On the LAKE Front

Food as tourism: Buffalo now has a "brewery district"

It's not all fracking shutdowns in Buffalo; now for some good news: food and drink as tourism. We could do that!

Don Postles wrote for WIVB yesterday, Brewery district" now open for tours,

Downtown Buffalo is looking to attract more visitors, and a new concept called the Buffalo Brewing District could be the answer.

Fake fracking reports: professor and institute head quit, other institute disbanded

From Austin to Buffalo, fake science for fracking is increasingly being exposed, with academic consequences: lead professor resigns, institute head quits, another institute disbanded. The image on the right (Frack U) is not a reputation any university wants to see. At least academia takes conflicts of interest seriously; now if government and the voters would do the same.... Or energy companies. Remember, shale gas (plus nuclear) is what Georgia Power and Southern Company are shifting to from coal, while shading us from the finances that would enable solar power for jobs and energy independence in south Georgia.

Terrence Henry wrote for NPR 6 December 2012, Review of UT Fracking Study Finds Failure to Disclose Conflict of Interest (Updated)

The original report by UT Austin's Energy Institute, ‘Fact-Based Regulation for Environmental Protection in the Shale Gas Development,’ was released early this year, and claimed that there was no link between fracking and water contamination. But this summer, the Public Accountability Initiative, a watchdog group, reported that the head of the study, UT professor Chip Groat, had been sitting on the board of a drilling company the entire time. His compensation totaled over $1.5 million over the last five years. That prompted the University to announce an independent review of the study a month later, which was released today.

The review finds many problems with the original study, chief among them that Groat did not disclose what it calls a “clear conflict of interest,” which “severely diminished” the study. The study was originally commissioned as a way to correct what it called “controversies” over fracking because of media reports, but ironically ended up as a lightning rod itself for failing to disclose conflicts of interest and for lacking scientific rigor.

Unrepentant as recently as July, Professor Groat resigned in November. Plus this:

Raymond Orbach of UT's Energy Institute has resigned after the group became engulfed in controversy over a study of fracking.

And elsewhere even more drastic results have ensued:

Solar college campuses far to the north: why not at VSU?

This spring, the University at Buffalo did it, and now Rutgers is doing it: installing solar arrays for power and profit. Rutgers is in New Jersey, the #2 state in solar power. We have a lot more sun down here. How about we catch up and get ahead in solar power, starting with VSU?

Brita Belli wrote for ecoemagination 25 September 2012, Renewable U: College Campuses Invest in Renewable Energy

Over the summer, crews at Rutgers University's Livingston Campus began transforming a 32-acre, 3,500-spot parking lot into one of the largest solar canopy arrays in the nation. The array will have a capacity of 8 megawatts, enough to power 1,000 homes.

The canopy is more than just eco window dressing — Antonio Calcado, Rutgers vice president for facilities and capital planning, expects that with the financing structure, grants and energy credits, the investment will return about $28 million to the university over the next 20 years. A previous solar project had a similarly rapid payback.

“Combined with the electricity we produce, it's a winner all around,” says Calcado. “We're an institution of higher learning—we teach this stuff—so we should also lead by example. It's a living laboratory in many respects.”

Lead by example: now there's an idea! An idea that might even attract businesses.

-jsq

Some transparent planning in buffalo

Donn Esmonde wrote for Buffalo News 24 June 2012, Big shots listening to community,

The times, they are a-changin'. The Millard Fillmore-Gates story is further evidence. The days when power brokers decided what was best behind closed boardroom doors, then tried to shove it down the community's throat, are mercifully ending. Break out the champagne.

The fallout from years of stalled projects and misfired magic bullets, and the emergence of more-enlightened power brokers, has adjusted boardroom attitudes. The altered mindset is —from the waterfront, to a reviving downtown, to whatever happens with Millard Fillmore Hospital —paving a path to happier endings, with less drama and fewer hard feelings. I think we could get used to this.

Faced with the eventuality of a massive, empty hospital bordering a prime neighborhood, Kaleida scheduled public forums and called in the cavalry of the renowned Urban Land Institute. What once was unthinkable in corporate boardrooms now is becoming reflexive.

“We learned from other examples that had not gone well...that we needed to involve the community, be transparent and collaborate,” said Kaleida's Ted Walsh. “All of that will help us to reach a better decision.”

The old boys actually listening to the community pays off! Hey, we could try that! Actually, VLCIA maybe has, with its strategic planning process. We shall see.

-jsq

Tired of tax abatements: Occupy Buffalo and NY state reps @ ECIDA 2012-02-13

Lots of people, from Occupy Buffalo to at least one New York state representative, are tired of tax abatements doled out by ECIDA (the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, aka The Economic Development Corporation for Erie County). ECIDA thinks it knows better. Sound familiar?

Occupy Buffalo complained to ECIDA about tax abatements for luxury residential lofts that had already been completed, saying "this board is not a democratic process". They noted the people's representative on the ECIDA board had said it was a clear waste of taxpayer resources but was ignored, and couldn't stop county resources being "fleeced by this board". They added, "This experiment has gone on for long enough, and it's time for immediate change" of "this crony corrupt process". Occupy Buffalo demanded suspension of tax abatements by ECIDA until a public town hall meeting could be held.

Here's the video:

Tired of tax abatements: Occupy Buffalo and NY state reps @ ECIDA 2012-02-13

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, .
Video by for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

Occupy Buffalo wrote 16 February 2012, Occupy Buffalo and the Erie County Industrial Development Agency,

University at Buffalo installs solar array at entrance

Meanwhile, about a thousand miles north of us, a 750 kilowatt solar array opens in Buffalo, New York.

According to PR of yesterday from the University at Buffalo, UB's 3,200-Panel 'Solar Strand' to be Dedicated at Opening Ceremony: Will provide enough electricity to power hundreds of student apartments on campus,

In celebration of Earth Day and to promote clean, renewable energy development, the University at Buffalo and New York Power Authority (NYPA) will dedicate the UB Solar Strand, the 3,200-panel photovoltaic array, at an opening ceremony on Monday, April 23.

Those panels seem inclined quite a bit more than ones around here. That's because UB is at 43 degrees north latitude, way north of our 31 degrees. And there's a lot less sun up there, too. Yet they just installed a solar array more than twice as big as the 350 KW array in Valdosta.

UB is a university, and it uses the project for more than a single practical purpose:

Animal shelter director fired

Animal shelter board received report, and then acted on it!

Charlie Specht wrote for the Buffalo News Monday, Embattled Faso fired as Niagara SPCA chief: Board move follows furor, scathing report on shelter,

The leaders of the SPCA of Niagara hired John A. Faso as executive director in April 2010 after interviewing a series of "remarkable" applicants.

"We were really impressed with the quality, but John stood out," board President Bruno A. "Brandy" Scrufari III said at the time. "We were confident he's here to stay for quite some time."

Those high hopes came crashing down Monday as the board voted to fire its embattled executive director after a month of criticism and a scathing report outlining a dysfunctional culture and unnecessary and cruel euthanasia practices.

"This is a quick, decisive, positive reaction to go forward," said Paul J. Cambria Jr., the defense attorney advising the board. "They're well on their way to fixing it."

It took less than one week for them to act after getting the report.

-jsq

SPCA report on animal shelter: "Childish Behavior" and lack of oversight

No, not here (although the description might fit): SPCA of Erie County, New York reported on the animal shelter in neighboring Niagara County, New York. Also the parts about "horrific" animal cruelty and "excruciatingly painful" euthanasia may sound familiar.

WGRZ.com wrote today, SPCA of Niagara Report; "Childish Behavior", Lack of Oversight,

In part of her report, Carr writes, "It's clear that the NCSPCA is dysfunctional in many ways. Without standard operating procedures, without careful record keeping and record retrieval, without trust of one another, without a clear chain or command, with any strategies to improve, this organization will continue to disappoint and enrage the community,"

She continues, "there is an overwhelming culture of distrust at the shelter. Some staff distrust the Executive Director, the Executive Director distrusts many of the board members, many board members distrust the Executive Director and some staff and volunteers distrust some staff and staff distrusts some volunteers. Everyone seems to distrust someone associated with the SPCA. They gossip, pass on written complaints about each other to one another, try to get each other fired, go behind backs of one another to people in authority and make complaints. The evaluation team has witnessed this rather childish behavior at all levels of the organization, by board members, the Executive Director, staff members, and volunteers."

Charlie Specht wrote for the Buffalo News yesterday, Probe details 'horrific' animal cruelty at Niagara SPCA: Report by Erie County counterpart details 'excruciatingly painful' euthanasia,

Community gardens in buffalo

Brian Meyer wrote in the Buffalo News 15 June 2011, Community gardeners' wait is over - after 3 years, Council OKs leases

Gardeners are ready to "get dirty" following Tuesday's Common Council passage of long-awaited leases to turn 34 vacant city-owned lots into neighborhood oases.

Lawmakers approved the leases unanimously and without debate. Some community gardeners have been eagerly awaiting the action for three years.

Mayor Byron W. Brown's administration delayed submitting the master leases because of numerous concerns. The logjam ended late last week when city planners sent the proposed agreements to the Council for final action.

"We have our insurance signed up, so we'll

Solar Companies Booming in Buffalo

There's still time to lead the solar parade:

"The solar market is the fastest-growing market worldwide, bar none," said Ryne P. Raffaelle, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Center for Photovoltaics in Colorado. "For the last half-dozen years, it's grown at about a 40 to 45 percent compound annual growth rate per year."

That growth is expected to accelerate next year, said Raffaelle, who was a Rochester Institute of Technology faculty member for 10 years. But the vast majority of that growth, both in the manufacturing and deployment of systems, is happening outside the United States. Asia has taken a "commanding lead" in manufacturing, and Europe leads in deployment, he said.

"But the rest of the world, they're still watching the United States. They still see us as the 800-pound gorilla," Raffaelle said. "It's like, 'When are they going to do something?'"

That was from a conference held in the Buffalo area recently.

In Buffalo, New York, they're not just talking about solar power: