Author: MICHAEL R WEEKES

I was ready to hop on the Downtown Stadium bandwagon, like so many others that are passionate and visionary about our Buffalo redo, until my creative problem solving mechanism kicked in.  What we are doing, as a tribe, once more is jumping to solutions before examining a few steps in the process, that lead to those best options. Reuse of the Ralph has many, many advantages over the more-than-one-billion-dollar options. The Ralph Re-Use Option included these ten advantages over a New Stadium Downtown option: A Redesigned Ralph is more sustainable than a New Stadium. It currently has enough for everyone, and…

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By Michael R Weekes (designer, builder, innovator, waterfront stakeholder): Warning: interest in geodesics, tiny living, domes, shanty boats, synergy, sustainability and like have been found to become addictive in Buffalo, NY. Among the crafts floating in the Buffalo River this summer will be a 16′ Geodesic Houseboat (see inspiration) exemplifying the latest in tiny living, sustainability and ingenuity.  The first of its kind in the US, and maybe the world, these vessels are non-powered barges, innovative with all the conveniences a Buffalonian needs to have a good day, weekend, or extended stay on the developing waterfront. The Irish lined the shores of…

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After a recent YouTube search on “tiny home” building methodologies, I came across a terrific site cataloging the 11-step design and construction of a 24′ diameter geodesic greenhouse. The story was enthralling for so many reasons: the affordability, relatively short build cycle, the plethora of knowledge capital available and then, best of all, it led me to learn of the godfather of geodesic design, R Buckminster Fuller.Bucky, as he was called, was a dear friend and colleague of retired UB Professor of Architecture, Harold Cohen. I met Harold first in 1987, as part of research for a NYS Visitor Center…

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By Michael R Weekes – UB BSIE 1984:At the end of the summer season I was chatting with the operator of The Hatch Restaurant, who runs Brand-On Services. He mentioned that parking and congestion were really becoming a challenge. I think anyone who comes down to the waterfront on the evening of a major event understands this issue first hand. I realize that there are more than 10,000 parking spaces in downtown, but it can be a long walk to Canalside or Erie Basin Marina, especially for the elderly and families with young children in tow. I don’t mind the walk from…

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It was one for the ages.  Friday night I attended the screening of the locally produced documentary film, Almost a Dynasty, written, directed and produced by real live Buffalonians: Phil Gangi, Peter Tasca and Stephen Butler. This was like no other film, no other evening, no other moment in Buffalo, ever! We all dream of telling our treasured stories on the big screen and having our friends and families and fellow fans come to join us at a real theater, to bask in the moments and memories, but we’ll likely never realize that dream. Well, Phil and Peter and all…

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When I grew up on Buffalo’s gritty East Side, the word “rich” was a dirty four letter word. I was not poor or needy, but my parents taught me to look down on those with money, privilege and all that comes with it. It was a subtle suggestion, like most prejudice, not as deliberate as it was subconscious. I struggled later, after receiving a scholarship to Canisius High School, where my scholarship to a Jesuit top-flight education was distracted occasionally by the spoiled, complacent children of some of Buffalo’s wealthiest families (who forgot the hardworking, good values and tireless effort of…

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This article is part of a series of Business Performance Excellence in Western New York articles by Michael R Weekes, President, Whataboutquality.com.When we think of business performance our minds might drift toward manufacturing, given our WNY legacy of making things. It’s easier to see whether a manufacturer is running a lean operation, by how much inventory they have built up on the floor or whether there is a flow in the process. It’s very tangible to see how many errors or defects they have in the process by looking at the end of the line and measuring how much rework or scrap…

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On Wednesday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis yesterday released the 2009 data for metropolitan area Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Their headline, “Economic Decline Widespread in 2009,” should come as a surprise to no one. The BEA focuses on the year on year change. I’d rather look at the full span of the data that’s available, which is now 2001-2009. Here’s a look at percent change in total real metro area GDP during that time period: And here are the top ten metro areas over one million in population on this metric (in millions of dollars): Per capita tells us a little…

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I was privileged to give the keynote address at Friday’s urban innovation symposium put on by the graduate student association at the UIC Department of Urban Planning and Policy. I wanted to reprise for the blog the first part of it, which is about the real problem of innovation. A lot of innovation events, contests, initiatives and such seem to be about how to get more innovative ideas or stimulate more outside the box thinking. But I’d argue that finding innovative ideas is easy. It’s implementing them that’s the hard part. As many of you know, a couple years ago…

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For Jen, leaving the Buffalo area could not come soon enough after graduating from college. She moved to Florida in 2004 but soon found out that climate was not nearly as important as a sense of community, pace and vitality of life or simply, a change in seasons.Christmas especially could not be the same without the snow, the neighborhoods, visiting from home to home, decorated with twinkling lights.She left the sunshine state for Washington, DC where she took a job with the government. There too, over a three year stint, she was not able to find the easy-going friends and…

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