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Sparked by the findings of a report that supports legalizing marijuana for recreational use, New York state representatives this fall have set off on a road tour to hear what people have to say.
Western New Yorkers had their opportunity Wednesday as a crowd of around 300 people packed into the listening session in the Holiday Inn in Cheektowaga. About 35 people spoke with an overwhelming majority being in favor of the policy.
Others in the open forum said if recreational marijuana is implemented they hope:
It’s limited to consumers older than 25;
It’s not taxed too high;
It’s packaged with warning labels to keep children from consuming;
There’s a license process for consumers that’s not too expensive so as not to deter low income participants;
Education on cannabis is prevalent;
Anyone can grow their own product;
People guilty of low-level marijuana offenses have their records sealed.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing legalization and the state’s now looking for input on how it should happen. He commissioned a study released by the Department of Health to examine the impact it would have on health care, public safety, the economy and more.
“The primary conclusion of (that) impact by the government (according to the report) was that the positive effects of a regulated marijuana program outweigh the potential negative impact,” said Lyla Hunt, a health program coordinator with the DOH’s AIDS Institute Office of Drug User Health told the crowd.
Hunt and Sandra Houston, a consultant to Cuomo overseeing the session, gave some remarks before opening the forum to those interested in speaking.
“We want your input on the implementation of a regulated marijuana program in your community,” Houston said. “We are here to listen to you... Everyone’s opinion counts.”
The “state is in the process of gathering input," Hunt said, noting passages of law changes in Canada and neighboring states like Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and maybe New Jersey could leave New York lagging behind.
Medical marijuana has been allowed in New York since 2016. A handful of those with prescriptions spoke on its behalf at the listening session and said it’s drastically improved their lives.
Despite the report's recommendation of a regulated market, the state Senate would still need to approve the new law and Republicans remain opposed, according to reports.
Nonetheless, many still think it’s only a matter of time before New York is next on a growing list of states to allow recreational use.
“It’s not a question of ‘if,’ it’s ‘when’” said Reggie Keith, a Buffalo man who called himself a “budding entrepreneur.” “This is a brand new industry." “Imagine if you had a chance to get in at Budweiser at the invention of (beer).”
Legalization would bring a “significant financial boost” to the state’s economy and deliver aid services like education, drug treatment programs and more that can rebuild communities, Peoples-Stokes said.
Some, however, don’t see it as such a boon.
“We feel that there continues to be more and longer research (needed) to make sure this will be safe for all people,” said Dr. John Gillespie, a cardiologist and president of the Erie County Medical Society.
Gillespie told the state representatives that marijuana has been known to increase heart-related health issues, and data since it’s been legalized in Colorado shows a rise in traffic deaths. It would be wiser to “wait” for now and learn more from what other states experience before its legalized.
Based on the report's findings, though, legalization “could reduce racial disparity in criminal litigation as well as incarceration rates,” Hunt said. A clean slate would also assist those with low-level past offenses, which are felonies that can prevent an individual from getting a job, living in public housing or going to college.
“You can go in any city, any town (or) any village in the state of New York and you can tell where that drug war had an impact,” she said.
The sessions will conclude in the middle of October, Hunt said. The DOH’s full report can be found here.
StudioLabs has earned a place on the Inner City 100 list, compiled by ICIC and published annually by Fortune.
The software development firm was founded by Buffalo native Liz Young, who now works out of New York City. Its biggest office is in the Rand Building in downtown Buffalo, where about 20 of its 29 employees work.
“We’re definitely trying to grow our Buffalo office,†Young said. “There are talented engineers in both Buffalo and New York City, but for the price of hiring a kid out of school in Manhattan you can hire a very senior resource in Buffalo.â€
The annual ICIC list seeks to celebrate fast-growing companies whose success illuminates the competitive advantages of doing business in an inner city, according to the ICIC website.
StudioLabs reported to Forbes that its revenue has grown more than 100 percent over the past five years, including sales of $3.6 million last year.
While StudioLabs has had a lot of success recruiting software engineers in Buffalo since it was founded 15 years ago, Young said that dynamic is starting to change. With new high-tech companies and the general need for technology talent, the workforce is becoming incredibly talented.
She views this dynamic as more a short-term chokepoint, as many junior-level developers are being hired and trained in Buffalo.
“We’re in a weird vortex where a lot of businesses have moved into Buffalo and created a lot of jobs in a short period of time,†Young said. “In a few years, with all those engineers graduating from universities and staying in Buffalo, the talent pool will look very different.â€
Unifrax will lay off 10 percent of its 453-person local workforce, the company announced today.
That means about 45 people are set to lose their jobs at the Tonawanda-based manufacturer of speciality fiber products, which operates mainly in the thermal management, fire protection, emission controls and specialty fibers segments.
The company's announcement said that while Unifrax remains a growing global company, short-term shifts in demand for thermal management products made in Tonawanda "necessitated the changes."
"Unifrax remains committed to Western New York and Tonawanda as evidenced by investments of nearly $100 million in their Tonawanda facilities over the past six years," the company said. "In addition to the organizational structure, these changes will also address improving skills and process efficiencies throughout the facility to position Unifrax for long-term sustainable growth in the global markets they serve."
Unifrax was recently sold by American Securities, its owner for 15 years, to another investment group, California-based Clearlake Capital Group. The company statement said the layoffs are "unrelated" to the sale.
Unifrax has 31 operations and more than 2,500 employees across the world. The move will affect about 2 percent of its overall global workforce.
The company has undergone significant growth in the past few years, including the recent $33 million expansion of its main Tonawanda factory.
The Unifrax statement said it is offering severance and outplacement services to affected employees.
Buffalo, Rochester are among 22 best in U.S. for income equality
Money is distributed a bit more evenly in the Buffalo and Rochester areas than in the nation as a whole, according to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The new rankings are based on the total income drawn by each metropolitan area's highest quintile, the official name for the group of households whose earnings constitute the top 20 percent locally.
Buffalo is 22nd in the national standings, which encompass all 53 metros that have at least 1 million residents. The top 20 percent of all households in the Buffalo area receive 49.67 percent of the total income in the two-county metro.
Rochester is even better in the income-equality standings, which run from the smallest to the biggest percentage. Its highest quintile draws 49.40 percent of local income, good for 16th place.
Click on the View Slideshow button for the U.S. rankings, beginning with Salt Lake City, the area where the highest quintile receives the lowest percentage of local income.
The new rankings were derived by Business First from the one-year version of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2017 American Community Survey (ACS), which was released last month. The 2017 ACS is the latest source of official data at the metropolitan level.
The Miami area finished last in the standings. Its highest quintile receives 54.22 percent of total regional income, roughly four-and-a-half percentage points larger than Buffalo's distribution.
GREEK PEAK SPENDS $2.5 MILLION ON EQUIPMENT AND IMPROVEMENTS
VIRGIL, N.Y. — Greek Peak Mountain Resort says it has spent about $2.5 million for improvements at its facility in Virgil in Cortland County.
It spent about $1 million in 2017 and about $1.5 million on the ski area and lodging facility this year, Greek Peak said in a news release.
“In a time when [New York State] continues to increase operating expenses such as increased minimum wage, minimum salaries and other mandates which impact the bottom line, this is an aggressive approach putting it mildly,” Wesley Kryger, president of Greek Peak Mountain Resort, contended in the release.
Greek Peak said it is tentatively set to open the ski season Nov. 24, weather “cooperating and permitting.”
Spending outlined
Greek Peak has spent more than $231,000 on snowmaking improvements. With that investments, crews have installed new pipes on Odyssey and Upper Mars Hill, replaced 750 feet of snowmaking pipe, added 14 new snow guns, and a new SMI tower fan.
Greek Peak also spent more than $266,000 to purchase 68 new snowmaking guns for installation on trails that include Upper Odyssey, Meadow, Platonic, Alpha and Mars Hill. Greek Peak says it used a NYSERDA matching funds grant to make the purchase.
Greek Peak invested about $600,000 for two groomers. It also spent more than $43,000 for a P-Tex machine for ski tuning and repair, about $10,000 for “high performance” ski rentals, about $9,000 on rental ski poles, and about $45,000 for resort and hill uniforms.
Greek Peak says the improvements have resulted in an increase in snow-gun capability of 1,000 gallons per minute, per its news release.
Besides the focus on snowmaking improvements, Greek Peak also allocated about $180,000 to chair-lift improvements.
Greek Peak also spent about $5,500 to relocate its welcome center and guest-services area to the ticket-booth building.
“We found that having two buildings servicing guests was causing guest confusion while navigating from parking, through ticketing, to … the snow,” per the Greek Peak news release.
The previous welcome center will now become administrative offices. Guest services and the ticket booth will be located together in the lower Katalima building, Greek Peak said.
The Greek Peak investments also focused on lodge improvements. That included about $30,000 for catering equipment, a gazebo, and a mountain-top deck; about $30,000 for a wedding-tent venue and new flooring; roughly $35,000 for an LED light-replacement project; and about $45,000 for a “Big Bear Activity Zone” at Cascades Indoor Waterpark.
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