was mentioned in Holley