Tagged: Press Pass

The newly-redrawn 27th congressional district will make it more difficult for incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul to win re-election this year.  And two area towns are exploring a job sharing arrangement to reduce costs. 

WBFO and AM 970's Mark Scott touches on these and other topics in this week's Press Pass with Buffalo News Suburban Editor Bruce Andriatch.

In this week's Press Pass, Jim Fink of Business First discussed the two conflicting sides battling over the future of the Trico complex in downtown Buffalo.

Meanwhile, across the border, the slots in Fort Erie face an uncertain future.

That uncertainty is not good for the city's legendary race track which Fink calls the "identity" of that community.

A relative surprise is the status of the Buffalo Bills.

Voters in the 145th State Assembly District will be heading to the polls Tuesday for a special election.

Two democratic candidates from South Buffalo area vying to fill the seat left vacant by former Assemblyman Mark Schroeder -- South District Common Council member Michael Kearns and Chris Fahey, staffer to Congressman Brian Higgins. 

Both recently participated in a Webcast debate hosted by the Buffalo News.  Buffalo News reporter Brian Meyer joined his colleague political reporter Bob McCarthy asking the questions.

WBFO and AM 970's Chris Jamele speaks with Artvoice editor Geoff Kelly in this week's Press Pass conversation.

Local election news kicks off their interview, specifically, the special election for the 145th Assembly seat.

Chris and Geoff also discuss Artvoice's review of a possible satellite location for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

The special election for the 145th State Assembly seat is rounding out as a South Buffalo competition.

Democrats Chris Fahey and Michael Kearns will face off later this March 20th.  Fahey is a congressional staffer for Congressman Brian Higgs.  Kearns is the South District Common Council member.

Jim Heaney of Investigativepost.org joins us for our weekly Press Pass conversation.  Heaney tells WBFO's Eileen Buckley about how this race is shaping up for the voters living in that district.
 

Another massive structure sits vacant in the city of Buffalo. The former Trico Plant is considered the third largest building in Buffalo. 

The 600,000 square feet building stretches across two downtown blocks.  It is featured as one of the "reuse" stories in the March issue of Buffalo Spree.

This morning on Press Pass, WBFO'S Eileen Buckley talks with Buffalo Spree editor Elizabeth Licata about her column, Preservation Ready that focuses on the Trico building, considered a landmark.

These are challenging times for local school boards and administrators.  They pleaded their case for more financial resources during a recent meeting with state legislators from our area.  State aid is at 2008 levels.  Administrators are putting together budgets in the face of a two percent property tax cap.  And they're seeking a rollback of costly state mandates. 

On this week's Press Pass, Buffalo News Suburban Editor Bruce Andriatch tells WBFO's Mark Scott that legislators didn't offer the district leaders much encouragement.

Kaleida Health will close Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital in about six weeks.  That will create a major vacancy in a high-profile Buffalo location.

Recognizing the difficulty of reinventing the site, Kaleida is offering a $1-million grant to the developer with the best plan for the soon-to-be shuttered facility. 

Business First reporter Jim Fink says the donation -- although generous -- represents just a fraction of what's required to transform the building.

 As a number of new political leaders took office this year, some publicly-owned property was repainted with new names.  For instance, signs were reprinted when Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz began his new administration.  It is a topic recently examined in-depth by the Buffalo News. 

This week in our weekly Press Pass conversation -- WBFO'S Eileen Buckley and Buffalo News reporter Brian Meyer discuss how signage could be considered self-promotion for elected leaders.

WBFO's Chris Jamele and ArtVoice editor Geoff Kelly examine the proposed redistricting plans that have been submitted for both the Senate and the Assembly in New York State.

Kelly explains that the proposals did not meet Governor Andrew Cuomo's expectations.

Chris and Geoff also discuss how a local organization is pushing for small Western New York businesses to anchor the Canal District downtown.
 

There is yet another historic piece of property in the city of Buffalo that is in need of help.
The Lyceum --  at 215 Broadway -- was built in 1909 by the Most Holy Redeemer society, founders of St. Mary’s. 

In this week's Press Pass interview, Buffalo Spree editor Elizabeth Licata tells WBFO'S Eileen about her tour of the building and also introduces us to some young preservationists.

The SPCA in Niagara County is under fire for allegations that the agency has euthanized too many healthy animals in recent months.  Erie County's SPCA has launched an investigation. 

On this week's Press Pass, Buffalo News Suburban Editor Bruce Andriatch tells WBFO's Mark Scott that this story seemed to come out of nowhere.

Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged a $1-billion economic boost for the City of Buffalo in last week's state of the State address.  But Cuomo expects a return on that investment. 

In this week's Press Pass interview, Jim Fink of  Business First says it's now up to the public sector to identify the private sector projects that will produce the intended results.

The city of Buffalo enters 2012 with strong signs of economic development. 

This week in our weekly Press Pass conversation, WBFO'S Eileen Buckley talks with Buffalo News reporter Brian Meyer.

Meyer recently toured the on-going renovations at downtown Statler's Tower and discusses how economic development could spur new service jobs.

As the year end approaches, the time comes to review the headlines from 2011.

On this week's Press Pass, WBFO's Chris Jamele asks ArtVoice editor Geoff Kelly to reflect on what he found to be the significant local stories of the past year.

First, though, there has been a splintering of the Occupy Buffalo movement. That issue begins our Press Pass discussion.

This month's edition of the Buffalo Spree focuses on three vacant church structures in city.

In this week's Press Pass, WBFO's Eileen Buckley is joined by Buffalo Spree editor Elizabeth Licata to discuss her special Preservation Ready: Sacred spaces under a deathwatch.

The suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer -- a student at Williamsville North High School -- attracted national attention in recent months.  Jamey was the victim of bullying over his sexual identity.  No criminal charges were filed in the case.  But last week, a number of students were suspended for their involvement in the bullying. 

On today's Press Pass, Buffalo News Suburban Editor Bruce Andriatch said it would have been difficult to prosecute this case as a crime.