Good morning to you! Here's your latest economy/political/energy news from across upstate New York - aka Your Morning Trail Mix.
Cuomo vetoes more than $500,000 in pet projects.
Binghamton hosts New York's first shale gas job fair.
Rochester businesses are fighting brain drain - with something called "JOBSapalooza."
And: Bad news for SU hoops fans.
Albany
Sorry, Little Leagues, Veterans Centers, libraries, museums and historical societies. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is taking a stand against legislative member items and putting the kibosh on more than $500,000 in favored pet projects (Karen DeWitt, New York Public Radio).
A group of rich people are angry about money in politics. They're pushing for a public financing system for elections in New York State (Thomas Kaplan, New York Times).
Remember when state parks were on the chopping block? Now they're getting $89 million in upgrades (Chris Carola, AP).
The NRA is fighting a state bill that would make it easier to track guns (James Thilman, Gothamist).
Gov. Cuomo's "energy highway" may be starting to take shape. The governor is asking around for potential energy projects (AP).
The state is picking up a $61 million tab for costs incurred by local governments after tropical storms Irene and Lee (Cara Matthews, Gannett).
Fracking
Pending permitting review process be damned!
Binghamton hosted the state's first ever natural gas job fair yesterday. The AP reports that everyone from wildlife consultants to oil & gas behemoths showed up.
The community college in Broome County - which is shaping up to be a potential epicenter of shale gas development in New York State (see our map) - hosted the job fair.
The New York Times reports that BCC is developing a curriculum "centered on natural gas development."
Jobs
The state is hosting eight job fairs today - including ones in Syracuse and Buffalo.
The Rochester business community hosted its own job fair Wednesday night. The goal is to keep the region's college graduates from fleeing for greener pastures (Caurie Putnam, Democrat and Chronicle).
A Rochester optics company is looking to add jobs. Rochester Precision Optics cut the ribbon on a $10.7 million expansion Wednesday (Matt Daneman, Democrat and Chronicle). The company plans to hire 150 workers over the next three years.
Buffalo
Anderson Cooper took heat from Sen. Chuck Schumer on Twitter yesterday for a perceived diss of a Buffalo institution. The CNN host says he didn't mean to offend: he was calling his on-air giggling fit "stupid", not Dyngus Day itself (AP).
There's debate bubbling up about the future home of the Buffalo Bills. Could a downtown location be in the works? (Claudine Ewing, WGRZ).
Meanwhile, the triple-A Buffalo Bisons are celebrating 25 years at their downtown ballpark (WKBW News).
Down the Thruway, some are asking if Rochester's 16-year-old Frontier Field should be considered an economic development failure (Rachel Barnhart, The Rochesterian).
Hoops
Also in sports, Syracuse University has lost out on the Nerlens Noel sweepstakes. Bud Poliquin at the Post-Standard is putting a happy face on the Flat-Topped One's decision to go to Kentucky.
