We must avert another environmental disaster in Falls
From the Buffalo News:
Niagara Falls isn’t just a place where newlyweds go to snap pictures.
It’s an international treasure that feeds into Lake Ontario and provides drinking water to Toronto and beyond. And now, its future is in the hands of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, both of which are pushing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state, as well as the Niagara Falls Water Board, which will soon decide whether or not to accept toxic fracking waste trucked in from around the state. Get ready Niagara — you’re about to get fracked.
Many Americans are familiar with the disaster at Love Canal and the ensuing demand for stronger environmental regulation after a corporation buried massive amounts of toxic chemicals around Niagara Falls — chemicals that saddled thousands of residents with chronic health problems ranging from birth defects to cancer. Now the oil and gas industry wants to send its toxic waste to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which discharges into the Niagara River, into Niagara Falls and eventually into Lake Ontario.
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The man behind Marineland: 50 years of controversy
From the Toronto Star:
One spring day in 1963, John Holer, the owner of Marineland, found himself on a Lake Ontario beach in a struggle with a 100-pound sea lion.
Jeff, a sea lion that had escaped from Holer’s animal park in Niagara Falls three days earlier, sunk its teeth into Holer’s bicep as it fought for its freedom.
But Holer and a friend eventually overpowered it, threw it in the back seat of a car and returned to what was then a humble, one-acre marine park.
This adventure — Jeff’s escape under the fence, his disappearance over Niagara Falls (presumably to his death), then his resurrection in the following days, frolicking, fishing and generally revelling in his freedom before a 12-year-old boy spotted him basking on a beach in Niagara-on-the-Lake — transformed the two-year-old sea lion into Holer’s first star attraction.
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Niagara, beyond the falls
From the New York Post:
Fame can be a real pain. Take Niagara Falls, for instance. The stuff of legend. Even if you’ve never set foot on the Rainbow Bridge and gazed down on the majesty with your own eyes, you’ve probably got an opinion about the place. You probably think you know it. The tourist traps, the heart-shaped Jacuzzi tubs, a place trading on the faded glory of a time when people couldn’t get further away from home, faster.
Never mind, of course, that we are talking about one of the most impressive natural wonders of the West. Never mind that the falls themselves are merely the famous cherry sitting atop the tasty, tasty sundae that is the Niagara region.
Never mind that this region is one of the most desirable destinations in the Northeast. Really, it is: Sitting between two Great Lakes (Ontario and Erie), the Niagara boasts not one, but two great wine-producing regions (one among Canada’s best; the other a hidden New York State gem), world-class theater and music for months out of the year, plus outstanding little towns like Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lewiston, Youngstown, Queenston, with their great restaurants and cool places to stay.
Even still, to many people, the entire region remains some sort of retro-kitsch joke. Ha ha ha. Niagara Falls.
One one hand, that’s insane. On the other, who cares? Maybe it’s good that too many people’s minds won’t be changed. More room for the rest of us.
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Report: Niagara is family fun
From the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal:
A Philadelphia TV reporter called Niagara Falls a great option for parents in need of a good getaway destination for their families.
David Murphy with WPVI brought his family to Niagara County recently. He recommended to travelers coming from the east to utilize Route 18 to get to Niagara Falls: “The final miles into the falls area are especially exciting using this approach, because the road south from the Great Lake (Lake Ontario) parallels the gorge cut by the falls before they receded back to their current position.”
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VAMOSSSSSSS!!!: Ontario Lake and Niagara Falls
Someone with a Blogger blog posted about a recent trip to Niagara Falls (including pictures):
I left to Niagara in an unexpected hot journey. The temperature in computer indicated 33 Celcius degrees, so I took a bath on the Ontario lake. I arrived to the city of niagara falls and went down through Clifton hill st and it looks like Vegas to me. It is all about gift shops, wax museums, fast food, and exuberant shows.
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Tourism pros shown more to boost in Niagara County
From the Buffalo News:
Among tourist attractions, Niagara County is a lot more than just Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist.
Other attractions stretch from the vineyards and orchards along the Lake Ontario shore at the north end of the county to the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum in North Tonawanda at the south end. And there are plenty of things to do along the way.
That is the message that Niagara USA had for about 70 hospitality and tourism employees on two familiarization tours Wednesday across Niagara County.
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Residents oppose closing of state parks
From the Buffalo News:
State legislators from the Assembly and Senate and from both sides of the political aisle were quick over the weekend to criticize the proposed closing of state parks and historic sites as part of Gov. David A. Paterson’s effort to close an anticipated budget gap of $8.2 billion in the fiscal year beginning April 1.
And ordinary residents who use the parks joined in the criticism.
Paterson’s plan, unveiled Friday, would save $6.5 million by closing 41 parks and 14 historic sites when the new budget year begins April 1. It also would reduce services at 23 other parks, including Niagara Falls State Park, which is widely known around the world and is a magnet that attracts untold numbers of international travelers.
Assemblywoman Francine Del- Monte, the Lewiston Democrat who represents Niagara Falls among many other communities along the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, called upon State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash to explore ways for local municipalities to keep some of the parks open.
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