Five years ago, during my career as a media specialist for the Erie County Legislature, I became involved with a group of citizens and government officials lobbying for the establishment of an NFTA bus route along Route 62 in the Southtowns.

The call for the public transportation was largely based on the fact that a significant percentage of the population living between Hamburg and Gowanda exist at a socio economic level that makes ownerhsip of a car prohibitive. Therefore a number of people in southern Erie County struggle to maintain jobs, attend school and receive medical treatments, as they have no way to travel to any of those destinations.

During the many public and committee meetings held on this issue, the NFTA willingly mapped out the lenghty bus route and meticulously charted the most effective run times. They also acknowledged that due to the 20 plus mile distance of the route, it would probably never be cost effective. Yet, they agreed that the route was an important link for the southtowns community and a needed public service, as is their federally funded mandate.

Since the route was established, a regular ridership has developed, including students attending Erie Community College, corrections officers working at the Gowanda Correctional Facility and riders making connections to destinations well beyond the southtowns, such as downtown Buffalo. And as the NFTA forecast, the ridership has not come anywhere close to balancing the costs.

And so I wonder why all of a sudden the NFTA is suggesting that the Route 62 bus route is in danger of being eliminated….especially when it has only been running for two years…not really long enough to develop a significant ridership pattern. NFTA officials knew the terms when they signed on, and they accepted those terms in full.

Perhaps eliminating transportation that primarily serves the working class is easily done because they do not have a power base, political or otherwise, to lobby on their behalf. And lacking that power base, perhaps the people who ride the Route 62 bus are nothing more than faceless, nameless numbers on a statistical ridership graph, thumb tacked to an NFTA bulletin board…in other words, easily eliminated.

Thursday evening at ECC South Erie County Legislator Lynn Dixon will hold a public hearing on this issue. Based on the 7pm start time, bus transportation will not be available, as by then the Route 62 bus will have completed its final run for the day. So the people who most need to attend this hearing and lobby on behalf of the bus route most likely will not be there.

In their stead, perhaps those of us blessed with the good fortune to own cars will show up at ECC South tomorrow night….take an hour from our busy lives and speak for those who cannot….stand up for those who are in need….help to make a difference in the lives of our neighbors who need the Route 62 bus route to complete their education, earn a living, attend to their health care needs.

And if that happens, perhaps the NFTA will learn that dollars and cents are not the only measure of true value in a community that cares.

Entire show/ one file:

031010BillO

Massa makes noise….Firings at the Holding Center….Lockport schools to close…

Anchored by Tom Schuh:

nn wed

Hosted by Dave Ungaro and Ken Wolf:

031010CC

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today said that the Senate is expected to pass the Senate jobs bill that includes billions of dollars in budget aid for Upstate communities and all of New York State. The legislation includes a boost in federal Medicaid reimbursements, through a formula called FMAP, which was originally passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Schumer said the proposal will send the State an estimated $2.3 billion over the first six months of 2011, with Upstate New York and Long Island counties in line to receive an additional $200M.  In ARRA, Schumer successfully fought to include the “county-local share” policy, which ensures that localities receive budget aid directly, in addition to aid given to the states, and that provision will to be in effect in the Senate jobs bill. Schumer said this money will help mitigate possible tax hikes and reduce the severity of budget cuts.  In total, New York State and the counties together will receive an estimated $3 billion in relief for the first six months of 2011.  “Unemployment is already too high and unless we get fiscal aid directly to our beleaguered county governments during this downturn, they will be forced to raise property taxes, layoff vital workers and make thing worse, instead of better,” said Senator Schumer. “This money will be a tremendous shot in the arm for taxpayers across New York because it will help prevent property tax hikes, mitigate the impact of service cuts, and reduce layoffs during the worst financial crisis in generations. This support will help alleviate, though it will not eliminate, the tough choices facing the State and counties during these difficult times.” Schumer today said that the Senate Jobs bill, that is expected to pass this afternoon, includes a provision that extends for an additional six months the two-year increase in FMAP that was passed as part of the stimulus package. The original FMAP increase sent all states $87 billion for 2009 and 2010. “The bottom line is that economists of all stripes recognize that, during a severe downturn, supporting our cash-strapped local and state governments gets significant bang for the buck because it keeps people working and prevents tax hikes that, if enacted, mean consumers will have less to spend to support the economy,” said Senator Schumer. The proposal will extend the FMAP boost passed in the stimulus for an additional six-months covering the first six months of 2011. All data is based on preliminary projections provided by the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) and is subject to New York State Social Services law, Medicaid claims experience, and other economic conditions. The total nationwide boost provides states with $24.7 billion. New York State is estimated to receive as much as $3 billion based on estimates of the New York State Association of Counties and New York State. Of that, the NYSAC preliminary estimates that Upstate New York and Long Island counties are in line to receive upwards of $200 billion. All data is based on preliminary projections provided by the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) and is subject to New York State Social Services law, Medicaid claims experience, and other economic conditions. The Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) is a matching rate enacted in 1965 that determines the federal funding share for state Medicaid programs. The federal government matches state funds spent on Medicaid, based on the state’s FMAP. The FMAP varies from state to state; and New York’s FMAP is 50%. Thirteen states have FMAPs equal to the 50 percent floor in 2009 (CA, CO, CT, DE, MD, MA, MN, NV, NH, NJ, NY, VA, WY). By law, the FMAP cannot be lower than 50 percent, or higher than 83 percent.  The FMAP formula is designed to account for income variation across the states and is based on rolling three-year average per capita income data for each state. The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis calculates FMAP annually. Schumer released the following projections, produced by the New York Association of Counties, for what the Senate jobs bill will mean for each region in New York: The Senate jobs bill will provide the Capital Region with a projected $21 million in budget relief. The Senate jobs bill will provide Central New York with a projected $20 million in budget relief. The Senate jobs bill will provide the Rochester Finger Lakes Region with a projected $24 million in budget relief. The Senate jobs bill will provide Western New York with a projected $29 million in budget relief. The Senate jobs bill will provide the Southern Tier with a projected $13 million in budget relief. The Senate jobs bill will provide the Hudson Valley with a projected $43 million in budget relief. The Senate jobs bill will provide the North Country with a projected $10 million in budget relief. The Senate jobs bill will provide Long Island with a projected $45 million in budget relief. During an economic downturn, as state revenues become stagnant or decline, the number of Medicaid beneficiaries increases because of job losses and the health care coverage that comes with employment. The temporary FMAP increase provides assistance to states and localities during economic downturns. Schumer successfully fought to include a legislative language (the “county-local share” policy) that ensures that Upstate counties and local governments across New York State receive their fair share of the FMAP relief for their Medicaid programs. Since the enactment of the Medicaid program in 1965, counties in New York have been required to share in the costs of services. In New York, local governments share with the state in Medicaid participation. Counties are mandated by the state to contribute approximately $7 billion annually or about 32 percent of the non-federal share of the State’s Medicaid Program. Recognizing that all of New York is in dire need of direct fiscal aid and are forced to share the cost of Medicaid, Schumer – a member of the Senate Leadership and the Finance Committee which has jurisdiction over Medicaid – fought to ensure that a “county-local share” provision was included in the stimulus to ensure that New York State counties and localities received the billions in direct aid from FMAP as part of the economic stimulus plan.

With her master’s degree in business from Medaille’s Accelerated Learning Program, Yvonne Thorne started to apply what she learned in her evening classes to what she worked on during the day. She highlights three concepts that had an impact: “Analytical concepts, for use in writing proposals and business plans showing financial benefits and outcomes; research [...]

I wanted to take this chance to warn all Western New Yorkers about mailings that appear to be from the U.S. Census Bureau but are actually scams hoping to attract your attention or capture your personal information.

Nationwide, the Census Bureau has received complaints about deceptive mailings that arrive in enveloped marked “Census” and include a “census tracking code.” In reality, many of these mailings are not affiliated with the Census Bureau. So far, none of these scams have yet appeared in Western New York.

Official Census Bureau documents will never ask for your full social security number, money or a donation, PIN codes, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts. Also, the Bureau never sends requests on behalf of a political party. More information on these scams is available here.

Despite the attention-grabbing scams I urge you to fill out your 2010 Census forms which are already arriving in the mail.

It’s no secret that our population in Western New York has gone down, which makes it even more important that everyone of us fills out this vital form so New York isn’t left out in the cold. Our schools, libraries, community centers and so many other important programs all rely on Census results.

The results of the Census will determine how more than $445 billion in federal funds – for everything from schools to roads to senior centers – are distributed to state, local, and tribal governments over the next decade. It also affects representation in Congress and the Electoral College.

The 2000 Census had a 67 percent national response rate, with an estimated undercount of more than 3 million people. According to a recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers report, areas most affected by Census undercounting lose about $2,913 per uncounted person in federal funding.

On March 10, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass legislation that would protect the integrity of the constitutionally mandated United States census and prohibit deceptive mail practices that attempt to exploit the decennial census. I voted in favor of the Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act.

You may have already received census forms in the mail. If you haven’t received your census form in the mail by April 1, please call one of my offices at:

Buffalo: (716) 853-5813
Niagara Falls: (716) 282-1274
Rochester: (585) 232-4850

You wouldn’t know it from watching the news, but lost amidst Cory Haim’s death, Eric Massa’a groping and Obama’s continued attempt to subsidize the insurance industry on behalf of the global Commie-Muslim conspiracy, Congress is debating a resolution to end the war in Afghanistan today.

Crazy ol’ Dennis Kucinich — he’s short, so how can we take him seriously? — has introduced a resolution “Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan.”  It has 18 cosponsors (well 17 with Massa gone), including two Republicans: nutjob Ron Paul and Walter Jones, the man responsible for the “freedom fries” brouhaha who got tired of seeing his constituents come home in body bags.

Our own Louise Slaughter is on a swing list put together by the good people at Peace Action, who hope that we might make some calls this afternoon asking her to support the resolution: Slaughter, Louise McIntosh NY-28 202-225-3615

Charles Bryant III was ordered today to spend up to the next 20 years in prison for killing a man during a failed stickup in a Jefferson Avenue shopping-plaza parking lot last summer.

Apparently photography runs in the Cascio family as verified here by this sweet photo taken by Joe Cascio's grandfather. Thankfully Joe has access to a ton of similar images taken around the city - it may be a different era, but you should be able to tell where this is. Joe confessed that he is still learning about many of the images, but that shouldn't stop us from showcasing some of them.

This one in particular, taken of the city's beautiful Goldome Building (originally Buffalo Savings Bank and now M&T Bank) is amusing in countless ways. The image calls out for a slew of different fun captions. So far the general response upon viewing this image is, "What the 'heck' is that?" From the looks of it, this must have been in conjunction with the Pan American Expo - is that an Elk on top of that stone mountain gateway? Check out the trolleys!

After much recent thunder and lightning over the state rehabilitation stimulus program--a legislative thoroughbred which was unaccountably hamstrung by the Governor's budget office prior to leaving the starting gate last year--the rainmaking got underway in earnest yesterday, led primarily by western New York's legislative delegation.  An urgently needed fix which has been on their radar screen since last year got some much-needed gale-force wind in its sails in recent weeks as the sturm-und-drang played out in the western New York media.  High-stakes moves by local developers to show us what kinds of projects we could make happen with our grand old buildings--and what we could risk losing--have clearly gotten Albany's ear as well as the attention of everyone who wants to see new life breathed back into our decaying urban places.  And Donn Esmonde's flailing away at the very people who have moved the ball to first-and-goal position certainly added heat if not any light (which was thoughtfully added the following day by Phil Fairbanks).
 
As someone who's been involved with the advocacy for (and written about) this program since 2006, I've always seen and understood it as a long-term, crawl-walk-run presumption.  Even in the best of times, Albany is so often a place where good ideas go to die.  In just one example of many, friends in Rochester have for nearly a decade led a statewide fight against lead poisoning, building a strong coalition and traveling to Albany weekly, only to be sent back to the drawing board.  So it's a miracle that any legislation at all made it through last year's Albany, entangled in a mire of coups, scandal, and leadership meltdown we haven't seen the like of since...well, this year.
 
But our legislative delegation, God bless them, is going back to the well again.  Led by Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (Assembly sponsor); Senators William Stachowski and Antoine Thompson (Senate co-sponsors, along with upstate Senator Darrel Aubertine); and Assemblymembers Francine DelMonte, Dennis Gabryszak, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, and Mark Schroeder (among Assembly co-sponsors); yesterday they submitted companion bills (A10168, S7042).  This new legislation will allow project developers to allocate the state rehabilitation tax credit within a partnership or LLC different from the federal tax credit, and the ability to apply the credits against the bank and insurance taxes.
 Sounds like a lot of MBA talk--how will that help?  At a tax credit workshop last year in Syracuse, covered here, a key discussion was the importance of resale (or syndication) of the credits.  In practical application, that's the way the tax credits inject upfront financing needed to make a project work, and get the work started.  So as a developer, even though the tax credits offset your tax obligations up to several years down the road, you can sell them to investors (for a percentage of future value) as soon as you qualify.  That gets project cash flowing right away, "shovels in the ground," and payroll taxes and permit fees flowing to cash-strapped local governments.  Best of all, people get hired and paid.
 
The other key role of the tax credits is to help fill the funding gap. Since costs of doing business are high all over the state, yet rates of return have been stagnant upstate for decades, developers usually look to apply tax credits of all kinds, from affordable housing credits, brownfield credits, etc.  The name of the game is bridging the gap between upfront costs and expected return over time.  Having a strong state-level rehabilitation tax credit (to add to existing federal credits created decades ago), can make the difference between a project being viable or not.  It also encourages developers to invest in our older and historic building stock, which is good policy and environmentally friendly.  But only if developers can easily resell (and for maximum value) the tax credits.  This legislative fix will help with that, by removing unnecessary financial constraints to investing in the credits.
 
When this fix is made, western New York is especially well positioned to turn it to maximum advantage.  Our combination of older building stock and poor economic climate have led--in true WNY lemons-to-lemonade fashion--to the development of a local specialty in the use of tax credit programs of all kinds and the financing of building rehabilitation projects.  Steven Weiss of the law firm Cannon, Heyman, and Weiss puts people to work right here in Buffalo helping organizations and developers around the world with securing tax credits of all kinds.  Preservation architect Clint Brown has educated people all over the state using case studies of local projects, including one he has undertaken himself.  And we have several developers who proven very savvy and adept at juggling these many funding sources, turning them into projects and jobs.  And ECIDA even kicks in, with a special funding stream for adaptive reuse projects for older buildings.
 
Would you like to learn more about the rehabilitation tax credit program and other techniques for developing and funding these kinds of projects?  You're in luck, as there will be a FREE daylong workshop held tomorrow, March 11, at the Earl Brydges Library in Niagara Falls, organized by Preservation Buffalo Niagara and the Preservation League of New York State.  The presenters are all top-notch.  Check it out.
 
So...what are the chances for success for this legislative fix?  Surprisingly good, I've been told.  First, the Governor doesn't like all the bashing his budget office has taken for hamstringing last year's bill, and would love to do anything right now that might help boost his own standing.  And he now knows that any budget impacts of these changes (although they will be offset by increases in state and local revenue) will be felt by another governor.  He's signaled he will sign.
 
If he doesn't, I'm sure Governor Ravitch or Governor Cuomo or Governor Paladino will.

Lafayette Hotel room overlooking the square.

I can't say it any better than Joe the Planner.  Sprawl is the biggest threat to WNY's economy. It matters not if you live inside the city or on an idyllic suburban cul-de-sac.  Sprawl has its evil hand in your pocket big time. It is time for WNY to wake up to the sprawl disaster and start leading the country to a better way.
 
Check it out - Joe the Planner makes the insanity very clear. Here's an excerpt:

As it turns out, the Buffalo Metro area is a nearly ideal case for the study of sprawl and its effects. This is for a couple of reasons: (1) the region has well-established pre-World War II cities and towns, and (2) the metro population has essentially remained unchanged since the end of WWII.

Yep, you read that right. Buffalo's metro population has essentially remained unchanged for the last 60 years. With all the talk about population loss, it seems that many people don't realize this. Buffalo hasn't shrunk; it's just spread-out. This makes the effects of sprawl quite obvious because there's been no significant statistical muddying caused by changes in population.

I always try to make a trip to Sea Bar during Local Restaurant Week.  Their $20.10 special is a SeaBar Surfboard of the chef's picks.  I love this because everything they pick is so fresh and there's a lot of food for a great price.  The surfboard includes Sashimi, Nigiri Pieces, Maki Roll, Hand Roll, and Sesame Soba Noodles.  

Buffalonians who are looking for irreverent, female-oriented, and empowering comedy need look no further than River Huston. The comedienne, public speaker, and award-winning poet and sex columnist will present a theatrical performance of her life, "Sex, Cellulite, and Large Farm Equipment: One Girl's Guide to Living and Dying", on Saturday, April 24, from 6pm-8pm at St. John's Grace Episcopal Church in Buffalo. Tickets cost $15 presale.

Huston has performed this routine since March 2004 when she opened at the Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia to critical acclaim and positive reviews. Ever since then, the Upper Black Eddy, PA native has toured everywhere from major festivals such as the Midtown International Theater Festival and the Fringe Festival to universities across the United States, with a show that is both funny and inspiring to those who see it.

"I saw her several years ago and she was funny and edgy," said Andy Kiener, the executive director of the AIDS Network of Western New York, who arranged for Huston to appear in Buffalo. "[She] talks a lot about her struggles but in a humorous way."

Some of the life experiences that Huston works into her show include running a marathon, marriage and dating, personal financial crises, getting arrested for obscenity, living with HIV and surviving other medical problems, and more. Although her subject matter is blunt and not necessarily for everyone, it is one that she has presented to audiences ranging from a crowd of 40,000 people in Japan, to small colleges and fraternity/sorority houses, to more conservative and older audiences in churches.

When asked about the subject matter of Huston's performance, Kiener stressed that would-be audience members who are easily offended by language or adult content should think twice before buying tickets. However, he said that if audiences have enough prior warning about the show's content, they will hopefully know what to expect on the day of.

Whether people love or hate Huston's show, Kiener said he hopes that the comedienne will educate people. Among other topics, her performances candidly discuss HIV, a subject that people often fear and stigmatize instead of dealing with in an honest and accepting way. This has broad implications for the Buffalo community.

"As a woman living with HIV for many years, she can share her life experiences in a different way using humor and help increase community awareness, acceptance and understanding," Kiener said.

For more information about this performance or to buy tickets, contact the AIDS Network at 716-882-7840 or by email. To learn more about River Huston, check out her website or her Facebook page.

BRO Submission By Tuona M. Batchelor:

With the rate of obesity and diabetes in this country at an all time high, steps are being taken nationwide to combat this ever growing and ever dangerous epidemic.   At the forefront of these steps locally is an effort to reduce the consumption of soda pop and other sugar added beverages that are proven contributors to obesity and obesity related diseases.  As a way of promoting healthier diet and lifestyles, the Healthcare Education Project is holding the Trade Up for Health Beverage Exchange, an event at which people can turn in their soda pop products and receive in exchange a much healthier alternative of milk and 100% Juices.  

The event will be held at the Broadway Market from noon to 5 pm, or while supplies last, on Monday April 5th.  There will be a raffle and free giveaways to make for a fun event during the Dyngus Day celebrations. Our organization, the Healthcare Education Project, is a collaborative effort between the Greater NY Hospital Association, a trade organization representing hundreds of hospitals and nursing homes across the state - along with the union representing those who work in those institutions, 1199SEIU/United Healthcare Workers East.  Our purpose is to promote broad access to good healthcare across the state as well as to engage in local initiatives to promote good health.
 
This event is a part of our effort to promote the implementation of a tax on sugar-added beverages, currently being considered by the NY Legislature.  The tax is a way of promoting healthy living by discouraging the public from consuming large amounts of sugary beverages.  The revenue raised by the tax will be used for the prevention of budget cuts to much needed healthcare programs in the state.  The Healthcare Education Project has assisted in the creation of the "Alliance for a Healthier NY." 

Please visit us on Facebook for additional information.. 

Our organization along with the Broadway Market, Community Action Organization of Erie County and Save A Lot Food Stores are pleased to invite the entire community to the Trade Up for Health Beverage Exchange at the Gibson St. entrance of the Broadway Market in front of Save A Lot for an afternoon of healthy living and fun.