Good morning! Here's your mid-week Trail Mix:
Syracuse mulls what to do about its "Berlin Wall" - the highway that divides the city.
Southern Tier residents are taking steps to prepare for fracking.
Plus, Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk over Niagara Falls devolves into a political fight.
Wire walk
A Niagara Falls stunt has turned into a political fight. Officials in Niagara Falls, N.Y. are arguing over whether tightrope walker Nik Wallenda owes the city $25,000 in safety-related costs. Wallenda says he already paid $150,000 to the state for safety (Charlie Specht, Buffalo News).
Economy
The GlobalFoundries computer chip plant outside of Albany has announced a $2.3 billion expansion, which is expected to add several hundred new jobs to the region (Eric Anderson, Times Union).
Syracuse explores what to do about its own "Berlin Wall"- the stretch of I-81 that divides the city (Zack Seward, Innovation Trail).
Unemployment in the Capital Region is the worst its been in 20 years, according to data from the Labor Department (Eric Anderson, Times Union).
In western New York, more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs are waiting to be filled (Samantha Maziarz Christmann, Buffalo News).
It's been a year since same-sex marriage became legal in New York, and it's been a boon for the wedding industry in Niagara Falls (Gene Warner, Buffalo News).
Business
Buffalo launches its first Internet-focused business incubator (Daniel Robison, Innovation Trail).
A federal agency has approved a $1 million grant to help supply water and an access road to yogurt plants in Genesee County (Steve Orr, Democrat and Chronicle).
Kodak and Apple are clashing in federal court over patents which arose out of joint work by the companies in the 1990s (David McLaughlin, Bloomberg).
Environment
New Yorkers in the Southern Tier are preparing for fracking by collecting water samples to be used for comparison after the industry arrives (Matt Richmond, Innovation Trail).
Scientists are "stunned and alarmed" that in just four days earlier this month, Greenland's surface ice melted more than it has in the past 30 years of satellite observations (Mark Memmot, NPR).
