Archive for February 3rd, 2007
I went out for a fish fry last night at Boomerang’s, on Niagara St., and was in the mood for coffee and desert after eating. A friend and I decided to go to SPOT downtown to satisfy the sweet tooth. Since I had my camera with me, we decided to kill a bit of time on the way.
I drove around downtown looking for some interesting night shots. I froze taking the shot below. I was standing in the middle of Washington Street and the wind was fierce.
I wasn’t very pleased with the original shot of the HSBC Arena and decided to play around with it a bit in Photoshop.
The next shot was taken from the warmth of my car interior. There was no traffic and I was able to stop in the street for about 5 minutes to shoot the twin Statues topping the Liberty Building.
[tags]buffalo, new york, liberty-building, hsbc-arena, downtown, hockey, architecture, night[/tags]
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A pact that would lift the wage freeze for firefighters in return for concessions faces rough sailing after union leaders stood firm Friday in a decision not to put the plan before rank-and-file members for consideration.
A ratification vote will only occur if the control board agrees to change “problematic” language in a resolution the panel approved Wednesday, union leaders said.
“Let the lawyers work it out,” said fire union Vice President Peter Margerum. “But if they can’t come to terms that are satisfactory, it might be over.”
Joe Foley, head of the Buffalo Firefighters Union, refuses to submit the proposed contract to a ratification vote by the members. He claims wording changed in a “whereas” clause, by the Control Board, alters the legal meaning of the original agreement.
City Corporation Counsel Alisa A. Lukasiewicz insisted that wording in the “whereas” section of the resolution is not legally binding. She said nothing in the document changes any part of the pact that was signed by all parties Jan. 22.
Buffalo Pundit, a private sector attorney, agrees that the “whereas” clause is not legally binding.
It is time for the unions to face the fact that the days of special treatment are over. The taxpayers can not afford it any longer. It is time for the repeal of the Taylor Law and the Triborough Amendment, both of which give special advantages to public employees at the bargaining table.
- California, Florida and Texas do not require costly binding arbitration.
- The Triborough Amendment to the state’s Taylor Law requires that all salaries and benefits, including salary increments, continue after a union contract has expired—a provision that is unique to New York. That discourages unions from negotiating in good faith and is very costly to taxpayers.
Source: Buffalo News - Fire union vote on pact still in limbo
[tags]Buffalo, firefighters, union, contract, impasse, Joseph-Foley, control-board[/tags]
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I just looked out the window and we are having the most intense snowfall of the winter here in North Buffalo.
[tags]snow, heavy, Buffalo, North-Buffalo, winter[/tags]
NEW YORK - McDonald’s Corp.’s coffee tastes better and costs less than brew from Starbucks Corp., Burger King Holdings Inc. and Dunkin’ Donuts Inc., Consumer Reports magazine said.
“We compared the rivals with Starbucks, all in basic black - no flavors, milk, or sugar - and you know what? McDonald’s beat the rest,” Consumer Reports said in its March issue.
Kudos to McDonald’s for improving their coffee. I haven’t tried the new coffee yet, but the old stuff was terrible.
The real question for most Western New Yorkers is, does McDonald’s coffee beat SPOT and Tim Horton’s? We have a higher benchmark than many other areas. I have never like Starbucks coffee and agree that it tastes burnt and bitter. I tried Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee once and was not impressed.
As a coffee lover, I am happy that the choices for coffee, as well as the quality, have increased quite a bit. If I’m out and about, I’ve found that Mobil on the Run and A-Plus serve a decent cup of joe.
Source: Buffalo News - McDonald’s coffee tops Starbucks in taste test
[tags]McDonalds, Starbucks, SPOT, coffee, taste, consumer-reports, Tim Horton’s, Dunkin Donuts[/tags]
