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Editorial: Bits and pieces from the news

By June 9, 2017June 14th, 2017No Comments

AS WE CLOSE IN ON SUMMERTIME AND WARMER WEATHER, THOUGHTS OF BEACHES AND BARBECUES FILL THE MINDS OF WESTERN NEW YORKERS.

But let’s not forget about those who need our help.

The Catholic Charities annual campaign has reached only  91 percent of its $11 million goal. The Buffalo Diocese is warning that the fundraising campaign scheduled to last until June 30 may fall short for the first time since 2009, and only the second time in its 93-year history, according to Bishop Richard J. Malone.

It is not too late to make a donation. Call Catholic Charities at 716-218-1400 or go to ccwny.org.
Let’s not allow any number of vital services to some 152,000 served last year, both Catholics and non-Catholics, be curtailed or eliminated.

And another sign of Buffalo returning to life: The fountain in Delaware Park is back in action. It’s a small enough thing, but its restoration after a year of repairs is, in some way, testament of the city’s determination to underscore its many assets. And an Olmsted park is certainly that.

The fountain, with its 50-foot spray, dates to the late 19th century, and after a time of absence was returned to Hoyt Lake about five years ago. But it seized last year, requiring both mechanical and electrical repairs, which the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy – manager of the city’s six Olmsted parks – arranged with a number of partners.

With that, the scene became what local resident Elijah Desire proclaimed it to be: “pretty cool looking.”

It was a sad, if inevitable, sign of the times this week when news came that the last of Buffalo’s Record Theatre stores would close its doors.

The flagship store, long a mainstay at the intersection of Main Street and Lafayette Avenue, will close, bringing an end to a Buffalo success story only three months after the death of its founder, Lenny Silver.

Even still, the chain of six shops lasted longer than many other, larger music stores. But the arrival and ease of downloaded music spelled the end of the entire business model.

But for those who remember saving pennies and dimes to buy the new 45s and albums that had that great “new” smell when you peeled off the plastic, it’s the end not just of a store but of an era. What was it Pete Townshend said?

A block north and a few blocks east, East Delavan Avenue is in the midst of a rebirth, and one of the newest and most affecting aspects is the whimsical mural painted by British artist Shantell Martin. “Dance Every Day” is its title and, literally or figuratively, it’s good advice wherever you live.

Source: http://buffalonews.com/2017/06/09/editorial-bits-pieces-news-10/