Southwest has been the domestic standard-bearer for how to properly run a profitable, customer-friendly low-cost carrier. Where so many others have failed, Southwest continues to not only thrive, but influence the whole industry.

In Europe, the business model is somewhat different. Carriers like Ryanair and easyJet whisk travelers across Europe for fares as low as £5.00 (plus tax and fees). The catch is that your seat may not recline, you have to pay to actually speak with someone in customer service (email is free), it may cost as much as £8.00 to check a bag, and on-board services cost extra.

But if you’re interested in getting from London (Stanstead) to Milano (Bergamo) for ten bucks, you might be willing to put up with all that. Note that London’s airport isn’t Gatwick or Heathrow, and Milano’s isn’t Linate or Malpensa. To get from London’s Victoria Station to Stanstead airport is a 75 minute bus ride. To get from Milano’s central station to Bergamo airport takes 60 minutes.

Today, Eliot Spitzer will give his “State of New York State” address in Albany at 1230PM. Hopefully, the finger gesture Spitzer makes in the above photo does not represent the amount of progress he intends to report.

Click here to watch the live web stream of the speech.

Supposedly, Spitzer will touch on major issues like a property tax rate cap, increased funding for universities, privatizing the NY Lottery, and a $1BN Upstate Revitalization Fund that will be used to fund development projects throughout upstate.

In any event, how would you describe the state of affairs right now in New York State? Do you approve of the job Eliot is doing? What are your expectations of Spitzer/Bruno/Silver in 2008?

Congressman Brian Higgins and Senator Hillary Clinton announced $3.1 million in federal funding dedicated to a project that would create 20 acres of new parkland on land now occupied by the Buffalo station for the United States Coast Guard. The funding, championed by Higgins and Clinton, was included in the appropriations bill approved by the House of Representatives and Senate and signed by the President in late December.

Erie County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz today issued his office’s audit of the Sale, Purchase and Operation Agreement (”SPOA”) by and between Erie County (”County”) and Erie County Medical Center Corporation (”ECMCC”). The SPOA and subsequent legal actions (resulting in two (2) consent decrees) govern the County’s sale of the hospital to the then created public benefit corporation in 2004 and the mutual obligations of both parties including ongoing subsidies, reporting, and other financial issues.

Last week, Deloitte & Touche LLP issued a favorable FY 2006-07 audit for the City, which reported a $21,695,000 surplus, the largest in the history of the City of Buffalo and the fifth consecutive surplus the City has reported since the fiscal crisis began in 2001-02. This latest double-digit surplus brings the City’s total fund balance to just over $117 million, with $76 million free from any financial commitments or restrictions.