For Buffalo, it has become a tradition.
A new business wants to set up shop or an existing one would like to expand.
Cue the protesters, preservationists, politicians, and lawyers.
Why does it seem that nearly every time an economic opportunity knocks at Buffalo's door, people come out of the woodwork to put up a fight?
It's time to abandon this preposterous practice.
When the Seneca Nation of Indians began to demolish the grain silos to make way for the Buffalo Creek Casino, hundreds of preservationists cried foul.
"Save the grain elevators," they shouted. "They're part of Buffalo's heritage."
Bull.
If you disagree with gambling in the Queen City, then say so - we're against it too. But don't play the history card - it's an insult to those who actually care about preserving what truly makes Buffalo a great city.
Just down the street from Ani DiFranco's Church on Delaware Avenue, Uniland decided to invest $12 million in the construction of a modern-looking five-story office building on a vacant parcel of land.
Despite the fact that the construction site was a field of grass, in came the preservationists.
No sooner did a newly formed preservation group's president start whining, than city officials called his bluff - way to go, Buffalo. He wasn't a preservationist at all. He was a special interest representative with a gripe about labor issues, giving preservationists a bad rap for personal gain.
Pull the wool over your own eyes.
And then there was Pano's. Ulterior motives aside, these protesters were fighting the good fight, but it was too little, too late.
Pano's is a Buffalo restaurant on Elmwood Avenue whose owner had hoped to expand his business by demolishing an 1893 home adjacent to the property.
Preservationists argued that demolishing this home would change the character of the streetscape and set a precedent for similar projects in the future.
After a year of court battles, it was recently announced that Pano's won the battle.
There is no doubt that the preservationists were right in contesting this demolition, but honestly, where were they during the months and years that preceded Pano's announcement? Why didn't someone designate the house a historic site years ago?
It's time for the City of Buffalo to formally designate its historic sites to prevent heated historical debates in the future and take the wind out of the sails of the special interest groups giving true preservationists a black eye. Action now will speed up economic development in the future and prevent lobbyists, lawyers, and lowlifes from controlling the city's economic expansion.
Lost in (and found) space
China's anti-satellite weapon shines light on growing problem
There's a serious threat on the horizon, and unless an international consensus is soon reached, space exploration may be severely hindered.
Each year the US and other nations launch satellites and other such objects into the earth's atmosphere. Experts say that if this keeps up, objects will soon begin to collide and break into smaller pieces, which will then crash into other objects - a threatening chain reaction.
Last month, China sped up this process.
In their quest to keep space free from weapons, China commissioned an anti-satellite weapon of their own. Last month's test-run of this weapon destroyed a defunct satellite in space, sending nearly 1,000 pieces of debris into earth's orbit. Not such a great idea.
Scientists are now charged with generating a solution to this problem before a chain reaction begins, hampering further space missions.
Action needs to take place immediately and vested countries must to front the cost.
Some have suggested they force the floating objects back to earth so that debris can burn up in the atmosphere, while others suggest zapping the objects with lasers. Either way, act fast.
Before we know it, it may be too late, and what might seem like a big undertaking today, could turn into a colossal and massively expensive one tomorrow.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
