Good morning, Buffalo: a quick look at what's happening today
There is rain in the forecast, mainly before noon. Temperatures will be bit cooler than the past couple of days, with a high near 55 degrees. Skies will be cloudy tonight, with a low around 47. Sunshine should return on Thursday.
And while there is no s-n-o-w in this week's extended forecast, Mayor Byron W. Brown is expected to conduct the annual inspection of Buffalo's snow-fighting fleet at 10 a.m. in the Broadway Garage.
Brown also is expected to show up at 2:30 p.m. for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Meals on Wheels Commissary at 100 James E. Casey Drive.
The $7.5 million, 27,000-square-foot facility features state-of-the art food preparation equipment, storage areas, office space and a distribution area that will allow volunteers to produce up to 1.6 million meals annually.
Other scheduled speakers at today's ceremony include State Sen. William Stachowski, County Executive Chris Collins and Meals on Wheels CEO Benjamin A. Gair III.
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, whose writings were the basis for both a hit film and best-selling book about homelessness, mental illness and the redemptive power of music, is next up in the University at Buffalo's Distinguished Speakers series at 8 tonight in Alumni Arena on the North Campus in Amherst.
Lopez is the author of the book "The Soloist," based on a series of columns that he wrote about his friendship with homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers, a once promising violinist who studied at Julliard. The book was adapted into a feature film of the same title, starring Jamie Foxx as Ayers and Robert Downey Jr. as Lopez.
At 6:30 p.m., the university will hold a "Community Resource and Engagement Fair" on the first floor of Alumni Arena, which will focus on services that are available to the homeless and those who face mental health challenges. Community Outreach for Employees will conduct a canned goods drive at the fair. Donations will benefit Buffalo City Mission and Friends of Night People.
Volunteering seniors will take part in a local beautification effort today organized by AARP at 10:30 a.m. on the site of the Grassroots Garden on the corner of Jersey Street and West Avenue, where they will begin preparing the beds for next spring. The effort is part of AARP's "Create the Good," which encourages those age 50 and older to volunteer and make a difference in their communities.
A mosaic created from 1,800 colorful, hand-drawn pet portraits will be unveiled at 2 p.m. in the main auditorium at Medaille College, 18 Agassiz Circle.
It's a fundraiser for the Pet Emergency Fund, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The fund commissioned Faces of Buffalo to design the art mosaic and will be selling posters and note cards featuring it. Proceeds will go to area veterinarians to assist them in helping pet owners whose pets require emergency medical care.
Matted 16-by-20 prints are on sale for $28 and a set of 10 note cards are $12.50 through the Pet Emergency Fund Web site at www.PetEmergencyFund.org, local veterinary offices or at www.FacesofBuffalo.com/pets.htm.
Hundreds of people are expected to gather late this afternoon on Buffalo's south and west sides and in front of the town halls in West Seneca and Hamburg to take a stand against drugs.
They won't be hard to spot. They'll be wearing red, waving signs and banners to show their support of being drug-free as part of National Red Ribbon Week. Staff from Western New York United Against Drug & Alcohol Abuse and mascots Sabretooth and Buster Bison are scheduled to visit the "Take a Stand" locations.
Demonstrations are planned at 4:30 p.m. at West Side Community Services, 161 Vermont St; at 5:15 p.m. at McDonald's on McKinley Parkway; at 4:45 p.m. at West Seneca Town Hall, 1250 Union Road; and at 6:15 p.m. at Hamburg Town Hall, 6100 South Park Ave.
Buffalo-based author and filmmaker Greg Lamberson reads from his suspenseful new horror novel, "Personal Demons: The Jake Helman Files," at 7 p.m. in Talking Leaves Books, 3158 Main St. It's his second novel in two years.
The Buffalo Sabres start in on a stretch of five straight weeks of Wednesday-Friday-Saturday games when they visit the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. Listen on WGR 550 AM. Watch on the MSG Channel.
The baseball season seems to end later and later each year. Here it is, almost Halloween, and they're just getting around to playing the first game of the World Series tonight in Yankee Stadium. Taking on the Yankees for the title are last year's champs, the Philadelphia Phillies. Oddsmakers are favoring the Yanks to win Game One. First pitch is at 7:57 p.m. Listen on WECK 1230 AM. Watch on WUTV, Channel 29.
As if Michael Jackson weren't everywhere already, today is the worldwide premiere of "Michael Jackson: This Is It," the documentary that the shows him rehearsing for the series of concerts he planned in London last summer, which were to mark his return to the stage after a lengthy absence. A two-disc CD that accompanies the release of the film came out Tuesday.
Walmart throws open the doors of its new Hamburg store today at 5360 Southwestern Blvd. A "new look" Walmart, it will have a full grocery department, wider aisles, cleaner aesthetics and more checkout lines. It also will have 203,710 square feet of retail space, making it a full 72,000 square feet larger than the old Hamburg store at 4255 McKinley Parkway, which now is closed. The opening is part of an eight-store Walmart expansion in Western New York.
The Curtain Up! production of "2 Pianos 4 Hands" was just a warmup for MusicalFare. The musical theater company based on the Daemen College campus in Snyder kicks into high gear at 7 tonight with the premiere of "Man of La Mancha," in an unorthodox staging that had cast members accompanying themselves on their own instruments. John Fredo stars as Don Quixote. John Kaczorowski is Sancho Panza. Tickets are $32 and $36. It runs through Nov. 9.
Aries Spears, the black comedian best known for his sketch work on the comedy series "MADtv," comes to the Bear's Den in the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $40.
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