The Ni a g a r a Parks Commission, in partnership with the Friends of the Niagara Glen and members of the local fishing community, will be hosting a clean-up event in the Niagara Glen and Whirlpool Forest Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
People who want to help are asked to meet at the entrance at the top of the main access stairs along the Niagara Parkway just prior to 10 a.m. Those planning to spend the afternoon are encouraged to bring their own lunch, snacks and refillable water bottles. Proper footwear suitable for rugged terrain is required.
The Niagara Glen Nature Centre opens daily at 10 a. m., and visitors are invited to explore educational displays including “Animals of the Glen,” as well as nature and geology touch tables and interpretive panels on the flora and geology of the Niagara Glen. Daily hiking tours are available twice daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. When
you walk into Studio 55 on Portage Rd. in Niagara Falls, owner John Albanese wants you to feel like you’re actually in a Manhattan hair salon. Or one in some trendy European town.
It’s the vision the businessman had when he sat down with local architect Michael Allen to design a new look for his 26-year-old salon. “My wife and I have been fortunate enough to travel and we like to go into these places that have a unique feel to them,” Albanese said.
Albanese started Studio 55 in a plaza on Thorold Stone Rd. in 1987. Six years later, he bought the building he’s now in and converted the former houseturned-dental office into his new salon. Nearly two decades and many renovations later, the building was 600 square feet bigger than it was when he first moved in, but Albanese knew it was time for a major change.
“If you’re not moving, you’re not grooving,” he said with a laugh. “Clients like to see that you’re changing things up.”
Started last September, the work included adding a 1,200-square-foot addition to the front of the building with high ceilings and plenty of windows. Parts of the original brick house are still visible, but now they’re part of the interior décor.
The new layout brings the building closer to Portage Rd. than it was before, which Albanese said has had a positive effect on business.
“All of a sudden people think we’re a new studio here,” he said.
The business has nine employees, and many of them also help teach at the Studio 55 Academy, which is a hair dressing teaching facility on site.
“There was a need,” Albanese said. “It’s a unique opportunity for us to offer advanced apprenticeship courses.”
The courses aren’t cheap, but the owner said the instructors are taught themselves by some of the top trainers from Paul Mitchell. Albanese is ultimately hoping the academy will become a feeder program for many of the other salons in the city and region. reservations can be made online through Best Buy. All 7-Eleven stores across the country are switching over their in-store ATM machines from CIBC to Scotiabank. showed 82% don’t plan to have any layoffs in the final six months of 2012. Only 8% said they expected to make significant staff cutbacks while the remainder predicted normal or selective layoffs. Globally, 78% of the 14,931 employers said they don’t plan layoffs through the end of the year. The data was part of the Manpower Employment Survey, which will be updated every six months to serve as an indicator of upcoming employment level changes.