Jun 12
2012
A proposed bill by Common Council Majority Leader Demone Smith would prohibit employers from requiring job seekers to disclose any criminal convictions on their application. Buffalo would stand alone among cities, towns or villages statewide in limiting the ability of private employers to make the inquiry. Employers would, however, be able to obtain the information as the application process moves forward.
May 31
2012
Brian Davis’s plea to federal corruption charges Tuesday comes as no surprise. Neither does the Common Council’s appointment of a bartender to fill Mickey Kearn’s vacant seat. Such is the state of the Common Council. Jimmy Griffin used to call them the “Comical Council” back in the day and yes, they used to bicker a lot. But once upon a time, the Common Council had a core of stellar lawmakers—think Gene Fahey, Jim Pitts, and Dave Rutecki, among others, followed in later years by the likes of Brian Higgins and Kevin Helfer—who attempted to deal with serious issues and function[...]
Apr 5
2012
Buffalo is not Austin, Texas, and never will be. They bake. We freeze. They have Lance Armstrong. We had OJ. They don’t pay state income taxes. We do. Oh boy, do we. But I’ve come away from two visits to Austin since last summer thinking there are lessons to be learned. The Texas capital is booming. Austin proper added some 160,000 residents between 2001 and 2010, up 20 percent. Only one major metro area grew at a faster pace. The region also added jobs at a faster rate than any major metro area in the nation over the past eight[...]
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[...]