I received this VIA email from Jim Tedisco, what a thrill this is. We are making headway in Albany, well with the Republicans anyway in the Senate and Assembly. Now will be the time to hold them all accountable and see who will be the obstructionists. Democrats sponsor or co-sponsor legislation or be labeled as obstructionists. We are tired of hearing you say “we can’t do anything about it” You can by legislation, now do it and stand up for the people of this state for once.

EDITORS NOTE: WE WILL HAVE A PODCAST LATER TODAY WITH RUS, AS HE UPDATES US ON HIS NOGITOLLS.COM CAMPAIGN

11:47pm: Just seconds ago, the New York State Thruway Authority voted yes to move forward with a 10% increase in the 2008 budget that will increase NYS tolls as soon as January.

The Authority is planning another hike in 2009 and 2010 that will be voted on in April. The State Comptroller is in the process of auditing the Authority.

Our Local representative on that board, Jeff Williams, voted no.

There was an article in the Buffalo News late last week about Thursday at the Square:

The Buffalo Place board Wednesday learned revenues for the 21-year-old concert series missed budget targets by $200,722, up from earlier projections that it would fall flat by a maximum of $140,000. In presenting the updated revenue figures, Buffalo Place Treasurer John R. Koelmel said the free summer shows, which rely on sales of beer and food to cover costs, have probably hit their peak.

This is a ridiculous response:

We had a bit of a monopoly for a while, but now we’re facing competition from other venues, especially the casinos,” Koelmel said. “I think [that] in terms of upside, we have hit the wall.”

Secondly, the acts that made up the 2007 concert series were “part” of the problem but not the biggest one. I actually thought it was a good lineup. But bringing acts that an over 21 crowd might actually enjoy will definitely ensure more beer sales. Wh,en you cater the music to people under the age of 21, guess what? No beer sales, duh…

The biggest problem though is simple, yet one Buffalo Place refuses to address. Location. Depending on where you wind up in that mass of humanity every week, you can’t hear. Half of the concert grounds are covered by trees.

It is one of the most common refrains at the end of every year during the Erie County budget process.

“Fully fund the Buffalo Convention and Visitor’s Bureau with their full share of the bed tax”

Since I don’t like to hear a problem restated over and over again without the proposition of a creative solution, I’m going to offer one…because that’s how I roll.

Why should the CVB be funded out of a tax that is collected by Erie County? The revenue stream sources from the hotels themselves and the County simply acts as a pass through, while taking a piece of the revenue as a vig.

Why not abolish the bed tax altogether?

Poking around the CVB’s website, I came across a series of videos that were recently completed which help tell the story of Buffalo-Niagara. By the way, if you want people to actually watch these videos, shorten up the vignettes and post them on sites around the web, not just on your own.  The only people who will find these videos will be people who were looking for them in the first place, viral marketing 101.   I digress…

Recent news from our local delegation…