Amherst Times

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) announced that Erie County school districts within his district will see approximately $53,937,000 in direct federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act according to new estimates based on a Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis.

“Local schools are facing economically challenging times,” said Congressman Higgins.  “These federal dollars will inject new, unanticipated investments into our local schools, improving education, preventing teacher lay-offs and saving local property taxpayers money.”

Below is the breakdown of funding estimated for Erie County districts in Congressman Higgins’ district:

District allocations are based on existing formulas for the distribution of Title 1 and IDEA funding, which help disadvantaged and disabled students respectively.  In addition to the funding detailed above New York State will receive $3,033,637,000 in the State Stabilization funds that are dedicated to education programs.

Beginning June 1, 2009, only Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) approved documents can be used for return to the United States.   You must have either a passport or an Enhanced learner permits) or Enhanced non-driver photo ID card (ENDID) to prove U.S. citizenship and NYS residency.  An EDL or ENDID can be used instead of a passport at U.S. land and sea border crossings between Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

How do you get an EDL or ENDID?  Contact the Erie County Clerk.  Call the office of Kathy Hochul at 858 – 7450 or go on-line at www.erie.gov/clerk. They can provide all the specific details including what proofs of identity you will be required to bring.  Be prepared.  You will need more than one piece of proof including your actual social security card!  Most of us know our number, but do you know where your card is?

One of Amherst’s larger employers has announced that they have cut 100 jobs in their local center.  This reflects their grappling with the slowing economy.

In addition there had been 100 positions open that will not be filled, meaning there are 200 fewer employees.  At one point Ingram Micro employed 1,200 people locally but they presently decline to say just how many employees are currently on their payroll in the Buffalo Niagara region.

Road Less Traveled Productions presents a very special evening of theatre, as Alec Baldwin reads David Mamet’s Tony-nominated play Speed the Plow at Rockwell Hall Performing Arts Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222 (Buffalo State College), on Saturday, February 28, 2009, at 8 pm (doors at 7:30 pm). A Private Pre-Show Cocktail Reception with Alec Baldwin and the cast of Speed the Plow will be held at 6 pm at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center.

Alec Baldwin’s role as Jack Donaghy on television’s comedy hit 30 Rock earned a 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. His acting career began with an award winning performance in the Broadway premiere of Joe Orton’s comedy Loot. Almost immediately, Baldwin was swept into movie stardom with well-remembered turns in Glengarry Glen Ross (also by David Mamet), Beetlejuice, The Hunt for Red October, The Departed, The Aviator, and his Oscar nominated performance in The Cooler. Baldwin is one of the most popular guest hosts of Saturday Night Live, hosting a remarkable 14 episodes.

Baldwin has made a point of returning to the stage, starring in Broadway revivals of the comedies The Twentieth Century and Entertaining Mr. Sloane. His ongoing support of Road Less Traveled Productions confirms his dedication to the national theatre scene; Baldwin previously appeared for Road Less Traveled Productions in a benefit reading of the play Art in July 2006 at Babeville (Buffalo, NY).

In Speed the Plow, Baldwin stars as Bobby Gould, Mamet’s ubiquitous everyman/anti-hero. Hollywood executives Bobby and his friend and colleague, Charlie Fox, have wheeled and dealed all the way up the industry ladder together; but the buddies suddenly find themselves at odds over whether to produce a cerebral art film or a sure-fire box office hit… a conflict that is complicated even further by Bobby’s beautiful and idealistic new secretary. This sharp, biting satire is renowned as one of Mamet’s finest plays. Alec Baldwin has starred in three Mamet projects on the big screen (Glengarry Glen Ross, The Edge, and State & Main), and this benefit reading is a rare opportunity to see Baldwin deliver Mamet’s legendary dialogue in a live theatrical presentation. The reading will also feature Brian Mysliwy and Kelly Jakiel and is directed by Road Less Traveled’s founder and Artistic Director, Scott Behrend.

Tickets are $55 & $40 and are available by phone (716) 878-3005, online at Ticketguys.com, or at the Rockwell Hall Box Office Buffalo State College 1300 Elmwood Ave. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm. Tickets for the Private Reception with Mr. Baldwin at the new Burchfield-Penney Art Center, including Premier Seating for the performance, are $175 and are available by phone reservations only: (716) 878-3005. The Private Reception is limited to 100 guests and features catering by Oliver’s and top-shelf open bar.

For more information call (716) 629-3069 or visit www.roadlesstraveledproductions.org.

Hillary Clinton is on her first official trip as Secretary of State.  On Tuesday she responded to a question about terrorism causing people in the United States to have anti-Muslim “prejudice,” a term she rejected forcefully.

“I am a Christian,” she said. “Through the centuries we have had many people who have done terrible things in the name of Christianity. They have perverted the religion.”

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that the Obama administration will make “a concerted effort” to restore the image of the United States in the Islamic world and will seek to “enlist the help of Muslims around the world against the extremists.”"

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The distance between Cheney and Bush was increased exponentially when Bush refused to issue a pardon to I. Lewis Libby Jr., Cheney’s onetime chief of staff.   Their worldviews, once largely in sync, seemed increasingly to diverge in their second term.

“For Mr. Cheney, the failure to win a pardon was a stinging loss that led him to offer a rare public rebuke of Mr. Bush’s judgment, saying of Mr. Libby in an interview with The Weekly Standard last month that “I strongly believe that he deserved a presidential pardon,” and that “I disagree with President Bush’s decision.””

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In 1997 Howard Schultz said he was pained when people compared Starbucks to a chain of discount stores or fast-food operations.  That’s about to change.

“On Tuesday, the man who set out to improve Americans’ taste in coffee, unveiled instant coffee bearing the Starbucks brand. Packages of Via Ready Brew will appear in Starbucks shops in Seattle and Chicago on March 3, the same day that Starbucks will begin offering breakfast value meals in stores nationwide.”

“Selling instant coffee and serving value meals might sound more like the purview of an American convenience store and less like that of an Italian espresso bar. Water-soluble coffee is a gamble, marketing analysts said. It could lure customers who drink fast-food or grocery store coffee, or it could water down the Starbucks brand.”

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Just how many car brands are a viable number for a car company to manage profitably?  Many have dropped down to three.  GM is dropping down to four.  Hummer and Saab have already been cut and Saturn and Pontiac are next.

“The disclosures by G.M., contained in a viability plan submitted to the government, means that G.M. plans to cut its brands in half, to four: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.”

“It said last fall that it would try to find buyers for Hummer and Saab. On Tuesday, it said it would decide on Hummer’s fate by March 31.”

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Does it pay to be a whistle blower and turn in someone you know is doing something illegal?  It often can cost you your job.

“During an election featuring Democratic allegations that U.S. intelligence was distorted to justify a misbegotten war, Barack Obama endorsed new protections for national security officers who blow the whistle on abusive, corrupt or illegal behavior, by offering them the right to sue for damages and challenge denials of their security clearances.”

“But by keeping a Republican-appointed secretary of defense strongly opposed to those changes, President Obama is finding the path to a new policy on federal whistleblowing much more complicated.”

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