Investigative Post

When it comes right down to it, state legislators only have to do a handful of things to earn their $79,500 salaries. Pass a budget. Vote on bills and appointments. And, once every 10 years, redraw election district boundaries for the U.S. House of Representatives and the state Senate and Assembly. It appears likely that […]

One billion dollars opens the door to all sorts of possibilities. Consider the Central Terminal. Despite its scars, the Central Terminal might be the neatest space in Buffalo. The city’s proverbial diamond in the rough, even if the emphasis is on “rough.” Plans to revive the hulking structure have been kicked around for years, to […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The governor wants all the development in the city. Or not. He’s focused on just a couple of big projects. Or maybe more. The answers vary regarding Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plans for $1 billion in state incentives to rally the local economy, depending on who is doing the talking. And a lot of people are […]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to invest $1 billion of state incentives in an effort to revitalize the region’s economy is even bolder than the “B as in billion” suggests. Bold, but potentially flawed. Cuomo is alone among the nation’s 50 governors in targeting that kind of money at a regional economy. “To have a governor […]