The following is part of an editorial in today’s Buffalo News which states the many reason why The Business Council of New York State and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership must maintain their member-relationship with the University at Buffalo.

“Members of the Buffalo Center Chapter of United University Professions, a union representing academic and professional staff at the University at Buffalo, evidently are unable to see clearly out of their ivory towers.

In a referendum passed 191-172 last month, they called on UB to drop out of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Business Council of New York State.

The university has done a lot for Buffalo, and Buffalo’s private sector leaders have done a lot for the university.

Over the years, the University at Buffalo Foundation, the nonprofit arm of UB that develops private sector support, has given tens of millions of dollars to the university.

The university benefits greatly through the various partnerships and alliances it participates in. Much of what impacts UB, good and bad, comes out of the state Capitol. Buffalo’s business leaders have traveled to Albany many times to lobby on UB’s behalf.

Pulling out of the partnership and business council, or becoming a second-class member not paying dues, would diminish the status of both groups and hurt their ability to work for UB in the private sector and Albany. You can’t have it both ways: ending membership while expecting the groups to continue working for UB.

The UB union is not only shortsighted, but is wrong in basing its stand on the belief that membership in the organizations means UB is supporting fundraising, lobbying and endorsements of political candidates. Political actions by the partnership come out of its political action committee. None of the university’s money has gone or will go into the PAC.

The university’s standing has been greatly enhanced by having its president, Satish K. Tripathi, serve as co-chairman of the Western New York Economic Development Council with developer Howard Zemsky. Their leadership won $100 million in state funds for the region, and now the council will supervise the $1 billion economic development bonanza offered by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Tripathi now works closely with the most important person in the state. Instead of reducing ties with the community, the UUP should be putting its efforts into improving them.

The stronger the relationship between “town and gown,” the more both parties will benefit.

To read more from the Buffalo News click here.

The AP (2/8, Subscription Publication) reports, “Americans accelerated their borrowing in December for the second straight month, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday, accumulating more credit card debt and taking out loans to buy cars and attend school. Consumer borrowing rose by $19.3 billion in December after a $20.4 billion gain in November, the agency said. The two increases were the biggest monthly gains in a decade.”

According to Bloomberg News (2/8, Louis), “An improving job market may be giving households the courage to take on more debt in order to sustain spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. At the same time, increasing dependence on credit may be an indication the gains in employment have yet to push wages high enough to single-handedly give consumers the means to keep shopping.”

The Wall Street Journal (2/8, Mitchell, Subscription Publication) also covers the story.

Christopher Condon of the Washington Post reports - “The mutual-fund industry rejected plans for new rules governing money market funds, escalating a three-year confrontation with regulators over how to make the investments safer.

Two proposals being worked on by the Security and Exchange Commission’s staff “are neither constructive nor likely to make financial markets more resilient,” Paul Schott Stevens, president and chief executive of the Investment Company Institute, said in a statement posted on the group’s Web site.”

To read more click here.

Andrew Klappholz of the Journal News writes:

“Two of Westchester County’s hottest industries — biotechnology and pharmaceuticals — will continue to grow and create more high-end local jobs while the associated companies pay cheaper rent, a new study predicts.

The author of the report said a strong ‘BioPharma’ scene gives the county a significant advantage over other parts of the region.

‘It acts as a differentiator,’ said Erin Patterson, a senior analyst at the Jones Lang LaSalle real estate company.

‘You don’t have that kind of demand in Stamford.’

The cheaper rents will help motivate companies to set up shop in Westchester, she said, adding that rents will stay at historic lows in the southern part of the county and go even lower to the north, with Acorda Therapeutics set to vacate its Hawthorne facility in the short-term and a longer-term plan to build a biotechnology incubator at New York Medical College in Valhalla.”

To read more click here.

Business Council President and CEO Heather Briccetti today gave testimony at the economic development budget hearing.

Heather Briccetti, President and CEO of The Business Council, is joined by Vice President of Government Affairs Ken Pokalsky

Briccetti emphasized the organization’s commitment to working with the Governor, Senate and Assembly to continue moving New York in the right direction. She touched on several key points from The Business Council’s agenda, which include:

• Enacting the Governor’s Tier VI pension reform proposal;
• Fostering VoIP innovation;
• Extending the MTA mobility tax reforms to professional business organizations;
• Spurring New York’s travel and tourism sector;
• Moving forward with a constitutional amendment to allow for enhanced gaming;
• Reforming New York’s overly rigorous regulatory climate; and
• Improving the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process and making it more user-friendly.

During the Q&A portion of her testimony, Briccetti noted that corporate tax reform was a top priority for The Business Council.

To view her full written testimony, click here.

The following is a letter that was written to Kassata Edwards (of WRGB Channel 6 News), who covered The Business Council’s Legislators’ Reception, along with the protest outside Hotel Albany (formerly known as the Crowne Plaza Albany). The author is Pete Bardunias, President/CEO of the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County:

“Hello Ms. Edwards,

Thank you for the fair and balanced report on the protest at the Business Council event last night. Channel 6 did a good job of laying out the facts as you saw them for people to understand. I’d like to add a few things which may be helpful, although I in no way claim to speak for the Business Council of New York State or any other entity present last night.

I was an attendee at the event, the guy with the little round band aid on my face chatting as the camera pans the room in your video. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I walked in about an hour earlier with one of the protesters, who I approached because she was wearing a Business Council credential. The lady with the dark hair and small rimmed dark glasses. If you look at your video she is unpinning the badge from her sweater while she is chanting and then puts it in her pocket. Perhaps she is the one who let the people in through a back door, but she most assuredly came in the front, along with me.

What disappoints me the most is, as we made small talk in the elevator, she claimed to own a small business. If so, then it’s a shame she didn’t utilize the resources of the Chambers of Commerce who were present there, and I honestly wish I could sit down with her and clear up any misunderstandings as to what these organizations are all about. The Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, for example, has 950 members, 65% of which have less than 10 employees. We would gladly address her concerns just as we would any small business who becomes a member. The big issues mentioned in the parking lot by the protesters – fracking, health care, taxation, family issues, etc. are all very much on the minds of chamber executives and our members too. It’s a shame they were out there in the rain instead of inside engaging in civil discourse which is what the many attendees of that reception were doing. I did not attend the President’s event later in the evening, but rather went home to my family in Clifton Park.

BCNYS President/CEO Heather Briccetti is a fine executive who has worked hard and deserves the position to which she has been appointed. Again I won’t speak for the Business Council, but I am proud that my Chamber of Commerce supports businesses large and small, from Mom and Pop entrepreneurs (such as what this woman claimed to be) all the way to some of the largest companies on the planet. Southern Saratoga County is a place where all these various interests and factions come together, and work hard to make a difference in leading New York out of its economic doldrums. I am very proud to be part of this community at such an important time in our history.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts in this email. Should I be able to offer any other assistance to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me, my information is below.”

Kathryn Caggianelli of the Troy Record did an in-depth piece on new Business Council President and CEO Heather Briccetti:

“The characteristics that make a defense attorney successful are not unlike those that propel a lobbyist to victory while fighting for their cause, according to Heather Briccetti.

And she should know. A mother of three sons who resides in Brunswick, she has enjoyed a career championing the underdog.

Briccetti, an attorney, was recently named president and chief executive officer of The Business Council of New York State. She was acting-president for nine months prior to being selected to head up the organization, formerly led by Kenneth Adams. She joined the Business Council in 2007 as vice president of government affairs.

“I like doing defense work. I’m certainly not suggesting that there is anything criminal to defend with regard to businesses that are members of the Business Council,” she laughed. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that it takes the same personality to be a successful lobbyist.”

Briccetti, 46, was born in Tunisia to Peace Corps parents, who after completing their assignment in Africa, moved back to the U.S. and pursued careers as public school teachers in Syracuse. At the time, she was 2 years old.

She credits their humanitarianism and leanings toward liberal politics as at least part of the reason she is passionate about lobbying for the underdog, and ultimately the greater good.

After graduating from the State University of New York at Binghamton at the age of 19, Briccetti returned to Tunisia for a summer and discovered that the country, at the time, boasted an extraordinary educational system and opportunities for women that rivaled those available to men.”

To read more click here.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition has compiled a video that includes testimony from a variety of industry experts, Pennsylvania residents and news reports all pointing to the positive economic impact of natural gas drilling.

To watch the video please click here.

To read the PPI report Drilling for Jobs: What the Marcellus Shale could mean for New York click here.

The surge in domestic natural gas production can lower energy costs, reduce pollution and drive investment in the industries that supply equipment the natural gas sector and those that use natural gas as an input to production, like the chemical industry. … The discovery of new natural gas reserves, such as the Marcellus Shale, has led to rapidly growing domestic production and relatively low domestic prices for households and downstream industrial users. Appropriate care must to be taken to ensure that America’s natural resources are extracted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner with the safeguards in place to protect public health and safety. Provided these precautions are taken, the potential benefits to theU.S. economy are substantial. (WhiteHouse.gov, 1/12)

“Obama Discovers Natural Gas”

Last week the White House issued its latest report on jobs and it includes a section on “America’s Natural Resource Boom.” The report avers that a few years ago there were widespread “fears of a looming natural gas shortage,” but that“the discovery of new natural gas reserves, such as the Marcellus Shale, and the development of hydraulic fracturing techniques to extract natural gas from these reserves has led to rapidly growing domestic production and relatively low domestic prices for households and downstream industrial users.” … To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the White House has favorably mentioned the Marcellus Shale, the natural gas reservoir below Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other Northeastern states. … It’s certainly smart politics for Mr. Obama to distance himself from the anti-fossil fuels obsessives, and no doubt his political advisers are hoping it helps this fall in the likes of Ohio and Pennsylvania. (Wall Street Journal, Editorial, 1/17/12)

Federal Specialty Crop Funds Support Regional Efforts in Promoting “Buy Local”

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine today announced the availability of $200,000 in funds to support new and existing regional “buy local” food and agricultural campaigns throughout the State. This program is funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant and will be conducted in coordination with the State’s Pride of New York Program.

“There’s no doubt that consumers want to buy locally produced food,” the Commissioner said. “What we have found is that regional “buy local” campaigns further raise the profile of local products in a specific region and they often have the opportunity to provide a range of services and activities that help local producers market their products and assist consumers in identifying local products.”

The goal of the Regional “Buy Local” Campaign Development Program is to increase consumer awareness, increase recognition in the marketplace, and increase sales of locally produced foods and agricultural products in eleven defined agricultural regions.

Eligible proposals must reflect each region’s geography, agricultural production, local cultural identity and other unique attributes or specialties. They must help promote a broad-range of USDA-defined specialty crops, and they must also work synergistically with other regional “buy local” campaigns in the State, as well as the Pride of New York Program.

With $200,000 in federal Specialty Crop Block Grant funds, each region is eligible to receive $18,550, of which $2,800 is allocated to create a regional brand, and up to $2,750 for the development of a marketing/media plan. The remaining $13,000 can be used for implementing the marketing/media plan, which can include advertisements, the creation of promotional materials, website design, public outreach and more. As part of the grant award, the Department will provide professional and creative services for each region to help develop their regional brands, create individual websites and develop a multi-year marketing/media plan.

Government entities, not-for-profits, tourism boards and Industrial Development Authorities are all eligible to apply. Applications are available online at www.agriculture.ny.gov or by calling 518-457-7229. Applications are due into the Department by February 23, 2012.