dreamtownusa.com

Missed a few things while on blogging hiatus.

For one, Dreamtown’s carbon footprint rated 16th-lowest among 100 metro areas. Still lots of work to be done (especially by those bottom 50). Having hydroelectric power (though not enough…too much gets shipped away) helps and getting more wind power will help more.

We also had the opening of a beach at the downtown marina. No swimming allowed due to strong currents (I suspect they’ll have to at least rope off a wading area eventually) but it’s a nice start. (Trivia note: the marina itself is shaped like a buffalo.)

And the redesigned Erie Canal Harbor opened. Still lots of work to be done, but it’s a nice start.

There’s more, of course. It’s hard work to keep up with the dreaminess that is Dreamtown USA. Feel free to add more in the comments.

Congratulations Bandits!

The Buffalo Bandits survived an early injury to All-Star defenseman Chris White, then leaned on goaltender Mike Thompson down the stretch to win their first National Lacrosse League Champion’s Cup since 1996 with a thrilling 14-13 victory over the Portland LumberJax before a raucous, orange-clad, sellout crowd of 18,690 at HSBC Arena.

Well done!

From Ray “Scampy” Scampinello’s book Between the Lines, his son Ryan:

His [Ryan’s] favorite game, however, was his father’s 2,500th and final, in Buffalo.

“The ovation, sharing that night with him, the respect he got from everyone,” Ryan remembers, “that was unbelievable, and the Buffalo people were first class.”

Yesterday was the annual “Stamp Out Hunger” drive in which letter carriers across the country pick up food donations from their routes. I wonder where the most food is collected? Hmmm… For the past 5 years, guess who’s collected the most food? Oh, you guessed! Note this piece from a Seattle paper:

Letter carriers from Buffalo once again set the pace as part of a nationwide collection that took in more than 70.7 million pounds of food.

The Buffalo/Western New York National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 3, which collected just under 2.1 million pounds of donations, was the top NALC local branch in the drive for the fifth consecutive year.

Yes, more than 2 million pounds out of a drive that collects 70 million nationwide. Generosity: just another example of Dreamtown’s dreaminess.

Money Magazine compiled its list of the 10 fastest growing real estate markets in the US and Dreamtown came in at #5. Of the top 10, we also had the lowest median home price.

Sweet.

No one’s happy the Sabres aren’t in the playoffs, and I’m no big Flyers fan, but good for Marty Biron that he’s backstopped his team this far at least. He’s a nice guy and a real team player.

But wait’ll next year!