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SUNY touts $20 billion economic impact in NYS

New York's university system is set to release its economic impact data today.l
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New York's university system is set to release its economic impact data today.l

SUNY is set to release a report on its economic impact in New York today, and Tom Precious at the Buffalo News tells us that that figure is going to hit at least $20 billion:

The study, obtained by The Buffalo News and characterized as the most detailed analysis of SUNY’s economic impact on the state, was conducted by the University at Buffalo Regional Institute and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the University at Albany. SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, who commissioned the study, is releasing its findings at a news conference here today. Zimpher said the study will help SUNY’s goal to see the higher-education system “become the economic engine for New York State’s recovery.”

The Innovation Trail's Marie Cusick will have more later today.

Syracuse revitalization

A church is using $20,000 from the state, its own funds, and elbow grease to revitalize a little corner of South Salina Street in Syracuse.  Maureen Nolan reports for the Post-Standard that the efforts are starting to take hold:

Peoples [AME Zion] church bought the commercial building and a couple of other nearby properties because it wanted better for the neighborhood, Pastor Daren C. Jaime said. He remembers drug activity and prostitution in front of the building when he first came to the church several years ago. “We know that if we had healthy businesses and healthy housing, we could contribute to a healthy neighborhood, and that was the plan and the goal,” he said.

That effort jibes well with a conference coming up next week in Syracuse, sponsored by Cornell University's Community and Regional Development Institute.  The State of Upstate New York Conference will help stakeholders "take stock" of how upstate has navigated the fiscal crisis, and how it can do better in the future, reports George Lowery at the Ithaca Journal.

Future of Amtrak

Over at Infrastructurist Eric Jaffe asks what role Amtrak will play in the future of the nation's rail system - and whether or not the federally operated firm should be replaced with a private one:

The idea of attracting private money to the passenger rail business is not, strictly speaking, a bad one — particularly with an increase in rail funding unlikely during the current Congress. And [House Transportation Committee chair John] Mica brought in witnesses from the private sector to confirm its ability to raise a significant amount of capital in the next 10 years. He also cited the success story of Virgin Rail, which Mica says has returned hundreds of millions to the British government while pocketing a nice profit itself and doubling ridership in the past six years. But many of Mica’s points fail to stand up to scrutiny. Back in January representatives from the private sector offered plenty of reasons why the they want nothing to do with passenger rail investments. This stance has a great deal of credibility; after all, it was the private sector’s decision to drop out of the passenger rail game that led to the creation of Amtrak in the first place.

Gas prices

New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer is calling for an investigation into earnings at oil refineries and high gas prices, reports Matt Glynn at the Buffalo News:

Schumer, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and other Senate Democrats have sent a letter to the [Federal Trade Commission's] chairman urging an investigation, citing the refiners' high profits at a time when they are producing at just 81 percent of their capacity. Schumer, who was in Cheektowaga [Monday], said pump prices ought to be falling faster, in concert with a drop in oil prices. Whether the FTC will launch a probe of the refiners is unclear. "The FTC has gotten our letter and will get us an answer very quickly," Schumer said.

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