Sep 5
2013
Sustainable cities
New York and San Francisco are among 10 cities internationally that are plotting a sustainable future. Strategies involve transit, recycling and energy efficiency. A report from Fast Company.
Posted 11 years ago
Sep 5
2013
New York and San Francisco are among 10 cities internationally that are plotting a sustainable future. Strategies involve transit, recycling and energy efficiency. A report from Fast Company.
Jun 20
2013
New environmental rules in China could have a major impact on U.S. scrap recyclers, the Christian Science Monitor reports. In 2011, a little less than half of what the U.S. collected for recycling – 23 million tons – was exported, with two-thirds to China.
Jun 17
2013
Some critics of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg say he hasn’t done enough to boost his city’s recycling rate. Similar criticism has been aimed at Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, whose administration has seen some modest success with the green totes rolled out in December 2011 and a recycling coordinator hired last month after a four year vacancy. Neither city has been able to reach the national average rate for recycling of 34 percent. Buffalo’s curbside recycling rate for 2012 was 12.2 percent; New York City’s rate is about 15 percent. Bloomberg isn’t settling for below average. He started a pilot[...]
May 17
2013
A public relations firm cast in a bad light by its no-bid contract with the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority that paid up to $325 an hour is walking away from the work. Eric Mower + Associates sent the BMHA a letter today (Friday) saying it won’t compete for the new contract the authority put out to bid earlier this week. “In this climate we can’t help our client right now,” said Greg Loh, the firm’s managing partner. When asked what he meant by “this climate,” Loh responded: “I think that speaks for itself.” The housing authority, landlord to some 10,000 low-income[...]
Feb 26
2013
Buffalo’s modest recycling rate is up, but Mayor Byron Brown has not followed up on his pledge to hire a coordinator and contract with a firm to promote recycling education.
Feb 22
2013
This is the time of year everyone from the president to the mayor makes “the state of …” speeches. I’ll spare you the sound of my voice, but I do want to take stock of Investigative Post on this, the first year anniversary of our launch. We’ve had a good first year. A very good year, in fact. We’ve broken a number of important stories, which, of course, is why we’re in business. But just as importantly, we’ve started to build a solid foundation with media partners and funders that’s necessary for our growth and sustainability. Journalistically, we’ve made our[...]
Feb 10
2013
Mark Schroeder serves as Buffalo’s fiscal watchdog in his job as city comptroller. He made news recently by raising concerns about City Hall’s budgeting practices, which have involved the use of reserve funds the past three years to balance the books. Schroeder, 57, spent 25 years in the private sector, working for two food companies before moving into electoral politics in 2001 as part of a political organization lead by Brian Higgins. Schroeder served three years in the Erie County Legislature before winning election in November 2003 to the New York Assembly. He represented Orchard Park, West Seneca and portions of[...]
Dec 16
2012
Howard Zemsky is one of the most influential people in Western New York. And certainly one of its busiest. He’s perhaps best known for his revitalization of the Larkin Building and the surrounding area into one of the hottest – and coolest – commercial, residential and retail districts in the region. It’s only one of several of his business ventures, including Taurus Capital Partners. Zemsky, 53, has emerged as a key community leader and political player in recent years. Most significantly, he is co-chairman of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, which is guiding Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s initiative to spend $1[...]