BUFFALO: 149 Jobs Created With NYPA Low-Cost Power— Five Western New York companies will make significant capital investments and create a total of 149 jobs with the help of new allocations of low-cost hydropower from the Power Authority’s Niagara Power Project in Lewiston. NYPA trustees approved the power allocations to Flexo Transparent of Buffalo, which manufactures flexible packaging products for food and retail markets; Metaullics Systems, Division of Pyrotek Inc., Sanborn, a leader in specialty graphite and in molten-metal processing equipment and materials; R.A. Miller Hardwood Co., North Tonawanda, planning a new milling facility at its North Tonawanda site after a major fire last year; Rosina Food Products, which produces Italian specialty products in Cheektowaga and West Seneca; and RubberForm Recycled Products, now renovating a facility in Lockport to produce rubber products from recycled tire rubber. The Western New York Advisory Group, consisting of NYPA, National Grid, Empire State Development Corp., Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and Niagara County, recommended the allocations. Low-cost hydropower from the Niagara project, the largest source of electricity in New York State, is linked to 43,000 jobs at more than 100 companies in Western New York.

MASSENA: Passport to Tourism Set for St. Lawrence Area— NYPA has joined with 21 tourism destinations on both sides of the St. Lawrence River to help promote tourism in the region. NYPA collaborated with the St. Lawrence International Partnership in producing a new “Attractions Passbook 2006” that contains site profiles, maps and monthly events for use as an easy visitor’s handbook throughout the year. Included is NYPA’s admission-free Hawkins Point Visitors Center, which features many interactive displays on electricity plus an outstanding view of the giant St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. The “Passport” booklet will allow tourists to explore heritage homes, historic forts, mansions and castles, in addition to discovering traditional local arts and world-class sculptures, seeing antique boats or taking an island cruise. Valuable discount coupons for food, lodging and events are part of the free booklet, which is available at the Hawkins Point Visitors Center and local chambers of commerce. For information on Hawkins Point log on to www.nypa.gov . For details on the Attractions Passport go to www.slip-passport.org .

STATEN ISLAND: NYPA Co-sponsors Development Conference— Tourism and waterfront development are the “twin engines” that will drive Staten Island’s economy in coming years, according to speakers at a business-to-business economic development conference on April 25 co-hosted by the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and co-sponsored by the Power Authority. The conference and workshops drew more than 2,500 participants and 100 vendors. Featured speakers included Borough President James Molinaro; New York City Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff; and Joseph Littmann Jr, NYSERDA regional manager. On Staten Island, NYPA provides low-cost electricity for government facilities such as schools, police stations, firehouses, street lighting and mass transit, as well as extensive energy-efficiency services.

MINEOLA: NYPA’s Sound Cable Returns to Service - The Power Authority’s 345-kilovolt Sound Cable, an underground and underwater transmission line running under Long Island Sound between Westchester County and Nassau County, returned to service in late April after a three-week outage to adjust the depth of the power line to accommodate a major roadwork project. Energized in 1991, the Sound Cable was buried approximately five feet beneath local streets, including Roslyn Road, which is now being lowered to eliminate a grade crossing with the Long Island Rail Road. Before lowering Roslyn Road, the state Department of Transportation had to bury NYPA’s power line about four feet deeper, at a cost of $1 million. While the Sound Cable was out of service, electricity was delivered from other sources.

HERE AND THERE: Power Authority Supports 3 Envirothons— Helping high school students understand natural resource issues is the focus of regional “envirothon” team competitions held annually with the help of the Power Authority and under the direction of local soil and water conservation districts. Each year hundreds of youngsters demonstrate their environmental knowledge in daylong hands-on exercises that test problem-solving abilities in the areas of aquatics, soils, forestry, wildlife and related current issues. NYPA co-sponsored the Long Island Regional Envirothon at St. John’s University, Oakdale, April 26; the Capital Region Envirothon at NYPA’s Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project Visitors Center, April 27; and the Niagara-Orleans Regional Envirothon at Bond Lake Park in Lewiston, May 4. Still to come are the Oneida County Envirothon at Verona State Park, May 10, and the North Adirondack Regional Envirothon at Paul Smith’s College in Franklin County, May 16. Regional winners will compete in the state championship at the State University of New York at Oswego, May 24 and 25. New York’s winning team will go on to the North American competition at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, July 23-29.

In the Community: Cheektowaga has an addition to its parks fleet, courtesy of the Power Authority. The battery-powered electric vehicle has a top speed of 25 mph, and will be used in Stiglmeier Park...NYPA has donated computer equipment to the Saint Francis de Sales Regional Catholic School in Herkimer as part of the Power Authority’s program to make its surplus, late-model computers available to public facilities statewide, with special emphasis on educational programs and community libraries as recipients…The fishing pier at the base of the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant at the Niagara Power Project, Lewiston, has reopened. The pier, open daily from dawn to dusk, is admission-free and handicapped-accessible.