I want a raise.
I know what you're saying. The Niagara Falls Reporter is a weekly paper in a city with an economy slightly healthier than that one-eyed cat that sits on your back porch every morning, trying to cough up a hairball. Yeah, yeah, I should just be grateful to have any work.
But still.
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I've assembled a list of sports editors at other weekly papers around the country, and found my pay lags well behind that of my peer at the Orange County Nickelhoarder and the North Lauderdale Tattler, to name just two.
And right here in Niagara Falls, a number of people holding less impressive titles over at The Other Paper are fairly swimming in dough. Just last week, I saw one such bigshot toss a dime into the give-a-penny, take-a-penny dish at Wilson Farms. A dime!
Then there's the highest-paid columnist in Western New York, Paul Colangelo. In return for penning one column per week, the widely ignored "Ask the Mayor" masterpiece that runs in TOP each Monday, he makes $59,435.92 a year.
These injustices never bothered me before. But all the heartrending pleas for more money from politicians ranging from City Administrator Dan Bristol to New York's hardworking state legislators planted the seed of my discontent.
I feel their pain. I mean, those poor drudges in Albany haven't had a raise in five years! Now, a cynic might point out that they haven't met the minimum requirement of their jobs -- passing an on-time state budget -- in 20. But why be so picky?
I mean, really. How is an up-and-coming pol supposed to feed a family and keep a mistress on a measly $79,500 a year, plus $143 per day expense account while in Albany? You can barely afford filet mignon for two with a bottle of wine and creme brule, to say nothing of the Jacuzzi suite at The No-Tell Motel in suburban Albany, for that kind of pittance.
Thankfully, those lovable urchins only have to convince each other that they need more. And, in an age when political ramifications, common sense and plain old shame no longer influence the legislative process, they're sure to do the right thing for themselves eventually.
Here in Niagara Falls, meanwhile, the miserly City Council snuffed Bristol's proposed 37 percent raise, along with the other hikes called for in Mayor Vincenzo V. Anello's budget plan.
Quite frankly, it's an outrage. So what if the city can only afford to keep the library open half the year? I mean, how often do politicians and their friends need to use the library, anyway? For God's sake, we have city officials running around town wearing year-old suits. Where are our priorities?
Meanwhile, the petty sniping state legislators are enduring over the proposed pay raise might unfairly delay their turn at the trough until January.
We have to do something about this. Think of the children of legislators who will be limited to a dozen gifts each on Christmas morning. And the impact on the state capital's escort industry will be devastating.
Those thoughts are so upsetting, I'm willing to forego carping about my own pay to help others in greater need.
In order to prevent such eco-political devastation, Citycide announces the 2004 "Save the Entitled" campaign, designed to make sure that no state politician or local bureaucrat goes without far more than they need this holiday season.
Simply make out the check to David J. Staba (with one "b"), or peel a few twenties off that roll in your pocket and stuff them in an envelope. Send your donation to "Save the Entitled," 1625 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14303.
I'll make sure your generosity gets to those who need it most.
Really.
And you think you have some lousy days at work.
On Friday, the first day of testimony in the first trial of more than a dozen members and former officers of Laborers Local 91 on federal felony charges, truck driver John Spiller told the jury about his worst day on the job.
As he tried to make an early-morning food delivery to the Clarion Hotel on April 17, 1998, picketers angry over the use of non-union labor in renovating the hotel surrounded Spiller's truck, cursing and throwing things at the cab.
Two men, one of whom prosecutors say was defendant Mark LoStracco, jumped on the running board of Spiller's truck. About the same time, a brick smashed through his driver's side window, and his nose wound up getting broken in three places.
Two more men were expected to testify on Monday that they were beaten at the Clarion later the same day. Brian Perry, the first Local 91 member to plead guilty in the case, was also scheduled to testify. The jury could get the case as early as Tuesday, following closing arguments from each side.
LoStracco, represented by defense attorney Damon DeCastro, was originally scheduled to face trial on a single count of helping a racketeering conspiracy along with fellow Local 91 member James McKeown. McKeown, however, struck a plea agreement with the feds, led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William J. Hochul Jr. and Brett A. Harvey, last month. While McKeown agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of his deal, he isn't expected to testify in this trial.
Jury selection is set to start Dec. 7 for the trial of two more Local 91 members, Anthony Cerrone and Steven Markel, on charges stemming from an alleged attack on several union tile-setters during construction of the Wegman's supermarket on Military Road.
Spiller compared his ordeal to the beating of truck driver Reginald Denny following the 1992 acquittal of several police officers charged in the Rodney King beating, footage of which was burned into the national psyche. But throughout the reign of the late Michael "Butch" Quarcini, such attacks were standard operating procedure in Niagara County, according to law enforcement officials, contractors and members of other unions.
A new leadership team was elected last summer to guide the local out from under the trusteeship imposed by the international following the indictments of Quarcini and a dozen others. But putting the past firmly in the past will have to wait at least a few more months.
The main event in the massive federal case doesn't start until February, when former Local 91 officials, including former President Mark Congi and ex-Vice President Sal Bertino, face multiple charges of racketeering, extortion and conspiracy. All the federal felony counts carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
Welcome back to Steve Fournier Sr., who reopened Donatello's on Third Street last week after a hiatus of nearly 11 months.
Citycide noted the closing of the venerable pizza, wing and sub emporium back in January. Fournier, whose son, also named Steve, runs Cafe Etc. next door, initially put the business up for sale, but ultimately dressed the place up, modernized the kitchen and hired a new crew.
The first batch of wings, split between medium and butter-garlic, were just about perfect. And this week only, if you mention the Niagara Falls Reporter while ordering a sub, you get the cheese for free. Well, maybe. It's worth a try, anyway.
Hopefully, the Fourniers and the rest of the entrepreneurs along Third Street will survive all the "help" they're getting from the state.
The reconstruction plan for Third Street seems to hinge on eliminating as many parking spaces as possible, while creating a winding, pylon-lined obstacle course worthy of "Car and Driver" magazine.
Good thing they started the project in November. That timing is perfect to disrupt the holiday season, the last burst of business for many restaurants and bars before the long, cold winter. It also just about guarantees that Third Street will resemble a disaster area throughout the winter, since the odds of completing the project before the deep freeze sets in are roughly comparable to those of state legislators deciding against that pay raise for themselves.
To top it off, the good folks at USA Niagara have been floating the bright idea of a "business improvement district" for Third Street. Under the plan, business and property owners would pay an additional levy -- on top of the city taxes that just went up by nearly 5 percent and the mountain of taxes and fees already collected by Albany -- to pay for such luxuries as improved street lights, increased police patrols and other "extras."
In other words, the stuff your regular taxes are supposed to fund.
Business owners in other parts of Niagara Falls, from LaSalle to Pine Avenue to the East Side, have been complaining about the attention paid to downtown by the state. But such favoritism might just turn out to be a blessing.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Nov. 23 2004 |