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Mar 5

2012

Quinn: How to spend Cuomo’s $1B

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Larry Quinn, a developer and former managing partner of the Buffalo Sabres, weighed in yesterday with his thoughts on the team, Canalside and the future of HSBC bank in downtown Buffalo. Today, Quinn fields questions posed via-e-mail from Jim Heaney of Investigative Post on what ails local economic development efforts and what he thinks of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to invest $1 billion in state incentives to revitalize the region’s economy. You’ve been very critical of economic development efforts in Western New York. What’s the problem? Too many organizations and little chiefs and not much capital.  There should be one[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 4

2012

Larry Quinn on Sabres, Canalside, HSBC

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To quote Frank Sinatra, Larry Quinn has “been up and down and over and out,” perhaps moreso than any public figure in Buffalo over the past generation. He’s been a boy wonder city development whiz under Jimmy Griffin and a Manhattan developer. Managing partner of the Buffalo Sabres not once but twice and now involved in an effort to build an Irish Olympic hockey program. Hailed for building the downtown arena and later working with Tom Golisano to save the team from bankruptcy. Lambasted for the departures of Pat LaFontaine and Chris Drury. Lauded as a visionary planner and reviled[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 1

2012

Hormoz Mansouri’s political contributions

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Our second installment of Joe Friday involves the campaign contributions of Hormoz Mansouri, regarded as one of the largest financial backers of local and state politicians, including those in league with veteran political operative Steve Pigeon. Joe Friday tracked his contributions from 2005 to January of this year. Mansouri made a vast majority of contributions in his name; others were made by his wife and three companies he owns, EI Team, an engineer and architecture firm; HLM Holdings, a development company; and NPTS Inc., an engineering, design and consulting firm providing services to the nuclear power industry and the U.S.[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 1

2012

My take on the Fahey-Kearns contest

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A fair number of elections for state office are stinkers. They’re over before they start because of lopsided party enrollments or one of the candidates, typically the one offered by the minority party as the sacrificial lamb, is clearly not up to the job. That’s not the case in the race between Chris Fahey and Mickey Kearns to succeed Mark Schroeder in the 145th Assembly District. No, folks, we have a real race with real candidates. Kind of a nice change of pace. The seat has longed belong to a Democrat, thanks to a big enrollment edge (43,200 to 20,000[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Feb 28

2012

Bare knuckles in South Buffalo

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Politics has been a blood sport in South Buffalo for, well, probably forever, certainly as far back as my memory goes. There was Jimmy Griffin, in league with the influential Keane family until hizzoner and Jimmy Keane had a falling out. A Hatfield and McCoy kind of falling out. Later there was Griffin and Dick Keane protege Brian Higgins, although they managed to maintain a  detente for the most part, even when they later squared off against each other to serve in the Assembly. Higgins, of course, evolved into not only a South Buffalo political powerhouse, but arguably the most[...]

Posted 13 years ago
Investigative Post