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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“When Ice Bridged a Gorge Between Nations”
On Saturday, Sherman Zavitz’s column in the Niagara Falls Review was about when ice has frozen over the Niagara River right near the falls. Unfortunately the piece wasn’t online, so I took a picture of it for you to see. Occasionally the Review does this, so the only way to ensure you get it is to be a subscriber.
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New stairway into Niagara Gorge planned near Whirlpool Bridge
From the Buffalo News:
A new stairway will descend into the Niagara Gorge from a scenic overlook near the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge under a plan to enhance trails and viewpoints at three points in Niagara Falls and Lewiston.
The new stairs will descend about 300 feet to a second overlook above the lower Niagara River, said Edward Alkiewicz, licensing manager for the New York Power Authority.
“The main focus and feature of this project is to have another spot in the gorge where people can relatively easily — because of the construction of a new trail and stair system—get into the bottom of the gorge,” said Albert J. Nihill, associate landscape architect for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
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Parks open for business
From the Niagara Falls Review:
When Archie Katzman banged a gavel on the wooden table promptly at 10 a.m., it signalled to about 40 spectators the start of a new era for the Niagara Parks Commission.
The open era.
For the first time in its 124- year history, members of the public were allowed to watch commissioners in action. It was standing room only in a committee room at Oak Hall, prompting Katzman, the acting chairman who has been on the commission since 1971, to comment on how many people were interested enough to attend the first meeting.
“We did not expect to see this many people,” said Katzman, who has filled in as chairman since Jim Williams resigned in December.
Commissioners are “encouraged” by the interest in the goings-on at the commission, which is responsible for preserving, promoting and enhancing the area around Horseshoe Falls and the land along the Niagara River, he added.
To accommodate the crowd, the meeting was moved from the boardroom at the Portage Road office to a larger committee room. Staff put out wooden folding chairs -the kind that are comfortable for about an hour – as a visitors gallery.
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Full house at historic NPC meeting
From the Niagara Falls Review:
It was standing room only at Oak Hall Friday where several dozen people crammed into a committee room for the first public meeting of the Niagara Parks Commission in its 124-year history.
“We did not expect to see this many people,” said acting chairman Archie Katzman. Commissioners are “encouraged” by the public’s interest in the goings-on at the provincial agency which is responsible for preserving, promoting and enhancing the area around Horseshoe Falls and the land along the Niagara River.
Members of the 12-member board voted in December to make their meetings open to to the public, following a government initiative to make its agencies more transparent.
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Torch arrival should attract 3,000 spectators
From the Niagara Falls Review:
More than 3,000 supporters are expected to line the route along the Niagara River Parkway Sunday as the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay arrives in Niagara Falls.
To celebrate the arrival of the flame, the city is hosting a free community event starting at 5:30 p. m. near Table Rock that will include live entertainment, interactive displays and giveaways from Torch Relay sponsors, including Coca-Cola and RBC.
At approximately 7 p. m., Olympian and Niagara Falls resident Gord Singleton will carry the flame and light a 1.3-metre-high cauldron.
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PARKS CHAIRMAN RESIGNS
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Jim Williams stepped down as Niagara Parks Commission chairman Thursday over a dispute with Tourism Minister Monique Smith’s support for him, and over his “grave concerns” about an historic bidding process she ordered that could see the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co., replaced as operator of boat tours on the Niagara River.
“Given … your unwillingness to defend this commission against the false accusations levied against us, I can only conclude that I no longer have your confidence in this matter,” Williams wrote in a four-page resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Niagara Falls Review.
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Maid of the Mist could migrate if it loses NPC lease, official says
From the Niagara Falls Review:
For the 65,000 Koreans George Denning’s company brought to Niagara Falls last year, “Maid of the Mist” was what they knew. He predicted it would be “automatic” if they had to choose between the Maid of the Mist operating on the American side of the Niagara River and a new company running boat tours on the Canadian side, he said.
“The whole thing is the Maid of the Mist. They’re not going to know some other company,” said Denning, a New York City tour operator for Dongbu Travel and Tours, the second-largest travel agency in South Korea.
Maid of the Mist is a name Canada’s tourism industry banks on. The thought of it becoming an American-only experience has city councillors wondering if the provincial government is jeopardizing the industry by inviting other companies to vie for the right to run boat tours from the Canadian shore of the Niagara River.
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Autumn in America: New York’s Niagara River
The USA Today web site has a nice photo that someone took of the Niagara River:
“It was cold, rainy and windy but the fall colors were fabulous,” says the photographer, Julie Siegel. “I was more impressed with the potential energy in the waters leading to the falls, than the falls themselves. Miserable weather and a looonnngggg trip, but no regrets.”
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