Strictly Business

From Business Today:

Rosa's Home Stores made it official on Thursday, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Rumors have swirled in the local retail sector about the family-owned chain having troubles, so the filing was not a big surprise to many. The firm says it will try to stay in business and honor all its pending orders and warranties. The 29-year-old chain of four stores faces growing competition form Big Box stores and national furniture chains plus fighting to stay afloat during the recession.

Environmentalists are sure that fracking - pumping toxic water underground to break up shale to release natural gas - is a bad idea. Their logic is this - pumping water laced with dangerous chemicals underground will someday come back to bite us. The natural gas industry counters that the bad water is being pumped far below the aquifers where we get drinking water,  so it can't contaminate the drinking water sources. The practice is fueling a drilling bonanza in Pennsylvania, but is currently banned in New York. Protesters spoke out against the practice Thursday in front of a National Fuel Gas Co. office in Buffalo.

Lots written about fracking:
From Vanity Fair...
From The New York Times...
From MarcellusProtest.org...

The saga of the Statler Towers is taking another twist. The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy wants to close the bankruptcy case, and that could end the effort of two local developers to cobble together a deal to buy the historic hotel in downtown Buffalo. In the end,  the City of Buffalo could end up responsible for the building across from City Hall. Afte that, who knows?

Who is getting hired, promoted and honored?