Categories for Featured

Jul 11

2013

Critical look at Cuomo’s Start-Up NY

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David Cay Johnston, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of best selling books on tax and economic policy, is no fan of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Start-Up NY program. Or the governor, for that matter. “His new law undermines market economics and promotes corporate socialism, in which profits are privatized and costs are socialized,” Johnston writes in a piece for City Newspaper in Rochester. “Cuomo’s plan redistributes wealth upwards, showing that he is no Democrat in the traditional sense that Democrats care about working people,” Johnston wrote. “Rather, Cuomo is part of the growing cadre of politicians whose success depends on[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 26

2013

Cuomo’s failed huffing and puffing on Peace Bridge

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First Gov. Andrew Cuomo huffed. In October, he had his emissaries tell the Public Bridge Authority he wanted it to turn over control – along with $95 million – to New York State to redevelop the U.S. side of the bridge plaza. When that didn’t work, he puffed. The governor in April had a member of his senior staff write a caustic letter to a senior Canadian transport official accusing Canadian members of the bridge authority of “foot dragging” and a “lack of cooperation” and demanding the removal of general manager Ron Rienas who, you guessed it, is a Canadian.[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 21

2013

DEC’s sewage discharge reports lack details

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The intent of the Sewage Pollution Right to Know law passed 10 months ago was to inform state residents within four hours of sewage overflows into waterways to protect them from the dangers of swimming or fishing in tainted water. Not only would residents know the estimated amount of all overflows, they would know where it happened, the duration, what time, the reason and a description of steps taken to control it from happening again. But only half of the disclosure is happening 45 days since the law went into effect.   The Department of Environmental Conservation and environmental advocates are[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 15

2013

Q&A: Mayoral candidate Bernie Tolbert

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Bernie Tolbert is challenging Byron Brown in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary for mayor. Tolbert, 65, is a Buffalo native with an extensive background in law enforcement. He worked as an agent and supervisor with the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1980 to 2001. His assignments included special agent in charge of FBI operations in Buffalo and Philadelphia and several stints at agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. He joined the National Basketball Association in 2002, first and vice president of security and later senior vice president. He retired in 2010. Earlier in his career, Tolbert worked as a teacher and[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 14

2013

Peace Bridge bill may be DOA

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I suspect a number of newspaper readers and television viewers surmise that the Peace Bridge Authority is about to go bye-bye as a result of Wednesday’s approval by the state Legislature of a bill that would dissolve the authority that operates the Peace Bridge next year unless its governing board acts in accordance with state wishes. That would be a false assumption, and the story I did Thursday evening on WGRZ was my attempt to set the record straight. I want to expand on that story here. The bridge authority has a legal opinion from Phillips Lytle, Buffalo’s biggest law[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 11

2013

Ugly month for sewer overflows in Erie County

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For the first time, the numbers are flowing in on sewer overflows across the state and it isn’t pretty. In Erie County, almost 7 million gallons of untreated sewage were discharged into local waterways in May. This information wasn’t publicly available on the Internet until the Sewage Pollution Right to Know Law went into effect last month. Based on what’s reported so far, the biggest repositories of raw sewage were Ellicott Creek (2 million gallons),  Scajaquada Creek (1 million) and the Niagara River (679,000). Heavy rain or snow melt is often the cause of these overflows. The ground water seeps through cracks in the sewer[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 7

2013

More Cuomo-orchestrated noise on Peace Bridge

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Looking at the video of Thursday’s press conference, I couldn’t help but notice the make up of the self-proclaimed Western New York Leaders For Peace Bridge Progress. White, male and wealthy. A cross-section of the community, they are not. But they do reflect the political donor class, particularly Democratic friendly contributors. A check of state Board of Elections records show almost everyone in the 22 person group is a frequent contributor to political campaigns, collectively giving hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past decade. Nine have contributed $52,750 to Cuomo’s campaign, either directly or through their companies or spouses. The group includes several notable developers who,[...]

Posted 11 years ago

May 28

2013

Numbers, history belie Cuomo’s Peace Bridge claims

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his minions are insisting long and loud that Canadian members of the authority that manages the Peace Bridge have shortchanged efforts to improve the American side of the bridge. But an analysis by Investigative Post found that nearly half of the $192.5 million spent or committed by the authority’s governing board since 1992 has been earmarked for work on the American side. What’s more, more funding has been committed to improve the plaza in Buffalo than in Fort Erie since the 9/11 terrorist attacks when projects on the books are factored in. Investigative Post also found[...]

Posted 11 years ago
Investigative Post

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