Strictly Business

From Business Today:

Sometimes when great things are happening in our midst, we don't  realize what is happening. First Niagara Financial Group, the grandchild of the old Lockport Savings Bank, has grown into a $30 billion bank. That's a pretty big bank. And it has done it with shrewd acquisitions and sharp operations. The bank has a strong balance sheet, a terrific reputation and bold leadership. President and CEO John Koelmel, an accountant by training and an empire builder by nature, has infused the entire organization with a can-do attitude. The bank has a nice foot print stretching from Pittsburgh to New England now, and a headquarters in the burgeoning Larkin District in Buffalo. Fingers crossed that the bank stays independent and stays here. It's a giant local success story.

A visit from OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, can strike fear into any business owner. The agency looks out for the safety of workers and customers, and it wields the power of the federal government. We usually hear about OSHA when it has fined a company after a serious accident, and the offending company usually pays the fine and makes safety changes. But a fine levied against Buffalo Recycling Enterprises has ignited a legal battle. Owners of the company charge that OSHA has overstepped its authority, seeking to go over every square inch of the operation after a worker was seriously hurt when working n a conveyor. OSHA says the company has numerous safety violations that must be fixed. The battle is in the courts.

Who is getting hired, promoted or honored?