The World According to Bob

Gazette drops ball on bond rating

“First, despite providing it first thing in the morning when we received it yesterday for the first time in well over a decade the city of Niagara Falls has received an A rating from one of the national bond rating agencies.

“Well, what does that mean? It is kind of like your credit score. If you are familiar with how your credit score impacts your ability to borrow, impacts interest rates, all of those things. It is the same thing for municipalities and so getting this bond rating. We have been successively growing since about 2021 I think. So I am pretty proud of the team here. I think they have done a great job over these few years and we’ve really achieved a pretty significant milestone. There is room for improvement always, we don’t just think this is it but I am pretty proud of them. They have done a good job.

“I gave this information directly to one of the Gazette reporters. Now, you would think that something as significant as that and something that hasn’t happened in quite a long time would make it into the newspaper. I don’t think anybody is surprised that it didn’t. I don’t think anybody is surprised that instead of reporting on those things this outlet does what it always does.

“But I just want everyone to know they were aware of it and they made a conscious choice I suspect just to ignore it. In any event.

Blues Festival next weekend

Next weekend is the Blues Festival. It is a multi-day event.

School is back in session. Please remember school buses are around. Some students are close enough to walk. Be care of buses and students walking.

Don’t be impatient. When the stop sign is out and the red lights are flashing it important to decide to stay behind the bus not to decide to go around it because that’s where trouble happens. Please be safe. Let’s have a safe beginning of the school year and school year for all of us.

NFL football has started

Also, the NFL season has started. Last night was the first NFL game and this weekend, Sunday Night Football has the Bills hosting the Baltimore Ravens. I expect that many of us will be at some type of football event, that is if you are not going to the game. If you are, please be careful, be safe, enjoy the football game. I know that we are all excited about this football season and what it can hold for the Buffalo Bills but remember, we have to enjoy ourselves in a safe way.

Major Junior Hockey and Centennial Park

“We expect that the conversation about Major Junior Hockey is going to continue. You may have heard from various outlets that both the Ontario Hockey League from Canada and the US Hockey League have both expressed significant interest in bringing a franchise to Niagara Falls, New York. So as we begin to have more in depth discussions with these two leagues obviously we will provide whatever insight we can to the public. “I know that many people in the area enjoy hockey and if you are a real fan of hockey you understand that these two leagues are really the leagues where tomorrow’s NHL stars get their start. They come out, they play in these major junior leagues and then from there obviously get drafted into the NHL.”

“It is exciting to have both of these leagues interested in the city of Niagara Falls and my conversations with both of the commissioners have been great. They really, really expressed a sincere interest in wanting to bring a team here so as we move forward, on completing the acquisition of the property and then move on to start having conversations with funding sources as well as plans for construction, I am sure if in fact we end up having one of those leagues plant their flag here we will probably have an ownership group we are working with as well.

“So all of that is exciting. It is something the residents of the city of Niagara Falls should take pride in and I know that as we get more information, we will pass it along to you.

Enjoy the weekend

It looks like it is going to be a pretty decent one. Fall weather of course because we are starting to get into that season. I can also tell you our team over at the Department of Public Works is putting their plans in place obviously for leaf collection but yes, for snow removal. We have to start thinking about that very early.

For this weekend, please be safe and be careful. Go Bills and we will keep you posted on all of these upcoming events and I look forward to talking to you next week.