Thus making it one of the highest in the nation.

More than one out of four people in Buffalo are poor, according to the latest estimates by the U. S. Census Bureau.

Figures released Tuesday on U. S. income and poverty show Buffalo still has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation — 28.7 percent in 2007.

That compares with 29.9 percent the previous year.

But given the margin of error figured into the estimates, Buffalo’s poverty really hasn’t improved from 2006 to 2007, said Wende A. Mix, an associate professor in the geography and planning department at Buffalo State College. “Statistically,” she said, “there’s no change.”

That also was true nationally, where the poverty rate was 12.5 percent in 2007, according to the Census Bureau report.

Census data released last year on Buffalo’s poverty sparked The Buffalo News to do an on-going series detailing the depths of the city’s poor.

In the report released Tuesday, Detroit’s poverty rate of 33.8 percent was the highest among cities with more than 250,000 people, followed by Cleveland, at 29.5 percent; Buffalo; El Paso, Texas, 27.4; Memphis, 26.2; Miami, 25.5; Milwaukee, 24.4; Newark, 23.9; Philadelphia, 23.8; and Cincinnati, 23.5.

Is Mayor Byron Brown going to write a letter to the Census Bureau now? Perhaps instead of whining when people note the city’s faults, the could take that energy and put it towards doing something to fix the problems.

But, I’m not confident that will happen.

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A new control board study has found that the city of Buffalo “is more dependent on state aid than comparable cities in New York.”

But the same report also highlights some encouraging trends, analysts said Wednesday. Buffalo has the lowest property tax rate among larger cities, the fewest number of employees per 1,000 residents and the fattest budget reserves.

Board Chairman Paul J. Kolkmeyer said the study contains mixed results that showcase areas where Buffalo can be “proud,” and some trouble spots. He said Buffalo’s heavy reliance on state aid is a concern.

The city relies on the state to fund 43 percent of its day-today operations, a far higher percentage than what comparable cities receive. By comparison, the board said, state aid makes up 29 percent of the general fund budgets in Rochester and Syracuse, and only 22 of Yonkers’ budget.

Mayor Byron W. Brown went on the defense, saying the city’s ability to capture state funding is the result of effective lobbying in an “incredibly competitive” process.

“State aid isn’t a bad thing,” Brown insisted.

Brown also says that his using a city car isn’t a bad thing either.

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How’s this for Brian Higgins demonstrating his leadership and getting results?

With continued population erosion, above-average unemployment and slow economic growth, Buffalo has been included on a list of “America’s Fastest-Dying Cities.”

The list is published by Forbes.com.

Buffalo is the only city in New York state to make the publication’s list. The editors take into account a population loss of nearly 42,000 residents since 2000, an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent compared to 4.3 percent nationally and annualized gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.9 percent.

Forbes said: “Buffalo has long been synonymous with city-in-decline. In the early 1900s, Buffalo was one of America’s 10 largest cities, a burgeoning industrial center. It’s been on decline ever since, despite a location that takes advantage of trade with Canada.”

As someone who recently came to Buffalo from out-of-state, it’s really disappointing for me to see a city with so much potential wasting away because of failed leadership.

I heard a clip of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown whining about the Forbes article, promising to write Forbes Magazine a letter talking about all the positive things about Buffalo that “prove” it’s not a dying city.

I guess that means that Mayor Brown is in the “denial” stage of grief.. but at least he still has his city car, right?

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Apparently some leaders are more serious about cutting costs and saving taxpayer dollars…

Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy plans to slash the city’s take-home car fleet, and he believes the best place to start is at the top.

“He decided to lead by example and give up his city car,” said Communications Director Gary Walker. “He’s leasing one on his own dime.”

Duffy isn’t using campaign funds, either. “It’s coming out of his pocket,” Walker said.

Duffy turned in his Chevrolet Trailblazer last week. In Buffalo — a city not much larger than Rochester — Mayor Byron W. Brown also has taken steps to slash the number of take-home cars. Unless unions win arbitration fights, 35 city employees who have enjoyed take-home cars at taxpayers’ expense would lose one of City Hall’s more coveted fringe benefits.

But not Brown.

Of course not. Brown is so important he needs to be on call 24/7. Imagine how disadvantaged Buffalo would be if Brown had to pay for his own car.

[Brown]’s keeping his city-owned 2006 Ford Crown Victoria. He does give up the vehicle when the snow starts to fly — but only so he can use a city-owned 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. 

Brown makes no apologies, insisting his mayoral duties keep him on call 24/7. There’s never a day when he isn’t performing city business after hours, he has repeatedly asserted.

But Rochester’s Duffy is anything but a 9-to-5 mayor, according to his aides. While Duffy will receive reimbursement for mileage he racks up performing business with his personal car, city taxpayers will no longer be footing the tab for his rides back and forth to work. 

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It’s amusing to see that once I started going after Rep. Brian Higgins for failing to get results for his constituents (particularly his abandoning the tearing down of the Skyway for at least another decade) that suddenly a bunch of liberals come out of the woodwork defending Higgins and touting his so-called accomplishments. Believe it or not there are a few people who think Higgins has done more than just smile for the camera, and actually “works his ass off every single day to change people’s minds about Buffalo and WNY.” Which certainly explains why the population here keeps going down year after year.

Of course, maybe I’ve been too hard on him. After all, Higgins ranks quite low in influence in the House of Representatives, 333 out of 435. He also ranks in the bottom half for the 2004 class, and is in the bottom of the barrel for this state.

But you’re not going to read that on Higgins’ congressional or campaign websites.

But hey, when there’s not much to credit Higgins with, you can always accuse his opponent of “purveying cancer” or come up with some other silly red herring. Perhaps after that we can blame anyone connected to industries that produce or sell food for causing obesity.

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McCain’s $10,000/plate fundraiser in at the Gioia residence this evening was the big topic of conversation on Sandy Beach’s program on WBEN today, and it was full of mocking of he idea of such a fundraiser. It is funny that people seemed to be acting as if they’d never heard of such a fundraiser before. They happen all the time for candidates of both parties — and yet I’ve never heard so much whining about them before.

And then there was the complaining about McCain not taking more time to either answer questions from the media or speak to local supporters who weren’t about to shell out $10,000 for dinner or $1,000 minimum to get into the reception at the Albright-Knox. The Buffalo News certainly didn’t let McCain’s tight schedule go unnoticed.

The Arizona senator arrived via his “straight talk express” airliner at the Prior Aviation terminal at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, where he was met by a host of local GOP dignitaries.

After only about five minutes of meeting and greeting, McCain avoided a cluster of Buffalo and Rochester reporters and climbed aboard an SUV that whisked him to the first of two fundraising events.

But, I just don’t get why people think McCain was going to devote more time here than he needed to. Let’s face it, New York is a blue state, and unless something incredible happens that changes the political situation in this state, then It’s not unreasonable to assume that McCain isn’t going to be holding any rallies here. Why not? Because a rally is intended to excite supporters and motivate them to get out the vote. If polls show New York is really in play, you’ll see McCain making longer visits to the Empire State, where he can perhaps devote more time to the precious media.

Coinciding with McCain visit, congressional candidate Jon Powers issued some Democratic talking points (in the form of a statement) going after McCain’s position on free trade, and sounding just as clueless about economics as Jack Davis.

Powers obviously doesn’t understand free trade or economics, but what can you expect when you’re just a single-issue candidate (his issue being Iraq) with no policy positions except for the talking points he gets from the DNC. 

UPDATE: Monroe Rising notes the hypocrisy of the criticism McCain is receiving from prominent Democrats:

I seem to recall that Cook County, Illinois Senator Barack Hussein Obama visited New York City on July 9th and 10th.  Obama didn’t go to the Big Apple to speak out about the housing shortage, or the War on Drugs, or mandatory minimums, or education reform, or health care for children.  Instead he collected checks from fellow liberal elitists at four different fundraisers over two days. Then he hopped back on his private plane and went to squigee more money out of Americans instead of talking about the issues.  What is the harm in Democrats talking about issues that concern their constituencies.  Are they allergic?  Do they break out in hives if they get close? 

Issues really aren’t the Democrats’ strongpoint.

UPDATE: The hypocrisy cited by Monroe Rising seems to be lost on Amherst Times…

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John McCain is landing in Buffalo soon for a fundraiser expected to bring in an impressive amount of contributions:

Organizers say they expect to raise more than $1 million for McCain’s campaign at two fundraising events, including one at Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

The Arizona senator, who has secured enough delegate votes to win the nomination at this summer’s Republican convention, will not meet with the press during his Buffalo appearance.

McCain is scheduled to arrive at Buffalo Niagara International Airport at 5:30 p.m. He will attend a dinner at the home of Anthony Gioia, the former U.S. ambassador to Malta, and then will head to the Albright-Knox.

The fundraiser was originally scheduled for mid-August, but was rescheduled for tonight.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama is desperately trying to improve his foreign policy credentials (of which he has none) during his visit to the Middle East.

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Progress was made today in the renaming of a stretch of Route 20A in Orchard Park (near Ralph Wilson Stadium) after Tim Russert, when the House of Representatives approved a resolution previously passed by the Senate last month. All it needs now is to be signed by President Bush.

US Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Congressman Brian Higgins proposed the renaming shortly after Russert’s untimely death from a heart attack.

Following the House vote, Higgins said it’s a “fitting remembrance of a man, who after all his success, never forgot his hometown.”

Under the legislation the stretch of Route 20A between Abbott Road and California Road in Orchard Park will be designated as the “Timothy J. Russert Highway.”

While it’s all fine and good that Brian Higgins did his part in this effort  – or at least is clamoring for accolades — I wish he put as much effort into tearing down the Skyway. Something tells me that Higgins wouldn’t ever have said “For the next five or 10 years, the renaming of the highway will continue to be subject to debate,” which he did say about the tearing down of the Skyway, despite the fact it was once a priority for him.

Since Higgins seems to be more effective at renaming highways than he is at removing dangerous ones, I think the Skyway should be renamed Brian Higgins Highway in honor of his tireless efforts to replace the dangerous Skyway.

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I hate the Skyway. I drive over it twice everyday of the week, and it sucks. When I moved here in March, it was the thing I was least looking forward to. I must admit that I was pleased when I discovered that Brian Higgins was a strong advocate for tearing the thing down… In fact, it’s one of the key issues of his agenda on his campaign website.

Brian has been vocal in his support to remove the Buffalo Skyway bridge.  For Brian, this issue isn’t about tearing something down, it is about building something up. 

Unfortunately, since I’ve been following this, it’s become clear that Higgins hasn’t been able to do a thing to get it done. And apparently, most believe the Skyway is here to stay, according to this story from Business First.

The Buffalo Skyway, it appears, will be around for a while. Maybe a long while.

Efforts to remove the elevated highway gained momentum last year as plans were rolled out for development of the city’s inner and outer harbors. But momentum to tear down the mile-long roadway has slowed.

At a Business First-hosted Power Breakfast last month, Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. Chairman Jordan Levy seemed to drive a stake through the hope of tearing down the 110-foot-tall structure. Standing in the Harbour Club at HSBC Arena, with the Skyway looming directly outside the windows behind him, Levy delivered a punchy response when asked about the prospects of demolishing it.

“It’s not coming down,” Levy said. “It’s just reality. We just have to move on.”

And what does our fearless advocate for tearing down the Skyway say about this?

Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, is a longtime advocate of demolishment and says the battle is not over. However, he concedes that any decision about the Skyway’s fate is years away.

“For the next five or 10 years, the Skyway will continue to be subject to debate,” Higgins said. “As the waterfront continues to develop, it will become more and more apparent that the Skyway sits on and represents hundreds of acres of prime waterfront land that could, and should, be developed.”

I’m sorry, but I thought tearing down the Skyway was a priority for Higgins. His campaign even launched a website devoted to the effort, Skyway Alternatives (warning, extremely slow website) so I can’t understand how this went from a high priority campaign promise to a back-burner issue that we’re apparently supposed to wait 10 years before we can say goodbye to the Skyway? Higgins’ campaign website says “the Skyway, while designed to be functional for the Buffalo of the 1950s, has since become a dangerous and costly eyesore.” If it’s dangerous, why must we wait ten years before we can consider safer alternatives?

And, let’s face it, as The Waterfront continues to be developed, options for Skyway alternatives will become significantly reduced, more burdensome, and more costly. Maybe if Higgins drove over the thing everyday like I do, he’d be less willing to wait ten years to solve the problem. Meanwhile, I have at least another decade of driving on a dangerous highway while Higgins spends his time down in Washington D.C. pretending to be working on behalf of his district.

Brian Higgins‘ website touts the slogan, “Demonstrating Leadership. Getting Results.” Some results. I’m driving daily over the results of his “leadership”.

UPDATE: Higgins’ congressional webpage has this to say about the safety concerns of the Skyway:

The Skyway is a 1.4 mile long, 55 mile-per-hour bridge with no shoulders located 110 feet above Buffalo’s Inner Harbor.  This environment leaves stranded motorists in a very precarious situation, and Buffalo Police records reveal a very high incidence of accidents and fatalities.  Additionally, because of it high elevation at a specific location where it takes some of the worst of Lake Erie’s winter winds, the Skyway is closed so frequently that it is the only bridge in New York State with a mechanized closing system which lights up and tells commuters in distant suburbs when it is closed.  Engineers have also indicated that the tight turning radii of several of the Skyway’s access ramps, coupled with the grade at which they are inclined, are a cause for serious safety concerns – ramps like these could not be built today under current federal highway safety regulations.

I guess just not serious enough that we can wait at least wait 10 years to keep debating what to do about it.

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Good for them.

The president of the Seneca Nation of Indians today said the tribe will continue running the temporary casino in Buffalo and building a permanent replacement until the matter is finally resolved in the courts.

Maurice L. John Sr., meeting with reporters at the Seneca Niagara Casino, said the decision Tuesday by a federal judge ending the Senecas’ legal authority to gamble in Buffalo is procedural only and does not prevent operations.

Also today, Erie County Executive Chris Collins said he hopes that Seneca Gaming Corp. presses ahead and appeals the federal court decision that bars gambling on its nine acres in downtown Buffalo.

“I can only hope for the sake of this community that this project does move forward and creates the jobs that we know are intended to be created, and that we in fact have a $330-plus million investment,” he said.

Collins is a casino proponent who refuses to enter the debate over whether gambling victimizes society; Western New York already has casinos and opportunities to gamble, he says, “so it’s already here.”

It’s already here, and we should have the right to visit casinos if we choose.

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An interesting fact via the Buffalo News ‘Inside The News’ blog:

Only two American cities, Detroit and New Orleans, have a higher percentage of vacant houses than Buffalo.

Yes, we all know of at least one horror story about the city’s vacant houses, but few of us are aware of the magnitude of the problem.

Did you know, for example, that City Hall is now Buffalo’s biggest landowner, and there are streets on the East Side where the city owns more than half of the properties are vacant or abandoned?

Did you also know that a third of all city streets have at least one vacant and abandoned property?

And did you know that new data indicates the city’s vacant housing crisis is spreading to Black-Riverside and Buffalo’s first-ring suburbs.

It’s a problem of immense proportions and, in the words of Kathryn Foster, director of the University at Buffalo’s Regional Institute, may pose the single biggest challenge to Buffalo’s neighborhoods.

There is apparently a lot of desire to tear down these vacant eye-sores from the city, which is a good idea, if combined with the proper planning for future development — which according to the article, doesn’t exist.

There is too much demolition, critics say, and too little effort at saving and reusing one of the city’s best assets — its low-cost housing.

“There’s no plan,” said Catherine Schweitzer of the Baird Foundation, a Buffalo group that the city approached for money to help pay for the demolitions. “Their strategy is a demolition-only strategy. There’s no sense of what should be saved.”

Buffalo certainly has the potential for a lot of exciting new development or redevelopment. The Erie Canal Harbor Redevelopment Project is a good example. The city could use some new architecture to attract businesses. There’s a lot of desire to see the Skyway taken down and replaced… I’d love to see something new and more reasonable take its place. The new courthouse downtown should be a nice addition to the citiy’s architecture… but it’s not enough. How about a viable plan for mass transportation into the city? With gas prices the way they are, I’m sure the desire for alternatives to driving into the city is at a high. 

Buffalo needs some good short and long term city planning to assess the city’s potential and develop a strategy. Tearing down the vacant homes doesn’t fix the city’s problems in the long term. But I’m all for it if there’s a long term strategy involved.

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Wow, after all that, Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch will get a mere $100 fine for his hit-and-run “accident.”

Bills running back Marshawn Lynch’s actions showed “a reckless disregard of human life or property,” an administrative law judge ruled today in revoking Lynch’s driver’s license and accepting his guilty plea in a May 31 hit-and-run accident.

During an approximately six-minute hearing in the Traffic Violations Bureau downtown, Judge Thomas L. Gagola also fined Lynch the maximum $100 for the traffic infraction of failing to use due care toward a pedestrian. Lynch also paid a $50 surcharge.

“I will, under these circumstances, impose the maximum fine of $100,” Gagola announced from the bench, before revoking Lynch’s New York license and his vehicle registration.

“He is not to drive in New York State until he is authorized to do so,” Gagola said.

Lynch’s full statement can be view here. Of course, his license will only be temporarily “revoked.” So, I’m sure we all can’t wait for him to one day be driving on the road again.

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Wow, now that she’s effectively ended her campaign Hillary Clinton is actually doing something for the city of Buffalo.

In a letter sent to David Ogrean, the Executive Director of USA Hockey, Inc., Senator Clinton enthusiastically supported our fair Buffalo as a potential candidate for hosting the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Under-20 World Championships.

Senator Clinton highlighted Buffalo’s charm with shout-outs to Shea’s, the Zoo, nightlife, the Albright-Knox, Niagara Falls, and many more. Adding to Buffalo’s credentials, Senator Clinton did not fail to mention the great success the city has had in hosting other large-scale events. Events such as the recent Winter Classic, along with the NCAA basketball tournament, New York’s Empire State Games, The World University Games, the NCAA Frozen Four, and the National Hockey League Entry Draft.

In her letter, Senator Clinton states, “Given its location, amenities, and enthusiastic hockey fans, I believe Buffalo, New York is the ideal location for the 2011 IIHF Under 20 World Championships.”

OF course, after the bloody campaign she’s been through, with the Clinton Brand virtually destroyed, I’m not sure Hillary’s the one to be fighting on behalf of Buffalo.

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Petition to Rename Buffalo’s Airport after Tim Russert

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This afternoon, while in the middle of a business meeting, I learned that Tim Russert had died suddenly of a heart attack.

The Washington Post reports:

Russert, 58, collapsed while recording voiceovers for his Sunday morning interview program, NBC reported. He was initially reported to have suffered a heart attack while working in his office on Washington’s Nebraska Avenue, but the network said later only that he was “stricken at the bureau” and subsequently died. Further details were not immediately available.

Russert served as NBC’s Washington bureau chief and the host of “Meet the Press,” the top-rated Sunday talk show, which had an enormous influence on politics and was marked by his aggressive style of interrogation. As a frequent commentator on the “Today” show, “NBC Nightly News” and other shows, Russert wielded such clout that when he declared that Sen. Barack Obama had wrapped up the Democratic nomination last month, his pronouncement was treated as a news event in itself.

Russert’s television career was marked by a voracious appetite for politics and a shrewd understanding of how politicians interact with the media. He also wrote a book about his father, titled “Big Russ and Me.” Last week, he moved Big Russ to a nursing facility.

Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw gave MSNBC viewers the news of Russert’s death at 3:40 p.m.

“He worked to the point of exhaustion so many weeks,” Brokaw said, adding: “This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice.”

I met Tim Russert back 2004 when I was one of the official bloggers at the Republican National Convention. I had been away from Blogger’s Corner and came back to my laptop and he was there, looking at bumper stickers I had brought to the convention for my blog, Blogs For Bush (now Blogs For Victory) I actually didn’t recognize him at first because he looked very different to me, but we spoke for a bit, and I gave him a bumper sticker.

MSNBC.com has a timeline of Russert’s life and career.

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It’s kind of depressing that I left one gun-crime-ridden city for another.

Bloody street violence struck Buffalo this week when at least five people were shot over a two-day period — Sunday and Monday — during four separate incidents across the city.

Four of the people were shot Sunday, but the most seriously injured was a 25-year-old man who was sprayed with a flurry of bullets that struck him multiple times in the head on Wohlers Avenue early Monday.

Antonio U. Jones was fighting for his life in Erie County Medical Center on Tuesday. Hospital officials declined to release his condition, but the shooting is being investigated by Homicide Unit detectives, which is an indication of the seriousness of Jones’ head injuries.

Police responded to a call of “person down” and found Jones in the street at about 3 a. m., according to Buffalo Police Department spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge.

DeGeorge said police have no suspects or motive in the shooting.

Records show that Jones has been arrested several times, including a court conviction in 2001 for attempted robbery.

Back in Boston, MA, the incompetent mayor, Tom Menino, talked tough on crime, but was more tough on guns. He prided himself on his gun buyback program, which did nothing to improve the gun violence epidemic. So, you can imagine I wasn’t surprised to find out that Buffalo had its own gun buyback program last year.

Mayor Byron W. Brown today announced the City’s “No Questions Asked” Gun Buyback Program will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at six drop-off sites across Buffalo.

“Late in 2006, I announced that the City would conduct a gun buyback program as one of several tactics we will use to rid our streets of illegal guns,” said Mayor Brown. “And during my annual State of the City Address I reiterated that this program would be a no-questions-asked process where guns submitted at several locations will enable the individual to receive a pre-paid credit card at a dollar value based on the caliber of the weapon.”

Buffalo’s program is modeled after several other city’s successful gun buyback efforts, particularly the City of Chicago that in two different one-day gun buybacks retrieved over 4,200 guns.

The program netted 800 guns, and as you can see from recent headlines, it has worked so well.

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