Good morning. Another day, another Trail Mix from the Innovation Trail.
Today's the day Syracuse finds out how its Say Yes to Education program is doing.
We take a look at a new method of fracking that doesn't involve water.
And: Two small downtowns are getting work done.
Education
The founder of Say Yes to Education is in Syracuse this morning for a four-year progress report on the program that aims to increase graduation rates in urban schools (Maureen Nolan, Post-Standard).
There's a program in Albany hoping to teach young people how to get a summer job (Brian Nearing, Times-Union).
WXXI's Hélène Biandudi has this story on a new Rochester charter school with the aim of job readiness.
Downtowns
The North Country town of Massena is bringing in a consultant to help revitalize its business district (Brian Hayden, Watertown Daily-Times).
Canandaigua's downtown is getting a facelift too, in hopes of conserving water (Matthew Daneman, Democrat and Chronicle).
Jobs
New York State saw a decline last year in construction employment, reports Traci DeLore of the CNY Business Journal.
Protesters were out in Albany yesterday to demand an increase in the state's minimum wage (Joseph Spector, Gannett).
The Obama administration is rolling out $26 million for regional job accelerators (Rick Seltzer, CNY Business Journal).
Reinventing the wheel
There's a new method of fracking out there that doesn't use water to extract natural gas. The Innovation Trail's Matt Richmond takes a look at whether it's safer.
Want to be able to stream a funeral online? There's an app for that. Zack Seward takes a look at a recent startup weekend's winning idea for the Innovation Trail's Company Town series.
Odds and ends
NPR started a great series this week on the state of the American Dream. Be sure to check it out.
The Buffalo region is likely to benefit from a change in Canadian duty rules, reports the Buffalo News' Samantha Maziarz Christmann.
New York micro-brewers are calling for the state to not eliminate a tax credit. Beer makers say inaction would cause beer prices to rise (Democrat and Chronicle).
Buffalo's financial control board is stepping back a little from its control over city spending (WBFO).
