With local politics beginning to focus particularly on the upcoming races for Erie County Executive and the Buffalo Common Council some public issues have fallen off the radar screen.  That’s unfortunate because there are subjects that deserve more attention.  For example, OTB.

The Western New York Off-Track Betting Corporation (WROTBC) has been in existence for approximately fifty years.  The original intentions were to put a crimp in illegal betting on horse races while also providing a new revenue source for the member governments of the WROTBC.  There are 15 counties participating along with the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.

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Demographics catch up with many organizations these days.  The modified, scaled back, or eliminated organization and the services that it provides can have a detrimental effect well beyond the institution involved.

This all comes to mind as one considers what is happening to Western New York’s primary source of news, the Buffalo News.  A recent round of job cuts – reported to include three reporters, an editor, and five design editors, is just the latest hit on the institution.  The results inevitably affect the delivered product.

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