http://www.niagara-gazette.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:36:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_323183632.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_323183632.html We have got to do something about our kids in this city. Our police chief often meets with many of our area pastors in trying to find a way to help these kids to change their lives. I suppose that some do but not enough. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:58:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_322230315.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_322230315.html If you’re not convinced that there’s strength in numbers, look at what happened on Capitol Hill in Albany this past week.Even the state lawmakers listened for a change when countless New Yorkers rallied to protest that plan to require vehicle owners to purchase new license plates for $25. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:56:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_322235815.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_322235815.html Every once in a while you meet someone who makes an impact on your life. It is usually someone who has little in common with you and goes in a different direction than you, but maybe that is what we are really looking for. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:49:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_321214943.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_321214943.html For most of my life I have been a Christmas shopping procrastinator, not anymore!I used to wait until the last possible moment, enjoying the rush and the panic of realizing that I only had minutes before the last stores closed on Christmas Eve and that I was not even half way through my list. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:44:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_321004529.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_321004529.html Due to fears perpetuated by governments and news media the world over, people have been lining up in droves to be vaccinated against H1N1. This mass hysteria has created a demand for shots so vast that shortages of the vaccine have become the norm. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:24:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_320002635.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_320002635.html I love being the photographer and storywriter on the Niagara Beautification Commission Spotlight Award Committee each month. It is always fun and a great experience to visit the selection site when the committee picks a winner. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:13:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_317001406.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_317001406.html I am not old yet, but I am getting there I am old enough know though, that much of what I know comes from talking with old people. Notice that I said ‘with,’ and not ‘to.’ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_315193130.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_315193130.html Countless residents across the Empire State get hot under the collar when they watch that new 30-second television ad by Gov. David Paterson.That’s the one that opens with the line, “Some say I shouldn’t be running for governor ...” Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:57:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_314195820.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_314195820.html I was only 16 years old on Aug. 28, 1963, the day 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial for a mass rally in support of jobs and justice for all Americans. It was where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the speech that still echoes around the world, his now legendary, “I Have a Dream” anthem. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:43:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_313234419.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_313234419.html Opponents of cap and trade routinely call the legislation a “job killer.” When nondescript talking points like that get thrown around it’s impossible to make a case for the denial of the bill’s passage. One really needs to qualify and quantify such a statement. Once that is done, it’s very easy, almost too easy, to show how flawed the federal government’s newest idea for taxation and control truly is. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:10:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_312201107.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_312201107.html I managed to accumulate 30 or so samplings of the campaign literature that made its way into mailboxes in Niagara Falls, Lewiston and Wheatfield during this year's primary and general elections. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:27:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_310002801.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_310002801.html When I was 17, I traipsed off, joined the Navy and went off to fight in Vietnam. My dad cried as he sighed the papers that permitted me to go. I went because I had more testosterone than brains. Now I hope that I have gotten smarter because the equation has flip-flopped and my sons are of the age, brightness and fitness to serve in the military. I have thought about it and have already nearly teared about those prospects. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:55:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_308005609.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_308005609.html It was just another one of those conversations, but it was deep. It took us back, way back, all the way back to the beginning where it all started for us, MacKenna Avenue on the city’s southeast side. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:40:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_306204108.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_306204108.html Sitting near the top of the Left’s ambitious agenda is the tempering of alleged man-made global warming. The Democrat-controlled Congress and Obama administration hope to achieve this goal through a variety of tactics which include green energy incentives, stricter environmental regulations and the absolutely ludicrous concept of cap and trade. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:03:00 +0000 http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_305230334.html http://www.niagara-gazette.com/columns/local_story_305230334.html I’ve covered some crazy and not-so-kind campaigns over the years.I’m happy to report that this year’s Legislature races weren’t like any of those.