Off Main Street: The offbeat side of the news
Updated: 07/05/08 7:57 AM
True grit
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Buffalo Wednesday for the first time since June 2007, when her campaign for the presidency was already well under way.
Clinton spoke at the dedication of Erie Canal Harbor, and then went to Artspace Buffalo Lofts, which she had championed early on and for which she acquired pivotal funding.
The senator encouraged artists to extend a welcome mat to friends outside of Buffalo. But the characteristics she attached to Buffalonians resembled those applied to her during the course of her grueling, 17-month campaign.
“Not just anybody can come to Buffalo. You have to be resilient and resolute, have a certain level of grit and grace, and determination and dedication. But we have that in abundance and we’re more than happy to share it,” Clinton said.
Unless, she might have been thinking, you’re planning to vote for John McCain in November.
Friend and foe
Maybe somebody should update Sam Hoyt on who his friends are.
Invitations recently went out for the assemblyman’s annual “clambake” fundraiser, which was held June 27. Listed among the Buffalo Democrat’s “patriotic crew” of loyal supporters was Barbra Kavanaugh.
Uh-oh.
This is the same Barbra Kavanaugh who last month announced she was running against Hoyt in September’s Democratic primary. She said that the position needed someone “without so much baggage.” It does not sound like Hoyt will be getting a check from Kavanaugh this year.
Nice guys finish first
A 15-year-old devoted Buffalo Bandits fan recently got an unexpected treat during a trip to New York City to watch the pro lacrosse team play the New York Titans.
Billy Whalen shared a love of the Bandits with his father, Dennis “Tank” Whalen, a longtime city Streets Department employee who died last year.
Billy and his cousin, Robert Whalen Jr., took in a Bandits game at Madison Square Garden in February.
“I think we may have been louder than all the Titans Fans combined — MSG had poor attendance compared to ‘Banditland,’ ” Robert Whalen wrote in an e-mail to league Commissioner Jim Jennings.
After the game, the Whalens went to John F. Kennedy International Airport for their flight back to Buffalo.
Billy was wearing a Bandits jersey and a team staffer approached him to compliment him on the jersey, which was a gift from his father.
The Whalens soon realized the entire team was eating in a nearby restaurant.
Robert Whalen said the players graciously took a break from their meals to chat with Billy and autograph his jersey, which he plans to frame.
The Bandits are now lacrosse champions, Whalen wrote, “However, I want you to know that they are also the most approachable, friendly, and compassionate team in the NLL as well.”
The five-minute rule
It’s not always easy to follow the rules.
The Amherst Town Board gives each town resident five minutes to speak before the board during a public hearing.
But one speaker at a recent board meeting, Lucia Almeida, said she was presenting a petition to the board on behalf of 150 residents and intended to talk for 35 minutes.
She said she deserved the extra time because she was representing petition signers who didn’t appear in person.
Though she claimed she negotiated her 35-minute limit with Supervisor Satish Mohan, this was apparently news to him. He asked her to step aside after a bell rang to note her five minutes were up.
That didn’t stop Almeida from repeatedly getting back in line and trying to reclaim the floor.
A speaker who followed behind her, Mark Mecca, finally stepped up and said, “I’m speaking on behalf of everyone in the United States. I’ll only take a couple of hours.”
Mercifully, he was joking.
