Today in your Trail Mix:
The regional councils are starting to meet today, behind closed doors.
Binghamton is having a hearing about water for gas drilling.
PAETEC didn't "betray" Rochester.
Plus, spiedies on stage.
Politics
The regional council meetings are kicking off - in private. The public and media aren't invited to the initial meetings, but members of the councils will be made available for questions afterwards (Marie Cusick, Innovation Trail).
Community group Syracuse United Neighbors weren't even allowed to know what room the central New York regional council is meeting in at SUNY ESF (Charles McChesney, Post-Standard).
State employee unions are worried that the governor's Spending and Government Efficiency Commission could be used as a loophole to fire organized workers (Jimmy Vielkind, Times Union).
The debt deal vote split the traditional unity between New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer. Gillibrand was one of only seven senators to vote against the deal (Brian Tumulty, Gannett).
The Democrat and Chronicle has questions and answers about the debt deal, with input from local stakeholders.
Most of the FAA's 127 furloughs in New York have affected downstate employees (Eric Anderson, The Buzz).
New York's population dipped by 1.5 million over the past decade (Karen Dewitt, New York State Public Radio).
Energy
Binghamton is hosting a hearing about water withdrawal for drilling from the Susquehanna River basin tonight at 7 p.m. (Steve Reilly, Press & Sun-Bulletin).
New York's "smart grid" debuts next Monday, to conserve wasted energy and detect outages more quickly (Larry Rulison, Times Union).
Business
PAETEC CEO Arunas Chesonis says "betrayed" is too strong a word to describe his sale of PAETEC to an Arkansas firm, in the midst of a downtown building project (Matthew Daneman, Democrat and Chronicle).
That Arkansas firm, Windstream, also recently closed on a telecommunications firm in South Carolina, and has so far made good on its assurances that it won't trim jobs substantially (Matthew Daneman, Democrat and Chronicle).
Despite the fact that HSBC is unloading its upstate bank branches, it doesn't look like it's giving up the naming rights to the home of the Buffalo Sabres (Phil Fairbanks, Buffalo News).
The Erie County Industrial Development Agency's new small business revolving loan fund helps tiny firms find financing in a tight credit environment (Maryellen Tighe, Buffalo News).
Kodak is going to Jupiter (Mike Dickinson, Rochester Business Journal).
Noms
Everyone loves the sheep that eat invasive species! (Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, Times Union). Or at least, we did.
This year's "Spiedie Fest" could be a record setter, according to George Basler at the Presss & Sun-Bulletin. Need a briefing on what a spiedie is? Check out the profile of a spiedie marinade maker, produced by the Innovation Trail's Emma Jacobs for our television special "Small Business, Big Deal."
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