February 21, 2013 - 3:49 PM
By Denise Jewell Gee
Erie County legislators have added their voices to a chorus of people across the state calling for the new state gun law to be repealed.
The County Legislature voted, 7 to 4, on Thursday to approve a resolution calling on the state to repeal and revise the New York State SAFE Act of 2013 “in a manner that is respectful of the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers.”
Read the full story here.
November 5, 2012 - 5:53 PM
The Buffalo News and BuffaloNews.com will have all the issues and races covered on Election Day from the minute you wake up until the results unfold.
Starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, we'll have a live chat with guests to talk about the important issues, key races and the latest updates from across Western New York. Reporters Mary Pasciak and Patrick Lakamp will be your hosts. We'll also bring you insight from Political Reporter Bob McCarthy and Columnist Donn Esmonde. Here's what we have so far in terms of guests:
*10 a.m.: Reporter Gene Warner on what early-morning voters were saying at the polls
*10:30 a.m.: Deputy Managing Editor Stan Evans on what to watch for throughout the day
*11 a.m.: Washington Columnist Doug Turner on the national scene
*12 p.m.: Turner and Managing Editor Brian Connolly open it up for a discussion with readers
*1:10 p.m.: Health Reporter Henry Davis on health care issues
*1:40 p.m.: Business Editor Grove Potter on economic issues
*2:10 p.m.: Siena Research Institute pollster Steven A. Greenberg
*2:40 p.m.: Editorial Page Editor John Neville on The Buffalo News' endorsement process
*3:10 p.m.: Reporter Dan Herbeck on the Seneca Nation elections
*3:40 p.m.: Washington Bureau Chief Jerry Zremski reports from Chicago
*4:10 p.m.: Buffalo News Editor Mike Connelly gives a Florida perspective
*4:40 p.m.: Reporter Jay Rey from the swing state of Ohio
*4:55 p.m.: Reporter Matt Glynn on local town board upsizing votes
*5:10 p.m.: Reporter Barbara O'Brien on area State Assembly races
*5:40 p.m.: Reporter Sandra Tan on the Erie County comptroller's race
*6:10 p.m.: Rochester D&C Reporter Jessica Alaimo on the Slaughter-Brooks race
*6:25 p.m.: Reporter Thomas J. Prohaska on the Witryol-Maziarz State Senate race
*6:40 p.m.: Reporter Denise Jewell Gee on the Collins-Hochul race
*7:10 p.m.: Reporter Charity Vogel on the Grisanti-Amodeo-Swanick race
*7:40 p.m.: Reporter Tom Precious reports from Boston
*8 p.m.: Metro Columnist Donn Esmonde chimes in
*8:30 p.m.: Political Reporter Bob McCarthy
We've also got a live video broadcast starting at noon. Check out that schedule.October 14, 2012 - 11:19 AM
October 12, 2012 - 2:33 PM
Add fracking to the list of hot-button issues that are occupying candidates in the 60th Senate district race this campaign season.
Mike Amodeo, the Lake View resident who is running against incumbent Republican Mark J. Grisanti for the 60th district seat, this week released a statement criticizing Grisanti for being endorsed by the pro-hydrofracking group Unshackle Upstate.
The Rochester-based group’s policies and agenda are not in the best interests of Western New York residents – many of whom oppose fracking – and Grisanti should distance himself from them, Amodeo charged.
Democrat Amodeo, in his criticism, called Grisanti “one of the biggest pro-hydrofracking Senators in the state.”
Grisanti’s office said the Senator’s position on fracking is this:
Grisanti is awaiting the results of a public-comment period that was recently held by the Department of Environmental Conservation, which gathered some 80,000 comments on the issue.
And, Grisanti also said that he presses for protections for upstate residents wherever possible in environmental matters.
--- Charity Vogel
October 9, 2012 - 1:53 PM
A proposed 25,000-seat soccer stadium in Queens has the support of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, according to the New York Times.
Pitched as the home for a new Major League Soccer team, the facility would be built on the site of an existing park.
There was no mention of whether state funding will be requested for the project.
Cooperation among several parties was seen as key to moving the proposal forward:
Lawrence S. Schwartz, an aide to Mr. Cuomo, said, “If all the parties work together and want it to happen, it can happen in 2013.”
October 3, 2012 - 3:33 PM
Mike Amodeo, the Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican Mark Grisanti in the 60th Senate district, is drawing attention this week to the status of a measure that would further boost the efforts of historic rehabilitators and preservationists across the state.
Amodeo has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, asking for quick action on a measure known as the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, or HRTC. The measure would lift the maximum dollar figure on the tax credit available to developers and rehabbers from $5 million to $12 million. The measure builds on legislation that was approved several years ago.
Amodeo urged Skelos to send the measure – which was sponsored by Grisanti earlier this year – to the governor for a signature, arguing that it is holding up the creation of new jobs in Western New York.
"I am imploring you on behalf of the residents of Buffalo and the 60th Senate District to advance this historic rehabilitation tax credit bill immediately,” stated Amodeo, a Hamburg attorney, in his letter, “so economic development can continue and prevailing wage jobs can be restored to Buffalo.”
A spokesman for Senate Republicans contradicted the notion that the GOP is in any way holding up the measure.
--- Charity Vogel
October 2, 2012 - 10:21 AM
Notes from Erie County’s political trail – this time, from the meeting inside the Hearthstone Manor on Saturday, at which Jeremy Zellner was elected the Dems' new county chairman (the vote is now being challenged in court by Frank Max, his opponent) – include some funny moments, too.
The top three humorous moments from Saturday’s 4-hour-long conclave of local Dems?
It’s wholly unofficial, of course. But here are the picks of one observer:
1.) At the beginning of the lengthy session, at which more than 1,000 Democratic committee men and women packed into a ballroom at the Depew banquet facility, paper ballots were distributed.
To use the ballots as anonymous votes, the papers had to be separated into two parts.
“There are SCISSORS up here,” one party official told the multitude. “They are NOT meant to be used as weapons.”
Um, good to know…
Continue reading "Funny moments from the Democrats' meeting..." »
June 14, 2012 - 12:44 PM
The News features a live chat on Politics Now weekly at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Today's is hosted by Denise Jewell Gee, with the focus being on Erie County politics and the happenings at County Hall.
The schedule for other Politics Now chats is: First Thursday of month: Jill Terreri on Buffalo City Hall; third: Tom Precious on Albany; fourth: Jerry Zremski on Washington. The News' Bob McCarthy also joins the chats when available.
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May 25, 2012 - 1:45 PM
Could there soon be a new leader of the Erie County Democratic Party? News Political Reporter Bob McCarthy talks with Brian Meyer about Len Lenihan's possible exit.
May 10, 2012 - 12:53 PM
The News features a live chat on Politics Now weekly at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Today's is hosted by Denise Jewell Gee, with the focus being on Erie County politics and the happenings at County Hall.
The schedule for other Politics Now chats is: First Thursday of month: Aaron Besecker on Buffalo City Hall; third: Tom Precious on Albany; fourth: Jerry Zremski on Washington. The News' Bob McCarthy also joins the chats when available.
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Denise Jewell Gee joined The News in 2007. She covers Erie County government and writes a weekly column for the City & Region section.
A native of Schenectady, Robert J. McCarthy came to The Buffalo News in 1982 following a six-year stint at the Olean Times Herald. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and has been covering local, state and national politics since 1992.
Tom Precious joined The Buffalo News in 1997 as bureau chief at the state Capitol, where he covers everything from statewide politics and state government fiscal affairs to health care, environmental and municipal government matters. Prior to The News, he worked for news outlets in Albany and Washington, DC.
Jill Terreri is an Amherst native and has covered politics and government in upstate New York since 2003. She joined The Buffalo News in June and covers City Hall.
@jillterreri | jterreri@buffnews.com
Jerry Zremski, The Buffalo News Washington bureau chief, has reported from the nation's capital since 1989 after joining The News as a business reporter in 1984. A graduate of Syracuse University, Zremski is a former Nieman fellow in journalism at Harvard University. In 2007, he served as president of the National Press Club.
