Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the vaccine-segregated crowd.

Buy me some peanuts with your debit card,

I didn’t think buying tickets would be so hard,

Let me root, root, root for the Bisons Blue Jays,

If they don’t win it’s a shame.

For its one, two,

Three dingers out of the park

At the old ball game.

Ahh!  Major League Baseball in downtown Buffalo!

I became a baseball fan long ago.  My dad and I took in Bisons’ games at Offermann Stadium, War Memorial Stadium, Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls, back to War Memorial Stadium, and then Pilot Field – which later morphed into the Downtown Ballpark, North Americare Park, Dunn Tire Park, Coca-Cola Field and Sahlen Field.  Our choice of seats changed based on the park, but the atmosphere was pretty much the same over the years.

Along the way players who were never stars, older stars, and stars-to-be have appeared on the rosters of the Bisons and their opponents.  Minor league baseball is like that.  For every Johnny Bench and Vlad Guerrero, Jr. who has passed through Buffalo on the way to a great major league career there have been a whole lot more journeyman players like Bobby Morgan and Marv Thorneberry.  As long as the games are at a reasonably competitive level, watching a minor league game is still entertaining.

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It’s budget time for SUNY Erie.  This year’s decisions may be much more consequential than in years gone by.

Like other community colleges throughout New York State and the country, SUNY Erie has been devastated by sharp drops in enrollment.  Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment numbers are down 28 percent over the past five years at SUNY Erie.  Lower enrollment means lower revenues from tuition, fees and state aid, which in turn impacts the programs and services the school can offer.

Following approval of a 2021-2022 budget by the SUNY Erie Board of Trustees, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has submitted the budget to the County Legislature for approval later this month.  The county budget office worked with the college during its budget preparations.

Before getting to the details of the budget, here are a couple major SUNY Erie developments:

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