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The story is about young people returning to Buffalo, but it probably could apply to any Western New York town, including Batavia.

The Buffalo area has lost a huge share of its younger population to other places, as U. S. Census numbers routinely show. But Burns is part of a segment of the population heading the other way, looking to return as their priorities change. Often they are people in their late 20s or early 30s who want to be near family, familiar places they grew up around, and crave a lifestyle with a pace different from larger metro areas.

...

A recent story in New York magazine is calling attention to the area’s low cost for living space and how it has helped persuade some Buffalo expatriates living in New York City to come back. As of late last week, the article was ranked the most read, commented on and e-mailed story on the magazine’s Web site.

Part of the article dealt with the price chasm between New York City and Buffalo for homes and apartments, as well as the difference in the amount of living space that comes with those costs. One couple gave up a tiny Brooklyn apartment for $1,300 a month for a spacious place in Buffalo for $795 per month.

Realtors interviewed said the region’s home prices could be a draw for young people who have tried living somewhere else but now want a place where they can afford to settle down.

“The crucial thing is the lifestyle,” said Phil Aquila, general manager of M. J. Peterson Co. “You can have a lifestyle here because you can afford to live here.”

Are there prodigal sons and daughters returning to Genesee County?

While jobs are not in abundance, there are jobs here, and it's never been easier to work from home or start you're own business.  When compared to most major metro areas, you can't beat housing prices and it's a heck of a lot less crowded, smoggy and crime-ridden.

Joyce Miles of the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal offers a profile of sorts of Alice Kryzan, Democratic candidate for the 26th Congressional District, and suggest that Kryzan has deeper roots in her party than either of her opponents.

In person, Kryzan’s manner is soft-spoken and elegant, yet down-to-earth and steeped with a sense of mission. She’s proud of her Democratic roots — her dad was a mayor of their hometown, Youngstown, Ohio, and was among the first Ohio Democrats to throw in with John F. Kennedy for President in 1960 — and she doesn’t hesitate to point out that her competitors are both former Republicans.

Is being more Democrat-than-thou a virtue in a Republican-leaning district?

As for coverage of her policy statements, it's all about the environment.

She wrote a fairly extensive policy statement linking environmental protection, U.S. energy independence and western New York economic growth opportunities. Among other things, the statement calls for a federal goal of 20 percent renewable-source power generation by 2020; a moratorium on construction of coal-fired power plants; enhanced federal tax credits for renewable energy producers and no new drilling for oil; ramped-up fuel economy standards for vehicles and expanded public transportation; sprawl control and encouragement of “walkable” communities. For western New York, she picks ecotourism and development of “green” industries like biofuels as growth engines.

Kryzan acknowledges the plan is ambitious but she’d argue it’s no more so than President Kennedy’s call to send men to the moon. She figures that got done and so can this.

“All we have to say is say, ‘we’re going to be energy independent in 10 years. We’re going to marshal all of our resources to do it,’” she said. “All we need are leaders who have the courage to do it and people to follow them.”

UPDATE: In other campaign news, the Buffalo News carries an article about Powers neglecting to mention War Kids Relief in his latest campaign literature.

In the campaign’s early days, his charity was mentioned often. But Democratic challengers Jack Davis and Alice Kryzan may have found the Achilles heel.

They’re kicking it at will, and probably will continue to do so until the three-way party primary vote on Sept. 9.

“It was the prominent aspect of his biography when he first started running for Congress,” said Kryzan campaign manager Anne Wadsorth. “And now that some questions have been raised concerning the charity and Jon Powers’ role in it, he has eliminated any reference to it as he talks about his experience.”

Any mention of War Kids Relief on the Jon Powers web site is also hard to find. At least, I couldn't find it without using Google to do a site search.  Ooops, I'm blind.  There's a button on the upper right of the home page. 

Jamestown got to Muckdogs ace Arquimedes Nieto (6-1) for six runs (four earned) in the fist four innings tonight and never looked back, beating Batavia 10-2 to regain a half game lead in the Pinckney Division.

Jose Garcia and Charles Cutler each collected two hits. Garcia also had two stolen bases.

Jamestown and Batavia clash again Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at Dwyer Stadium.

Box Score.

A mere half game will separate Pinckney Division leaders Batavia and Jamestown as the Muckdogs enter into a two-game series with their Western New York rivals.

The Muckdogs will be on top after a 4-2 defeat of Williamsport Friday night behind the pitching of Hector Cardenas (5-0) and Adam Reifer, who notched his 21st save.

Jamestown, meanwhile, lost to Auburn 5-4.

Saturday's game will be in Jamestown and begins at 7:05 p.m.  On Sunday, the teams return to Batavia for a 1:05 p.m. game.

In the tight race for the Pinckney Division crown, the Muckdogs pulled back within half a game of Jamestown Thursday with an 11-7 win over Williamsport.

Meanwhile, Jamestown was clobbered by Auburn, 15-2.

The hometown heroes were powered by catcher Charles C. Cutler, who went 4-5, including a home run, two runs scored and three RBI. He raised season average to .283.

Shane Paterson also picked up three hits. Jose Garcia had two stolen bases.

Starter George Brown went four innings and gave up four runs. He did not factor in the decision. The winning pitcher was Thomas Eager, who went four innings yielding a single run. His record moves to 5-3.

Closer Adam Reifer was called on to get the final out and he picked up his 20th save of the season.

The Muckdogs remain three games ahead of Brooklyn in the wild card race.

Complete box score. Standings.

The Muckdogs face off with Williamsport again tonight at 7:05 p.m. and are home Sunday to play Jamestown at 1:05 p.m.

If you look at the people page, you'll note that we list only 318 members.  I don't have an exact count, but we're past that.  There's some software glich preventing an accurate count from appearing.  Our engineers will look into it soon.

Account confirmations: But speaking of members -- we've had at least 100 people sign up for accounts, some multiple times, but never confirm their account.

You must confirm your account in order to post anything.  When you sign up, an e-mail is sent to you and you must click on the link in that e-mail to confirm your account.

And to be clear, registering for the site is not required if you only want to read what's posted. That said, we hope and encourage everybody to post blog items and make comments, and registration is required for participation.

UPDATE (from Philip): If you are waiting for a confirmation e-mail or trying to retrieve a forgotten password and no e-mail seems to be showing up in your Inbox, check your spam folder. We've had a few folks whose aggressive spam-filter software relegated Batavian mails to the junk bin.

Advertising: If you have a business and are interested in advertising, write to me at howard at thebatavian dot com.

Free Job Ads: If you're an employer, you can post job ads for free.  Just click on the "Jobs" tab above and follow the directions from there.

Free Classifieds: Any private person can post free "Buy, Sell or Trade" ads. To post, click the "Buy, Sell, Trade" link above and follow the directions. Pictures are allowed with these posts. Just make sure the picture is no wider than 470 pixels.

Local authors Bill Kauffman, Den Linehan and Nick DiChario will be at Present Tense on Saturday, Sept. 20.

They will be helping the store celebrate its third year in business. Even goes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but the authors will be on hand at 1 p.m. for book signings.

Kauffman will be there is support of his new book, Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet: The Life of Luther Martin.  Kauffman's previous books include Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette, Ain't My America, America First! and Look Homeward America.

Den Linnehan is a photographer who's books focus on Upstate New York.

Nick Dichario is a science fiction writer and his latest book is Valley of Day-Glo.

On Friday, Sept. 19, author Christopher Paolini will be at the store at 11 p.m. for a release party of his new book, Brisinger. Costumes are encouraged. UPDATE/CORRECTION: The author will NOT be at the store.  This is merely a local release party.

Vindy.com reports that last nights game between Batavia and  Mahoning Valley was rained out.  No make up game is scheduled, the site reports.

That seems surprising given how tight the race is between the Muckdogs and Jamestown.  If the season ends with a tie or only half game separating the two teams, wouldn't this be an important game to get in the books?

Jamestown beat State College last night and sit atop the Pinckney Division standings by a game in a half at 41-24, while the Muckdogs are 39-25.

Batavia has the third best record in the league and a comfortable three game lead over Brooklyn in the wild card race.

The Muckdogs are at Williamsport tonight and tomorrow, and will match up with Jamestown on Saturday. The next home game is Sunday at 1:05 p.m. against Jamestown.

The Powers campaign is trying to make an issue of who Chris Lee (the Republican candidate for the 26th District) sold his company to.  The D&C:

The company Lee helped manage and his father founded was sold for $395 million less than a year after the buyer, an international conglomerate, pleaded guilty to two felony charges related to sensitive defense technology that had been sent to China, Britain, Singapore and Japan. The conglomerate, ITT, also paid $100 million in fines.

The Lee campaign maintains that International Motion Control, an engineering and technology company founded by Patrick Lee, was sold to a division of ITT that was separate from ITT's defense operations, which incurred the charges and fines.

...

"As a combat veteran, Jon Powers is deeply troubled by anyone who profited from a company that gave our national security secrets to the Chinese," said John Gerken, Powers' campaign manager. (via Rochester Turning)

It seems a stretch to knock a guy for legally selling his company.  It  doesn't seem like the sort of thing that will resonate with voters, and what Powers is doing is reminding people that Lee is an experienced, successful business man -- something that Powers, for all his great military experience -- doesn't have in his portfolio.  While that doesn't disqualify Powers for office, why draw attention to it?

It also seems to be a political misstep for Powers to raise this issue now, before he's even won the primary. By the time the general election rolls around, this will be a stale story that most media won't cover.  (Though, a lot of times campaigns get these stories planted in the press so they have a clip to include in a hit piece mailer. The timing, then, doesn't matter.)

I don't know much about International Motion Control, but if it were the case that IMC dealt in defense-related technology that could maybe make its way into Chinese hands via ITT, then Mr. Lee's judgment and fitness for office could be legitimately questioned.  But merely profiting from the sale? That's a stretch.

There isn't much on the web now about IMC, but I did find this press release about the sale. The list of products appears pretty non-threatening. However, it is interesting that Mr. Lee outsourced some manufacturing to Asian countries. That could be a liability for him in this district, but it seems Jack Davis has the stronger track record to make that case.

Chris Lee's campaign site. Jon Powers  campaign site.

WBTA story: The county Health Department is warning that a rabid cat was found in Le Roy and they want to speak to anybody who may have come into contact with the feline.

The black cat lived on Summit street and health officials are looking for people who may have come into contact with it between Aug. 14 and Aug. 24.

Two people were either bitten or scratched and are being treated for rabies.

Contact: Genesee County Health Department at 344-2580, Extension 5569.

The Muckdogs hitting instructor, Jeff Albert, is an interesting cat.  He's best known for his video analyst of players swings (he used to blog here and here's his Swing Training site.). It looks like his minor league playing experience was limited to 21 ABs on independent teams.

You can't argue with the results he's getting from the Muckdog hitters this season, though. It seems like the entire team has shown improvement over the course of the season.

FutureRedbirds.com posted an interview with Jeff.

Switching gears a little bit, tell me about some of your players. I thought Shane Peterson was an interesting draft pick due to his great college career at Long Beach St., but seeing him on video, he does have that odd two-step swing. Is that at all a concern of yours?

With Shane’s line-drive ability and strike zone judgment, I can see where he had success. The pre-swing move from his draft video is more exaggerated than what he showed up here with, so I wouldn’t say he has a two-step swing that causes concern. Everyone here is striving for a more efficient swing, and Shane is no different. He shows up every day to do his work and sometimes I literally have to kick him out of the cage.

Give me your impressions of the following players: Jermaine Curtis, Frederick Parejo, Colt Sedbrook, Charlie Cutler, Alex Castellanos and Xavier Scruggs.

Curtis is a gamer - he’s made all the plays at 3rd base and swung well from the 3-hole. Hand and foot injuries have kept him out of more games than any of us would like. Parejo had a good showing at the all-star game, having hit the only home run. For him to put together an all-star year after jumping from the GCL last year is impressive, especially when you factor in that he was 17 when the season started.

Sedbrook has been our most consistent hitter to this point, and his swing and approach are a good match - he drives the ball the other way and plays to his strengths in the box. Cutler has settled in and is driving the ball with more authority, which is a good sign considering that he has one of the lowest swing-and-miss percentages within the entire organization. Castellanos just got here and came out swinging - the ball really jumps off his bat towards right-center field. Scruggs has some power and deserves a lot of credit for his diligence. He has probably made the biggest improvement of all the hitters here since day one.

I left this remark in the comments:

I’m surprised Jeff isn’t more concerned about Shane’s swing. To me, it’s a big, loopy, slow swing. He starts with his hands too far forward, and then has a little hitch just before he starts the bat forward. His mechanics rob any chance he has of hitting for power. He only does as well as he does because of exceptional plate discipline.

I wish you had asked about Beau Riportella. To me, he’s the best looking guy at the plate on the team. And he’s been showing consistent and improving results recently. He just needs to reverse his K and BB totals. If he does that, he could evolve into a legit three-hole prospect.

Meanwhile, Mollie Radzinski, who has supplied us with coverage of the team this season, has her own blog and posted about her experience this season as a Muckdogs intern.

First, there are the players. Fresh out of college, these guys have signing bonuses ranging from $940,000 to $1,000. Unlike many of the bigger-league stars, every one of them is willing to sign autographs for fans.

I won’t say there aren’t any egos on the team, but it is hard to have too much of an ego when one has to drive around town on a Huffy bike.

Look at the post Dave Wellenzohn just left on The Batavian.

Find me one other general manager in all of baseball who has gone onto a media and site directly encouraged fans to support the local team!

Listen, people, YOUR TEAM -- and the Batavia Muckdogs are your team -- are in the midst of an exciting and significant pennant race.

You need to attend these home games. You must attend these home games.

And let me ask you -- where is the Daily News in encouraging its readers to attend these final Muckdog games?

Let's be real: The Batavian isn't even five months old.  Our audience is still growing. The Daily News is more than 100 years old and its audience is established. The Daily News can do more to put people in Dwyer Stadium seats than we can, so WHERE is the Daily News support for the home town team? Come on, Tom Turnbull, show us you really love Batavia -- get this stadium sold out these final games of the season.

There is no reason these final games shouldn't be sold out every night -- especially the two games against Jamestown.

So, are you going to support YOUR team, or not?

WBEN's "Hardline with Hardwick" featured a debate between the three Democratic candidates for the 61st Senate District.

The full audio is available here.

It is, at times, a spirited discussion, with Joe Mesi and Michelle Ianello, especially mixing it up, while Dan Ward plays it more low key.

(via Albany's Insanity .)

While the "soap opera" (the phrase of the week, thanks to Jason Molino) of the Davis/Powers fight has provided many entertaining moments on The Batavian the past few weeks, Buffalo Pundit drags Alice Kryzan into the fray.

From the Buffalo News in 1998, Alice Kryzan spoke on the 20th anniversary of the Love Canal fiasco. (We just this year remembered its 30th anniversary):

Alice Kryzan, an attorney who represented Hooker and Occidental, said Hooker’s waste-disposal policies in 1978 “were entirely legal and well-ahead of the industry standards of the times.”

And, she said, scientific studies have yet to prove a link between chemical exposure of people living in the area and health effects.

 In the more Democrat-than-thou debate, where do you think these three fall?

The Muckdogs picked up a 4-3 Saturday night over Williamsport, and with Jamestown beating Auburn by an identical 4-3 score, Batavia retains its half gain lead in the Pinckney Division.

Xavier Scruggs went 2-5 and drove in two runs, while Edwin Gomez and Colt Sedbrook each gathered two hits.

The winning pitcher was LaCurtis Mayes (4-0) who tossed two innings of scoreless ball.

The starter, Joshua Hester, went five innings and surrendered four hits and one unearned run.

Hector Cardenas was tagged for two runs in 2 1/3 innings.

The Muckdogs move to 38-23 (Standings).

Attendance was 1,070.

(Box score)

This morning, Buffalo Pundit embeds a YouTube video that attacks Jack Davis for being old and rich -- nothing said about his positions on policies.

The video is cute and well produced, but it's also offensive.

First, Jack Davis is a self-made man.  He represents the historical promise of America -- that anybody with a good idea, who works hard and makes good decisions can be successful. Attacking Jack Davis for being rich is like attacking America, because you're saying it's wrong to build successful businesses and to create jobs, and that people shouldn't have the basic economic freedom to benefit from the fruits of their labor.

Second, imagine a political video that attacked a candidate for being a woman, or black, or handicapped. Who -- especially among self-described progressives --  would find such prejudice anything but outrageously bigoted? So why is ageism suddenly OK? Is it bad to grow old, to acquire experience, to have a perspective that reaches back further than "Friends"?

The question needs to be asked: Are Democrats making a mistake to throw so much support behind Jon Powers while attacking Jack Davis so voraciously?

Voter registration for the 26th District, as of April 1, 2008, is 40 percent Republican. Despite the GOP stranglehold on the mostly rural counties, Davis picked up 48 percent of the vote in 2006, and his 44 percent in 2004 (when Bush garnered 55 percent of the district vote), was pretty darn respectable when compared to the 22 percent Ayesha F. Nariman tallied for the Democrats in 2002 (which shows you to what extent Democrats in the 26th are willing to vote Republican -- there still seem to be a lot of Reagan Democrats around).

In both of Davis' loses, he was running against an incumbent. This time, the seat is open.

Setting aside his wacky anti-immigration pronouncements, Davis has a message that appeals to rust-belt conservative voters -- protectionism on jobs, cut spending and taxes,  save social security and reduce the influence of special interests.

While Powers has an admirable position on job growth, he seems squishy on spending and taxes (his website addresses neither issue). He'll be vulnerable to the tried-and-true GOP "Liberal" attack.

At first glance, Republican Chris Lee looks like an urbane empty suit. He has career-politician-in-the-making written all of him. He seems to have no ties to nor affinity for a rural county like Genesee. If he wins in November, he's likely going to represent Western New York for the next five terms. 

So the question Democrats attacking Davis might want to ask themselves -- are they ready to accept that outcome?

Davis may not meet any body's picture of the ideal candidate, but at most, he's going to serve two terms, then the race is wide open again and anything can happen.

Just some food for thought.  Again, I'm non-partisan and have no affinity for any particular candidate.

The Batavia Muckdogs improved their record to 37--23 with a 10-1 win over Mahoning Valley Scrappers at Dwyer Stadium tonight.

The Muckdogs retained their half-game first-place lead over Jamestown, who beat State College tonight 2-1.

Thomas Eager improved his record to 4-3 by going five innings and giving up only two hits and one run, though he did walk four.

Eager carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, when a line shot from the first batter he faced bounced off his glove toward the third base line. The next batter singled to left and then Eager issued a walk.  A run scored on a double play, and then Eager walked the next two batters -- missing badly on several pitches -- to load the bases again. He retired the next batter he faced, however.

(Sorry, while I was there -- I wasn't keeping score, so I don't have the names of the Scapper batters involved in that one-run inning.)

In only his third game as a Muckdog, second baseman Alejandro Castellanos went 3-4 with a triple and two RBI.

Chris Swauger also had three hits, while Edwin Gomez and Cold Sedbrook each had two (Box Score).

Eight of the Muckdog's runs came in an explosive third inning, which proved to be a preview of the fireworks that would follow the game.

The post-game show was worth the $5 GA by itself.  It was a major league exhibition lasting for at least 20 minutes.

The announced paid attendance was 1,490. 

There should have been at least another 1,000 people there to see the first-place Muckdogs continue its quest for a division crown (not to mention the great fireworks show).

Dave Wellenzohn was energetic as always with between inning games and promotions. He certainly throws himself into supporting the team.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my favorite Muckdog, sweet-swining Beau Riportella, who rode the bench for the night.

Saturday at 7:05 p.m. the Muckdogs take on Williamsport while Jamestown visits Auburn. Game time for Sunday is 1:05 p.m.

We have a new commercial on WBTA.

Once again, the spot was recorded by Nici Johnson, local resident and waitress at the Pok-A-Dot.

We're quite proud of it: MP3 File