Today in your Trail Mix:
A bug was lost, now is found - on Long Island, of all places.
As ever, mixed news about consumer confidence.
Weird weather keeps Cornell climatologists on their toes.
Pennsylvania adds a $40,000 "impact fee" for drilling.
Science and technology
A bug once thought lost forever has resurfaced on Long Island: the nine-spotted ladybug, or Coccinella novemnotata (Elizabeth Weise, USA Today).
An Albany Medical Center scientist died three days before being recognized with a Nobel Prize in Medicine. That sets a new precedent for the Nobel Committee, which has never awarded the prize posthumously, intentionally or not (Cathleen F. Crowley, Times Union).
SUNY Buffalo has its first "sustainability officer," charged with whipping the school into shape by 2030 (Daniel Robison, Innovation Trail).
AT&T's network performed better in Buffalo than the other major carriers (Stephen T. Watson, Buffalo News).
Kodak stock surged Monday after rumors about the value of its patents and a potential bankruptcy filing erupted on Friday (Matthew Daneman, Democrat and Chronicle).
Jobs and the economy
Consumer confidence polling numbers came out yesterday. In the Buffalo Niagara region consumers were hunkering down, with confidence levels dipping (David Robinson, Buffalo News). The news was brighter in Albany, where confidence climbed up three points (Eric Anderson, The Buzz).
But then there's this: The Albany area will be hit hardest by state layoffs following a dispute between the governor and a public employee union - more than 1,000 people will get the axe (Jimmy Vielkind, Times Union).
Some businesses trying to figure out how to apply for state funding through the regional economic councils feel like they're trying to take the class without seeing the syllabus (Zack Seward, Innovation Trail).
A federal program designed to create green jobs missed its job creation goal - by about 71,000 jobs (Brian Tumulty, Gannett).
Legislation that would chastise the Chinese for manipulating the value of their currency seems destined for passage in the Senate, but its fate in the House is less secure (Jerry Zremski, Buffalo News).
Weather
Climatologists at Cornell have been on their feet nonstop since a spate of unusual weather began earlier this year (Rachel Stern, Ithaca Journal).
So how prepared is New York for a weather (or manmade) disaster on an election day? No better than on September 11, 2001, according to attorney Jerry Goldfeder (Maureen McManus, State of Politics/Capital Tonight).
National Grid has a $6 million pool of economic assistance for victims of flooding during Irene and Lee (Michael DeMasi, Business Review).
Government and politics
A state senator wants to know where New York is getting the $400 to match the investment by giant computer chipmakers in the Albany area - and where the money is going (Nick Reisman, State of Politics).
Around 200 people gathered yesterday to talk about how to handle the state's new two percent tax cap on local governments (John Davis, Poughkeepsie Journal).
Natural gas
Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett announced yesterday that he wants to levy a $40,000 "impact fee" on the first year that natural gas wells produce, with fees of $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 in subsequent years (Scott Detrow, State Impact PA).
Protestors in Albany want a city-wide ban on fracking (Kassata Edwards, CBS 6).
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