Feb 28
2012
Officials Say the Darndest Things
Posted 13 years ago
Feb 28
2012
Feb 27
2012
Feb 27
2012
I couldn’t help but be reminded of Joel Giambra’s relationship with Jim Spano when I got through reading the profile of Adam Perry and his law firm’s dealings with Bryon Brown’s administration in Sunday’s Buffalo News. Spano, if you recall, was Giambra’s chief campaign fund-raiser when the Democrat turned Republican ran successfully for county executive in 2000. Once in office, Giambra’s administration rewarded Spano’s firm with 85 percent of the county’s office furniture business, worth $2.5 million. Spano’s company, not content with the lion’s share of business, overbilled the county by an estimated $550,000 according to an investigation I did[...]
Feb 24
2012
Feb 24
2012
Howard Zemsky is co-chairman of the Regional Economic Development Council for Western New York and will play a significant role in the shaping of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to invest $1 billion of state incentives in the Buffalo-area economy. He’s been hailed for his company’s redevelopment of the former Graphic Controls building on Seneca Street into the Larkin at Exchange Building, which has served as a catalyst for the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood. He’s active in the civic and preservationist community. Cuomo recently appointed Zemsky chairman of the Buffalo State College Council and is expected to soon elevate him[...]
Feb 24
2012
Our first installment of Joe Friday involves contributions made to political candidates and parties by companies with a vested interest in New York State opening up the Marcellus Shale to drilling for natural gas through a controversial process called hydraulic fracturing. A Common Cause recently released a study that tracked contributions from 2007 to October 2011. While the Buffalo metropolitan area lies just northwest of the Marcellus Shale, the contributions have a Western New York flavor. Here are the facts: Natural gas interests made 2,340 contributions totaling $1.34 million to candidates and political parties in New York State. Four companies[...]
Feb 24
2012
Feb 23
2012
A fair number of folks I’m talking to in economic development circles aren’t entirely sold on Andrew Cuomo’s plan to spend $1 billion to jump start the Buffalo economy. For starters, a lot of the details have yet to be worked out. There’s skepticism over the governor’s motives. And there’s his apparent intent to throw a lot of money at companies willing to relocate to the region, which has the makings of good photo ops but a poor return on investment. But Cuomo is showing a willingness – indeed, an eagerness – to abandon the mindset behind the failed policies[...]