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Apr 19

2012

IDA deals trigger backlash

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The Erie County Industrial Development Agency has put a moratorium on granting tax breaks to hotels. The Lancaster IDA is having second thoughts about proposed tax breaks for a pizzeria. Labor unions are challenging the hiring practices at a Niagara Falls company that received property  in tax breaks in 2010. After years of “full steam ahead,” local IDAs are starting to have second thoughts about business as usual. That’s not to say they’ve necessarily changed their ways – questionable projects continue to get the green light more often than not – but there’s been an unmistakenable swing in momentum. “IDAs[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Apr 17

2012

Online journalism coming of age

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The Pulitzer Prize is the measure by which excellence in journalism is measured. Until recently, newspapers won by default. There was no alternative (with apologies to the Emmy Awards). But in recent years, entrepreneurs have established online-only news publications. There are for profits, including Politico, Talking Points Memo and, of course, Huffington Post. There are even more non-profit investigative reporting centers, lead by ProPublica, the Center for Investigative Reporting and its affiliated California Watch, and regional centers including Voice of San Diego and MinnPost, headed by former Courier-Express editor Joel Kramer. These young pups are proving capable of going toe-to-toe[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Apr 17

2012

Thin skinned in Albany

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Liz Benjamin is a must-read political blogger who plays it straight down the middle. That didn’t stop Gov. Cuomo’s staff from compiling a list of grievances to present her boss. The episode, according to the New York Times, “showed a defining characteristic of this administration: few perceived slights are too minor to dispute.”

Posted 13 years ago

Apr 16

2012

When ‘flip’ doesn’t ‘flop’

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NY Times magazine story examines the political repercussions for Sen. Mark Grisanti and three other Republicans who voted for gay marriage and concludes their stance doesn’t carry “the risk it would have been just a couple of years ago. The four defectors aren’t guaranteed re-election. But if they lose, it is likely to be in spite of their marriage vote, not because of it”

Posted 13 years ago

Apr 15

2012

Taxing questions regarding the Bills

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The key study isn’t done, and negotiations have yet to start in earnest, but it’s not too early to start posing questions about who should pay for what to keep the Bills in Buffalo. The teams’ lease on Ralph Wilson Stadium expires in July 2013 season and a story in The Buffalo News on Sunday reports that sources are saying the cost of renovating the facility will run north of $200 million. Given the cost of upgrading the home of the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs ran $295 million and $400 million respectively, that seems like a safe,[...]

Posted 13 years ago
Investigative Post