🌱 🌳 New Common Council Members? + New Trees + Water Treatment

Howdy y'all! In today's issue, we'll touch on:

• ☑️ Potentially adding city-wide members to the Buffalo Common Council
• 🚰 Investment in the Bird Island water treatment facility
• 💥 A sanitation truck accident

🍃 But first, today's weather: Windy with a few showers. High: 45. Low: 37.

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Here are the top stories today in Buffalo:

1. The Buffalo Common Council is currently debating potentially adding at-large members. These members would represent the entire city, not just a district, and would be voted for across the city. Council president Darius Prigden says he isn't sure how he feels about it yet, but agrees that "neighborhoods have become a lot more diverse" since the position was dismantled in 1983. Council member Joe Golombek is against the idea, saying “my concern is, is that the bigger districts, those that have more votes, would end up getting double or triple representation than a community like mine." Golombek represents the North district which is the home to my immigrants. Read more at Spectrum Local News.
2. The city of Buffalo is pursuing funding the could help plant more trees in the East Side. Despite Mayor Byron Brown's claim that "as it relates to trees, Buffalo is an equitable city," a July report saw that the city is cutting down four trees for each tree it plants in black neighborhoods. Learn more at the Investigative Post.
3. $55 million is being invested in Buffalo's Bird Island Treatment Facility, to ensure cleaner and healthier water in Buffalo homes by the end of the 2020s. The water treatment facility has not seen major upgrades in decades. "This is the infrastructure that you don't see. What you rely on every single day to give you clean and safe drinking water," Congressman Brian Higgins says. For more information, visit WKBW 7.
4. Wednesday morning around 6:30, a sanitation truck crashed into a bridge on Clinton Street, shaking the entire neighborhood and leaving a hole in a house. Buffalo Fire Department Commissioner Renaldo explains, "There was five natural gas cylinders mounted on the top of the truck and two of those cylinders were severely damaged when they hit the underside of the overpass.” One of the damaged cylinders propelled into the second story of a house, causing about $35,000 worth of damage. The other moved towards a different house, causing about $10,ooo worth of damage to the porch. Read more at WKBW 7.
5. The final eight startups competing in the 43North competition have been announced and will compete for funding tonight. Among the final eight, there is a massager and bra for nursing company, a relationship wellness app, and a company that simplifies 3D creation. The finalists are competing for a $1 million investment and one of five spots in 43North's portfolio. See all eight finalists and learn more at WIVB 4.

Today in Buffalo:

• 43North Finals! Shea's Buffalo Theatre. October 20th, 5:00 P.M. - 9:30 P.M. Details!
• Big Time Thursday Night Comedy! New Golden Nugget. October 20th, 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Details!
• The Secret Garden! Shea's Smith Theatre. October 20th, 7:30 P.M. - 11:30 P.M. (reoccurring) Details!
• That Comedy Show! Babeville. October 20th, 8:00 P.M. - 11:30 P.M. Details!
• Pippin! Upton Hall. October 20th, 8:00 P.M. (reoccurring) Details!

Buffalo Chatter:

• University at Buffalo Loves The Bills: "Add Baird Point to the list of things @joshallenqb has jumped over #UBuffalo 💙 🏈 #Buffalove" (University at Buffalo via Instagram)
• Fantasy Island Flashback: "Tell us your favorite Fantasy island memory👇️⁠ ⁠ Tw: @Buffalo_Blondie" (Step Out Buffalo via Instagram)
• Vet Check-Up at the Zoo: "Just a regular check-up and hoof trim for one of our gemsbok, Kaylee. Kaylee is a 13-year-old female gemsbok and one of two we have here at the Buffalo Zoo. The gemsbok or South African oryx is a large antelope in the genus Oryx. The a..." (The Buffalo Zoo via Instagram)
• Bubba Is Scared For Winter: "Bubbas face perfectly sums up how we are all feelin about today’s weather 😱😨🥶. We’re still open tonight until 7:00 and still full to the brim with dogs like Bubs looking for a home and someone to cuddle up with! #wnyweather #buffalo..." (City Of Buffalo Animal Shelter via Instagram)
• National Vet Tech Week: "It’s National Vet Tech’s Week! 💙 #dogsofbuffalo #vettechweek #nationalvettechweek #thankavettech #veternarytechnician" (Dogs Of Buffalo via Instagram)
• The Buffalo History Museum: "That's a wrap. It was during this week in 1983 that production ceased at most of Bethlehem Steel's manufacturing facilities in Lackawanna, bringing an end to an era and forever altering our region's economy. You can learn more about the ..." (The Buffalo History Museum via Instagram)
• Giveaway Alert: "*GIVEAWAY ALERT!* We're teaming up with Primordial Strength to give away 12 personal training sessions with Coach Helmicki ($480 value)!⁠ ⁠ Coach Helmicki uses breathing and bodyweight calisthenics to enhance movement, mobility, enduranc..." (Step Out Buffalo via Instagram)
• Yalley's African Restaurant: "On a map, Africa seems far, far away. Sit in an African restaurant on Kenmore Avenue and chat about the finer points of Ghananian red-red while you tuck into fufu and the revelations of jollof rice, and Africa seems more like just anothe..." (Andrew Galarneau via Instagram)

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday. I'll see you soon!