I don't know if you caught this
in the Buffalo News yesterday, but (e:strip) ' s favorite lawyer was quoted in it.

American Axle gets big cut in property taxes in Buffalo
But it is not known if the savings boost the odds of survival for the faltering plant
By Fred O. Williams NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

Tax breaks aren't just for growing companies.

American Axle & Manufacturing has cut a quarter million dollars from its annual taxes in Buffalo - a move that other industrial sites are attempting.

"It's a substantial savings," the company's lawyer Bruce S. Zeftel said, "but the property was overvalued."

A county judge agreed last year, slashing the factory's $12.5 million assessment nearly in half. That cuts city and county taxes to about $270,000, from $531,000 a year.

The axle maker wouldn't say if the savings boost the odds of survival for faltering plant on East Delavan Avenue. The axle factory has shed about half its former 1,200 jobs, and is one of three sites where production lines could be idled.

The 41-acre site includes parking as well as the main plant built in 1923, plus more recent additions.

Detroit-based American Axle is also challenging taxes on its other area plants in Cheektowaga and the Town of Tonawanda.

"The going rate for industrial properties is pretty low," Zeftel said. Besides American Axle, he has filed assessment challenges for major employers including Quebecor in Depew and Praxair in the Town of Tonawanda.

Helping fuel the disputes is a glut of factory space in the Buffalo area, which is eroding market values. What they don't pay increases the burden on other revenue sources - mainly homeowners.

The region's best-known example is probably Lackawanna's longrunning battle over the former Bethlehem Steel property on Lake Erie. Assessed at $40 million, the disused industrial site is actually worth nothing, owner Mittal Steel argues. A court case is pending.

In the Town of Cheektowaga, the axle maker's challenge is one of about 40 ongoing tax disputes on commercial properties, Town Attorney Kevin Schenk said.

The length of the dispute process cushions municipalities from sudden hits to their tax base. In most jurisdictions, an assessment challenge is heard by a municipal appeal body before the issue can go to court. In Buffalo, American Axle's assessment cut stands in contrast to commercial properties closer to downtown, where values are growing, according to the city's assessment office.

Happy Birthday Mike. Wish I could be there. Hope you have a great day

Jesse

I just uploaded a new user pic that shows my beard when it was in its full glory after not being shaved or trimmed for nearly four months. Due to the fact that I start my job a week from today, it has been put to rest and I look respectable (more or less) once again
Jesse

So, I had commented on this in but I am so obsessed with it, it deserves its own post. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend that you check out the Gnarls Barkley Video for Crazy. It is one of the best videos (for a really good song) I have seen in a long time. It is a series of Rorschach inkblots with images of the band among other things interwoven into them. Here are a few samples:







You can watch it at overdrive.mtv.com. Click on "Search Music Videos" and search for Gnarls Barkley. This does require internet explorer and windows media player and it is a bit moody so beware. You also can download it here but the quality isn't as good . Eitherway, you should check it out. It is Craaaazzzyyy

1. How did you find out about/why did you become of estrip?
I went to hs and was friends with (e:mike), (e:jill), (e:mk), and (e:diana) who were all using the site. I read their (and pretty much everyone elses on the site at the time) journals for a year before starting my own

2. How "out" are you about having a publicly accessible online journal. Do your friends know? Does your family know? Do your co-workers know? Does your boss know? Do you use your real name? Do you use your real photo?
The photo is really me (for better or worse). Jessbob is a nickname I have but is a variant of my real name (Jesse Robert). I try to limit the people who know about this journal. I have made a very conscious effort to not use my last name so people cannot google me and find the journal. My family doesn't know about the journal. My friends in Buffalo do. Some of my close friends from undergrad do. And a few of my friends from grad school might. I do not tell coworkers/bosses about it.

3. How many epeeps have you met real life?
I knew (e:mike) (e:jill) (e:mk) (e:beast) (e:diana) (e:maureen) before coming on the site. At the couple of parties at (e:pmt)'s house that I was at, I have met, (e:paul), (e:terry), (e:matthew), (e:metalpeter), (e:lilho), (e:ladycroft) And I'm sure more but I don't remember

4. How has estrip changed the way that you meet people, on and/or off line?
I guess I have met more people in B-lo, but as I have not lived their for more than two straight months since I have been on the site, its affects have been limited

5. How has estrip affected you love life?
Not at all

6. How many of your friends have joined estrip because of your influence?
Some of my friends joined after me but it was probably more the influence of other friends that were already on the site

7. Are you from Buffalo/do you live in Buffalo?
From Buffalo, since being on the site I have live in Washington, DC, Syracuse and am now in Albany

Equipment:
1. What type of hardware or software purchases have you made as a result of using estrip?
None, but I have started using Firefox

2. Have you used the mobile version of estrip? Why or why not?
No because I own the cheapest cell phone I could buy

Lifestyle:
1. In what way has estrip changed your Internet surfings habits? Describe the amount of time you spend on estrip, when you use it and about how long?
I check estrip a couple of times a day. It varies when I use it, but usually evening for maybe 15-20 mins daily average

1a. How many journals do you usually read per day?
I skim the top 12 usually 5-10 depending on who posted and what it was on

2. In what ways has estrip changed the way you perceive your local community?
It really hasn't. Most of the stuff posted on seems to be more personal rather than community oriented

3. How has journaling about your life affected the way you spend your free time?
It hasn't

4. Has estrip changed your living situation in any way?
No

5. Do you find that you mediate/document more of your experiences now that you share them with others?
I wish I did but I have been slacking on updating and am often too lazy to write the post an occurance deserves

6. Has publishing on estrip affected the way that write?
no

7. Do you have other online journals? If so, with what service and has estrip affected your usage of that journal?
No and No

8. Have you ever gotten in trouble for using estrip at work?
No, but I don't go on estrip at work. Big Brother might be monitoring my usage

9. If you have stopped using estrip, why?
My posting on estrip comes in spurts. I will post a lot over a few days and then not post for a month. But I never stop checking it