Daily Archives: February 4, 2010

By Doug Draper

Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, once wrote that if it “were left to (him) to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.”

Reporter and columnist Becky Day refused to let the corporate chains put her down. She has launched her own online news site called Thorold Politics

What Jefferson was essentially saying at the time – some 200 odd years ago – is that you can’t have accountable democratic government without having a free and vigilant press.

In that spirit, Niagara At Large, as a new and fledgling source of independent news and commentary in the Greater Niagara Region, will use this venue, for as long as it lasts, to stand up for journalists in this region who try against all kinds of odds these days to do their job. We are talking about journalists who too often find themselves running up against the corporate chains that own and operate too many of our media outlets, and either don’t’ provide the resources journalists need to play an effective watchdog, without fear or favour, or go out of the way to block their efforts to get at the truth.

Becky Day, a journalist in Thorold, Ont. who was about the only shining light at a pretty crappy chain-run weekly called ‘The Thorold Niagara News’, falls into the category of a journalist in that community – one that she and I happen to live in, by the way – that continues to care. The fact that she is no longer gamely employed at ‘The Thorold Niagara News’ just about says it all for that publication. Continue reading →

By Doug Draper

How would you rather travel between the Buffalo area and New York City? In a Toyota with a sticky gas pedal or on a flight on one of those smaller commuter airlines subcontracted by larger airlines because they figure they can save money not taking you on their own.

I don’t know about you. But I’d choose a Toyota over a commuter plane in a New York minute! And if the gas pedal sticks, at least I’m behind the wheel and can do everything from slamming on the brakes (unless that Toyota happens to be a Prius) to turning off the ignition or both as I veer off the road into a field full of snow where I can hopefully punch open the door and jump free with a minimum of broken bones.

On a commuter jet, all I can do is sit back there in the passenger section, clutching whatever book or magazine I’m reading like a teddy bear as the pilot, who might have about as much training and salary as someone managing a fast food restaurant, works with whatever limited training and hours of experience he’s had in the air to keep to keep us from spiraling downward to that same field of snow.
 
If you think I’m being a little unfair to the airlines, just check out the stories on the front page of The Buffalo News this Feb. 3 (you can find them by visiting www.buffalonews.com and plugging in a few key search words like ‘Flight 3407’ and “fatal stall”) on the fatal flight of a commuter plane, subcontracted by Continental Airlines, a year ago this February as it crashed into a neighbourhood in the Buffalo area community of Clarence. Continue reading →

One of the Buffalo area’s environmental groups dedicated to protecting and preserving the Niagara River watershed for future generations is hosting a series of fund-raising concerts to support its green efforts.

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper – a group linked internationally to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and folk music icon and activist Pete Seeger – is receiving support from the Labatt beer company in Canada and the Good Neighbourhood to showcase six hot bands from north of the border in fund-raising venues in Buffalo from Feb. 9 through Feb. 13.

Click on the ‘keep reading’ tab at the end of this sentence to receive all the details on this fund-raising concert series for improving the quality of our environment and one of the most icon rivers in the world.  Continue reading →