Archive for June 16th, 2006
Pair of developments approved by AIDA
Two projects, including one that will turn a vacant parcel in the Bryant Woods Office Park into a new building, received incentive packages from the Amherst Industrial Development Agency.
The IDA’s directors, Friday morning, unanimously approved a $990,150 lease transaction that will help the accounting firm of Lougen Valenti Bookbinder and Weintraub build a 7,500-square-foot office in Bryant Woods.
The firm is moving from a 6,000-square-foot office it leases elsewhere in Amherst.
Because of the move, the Town of Amherst along with Erie County and the Williamsville School District will see a marked increase in taxes for the parcel. The property is currently owned the Urban Development Corp., an arm of New York State, and generates virtually no annual taxes save for $2,335 in special district charges.
Just during the 15-year abatement period, the new building will generate $229,806 or slightly more than $15,230 annually - a 550 percent increase above what its current produces in tax dollars.
The article points out the increase in taxes on the “new” property but neglects to tell us how that compares to taxes that were paid on the property the accounting firm is moving out of.
Bill Online Easily, Fast & Free with PayPal. No Software Needed. Sign Up Now!
Is he telling the truth as he tries to “take people out”?
BY KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer appeared on Comedy Central late last year, admitting to host Stephen Colbert that as a kid he was the “enforcer” on the soccer team, the guy who “took people out.” “You play hard, you play rough, and hopefully you don’t get caught,” he said. The AG was trying for a laugh, but it may have been one of the more revealing insights into his career.
Mr. Spitzer has certainly played hard and rough in his time as New York’s top law enforcer, and for the most part he hasn’t got caught. More telling is his reaction when he is called out, as is happening more often now that the business community has started to challenge his authority. Mr. Spitzer, now running for the governor’s mansion, has responded to a growing list of accusations of abuse by denying, dissembling and developing convenient cases of amnesia.
(the rest of the story)
Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. NO LATE FEES. Try for FREE!
Tim Grieve writes at Salon.com:
It’s like “Survivor,” only Rumsfeld gets all the votes
In the wake of three detainee suicides and some unusually close press scrutiny, military officials are throwing journalists out of Guantánamo Bay.
According to Editor and Publisher, so far reporters from the the Miami Herald, the Charlotte Observer and the Los Angeles Times have all been sent packing. One Pentagon official said the reporters were sent home as part of increased security measures imposed after the detainee suicides. Another Pentagon official told Editor and Publisher that the reporters were expelled because other reporters were demanding the same sort of access that they were getting.
In an e-mail to Editor and Publisher, Charlotte Observer editor Rich Thames suggests that the expulsions may have had more to do with the critical reporting the Observer’s Michael Gordon was doing at Guantánamo. “The Pentagon appears to have panicked when it discovered it couldn’t manipulate a first-class reporter, so it shoved him and all other press out,” Thames said. “Michael Gordon was invited by the commander to report on the base for six days, and he was doing that in a very professional manner. His stories helped the world understand the actual circumstances our soldiers faced in managing a very difficult situation. It’s unfortunate that the military couldn’t see the value of that.”
A picnic for Buffalo bloggers is being held at Chestnut Ridge Park on Saturday, July 15. You can find out all the details here from Jennifer. It should be a fun day and an interesting time to meet fellow bloggers.
