However, Light’s scrupulous adherence to the dictates of objective reporting style deserves a considered analysis. Light combines a brief history of the newspaper itself with what, in later chapters, becomes a personal accounting of his time with The News. While someone unfamiliar with Buffalo and its newspaper might find the history interesting, it seems to me that in detailing his own personal stories, Light and his readers would have been better served by a separate memoir.

In writing their own stories, newspaper reporters may take advantage of this unfamiliar freedom to reveal deeply personal narratives as in Pete Hamill’s “A Drinking Life,” or they may attempt to give their readers a front row seat in the corridors of power as in “The Times of My life and My Life With the Times,” by Max Frankel, but Light is perhaps too self-effacing, and diplomatic to reveal enough of himself to carry this book as a personal narrative. At the same time he is too much the company man to reveal the inner workings of the wheelhouse.

On the personal side, both Light’s generation, and certainly, the culture of the Buffalo News encourage a taciturn approach. Many of his forebears at The News that are portrayed here also possess exteriors of leather. Still, Light’s tightly controlled, “just the facts ma’am delivery” sometimes obscures his characters’ humanity. After recounting the tale of Managing Editor Paul Neville’s untimely death at age forty nine, and Light’s own promotion as a result, we’re introduced to Light’s staff. Four paragraphs after his arrival in Light’s narrative, and after thirty years on the job at The News, a key assistant, Foster Spencer, is dead. When News editor Bill Malley comes on to the scene in the next paragraph, you want to warn him. Sure enough, he dies in a car crash four paragraphs later.

It’s not that Light doesn’t care about these people. He praises their work as he does with that of most of his colleagues and therein lies another problem. Light even takes time to acknowledge a pack mule like Marcia Harasack who we’re told was a, “…very capable part-time assistant.” The point is that the book is more of a farewell to the troops than a personal memoir. Which brings us to conclude that this is a book with a very specific audience.

This book is clearly intended for the longtime Buffalo News reader and Light makes no attempt to vary the writing style he has employed during his lengthy career there. Many people who grew up reading The News will enjoy this book. The chapters dealing with the early history of the paper are especially interesting. However, a book about The Buffalo News could certainly be written that would appeal to a much wider audience.

For those who want the lowdown on political influence and the shaping of public opinion, Light offers very few modern examples. True, there are some behind-the-scenes details such as when Warren Buffett faced down Courier Express Attorney Fredrick Furth in court, but you can read about that and other Buffett stories in greater detail in biographies of Buffett by Andrew Kilpatrick and Roger Lowenstein's “Warren Buffett, The Making of an American Capitalist,” (which I prefer).

Stanford Lipsy's elite “Group of Eighteen”- the power brokers who have had the greatest influence on Buffalo's planning and policy in the last quarter century– make an almost comic appearance on page 222 and after a breezy synopsis, promptly disappear.

Perhaps, the most telling vignette to me was in an exchange Light had with the late Kate Robinson Butler when she served as the Publisher of The News. She demanded that Mr. Light pull a planned serialization of “My Life With Jacqueline Kennedy” because it was written by Jackie's secretary. Light tells us, “...she (Butler) would never want any of her hired help to write a book about her private affairs and that it was reprehensible to publish such a book.”

As the former Managing Editor of The Buffalo News, Light was among the most knowledgeable of the hired help. In this book though, he hasn't revealed any “private affairs” concerning the brokering of power by current Publisher Stanford Lipsey and heirs apparent Warren Colville, and Gerald Goldberg. “Burning Down My Master's House” this ain't. Then again, Jayson Blair didn't light any great bonfire of knowledge about the powers that be, either.

This book is a good contribution for the time capsule The News seems to be creating for itself in this, its 125th year. Whether The News or Buffalo will exist for another one hundred and twenty five years will depend largely on whether The News chooses to maintain its current, destructive and reactionary editorial course or not - after all, TV news propaganda is far more cost effective. | Add as favourites (17) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1566

Who Controls What?

A document made available to Alt by Nancy Brock, an M&T bank employee and public relations person for the Control Board showed that as of January 21st of this year, the Construction Board and several other City agencies are “covered organizations.”

The document pointed out that although these various agencies were exempt from Control Board oversight, the Control Board retained the right to “…terminate any such exemption or exemptions…”

If the Control board deemed that any of these covered organizations did in fact, “materially affect the ability of the City to adopt and maintain a budget,” those organizations could be subjected to their oversight.

For some reason, the Buffalo Sewer Authority is still exempt from Control Board oversight. Alt asked Ms. Brock why the Control Board had maintained the exemption of the Buffalo Sewer Authority, especially in light of its serious maintenance problems (see “Smell of a Dying City on opposite page), Ms. Brock sent us a recent Control Board document which stated that, “It was found that the Buffalo Sewer Authority does not materially affect the ability of the City to adopt or maintain a balanced budget.”

In addition, the note read that, “The Sewer Authority has been cooperating with the BFSA in keeping us informed about budgetary issues.” While it’s nice to know that the Control Board is on friendly terms with the Sewer Authority, the simple fact of the matter is that the BSA does have an impact on the budget.

Squaw Island Situation: Out of Control

Much of the digester equipment that breaks down sludge at The Buffalo Sewer Authority has been in a state of disrepair for a number of years, but BSA officials haven't addressed the problem, which has resulted in the current stench that periodically wafts over the City's West Side.

The Control Board apparently seems content to hold their noses over the issue of mismanagement at the BSA.

This fresh show of support for the BSA by the Control Board begs several questions: Why do certain politically connected Sewer Authority officials continue to enjoy raises and special perks like brand new SUV’s on the City’s dime while other City employees such as the teachers must submit to the BFSA’s wage freezes and job cuts?

Why have allegations of no-show jobs and other corrupt practices at the BSA never been investigated? And is there any truth to the rumor that BSA Chief Anthony Hazzan threw Control Board President Thomas E. Baker out of his office in City Hall after a heated debate? Mr. Baker has not responded to our requests for an interview.

All the digester equipment at the Bird Island Treatment Facility is in a state of complete disrepair, despite the fact that millions of dollars have been invested in the facility. Could this be due to the mismanagement of Tony Masiello’s boyhood chum and BSA Chief, “Tough” Tony Hazzan, as many have alleged? The Control Board apparently doesn’t want to find out. Where will the money come from to make repairs, if not from the taxpayers?

Is it the contention of the Control Board that the money necessary to repair this equipment will not come out of the City’s budget? Is the City not liable for the very real possibility of another environmental disaster, courtesy of Mr. Hazzan and his crew?

By going after the Construction Board, the Control Board seems to be attracted to a pot of gold. The Sewer Authority is the complete opposite of a pot of gold, and yet it will undoubtedly continue to require large expenditures that will come out of the city’s coffers. Concerns over mismanagement even made the front page of The Buffalo News, recently. How is it that the Control Board can look the other way?

Male Bonding

Tony Masiello has taken care of boyhood friends like Mr. Hazzan and a host of others. Of course, political patronage of this nature is a tradition in Buffalo politics. By zeroing in on the Construction Board, the Control Board, may simply be honoring another tradition in New York State politics, namely, the manipulation of bonding agreements between State Authorities and the financial institutions that float the bonds.

Since the days of Robert Moses, Public Authorities in New York State have often shaped bonding agreements that would be extremely favorable to the bankers who controlled the boards of these Authorities. While M&T is not underwriting the billion dollar Construction Board bond itself, it's important to note that M&T board member and former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, Jr. is a lifelong friend of Sandy Weill, the CEO of Citibank whose investment banking arm, Salomon Smith Barney is handling the bond.

By cutting back on the original construction plans, the offering becomes more attractive to buyers while also reducing the risk to the seller. Slowing down the construction schedule can also be seen as way of buying time for the formation of more charter schools, which in turn, may reduce the workload of the Construction Board further.

Delays have also hurt the Building & Trades Union's minority training center, which lost money by planning its coursework around the original construction schedule. This, of course, plays into the flagrant anti-union animus of Mr. Wilmers and his cronies.

The school construction scandal that took place in New York City in the seventies stands out as one of the greatest wastes of taxpayer dollars. At its root was a political-business-criminal nexus that was above the law and accountable to no one. Perhaps history is about to repeat itself. Between M&T's Control Board agenda and the Buffalo Sewer Authority's stench it's beginning to look like a case of the old boy network meets the goodfellas, all over again. | Add as favourites (23) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1640

During the Masiello Administration’s term in office, millions of dollars have been invested in the Squaw Island headquarters of the BSA (which is known officially as the Bird Island Treatment Plant). The current, dire condition of the facility lends credence to allegations of malfeasance reported to Alt by sources on condition of anonymity over the past eight years .

What is perhaps most troubling is the fact that all of the early warning signs of gross mismanagement and/or incompetence were clear at least seven years ago after two serious and preventable accidents were made public.

The News article quotes Daniel R. David, regional engineer for environmental quality for the state DEC, as saying "The city and the sewer authority are probably not in the best financial straits for a number of years and they've probably let maintenance go at times."

Of course, it is the Department of Environmental Conservation’s responsibility to make sure that these probable lapses in maintenance do not result in a threat to the public health. Clearly the DEC like the Mayor’s office and the EPA failed to make sure that political patronage appointees like Mr. Hazzan (who, by the way, had no engineering qualifications for his position) let things get to the point that they are at now.

As a result of these failures, an entire section of the City is facing a summer of stench that would make a garbage strike in New York seem like a bed of roses by comparison.

As we said in our April 16th issue: “The Buffalo Sewer Authority is a pretty good metaphor for Buffalo politics, in general – up to its eyeballs in feces and sinking fast. A political patronage haven from way back, the Buffalo Sewer Authority is headquartered on Squaw Island – a fitting location for a public authority with a license from New York State to borrow and spend to its heart's content.”

Buffalo Sewer Authority: An Abridged Timeline

The following articles from Alt Press are provided to give readers some background on the history of the BSA under the Masiello Administration:

December 23, 1996 Untreated waste water released into the Niagara River between 6:50 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Approximately 50 million to 75 million gallons of partially treated and untreated waste water was released into the Niagara River from the Bird Island sewage treatment plant. The reason for the alleged incident was that the BSA failed to order chlorine, resulting in the authority temporarily running out of chlorine.

February 24, 1997 Another major spill was discovered; more than three to four million gallons of untreated raw and industrial sewage was pumped into the canal and into the Buffalo River from the Kelly substation. The official cause of the accident as reported in The Buffalo News was that the electrical pumps at Kelly Station shorted out and a bleeder line broke under the pressure.

According to information Alt received from a source within the BSA is that the real cause of the accident was a $25 bleeder valve and leaking sump discharge line. A request for replacement or repair of the bleeder valve and line was placed on January 24, 1997, a month before the accident.

The Buffalo Sewer Authority Maintenance Department reported a break-in to the Buffalo Police. They reported a computer as having been stolen. The stolen computer was not a new computer but was instead an older model. Information contained in the missing computer includes all maintenance department work orders.

June 4, 1997 After the February accident sources told Alt thatlogbooks (composition notebooks) at the South Buffalo, Hamburg Street, and X station were reported to have been removed and were replaced with new ones.

In April of '97 the BSA Maintenance Department reported a break-in to the Buffalo Police. They reported a computer as having been stolen. The stolen computer was not a new computer but was instead an older model. Information contained in the missing computer includes all maintenance department work orders.

September 8, 1998 As of this date, our sources tell us that the sludge pump, settled waste pumps, aeration and final effluent pumps, sludge de-watering pumps, digester pumps are all labeled as OOS (out of service).

The incinerators are not fulfilling their design specifications and there is some question as to the effectiveness of the scrubbers. Scrubbers are used to remove large amounts of pollutants from the burned waste before it is released into the air.

The South Buffalo pumping station is unmanned on weekends and has serious maintenance problems. The autom atic switch to the power transfer lines is labeled OOS, and one of the pumps can only be operated manually. Sump pumps located in the (Megastructure sub-basement) of the Administration building are not functional. The (west) hypochlorite system, also located in the administration building is labeled OOS. Hypochlorite is used to treat effluents before they are discharged into the river.

June 21, 1999 The Squaw Island digesters, those concrete tanks with brick facades, are now bubbling over like witches’ cauldrons on a daily basis. The contents of these tanks are toxic and could be a source for E-coli bacterium, among other environmental contaminants. Sources on the island confirmed that this waste is being treated with sodium hypochloride, and ever increasing amounts are being ordered to treat the contents bubbling out of the digesters.

It is further alleged that “Tough Tony Hazzan” has been the recipient of free golf lessons, golf trips, tickets for sporting events, and “kick backs.” Information from some of the employees of the BSA related that Hazzan, along with Jim Naples (Sewer Authority Board Member), in company with Vito and Michael Masiello (the mayor’s brothers) were treated to several outings at Saratoga Racetrack and the Sagamore Resort free of charge. All of this is courtesy of a vendor and two representatives of the company having extensive business dealings with the BSA. Our informants have indicated that other board members have been included in some of the largess bestowed by the vendors.

Mr. Hazzan is alleged to have used a carpenter hired on a temporary basis to perform work on his home, using materials purchased with Sewer Authority funds. It is further alleged that a local exterminating firm took care of the pigeon problems at Hazzan’s home free of charge. It has been further alleged that special employees receive compensation for time not worked and that intimidation and threats are used routinely to force compliance.

July 19,1999 Sources tell Alt of a breakdown of the scum removal apparatus at the BSA They said that the scum was vacuumed up with a super-sucker apparatus and that it was then de-watered and put into a waste hauler trailer; C.I.D. No. 20-402. Alt found trailer C.I.D. No. 20-402 on July 7, at 6 p.m. at an open lot owned by the BSA on Hamburg St. It appeared to be filled with toxic material. The material appeared to have a white foaminess, indicating a mixture of oil and water. It also had a noxious, sweet chemical odor. The gate was left open, and children were playing nearby. Alt took photos of the site. The aforementioned trailer was leaking water and oils onto the ground. The contents were consistent with the allegations. After Alt held a press conference at the site attended by Channels 4 and 7, Hazzan denied the allegations, but could not explain the contents of the dumpster. The dumpster then disappeared overnight.

February 20, 2000 According to multiple sources, Malcolm Pirnie (the consulting engineer contracted to work with the BSA) provided Hazzan with a complimentary package of free hotel accommodations, air fare, and tickets to Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The next obvious question is this: what about it just being a good movie worth seeing? Of course, the critical standards for all films should be the same, whether it’s film as entertainment, film as art, film as educational tool, or film as propaganda. Fahrenheit 9/11 is informative and enjoyable, but it’s hardly engrossing. If you enjoy seeing a doofy, churlish, snot-nosed, rich boy frat punk getting his comeuppance, you will find the movie wildly entertaining.

The truth of the matter is that I found the movie markedly sad.

What struck me as sad is not Moore or his work – he’s very good at what he does and he deserves a lot of credit for sticking to his anti-Bush guns. He’s got guts that’s for sure. I like Moore and am glad he’s making movies. What’s sad is the film’s subtext. It’s underpinnings. The very reason for its existence.

Moore implies that George W. Bush and his henchmen (and henchwomen) stole the 2000 election. Like some banana republic, the United States Of America lost its soul. George, his brother Jeb, and others “knew” they were going to win Florida.

Moore also implies that on September 11, 2001, George W. Bush and his henchmen (and henchwomen) were clueless as to how to react. The White House has long stated that Bush stayed less than 30 seconds in the Florida grade school classroom where he was reading a book entitled My Pet Goat to children. Moore has footage that shows Bush sitting and sitting and sitting in front of the class, a dumb look on his face. What Moore also does is to plop a clock in the corner of the screen and you see time go by. Then Moore sticks in the knife. He asks, “what was the president thinking?” Moore then answers his own question. His answer? That Bush was worried about his family’s ties to the Bin Laden family, and whether he could go on vacation again. There are points made, points still in contention, as to whether or not the Bushies allowed the Bin Laden clan and other Saudis (142 people in all) to flee America after 9-11 without having been questioned by the FBI. Of course, a possible answer is that Bush couldn’t have been thinking about the Bin Ladens because at that point in time, he didn’t know who flew the jetliners into the Twin Towers or the Pentagon. Or, did he? And, it seems that Bush had been on vacation 42 % of the time during the first eight months of his term. By the way, the events of September 11th are heard not shown. The screen goes to black and you hear the roar of the jet engines, explosions, and people screaming. It’s very dramatic.

All of this saddened me. I was also struck by the chaos in Iraq. Moore has tough footage of shattered and maimed children. He also lobs in lots of footage of killed and injured American military personnel in Iraq. And he tosses in a Saudi beheading to stress his point that a police state like Saudi Arabia was more dangerous than Iraq under Saddam Hussein. You can’t help but watch all of this and start thinking about the fact that a year ago so many innocent citizens of Iraq and so many young Americans were alive, and now they are dead. And why? For what? Is it because, as George II says in the movie, “Saddam tried to kill my daddy.” Sad, sad, sad.

Moore plays the oil card a lot during Fahrenheit 9/11, and this is where he starts to get bogged down. He wallows into conspiracy theory terrain a bit too much. The connections between Papa Bush (George I) and Vice President Dick Cheney and the Saudis and President Harmid Karzai of Afghanistan and Halliburton and the Defense Industry are thrown at the audience like darts at a bulls-eye in a bar. It’s all too glib, too slick. Maybe it’s all true, but more facts are needed than are revealed in the film. Moore’s point is that Bush The Second is nothing more than putty in the hands of these folks, a mere puppet, and a not very bright one at that. I’ve got news for Moore; Bush is bright enough to get the war he wanted. Never underestimate the village idiot.

Moore also takes on the Patriot Act and makes mincemeat of Attorney General John Ashcroft. If Ashcroft had any self-respect, he’d crawl into a hole and pull a cover over it. Moore chastises the gullible mainstream media (both print and broadcast) for swallowing the Bushies’ own propaganda about Iraq hook, line, and sinker. He looks at Bush’s National Guard record. Do any of you know who James Bath is, and why he’s important? You will after seeing the movie. And Moore also tries to get Congressmen to enroll their children in the military. The sight of members of the House Of Representatives scurrying like rats away from Moore is hilarious.

But through it all is the cloak of darkness that Moore depicts as having spread across the country. Moore wants Bush’s term to seem a like a bad dream. A sad part about the dream is the number of young Americans who went to war for a Texas ego and are returning maimed or won’t return at all. Moore wants Americans to wake up this November 3rd having sent Bush back to his Crawford ranch the day before. His mission, which he has accepted, is to help make that happen. Fahrenheit 9/11 is one point-of-view. Fortunately, despite bumps in the road, the American way is to allow that point-of-view to be heard. How the undecided reacts is their inalienable right to choose. | Add as favourites (19) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1463