Verizon lawsuit
The court case aimed at stymieing a tax abatement deal for Verizon's proposed data center in Lockport continued yesterday. The Buffalo News reports that lawyers for the plaintiff say that the deal needs more environmental review:
Rizzo’s suit, in a nutshell, contends the development was rubber-stamped by officials. It takes particular aim at the Somerset Town Board and its decision not to require a full-blown environmental study. The project, which is receiving a wide range of public subsidies, would be located on vacant land that is now a soybean farm. A coal-fired power plant operates nearby.
Help wanted
Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo is hiring. Gannett's Albany bureau reports that the attorney general's transition team is hard at work, looking for candidates to fill positions in the new administration:
The six transition committees tasked with recommending job candidates for dozens of top administration and agency posts have received more than 4,000 resumes and have conducted more than 200 interviews. The groups — made up of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, leaders of various industries, lobbyists and union officials — have met weekly since their formation last month, either in Albany or Manhattan.
Good news for bad times
People suffering from the economic downturn have a place to seek help in Buffalo, reports the Buffalo News. A community of Felician nuns offers programs for young people and the displaced:
But the women are extending their reach to include “the forgotten people who have not come forward,” said Sister Mary Johnice Rzadkiewicz, the center’s longtime director. This is the “new direction” of the Catholic Church and the Western New York Holiday Partnership, to respond to all in need, Rzadkiewicz said. “It’s not just low-income families. It’s the hidden souls in their homes — the elderly, the unemployed, the working poor,” she said. “They have the right to services, as well, and we want to make sure we can help these people.
Electric car killed again
Electric cars will not be booting up in the Syracuse area, reports the Post-Standard. At least not for now - a row between the developer of the Reva electric car and the owner of the firm has put plans to assemble the car and sell it in the U.S. on hold.
Niagara Falls takes over Rainbow Centre
The old Rainbow Centre mall in Niagara Falls is now in the hands of the city, which will ease the redevelopment of the property into a culinary school, reports the Buffalo News:
The institute, formally called the Hospitality and Tourism Center and Culinary Arts Institute, is to occupy about 70,000 square feet of the 200,000-square-foot mall facing Old Falls Street between Rainbow Boulevard and First Street. “The culinary arts project demonstrates how much can be accomplished when the private sector, local government and our education community combine efforts to achieve a common goal,” the mayor said.
Blame it on the rain (and snow, and sleet)
Solar panel maker SpectraWatt is shutting down its plant in Hopewell Junction. The firm, once a part of Intel, says demands for solar has dropped along with temperatures in Europe over the winter. The Times Union has the story from AP:
SpectraWatt, created in June 2008, makes photovoltaic cells in a plant opened at IBM's Hudson Valley Research Park earlier this year. It also has research and development facilities in Hillsboro, Ore. A formal filing with the state labor department Tuesday said the company will start layoffs in March.
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