"It was pretty funny and nobody got hurt."
That was the assessment of one of about a dozen witnesses to an incident that took place at a popular Third Street watering hole last Tuesday, when Mayor Vince Anello challenged Reporter Sports Editor David Staba to "step outside" and settle a dispute over an article I had written that was published earlier in the day.
You've got to give the mayor points for moxie. Staba stands about a head taller than Vince, outweighs him by 30 pounds, keeps himself in shape and is 23 years younger.
Witnesses said Staba was exiting the establishment when Anello approached and engaged him in conversation. Staba, a loquacious sort, obliged. Voices became raised, and Anello loudly accused Staba of "poking" him. The accusation was followed by a threat to have Staba arrested for assault. For the record, Staba denies that he ever "poked" the mayor.
It was then that Anello issued his challenge. In the years that I've known him, I've never seen Staba back down from a brawl, either mental or physical. But, as he followed the mayor out the door, he mentioned to City Administrator Danny Bristol that it would probably be better all around if a fistfight could be avoided.
As the men spilled out onto the sidewalk, bar patrons and employees alike moved quickly to the windows to see what would happen next.
Bristol's cooler head prevailed, and Anello was persuaded to leave the scene in an automobile.
Only in Niagara Falls, kids, only in Niagara Falls.
In the "How To Win Friends and Influence People" department, I guess David Rosenwasser of the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. scored about a D-minus this week.
After Marilyn Lojack contacted him about the NTCC's lack of attention to Pine Avenue, Rosenwasser answered by letter, telling her that Pine looked pretty crappy and was not worthy of his agency's attentions.
Rosenwasser's letter listed all that he thought is wrong with the "Little Italy" section of the city, and included a bunch of Polaroid photos of the things he was trying to illustrate.
I know that David is from Wisconsin or Minnesota or one of those states and had great success there, but a thing you don't do is to come to Niagara Falls, New York, and talk about how crummy Pine Avenue is.
City Councilman Babe Rotella pointed this out in a letter last week to Rosenwasser.
"As a representative of the NTCC, you should know better than anyone else that this is not the way to promote a city that contributed $2 million to your agency," Babe wrote. "As far as being a representative for our city and our community, you have failed in your first task."
Rotella pointed out the fact that it snows a lot here and that, when the snow melts, the streets and sidewalks are often littered with cigarette butts and other debris. He also pointed out that, in April, the block clubs, city business owners and just about everybody else on Pine Avenue gets out to clean the mess up.
That includes putting Columbus Park in shape for the summer concert series, fixing up all the winter-damaged benches and planting flowers in the boxes and greenspace up and down the street.
"Actions speak louder than words," Rotella wrote. "And you have failed miserably."
It's another case of just not knowing how to act. Instead of writing an officious letter to Marilyn, Rosenwasser could have served himself better by just asking her over for a cup of coffee.
But far be it from me to tell anyone how to act.
Finally, I'd like to take a minute and remember to remember Edna Battaglia. She was a friend of mine, and I can't imagine I'll ever have a better one.
She wasn't afraid to call you an asshole, and she wasn't afraid to heap praise on you. If she thought you deserved it, you got it. From Edna, I got both.
I told her son Bruce that I was stunned by the fact that Edna's "formal" education was limited to grade school and vocational school, something I hadn't known prior to her death.
Because this was a woman who could talk to you about anything. Baseball, politics, the Roman emperors, the paintings of Paul Klee or the music of Hank Williams. She was a brilliant conversationalist.
You only run around once in life, and you end up meeting a lot of B-list people.
Edna was A-list all the way and I wish I'd have spent more time around her.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | March 30 2004 |