Mar 22
2013
Gov. Cuomo’s administration gets a luxury suite at Buffalo Bills games in the deal to renovate Ralph Wilson Stadium for $130 million—three-quarters of which is state and Erie County funding. Empire State Development Corporation, a state economic development authority, will control the suite “to show off Buffalo.” A report in The New York Times.
Mar 20
2013
Kevin Connor and his crew at the Buffalo-based Public Accountability Initiative have released another report documenting a pro-fracking study whose authors have financial ties to the natural gas industry. The culprit this time is Ernest Moniz, who President Obama has nominated as secretary of energy.
Mar 20
2013
Liz Benjamin has an insightful analysis of the politics and policy behind the proposed hike in the state’s minimum wage.
Mar 19
2013
A review of SEC filings identified major corporations that pay little or no federal taxes, leading by General Electric: $81 billion in profits over five years and a tax refund of $3 billion. Others include Apple, Google and Microsoft. Those with a WNY presence include Verizon, Citigroup and FedEx. A report from Alternet.
Mar 18
2013
The foundation for University at Buffalo paid big bucks to lobbyists to fight a proposal that would have made foundations subject to the Freedom of Information Law, but the expense wasn’t listed on the federal tax form. The foundation has $600 million in net assets according to a report from the Albany Times Union
Mar 17
2013
The Boston Phoenix, one of the nation’s most storied alt-weeklies, closed last week, underscoring how yet another segment of the legacy media is struggling. Jack Shafer, a former alt-weekly publisher, explains the dynamics for Reuters.
Mar 12
2013
Dr. Sanjay Gupta made more than $500,000 from drug companies since 2009, according to a ProPublica database. He is a consulting psychiatrist at GreenField Health and Rehabilitation Center, according to his Linkedin account. This puts him in the top 22 of all doctors nationwide.
Mar 12
2013
Health Commissioner Shah says he could have a decision to the governor in a few weeks on whether to allow hydraulic fracturing. Neither the governor nor Shah said they need to wait for the results of a study that will look at health histories of scores of people living near natural gas wells.