Welcome to the Thursday Morning Trail Mix.
Government
A copy of the draft audit by the Office of the State Comptrollerinto allegations of mishandling and misuse of funds by some staff at the Research Foundation of the State University of New York was leaked toJames Odato at the Times-Union. The comptroller's office has yet to officially release the audit report.
The Innovation Trail reported in May 2011 when the audit was announced.
The recently recruited president of the SUNY Research Foundation, Dr Timothy Kileen is reported in the same Times-Union article as saying that he sees the report as:
"an opportunity to acknowledge past problem areas, strengthen internal controls, embrace improvement, refocus on our mission to serve SUNY, and work to fully earn the public trust."
[Full disclosure: The SUNY Research Foundation is an underwiter of the Innovation Trail]
New York senatorial candidates Gillibrand and Long had their own televised debate last night from Saratoga Springs and Jimmy Vielkind at Capitol Confidential has the details. Reproductive rights and natural gas extraction were on the agenda at the sometimes spirited exchange.
Education
Nonprofit colleges in the Finger Lakes region in CNY win the raffle for having the most economic impact on their region, coming in at just under $5 billion according to a new study, and the Innovation Trail's Ryan Delaney has more.
Business
The marketing teams for Syracuse's Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and the Destiny USA mall are reaching out to our northern neighbors in the hopes of enticing more of them (and their currency) to head across the border writes The Post-Standard.
Construction starts were up 15% for the month of September, reports the Associated Press.
NPR's Planet Money team lay out the reality of manufacturing trends in the USA. Short answer is, those jobs aren't likely to come back no matter what.
Fracking
Some folks in Syracuse made the case for an independent health review into fracking reports The Post-Standard.
Tom Wilber compares the presidential candidate's positions on hydrofracking in his Shale Gas Review.
