The Buffalodown, Vol. 3, Issue 6
Stories & Events for Social Connection
- Next I-Post event: Reforming City Hall & State Government
- Musings on Music: Call from Clean Air, RIP Lisa Lux
- Featured Events: 32 this issue, always encouraging submissions!
- Links to the Deep End: Broadway Market, Ralph Wilson Park, US-Iran & more.
Thank you for your attention!
Please forward this to kindred souls, and subscribe here if you haven’t yet!
Thanks to all who read the word here and attended Investigative Post’s State of the Theatre District panel discussion last week – we had more than 100 people in attendance and left with a lot to follow up on, as evidenced in initial coverage from I-Post as well as two articles in The Buffalo Hive, with one about proposed residential expansion of Shea’s Smith Theatre and another about the event overall.
Our next I-Post event will focus on reforming city hall and state government – on Thursday, April 30th, starting at 7pm at Big Ditch Brewing Company (55 E. Huron Street, downtown Buffalo), I-Post Editor Jim Heaney will interview John Kaehny, co-founder and executive director of Reinvent Albany, one of the state’s leading reform advocates. Buffalo is considering revising its city charter to promote more efficient government, and Kaehny will offer his take on how charter revisions in other cities have played out. An astute observer of state government, he’ll also explain how Albany too often works to benefit donors and special interest groups and what can be done about it. Tickets can be purchased here.
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Musings on Music
Clean Air Coalition, RIP Lisa Lux
I believe in the power of music to comfort souls, open minds and inspire action.
Regular readers here will notice that nearly every edition of the Buffalodown includes the Clean Air Coalition in the event listings – that’s because the cause is critical, they’re awesome, and they’re often inviting folks to get involved in their mission to “build power by developing grassroots leaders who organize their communities to run and win environmental justice and public health campaigns in Western New York.”
This week I met with two Clean Air board members about their idea for a concert in support of their cause; I recommended presenting a series of concerts, and bet that Buffalodown readers would want to get involved – if you’d like to perform, volunteer, or otherwise help in any way to bring their idea to life, please reply here or contact them directly!
On a heavy note, sending love and light to all in the orbit of Lisa Latempa aka DJ Lisa Lux, whose battle with cancer ended on March 20th. Lisa’s light brightened the beloved community from educational endeavors to all-out parties, even shining in the ways folks got behind her in her battle. Newell Nussbaumer wrote a touching tribute in Buffalo Rising, and the show she was to be a part of at Burchfield Penney went on in her honor – it was listed in the previous Buffalodown, as were so many of her events.
The folks from the nonprofit Arts for Learning WNY offered another touching tribute on Facebook, writing in part, “Lisa was deeply committed to the people and causes she cared about, from motherhood and youth advocacy to uplifting hip-hop culture and supporting her community. As a member of our Teaching Artist roster, she shared her passions generously, using music and conversation to connect with young people and encourage them to find their voices.”
I’d been working on a way to give Lisa her flowers onstage at Larkin Square this summer; we’ll still do so with her there in spirit, please stay tuned; for now, note the details below for vigil this Friday, and as a preview of what’s to come in Larkin Square, enjoy her presence along with another beloved community member-turned-ancestor in our dearly departed Gail Wells as part of the video for AI the Anomaly’s “Bonnets & Bantus.”
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Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Click the flyers for more info!
Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
Kindred calendars:
Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA)
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Links to the Deep End
- Investigative Post is producing a lot for a team of just four reporters, encouraging folks to subscribe and support; some of their latest are A Mayday alert for independent media and A politician with principles and a backbone; Save the Michaels ousts founder from board and Opioid settlement money unspent, misused; Hochul noncommittal on STAMP data center; andMajor tax hike in Buffalo appears inevitable.
- Mark Sommer, even after retirement from The Buffalo News, continues to be a leading Buffalo-based reporter, back in BN with “A history of disastrous CIA covert interventions began with a 1953 coup in Iran.”
- Y’all love when I link to news about new third spaces for social connection – how about these plans for the revival of one of Buffalo’s oldest in The Broadway Market?
- Finally, for all I’ve promoted here as an ambassador for Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy, I’m compelled to share the concerning news that the conservancy’s two founding staff members as well as its board chair recently resigned, unexpectedly; I appreciate and respect them all, and I’m eagerly awaiting word on what’s next for what’s poised to be Buffalo’s newest crown jewel – see below for coverage by Jeff Russo WKBW-TV, who’s also pledged to stay on the story.
https://youtu.be/9_9pb_iLwkg?si=oAz4FUZFsy4munRh
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
Please share with friends to sign up for the next Buffalodown, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome!
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