NSABPA’s Chicken and Rib Dinner Fundraiser

Niagara Street Area Business and Professional Association presents:

Alps Catering famous ROASTED HALF CHICKEN DINNER & Bakery Restaurant’s RIB DINNER – Dine in or Take-out!

Monday, March 10, 2014

4-8pm

$13.00 includes 2 tickets for Draft Beer, Soda or Coffee.

At: THE BAKERY LOUNGE AND GRILL
3004 Niagara Street, Niagara Falls, NY

Featuring: 50/50 – Baskets

For ticket information, call Ron Anderluh at 716-946-1866

Proceeds to benefit the Niagara Street Business & Professional Association

 

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Benefit for for Lewiston toddler Ava Pannozzo

[Press Release]

When four year-old Ava Pannozzo of Lewiston began running a fever just after Easter this year, Ida Maria (Colangelo) Pannozzo assumed that her daughter had contracted a typical childhood virus. As the fevers continued, however, the family’s pediatrician sent them to Women and Children’s Hospital for further testing. “When the doctor told me to report to Children’s, I packed for three days, because I had a feeling we weren’t coming home for a little while,” Ida recalls.

After 12 days of treatment and tests, doctors determined that Ava was battling familial HLH (Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis) – a rare genetic dysfunction of the immune system that occurs in approximately 1 per 50,000 births. The youngster has been undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments since the beginning of May to keep the disorder at bay. “Ava has responded to the chemotherapy very well and is feeling much better, but this is only a temporary solution and we have a long road ahead,” notes her father, Christopher Pannozzo. The family is in the process of transferring Ava’s care to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, a world-leader in HLH research. There Ava will undergo a life-saving bone marrow transplant to replace her malfunctioning immune system with that of a normal and healthy individual. The bone marrow transplant process will require Ava to spend at least three months in the hospital. The family expects Ida and Ava to be in Cincinnati for a minimum of six months in order to complete treatment. Despite the treatments to come, the family is optimistic, “Ava’s doctors have indicated that preliminary searches revealed a number of potential donor matches for her,” explains Ida. “We are hopefully going to be very lucky in that way.”

The family realizes that the battle against HLH is a long and costly one. In honor of Ava, her family and friends are holding A Benefit for Ava. This fundraiser is to help defray medical costs that the family will incur when they travel to Cincinnati, Ohio for further treatment. Please help the families by joining in the fight against HLH. The benefit will take place on Sunday August 25th at Antonio’s Banquet and Conference Center, 7704 Niagara Falls Blvd in Niagara Falls from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. A donation of $25.00 for adults will include food and beverages; children under 16 are also welcome at no charge. There will also be a basket raffle; silent auction including autographed sports memorabilia, hotel packages, youth bicycles, an iPad, and more; and a 50/50 raffle. Monetary donations to A Benefit for Ava will also be accepted. To purchase tickets or make a donation, please call: Giulio or Beth Colangelo at 716-299-1095, Jackie or Anthony Pannozzo at 297-5310, or Gina Pannozzo at 807-6798. You can also get additional information or make donations online at, abenefitforava.com<http://www.abenefitforava.com/> or by emailing us at abenefitforava@outlook.com.

More information about HLH can be found at: http://www.histio.org/hemophagocyticsyndromes. Information about the national bone marrow donor program, BetheMatch.org can be found at: http://bethematch.org/Home.aspx

50-year-old message found in a jar on Jersey Shore

[From NBCNews.com]

Dennis Komsa was 12 years old in 1963 when, while vacationing with family along the Jersey Shore, he wrote a note, put it in a glass jar and tossed it into the Atlantic Ocean.

Arthur Fierro, left, president of Property Owners Association of Seaside Heights, Sharon Roher, whose property the jar washed up on after the storm, and her brother, Norman Stanton, who found the bottle when he was helping to clean up debris. Dennis Komsa threw the jar into the waters off Seaside Heights 50 years ago.

It surfaced about a half century later.

Shortly after Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast last October, Norman Stanton found the Ball mason jar while combing through storm debris at his sister

Fire alarm disrupts Canadian Maid of the Mist operations

[From Niagara-Gazette.com]

A fire alarm about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday led to the evacuation of the Maid of the Mist plaza on the Canadian side of the gorge.

After members of the Niagara Falls Fire Department and Niagara Parks Police Service arrived, it was determined the alarm was tripped by dust in the building’s duct work.

Emergency officials had trouble resetting the fire alarm for normal operations and shut down the building

Brickyard Pub & B.B.Q. hosts ‘Celebrity Bartending Night’ to benefit individuals with developmental disabilities

[From WNYPapers.com]

The Brickyard Pub & B.B.Q., 432 Center St., Lewiston, is hosting the 16th annual “Celebrity Bartending Night” to benefit the Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara Foundation. The event runs from 5 until 9 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22. Foundation board member Gary Strenkoski is event chairman.

This year’s bartenders include Andrew Peters, a Buffalo Sabres alum; Ruben Brown, a Buffalo Bills alum; Nicholas Picholas of Kiss 98.5; Kevin LuVollo of “Spiel the Wine”; Adam Benigni of WGRZ-TV Channel 2; Annette Tomlin of First Niagara Bank; David Karwick of Key Investment Services; Tracy Paonessa of Anda, Inc.; Nick Zawacki of ARCEU Local 4265; Bill Jakobi, AFL CIO community service liaison-CWA Local 1117; Michael Broderick and Robin Faulring of Orange Cat Coffee Co.; Marc Mazur of DuBois Physical Therapy; and Kendra Faustin of Niagara University.

Event sponsors include Mr. and Mrs. C. Anthony Frieri, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Salvadore, KeyBank, Capital Management Group, DuBois Physical Therapy, TNBPA, Strenkoski Brothers Construction, Buffalo Cabinetry and LocalEdge.

Tickets will be available at the door for $10 each and include a high-end basket auction, split club drawing, door prizes and finger foods. Celtic Cross Duo will provide live music on the patio. There will be a live auction of a Buffalo Sabres “Media Game Day Experience,” which includes two game tickets with press box seats, a meet-and-greet at the morning skate, a tour of the locker room, the opportunity to interview a player and attendance at the postgame news conference.

All proceeds and tips benefit programs and services provided to individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities through Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara. The Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara Foundation serves people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities across Niagara County. Its mission is to provide a long-term source of financial support that ensures people with developmental disabilities have opportunities toward independence and integration within the community.

For additional information or to donate, call 716-297-6400, ext. 335, email

Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival raises bar in 12th year

[From WNYPapers.com]

The Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival, renown for consistently bringing visitors class entertainment with each performance, is raising the bar this year for its 12th annual event.

Taking place this year on Friday, Aug. 23, from 5 to 10:30 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 24, from noon to 10 p.m. along Center Street in the Village of Lewiston, the Jazz Festival will showcase talented musicians with their own unique styles; from young, new interpretations of jazz to classic takes amid a six-decade span of repertoire of straight-on jazz, Latin jazz and pop-infused genres. Audiences’ cravings for their favorite jazz styles will be satisfied as variety again will be the prominent component at this year’s event, one that’s offered at no charge to visitors.

“Coming into our 12th year, I’m most proud of the fact that this is a free festival, and that we were able to generate private sector sponsor income to pay for the entire festival which is incredible. I’m thankful for the business community, for EmblemHealth, our presenting sponsor, and for the residents who sponsor this event for paying the $150,000 bill to execute this event,” stated Sandy Hays Mies, executive director of the Lewiston Jazz Festival. “I’m also proud that we’re able to consistently deliver excellent musicians that travel here from all over the country, and that the festival itself offers a beautiful, clean and pristine first-class atmosphere on Center Street that showcases local vendors and restaurants’ food and drinks for people to enjoy.”

Just as the Jazz Festival has thrived in the past with a regular turnout of close to 40,000 people, this event is predicted to grow larger and be more successful than ever. This builds on an already impressive reputation; it’s rare to find an individual who holds a complaint about the festival.

“The Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival has grown each and every year with a unique blend of national, international and local musicians to become an end-of-summer favorite for both residents and visitors from Western New York, Southern Ontario and other regions,” said Carol Calato, chair of the Lewiston Jazz Festival board of directors.

The festival will feature more than 150 musicians throughout the two-day event with approximately 40 performances of continuous jazz in five different outside musical venues. In addition to the outside performances, several restaurants and pubs will offer jazz until late in the evening both Friday and Saturday nights.

Premiering this year, in part to further support music education in the jazz genre, The Eastman School of Music Jazz Anthology will be featured on the Rising Star Stage at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Coached by Professor Rich Thompson, listeners will be captivated by a program modeled after the famous “Smithsonian Anthology of Jazz” recordings as they witness young, talented jazz performers take on everything from Louis Armstrong Blues, to Charlie Parker Jazz Standards, Sonny Rollins hard-bop and modern-day Pat Methany favorites with musical maturity. There will be short introductions to each piece accompanied at times with an interesting anecdote.

Alto saxophonist Bobby Militello, headliner for Friday night, will be taking the main stage at Fourth and Center streets. A major figure on the jazz scene for more than 50 years, the Buffalo native brings a successful career in the genre that is respected not only across the country, but also around the world. According to Calato, Militello’s success and renown track record is widely respected. He has premiered at major jazz festivals in the U.S., Canada and Europe throughout his career and has been a major influence on the Hollywood and New York scenes, “Bobby Militello will be receiving the first WNY Jazz Ambassador of the Year Award from the Lewiston Jazz Festival,” said Calato. “He will be recognized for his outstanding success as an internationally acclaimed jazz musician and for his personal and professional efforts to promote and celebrate the musical genre of jazz.”

On Saturday night, M.F. Production’s Celebration of Lionel Hampton will be featured on the main stage at 8 p.m., honoring the work of Lionel Hampton, one of the most celebrated jazz vibraphonists of all time. The 12-piece jazz ensemble will be performing a memorial tribute and celebrating his work via this performance of the festival. Kevin Mahogany, who is widely known as the “standout jazz vocalist of his generation,” will join talented and internationally acclaimed percussionist Jason Marsalis in an effort to lead the ensemble, as Jasey Falk and Sharp Radway’s musical skills also will be featured through the tribute performance.

In addition there will be solos, trios and big bands performing besides the headliners. For a full schedule list of artists, and for the time and location of specific performances at one of the five outside venues on both Friday and Saturday, visit the web address listed below.

Attendees will have an opportunity to partake in foods by the area’s finest chefs while enjoying the classy atmosphere of the Jazz Festival. There will be a wide variety of foods available, ranging from rice balls to the classic beef on weck. Regional wines from the Niagara Wine Trail will be available for those eligible to indulge.

And, a Classic Car Display, coordinated by Jag Buffalo and organized by West Herr Jag, will take place along Center Street on Saturday, only from noon to 5 p.m. The display will feature vintage Jaguar cars and cars of special interest – British vintage cars and European collector cars, etc. In addition, there will be a “Jewelry and All that Jazz” show under a tent located at the corner of South Fifth and Center streets, where vendors will be selling jewelry from vintage to contemporary throughout the Jazz Festival. Visitors can also find Jazz Festival apparel and other jazz related items at the Jazz Shoppe in front of Stuart Sports.

“There’s really something for everyone here at this festival. From classic Jazz music to younger artists’ spin on old-fashioned jazz, to good food and drinks, to the classic cars and the jewelry show, it’s all here,” said Hays Mies. “And with such a classy venue that always strives to go the extra mile year after year, everyone ends up having a wonderful time, no complaints. That’s the best way to have it.”

As mentioned, admission to the 12th annual Lewiston Jazz Festival is free, and complimentary parking will be available in Artpark’s lower parking area. Seating at performance locations will be extremely limited; therefore attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair. The event is completely outside, and is a rain or shine event.

For more information, for a complete schedule of performances and activities, and for the list of restaurants showcased at the event, visit

Niagara Hospice celebrates 25 years

[From WNYPapers.com]

An evening ‘Under the Stars’ commemorates 25 years of care

To celebrate its 25 years of service to Niagara County residents, and to increase awareness of hospice care, Niagara Hospice held a 25th anniversary gala, “Under the Stars,” on Friday, beneath the newly constructed Dominic Lariccia Family Pavilion on Niagara Hospice’s Sunset Drive Campus in the Town of Lockport. The gala was the inaugural event for the pavilion, which was built to fill a need for outdoor gathering space.

The event featured antique car rides, a star-gazing location with telescopes, silent and basket auction items, a Mill’s Jewelers giveaway, local wines from the Niagara Wine Trail and local and regional craft beers provided by the WNY Beer Club. Food stations were catered by the Tuscarora Inn with dessert provided by Lake Effect Ice Cream. Music was performed by The Jim Beishline Quartet. All of the evening’s activities led up to a $10,000 give-away to one lucky cash raffle ticket holder.

“We are grateful to all the people who have made the last 25 years possible,” said President John Lomeo. “From the staff to the volunteers, to the board members, donors and community leaders, Niagara Hospice is truly a community foundation. We look forward to another 25 years of caring for Niagara County patients and their families.”

READ SOURCE ARTICLE HERE:

Lewiston receives first look at proposed Ellicott Development plaza

[From WNYPapers.com]

New tenants could include a fast food restaurant, a bank and a drugstore

Members of the public have received their first look at the proposed Ellicott Development project eyed for Center Street. At Monday’s Village of Lewiston Planning Board meeting, David M. Hall, planning and development coordinator for the Buffalo-based property management firm, informed attendees – including four members of the Village Board of Trustees – of his company’s intention to build the village’s first north-side plaza.

The development would begin on Center Street and lead down to Onondaga Street. Potential tenants include a fast food restaurant, a bank and a drugstore. Hall said Ellicott Development’s planned plaza is “relatively similar” to the Colonial Valley (CVS) Plaza and the Rite Aid plaza.

“What we’re proposing is a mix of uses, primarily retail,” he said. “We’re looking at approximately 25,000 square feet of retail, actually, with a number of different buildings – one of which will be right at the corner of North Eighth and Center Street, which we’d like to have as a two-story to accommodate the change in elevation.”

As presented Monday, the project would feature a restaurant in its southwest corner (below a retaining wall leading to Center Street); a two-story building on the North Eighth Street corner utilizing a mix of retail uses (or a bank); and a six-unit residential site. The plaza is highlighted by a brand-new, stand-alone drugstore taking the place of woodlands on Onondaga Street (across from the new Fairchild condo complex). The plaza would include crosswalks, stairs and landscaped islands.

Hall said Ellicott Development has had talks with McDonald’s about taking the restaurant unit, and with Rite Aid about the drugstore spot.

Both he and Ellicott Development CEO William Paladino stressed, however, that discussions are just discussions, and nothing is final.

“We have no agreements yet, and we won’t until we obtain approval on a site plan that we can then market and guarantee any potential tenants (what) we can do, which is not typical and actually backward from our typical development formula, but this site is so difficult to work with, every tenant we have spoken with asked us to get (an) approved site plan first as they are all concerned with the high costs associated with the site and, in turn, their visibility and accessibility upon completion,” Paladino said Wednesday.

Hall, Paladino and the Planning Board acknowledged the geographical challenges surrounding this project.

“I don’t know if you’ve been out to the site, but it’s a pretty steep slope heading from Center towards Onondaga,” Hall said. He added, “Topography is really the main driver of our site planning on this, just given the tough slopes that are on site. We’ve been working with (architecture and engineering firm) Carmina Wood Morris on site and grade planning. This is really the most workable plan that allows us frontage on Center Street. It also accommodates pedestrian access, access on North Eighth, and access on Onondaga.”

“What we have now is not ideal, but will work for the tenants we are talking to based on discussions we have had with them,” Paladino said. “We have been through many different variations of our site plan and this, we feel, is the best plan our engineers have been able to come up with. We know we may need some variances, but we hope the village will work with us to bring this project to fruition.”

The plaza would supplant The Country Doctor, Grandpaws Pet Emporium and Smith Bros. Pizza – but that doesn’t mean those businesses won’t return. Last winter, following the land purchase, Paladino said, “Any time that we buy property such as this, we always try to accommodate the existing tenancies.”

As of now, the owners of the Lewiston businesses are waiting to learn more about the plaza before making a decision to claim a unit on site or find a new location.

Paladino said, “At this time, we have a few local tenant leads we are talking with, but, in order to proceed, we need one or more national or local tenancies to complete the necessary financing package to construct the project and absorb … what will be very high building and site cost associated with this property because of the topography. As stated above, though, we first must come to (an) agreement on a site plan that works for these types of tenancies and also the village. I don’t think we will have any problem constructing buildings that meet village approval as far as the aesthetics, but the site layout has proven problematic, and I believe the village does have concerns with the proposed layout, which we must find a way to overcome to the satisfaction of the village and our tenancies in order to have a aesthetically pleasing, visible, accessible and financially viable project.”

Village Board members have some reservations about the plaza layout. Namely, trustees said they’re worried about the Center Street entrance/exit and its effect on traffic. They’re not in favor of passersby looking at a retaining wall or the top of a building (the restaurant unit). Furthermore, they question the practicality of a fast-food drive-thru that angles back up toward Center Street.

Still, the board is willing to work with Paladino.

“They’re not (as) familiar with Lewiston as we are, what some of the potential problems could be down the road,” Mayor Terry Collesano said Thursday. “Hopefully, when they look at everything, they’ll come into agreement with what the Planning Board is looking at.”

“Overall, I think my feeling – I can’t speak for the rest of (the board) – but in just general conversations, I think everyone is in agreeance it would be a great development provided there’s a few of the obstacles that can be overcome, which I’m sure they can,” he added.

Going forward, Collesano would like “more detailed plans that address some of the problems – like the traffic problems, the loading problems with the trucks’ entrance and exit off of Center Street,” he said.

Planning Board Chairman Kenneth Slaugenhoupt told Hall his firm would have to present more information about the plaza before the village could accept an official first proposal. He offered to pen a letter to Paladino, who was unable to attend the meeting, specifically listing what the Planning Board needs to know before taking action.

Board member David Giusiana said the southwest corner doesn’t meet the village’s setback requirements and doesn’t fit with the village’s walkable nature.

“This is the first time we’ve seen this (as a board), so there’s a lot to be considered,” Slaugenhoupt said.

Hall said Ellicott Development’s construction timetable is tenant-driven. All buildings could be built simultaneously, or the drugstore could be built first.

He was asked when the first shovel could hit the ground if all goes well with the Planning Board and Village Board in coming months. Hall said, “It depends on the timing, you know, as far as doing the site work. That’s more difficult in the winter. So, if we get pushed back, we may get pushed back to a spring start.”

No printable picture or blueprint of the plaza design was provided to the Sentinel.

DiMino seeks Colonial Valley Plaza expansion

Ellicott Development wasn’t the only business with a plaza plan Monday night. Anthony DiMino, owner of DiMino Tops Lewiston, and Lou Terragnoli, senior director of corporate development for Tops Markets, expressed interest in expanding Center Street’s Colonial Valley Plaza.

They spoke of adding more than 14,000 square feet to the west end of the 34,605-square-foot plaza (next to Nico – where the grassy knoll sits). Depending on interest, they could accommodate one tenant or a series of four or five tenants.

“We’re here for a very preliminary, preliminary discussion with you,” Terragnoli said. “Anthony has an idea how we would like to add a couple stores to his plaza.”

The Planning Board took no action, but expressed interest in the idea.

“It fully develops the site without overdeveloping it,” Giusiana said. He added, “I wouldn’t do it any differently.”

A first development plan is expected this fall. In a best-case scenario, DiMino said he would begin construction this year.

University at Buffalo to welcome President Barack Obama

[From WNYPapers.com]

UB: As a major public research university, we are an excellent setting for discussion of issues important to the Obama administration

When President Barack Obama addresses an audience at the University at Buffalo on Thursday, Aug. 22, it will mark the first time since 1853 that a sitting U.S. president has spoken at the university.

“President Obama’s visit to the University at Buffalo will be a historic occasion for our university and our community,” said UB President Satish K. Tripathi, “and we are happy to provide a forum for the president to address issues important to our nation.

“On behalf of the entire Buffalo-Niagara region, we look forward to welcoming the president of the United States to our university and our community.”

Obama’s address to the nation from the UB campus is expected to focus on issues important to America’s middle class, such as the rising cost of higher education. As a major public research university and a leading voice in the national conversation about issues vital to higher education, UB is an appropriate setting for such a discussion, Tripathi said.

A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, UB was praised this year as a national model for higher education reform by the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy institute.

The New America Foundation report highlighted UB as one of six “next generation” universities nationwide, citing the university’s innovative approaches to controlling costs and expanding student access while improving the quality of education. UB was noted, in particular, for working with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher to enact the historic NYSUNY 2020 legislation, and the report praised UB’s “Finish in 4″ graduation pledge to students.

The university also is at the forefront of other issues important to the Obama administration, including health care, improving STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, and economic revitalization through development of university research.

For example, the university is building a new medical school in downtown Buffalo to strengthen the region’s health care, pioneer new medical treatments and fuel job creation. And last year, UB launched the New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics, modeled after the Obama administration’s Materials Genome Initiative, to spur discovery and development of new materials important to national security and essential to the manufacture of innovative products and technologies.

“Fostering a public space for discussing these and other pressing societal issues is vital to our mission as a leading research university focused on advancing the greater public good,” Tripathi said. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to host such a timely and meaningful conversation here at UB.”

Millard Fillmore, who served as the nation’s 13th president, was university chancellor from 1846-74, holding the title even while serving as U.S. vice president from 1849-50 and as president from 1850-53. Since then, four former presidents have spoken at the university.

Further information regarding the timing, location and topic of Obama’s address at UB will be forthcoming from the White House, as well as additional details about the availability of tickets for this event.

The university will provide updates about Obama’s visit on its website,

More than 100,000 want to go to Mars and not return, project says

[From CNN.com]

More than 100,000 people are eager to make themselves at home on another planet. They’ve applied for a one-way trip to Mars, hoping to be chosen to spend the rest of their lives on uncharted territory, according to an organization planning the manned missions.

The Mars One