With a long weekend looming, we have one last bag of Trail Mix to send you on your way:
A new report contradicts a recent University at Buffalo report on hydrofracking.
A new website grades banks on how many loans they give to small businesses.
And: A labor-backed group counts up the benefits of a higher minimum wage.
The news
UB's Shale Resources and Society Institute released a study this month that counted up environmental regulations issued by Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection and concluded that hydraulic fracturing is growing safer. On Thursday, a group called the Public Accountability Initiative questioned the accuracy of the conclusions - and the impartiality of the study's authors. (David Robinson, Buffalo News)
The Seneca Nation is trying to take over a highway project on its land because the state is refusing to honor past arrangements. Specifically, the Department of Transportation is refusing to pay what it calls a kickback to the tribe for the $28.5 million construction project. (AP)
In an effort to improve its anti-money laundering unit, HSBC is cutting 77 Buffalo jobs and consolidating that part of its operations. (Jonathan D. Epstein, Buffalo News)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is pushing for $20 million to develop low-income housing in flood damaged areas. (Rick Karlin, Times Union)
A new website (which appears to have crashed this morning) aims to make it easier for small businesses to track down bank loans. (Wendy Kaufman, NPR)
Greg Pass, Twitter's former chief technology officer, will be the entrepreneurial officer at Cornell's NYC tech campus. (Rick Seltzer, Bussiness Journal)
The National Guard unit at Niagara Falls, N.Y. appears likely to survive - despite military-wide cutbacks. (Jerry Zremski, Buffalo News)
And finally, a labor-backed study has found that about 10 percent of New York's workforce would see higher wages if the state were to raise the minimum wage. (Joseph Spector, Gannett)
