First, a plug: we've got not one but two Innovation Conversations on tonight, and we hope you'll join us.
For our Albany friends, WMHT-TV's Marie Cusick and Matt Ryan host Innovation Conversation: Transforming Tech Valley at 9 p.m., looking at what sort of returns are being paid on state investments in nanotechnology in the capital region.
For those of you in Rochester, WXXI-TV is airing Beyond the Lightswitch: An Innovation Conversation, about the energy landscape of the Finger Lakes region. It's a follow-up to the excellent national program, Beyond the Lightswitch, which airs at 8 p.m.
Ok, now onto your Trail Mix:
Monroe County rebuts a comptroller's audit that charges it with wasting taxpayer dollars.
A flat jobs prediction for Albany, despite the chip fabrication announcement earlier this week.
Environmental groups organize as "New York Water Rangers."
Plus: Toledo's got a love song - what do you sing for your hometown?
Government
Monroe County is denying reports from the state comptroller that it wasted taxpayer dollars by outsourcing emergency responder communications (David Andreatta, Democrat and Chronicle).
New regulations that allow the water levels in Lake Ontario to rise and fall more naturally are expected by the end of the year (Steve Orr, Democrat and Chronicle).
Erie Community College is considering allowing private developers to site appartments at the south campus (Jay Rey, Buffalo News).
Economy
Remember that big jobs announcement in Albany on Tuesday? Well now a research firm is projecting essentially no job growth over the next year for the capital region. So much for job creation (Eric Anderson, Times Union).
The Southern Tier's regional council met yesterday and mulled over 18 potential projects to submit as part of its application for state aid (Liz Lawyer, Gannett).
Tom Tobin writes at the Democrat and Chronicle that a briefing on the economy was a "tale of two economies" - Rochester's, and everyone else's.
Flooding
Binghamton is bracing for flash flooding, though it's not expected to be as bad as what followed Tropical Storm Lee (Jennifer Fusco and Jennifer Micale, Press & Sun-Bulletin).
Cornell's Cooperative Extension met with farmers yesterday to brief them on flood relief aid possibilities (George Basler, Press & Sun-Bulletin).
Natural gas
The "New York Water Rangers" are rallying against the DEC's new fracking rules (Jon Campbell, Politics on the Hudson).
A New York City councilman says the new fracking regulations are "one step closer" to "unprecedented contamination" of drinking water (Colby Hamilton, The Empire).
Shares of Chesapeake Engergy rose $29 after it announced positive results of its tests of the Utica Shale, which lies below the Marcellus (Susan Phillips, State Impact PA).
Sing it loud
Does your hometown have a theme song? Rust Wire has this paean to Toledo. We want to hear yours, whether it's authentic or newly invented. Post it in the comments.
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