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JESSICA FINCH Associate Editor

+ HARD FACTS - Throughout the day I receive e-mails that have nothing to do with Amherst. Many times they are from a mass e-mail list from places around the country. When I received one such e-mail from Poughkeepsie, I figured it was just more junk mail. Well junk is truly the operative word here. According to the e-mail from Gilman Ciocia, a provider of federal, state and local tax planning and preparation services, America's Tax Freedom Day fell on April 30 this year. The company wrote, "This means that Americans are working entirely for the government from Jan. 1 until the end of April and that they will not realize their net income until April 30. This year, Americans will spend 120 days working to pay various taxes: 79 days for federal taxes and 41 for state and local taxes."

Well I guess the good news is I didn't read this in January, but in April when I had completed my tax burden.

+ BRAVO - My grandmother has seen a lot of musicals and plays in her day. From Broadway to high school shows, she loves the theater. This past Saturday she said she saw the best performance of the many she had seen at the Lancaster Opera House, "The Pajama Game." The musical is being performed by the Opera-Lytes, operating under the Amherst Community Church. I have to agree with her, but I am basing this on only the three or four shows I have seen there. Her declaration of "the best" carries a lot more merit. It was also great to have good second-row seats.

The show was simply fantastic. The first act was a bit too long for my liking, but entertaining all the way through. There was also a familiar name in the cast, Laura Grinnen, a John F. Kennedy High School graduate, and more importantly, a former Bee intern. During my tenure as Cheektowaga Bee editor, Grinnen was assigned to work with me in Cheektowaga for the summer she interned. She did a great job as a dancer and ensemble member in the musical - talent you don't see in someone sitting at a desk.

The Opera-Lytes delivered a funny, upbeat show that had my grandmother and me humming, "Seven and a half cents" all the way home. Although not a traditional musical, it had catchy tunes and some memorable lines. For tickets visit www.lancopera.org. For information on the Opera-Lytes, e-mail operalytes@hot mail.com.

+ THROUGH YOUR EYES - The University at Buffalo is looking at some new angles on its campuses - literally. The university has launched "Framing UB," a yearlong photo and video contest for students, faculty and staff. Participants are to submit digital images and brief commentaries of their favorite, and not so favorite, places on UB's North and South campuses and at the new State Center for Excellence for Bioinformatics and Life Sciences on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The contest Web site is, www.buffa lo.edu/ub2020/plan/. The entries will compliment the data gathered from building-by-building audits and other studies conducted in conjunction with the development of a master plan for UB. The contest is open through April 2008. Winning submissions will be posted on the site on a continuing basis. A final exhibit of the best of the best will be held next spring. Some of the images may become part of the master plan.