The Soapbox with Craig Avery (May 18, 2012): Bob Reed the Parking Lot Sentry, talking everything Wallenda

We’re going video! Craig and Tim Schmitt headed over to see Nik Wallenda practice and talked with parking lot attendant Bob Reed about the fun.

This one seemed video appropriate.

Tired of the naysayers? Check out “The Soapbox” where everyday we present a new friend of the Hub making a living here in Western New York, and can speak positively about the experience.

Learn about businesses that have been here for decades, or hear about new ventures from our area’s entrepreneurs. Upcoming events, political issues, and funny stories of days gone by, you’ll hear it all on Niagara Hub’s Soapbox.

Niagara Falls Veterans Memorial arrives from Vermont quarry

After five years of hard work, the Niagara Falls Veterans Memorial Commission is pleased to announce the expected arrival of the first pieces of Vermont granite and the assembly of the monument dedicated to those Niagara Falls servicemen and servicewomen who gave their lives as a result of service to our nation.

The Commission expects the arrival to be at Niagara Falls, Hyde Park on the corner of Hyde Park Boulevard (NY 61) and Pine Avenue (US-62) this afternoon.

The long overdue monument resulted from the controversy of the difficulty in renaming streets after veterans who lost their lives in combat. It was decided that since soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guarders and merchant marines served the nation together in a common cause that they should thusly be honored together. The monument will be a part of a series of monuments honoring veterans both deceased and living; and, upon completion of the park, the commission forecasts a final price tag of up to $4.1-million dollars.

92 year old Long Island resident is Hollywood’s Most Wanted

The New York Times has a profile of Long Island resident Hyman Strachman, “a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the death of his wife.”

He is one of the world’s most prolific movie bootleggers, and has shipped hundreds of thousands of discs to US troops stationed overseas, at great personal expense. The man doesn’t exactly fit the MPAA’s pirate stereotype, in age, appearance, or motivation. Better still, who helped him distribute the copied DVDs to soldiers? Army chaplains!

Mobil banking would visit daily the communities outside of Niagara Falls in the 1970s

These community members ROCK!

The Memorial Medical Center Auxiliary presents “Rocking for a Healthier Niagara” today until 4pm.

The Hub’s Image of the Day

640 Park Place, Niagara Falls - New York, USA

Located in the Park Place Historic District, this blahblahblah Located in the Park Place Historic District, this blahblahblahLocated in the Park Place Historic District, this blahblahblahLocated in the Park Place Historic District, this blahblahblahLocated in the Park Place Historic District, this blahblahblahLocated in the Park Place Historic District, this blahblahblahLocated in the Park Place Historic District, this blahblahblah

Blotter roundup: Woman denied sex from boyfriend smashes windshield; policeman hit with sex toy

It’s been an interesting day for the national headlines, which we usually stay from here at The Hub, but two jumped out at us.

— This, first, from The Smoking Gun:

After her live-in boyfriend repeatedly rebuffed demands to have sex, a Florida woman allegedly attacked the man in their bedroom, chased him out of the house, and broke the windshield on his truck, police report.

Stacey Ann Ortiz, a 34-year-old waitress, was busted on a misdemeanor battery charge following the confrontation last Wednesday morning at the Port St. Lucie residence the couple has shared for the last seven months.

As detailed in a

Celebrate Obscura Day at the Niagara Science Museum

Organized by the folks behind Atlas Obscura, Obscura Day is an international celebration of unusual places and hidden wonders in your own hometown and an opportunity for the young and old to have hands-on experience of historic scientific equipment at the Niagara Science Museum.

The Atlas Obscura is a compendium of the world’s wonders, curiosities, and esoterical; and it rates the Niagara Science Museum as the Top Museum in the area and the Fourth Best

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center

Fridays
Meeting: Alcoholics Anonymous First Step Group, 8 to 9 p.m., Memorial Medical Center Auditorium, 621 10th St.

Saturdays
Meeting: Alcoholics Anonymous New International Group, 6:30 p.m., Memorial Medical Center Auditorium, 621 10th St.

Sundays
Meeting: Narcotics Anonymous, 5 to 7 p.m., Memorial Medical Center Auditorium, 621 10th St.

Tuesday, May 1 (also May 8 and 15)
Prenatal Class: A three-session series of classes to prepare expectant parents for childbearing and parenting, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Mary C. Dyster Community Education Room, Memorial Medical Center, 621 10th St. To register, call 278-4433.

Tuesday, May 1 (also May 15)
Support Group: GriefShare, for adults coping with grief caused by the traumatic, unexpected death of a loved one, 6 p.m., S-6 Conference Room, Memorial Medical Center, 621 10th St. Call 278-4604 or 433-3780 to register. Free.

Thursday, May 3
Jewelry Sale:

Summer internships available at Niagara Falls Public Library

Looking for an opportunity to develop your professional skills and be more involved in your community?

The Niagara Falls Public Library is now accepting applications for Digital Media Summer Internships.The successful candidate for this (unpaid) internship will: