Categories for DailyPost

Jan 28

2022

CBA proponents here seeking first win

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Third in a three-part series. Western New York has never adopted a community benefits agreement the likes of which is being proposed for a new Buffalo Bills stadium. Twice, coalitions of community groups and elected officials have tried to attach CBAs to big, taxpayer-funded development projects in Buffalo. Those efforts — the first for Canalside, the second for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus — yielded mixed results: Both campaigns coaxed concessions from developers, but neither yielded the kind of legally binding agreement that has become common in other communities across the country over the past 20 years.  Now, many of[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 27

2022

Linking community benefits to a Bills stadium

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This is the second of a three-day series in our continuing in-depth coverage of issues related to a proposed stadium for the Buffalo Bills. Erie County Legislature Chair April Baskin doesn’t concern herself with whether a new Buffalo Bills stadium will be built in Buffalo or Orchard Park.  She’s not particularly worried about its cost. What matters most, Baskin told Investigative Post, is what the community gets in exchange for the taxpayer dollars the team’s owners want from the state and county.  Pegula Sports and Entertainment has made it clear the team expects significant public subsidies — as much as[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 26

2022

Heaney discusses Bills stadium on ‘Pressroom

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Jim Heaney covered a lot of ground regarding the proposed Bills stadium in his interview on The Capitol Pressroom. Heaney updated host David Lombardo on recent developments and reporting by Investigative Post, including a story last week that detailed how taxpayers are on the hook for about $13 million a year of stadium expenses.  

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 25

2022

How a stadium can benefit the community

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This is the first of a three-day series in our continuing in-depth coverage of issues related to a proposed stadium for the Buffalo Bills. Before the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers broke ground last summer on a new arena, the team’s owners, elected officials and civic groups made certain the $1.8 billion project would benefit the entire community. In September 2020, the parties signed a community benefits agreement, or CBA, that outlined who would get jobs and contracts during and after construction, how much those jobs would pay, what the project would look like, and how the city and its residents[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 25

2022

The Pegulas should pay up

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Note: A version of this column first appeared in the current issue of Buffalo Spree. It’s been updated to reflect recent developments. Let’s suppose a company wanted to build a factory in Buffalo. The plant would be used only 10 times a year.  It wouldn’t employ many people, and a fair share of its front-line workers would suffer injuries that would haunt them later in life. The factory owner is wealthy – a billionaire, in fact – and his business highly profitable. Nevertheless, the owner demands that taxpayers provide hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to build his factory.[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 24

2022

Another high-tech miss for Genesee County

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Another tech giant with big microchip expansion plans is bypassing New York, this time for Ohio.  Intel Corp. announced on Friday plans to invest at least $20 billion to develop amicrochip manufacturing complex  in Jersey Township, outside of Columbus. Company officials said the plant will employ 3,000. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with production expected by the end of 2025.  Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger said the project is part of the company’s plans to invest $100 billion to build up to eight microchip factories on the Ohio campus by 2030. The project is being billed as the[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 21

2022

Eye-catching public pensions 

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Working for a public school system in New York State tends to pay well. So does being retired from one. Teachers and administrators who retired last year left with an average pension of  $73,552 annually. That was up about $2,500 from the previous year.  The figures reflect teachers and administrators who put in at least 30 years and worked outside of New York City.  Retirees from Western New York averaged $63,060. That placed WNY in the middle of the pack of nine regions around the state. Tops was Long Island, with an average pension of $94,108 per year. Pensions for[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 20

2022

A lack of urgency on Bills stadium

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There’s been talk lately from the Buffalo Bills and government officials that time is running out to decide on a new stadium for the team.  It’s worth noting, however, that a committee was put together at Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s behest to consider stadium options – eight years ago.  It only met once. Eight years ago. The group wasn’t lacking in clout. Notable New Stadium Working Group members included U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, LP Ciminelli Chairman Louis Ciminelli, Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, Empire State Development Corp. President Kenneth Adams and Kathy Hochul,[...]

Posted 3 years ago
Investigative Post