First Niagara Bank has agreed to acquire 195 branches located in Upstate New York and Connecticut from HSBC, the latest in a string of bank mergers that have left the Albany area with less options for banking.

The deal – signed on Saturday – gives the Western N.Y.-based First Niagara control over branches across the state, going as far down as Putnam and Westchester counties. The deal includes the assumption of $15 billion in deposit assets from HSBC customers.

First Niagara’s acquisition is the most recent of bank mergers that affected New York’s Capital Region, which included Fleet Bank’s purchase of Norstar Bank, the merger of Cleveland, Oh.-based Society Bank and Albany-based KeyBank, HSBC’s purchase of Marine Midland Bank, Charter One’s purchase of Albany Savings Bank, Citizens Bank’s purchase of Charter One Bank, Bank of America’s purchase of FleetBoston Financial, and JPMorganChase’s acquisition of Washington Mutual.

First Niagara Bank entered the Capital Region in 2004 with the purchase of Troy Savings Bank.

This now leaves area customers with Bank of America, Citizens Bank, Trustco Bank (based in Schenectady, N.Y.), NBT Bank, Key Bank, and various credit unions as alternate banking options.

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, in a statement, lauded the deal. “Given the possible losses from the HSBC divestment in New York, this is the best possible outcome for HSBC’s employees and branches across the state. In addition, this purchase is good news for New York because First Niagara is a New York company that has a record of growth and creating jobs in upstate New York and with this deal it is showing that it is poised to continue and expand this important commitment to our state and our workforce,” said Cuomo.

“We are very pleased to acquire such a high-quality franchise that gives us an optimal footprint in Upstate New York and additional depth in Connecticut,” said First Niagara President and Chief Executive Officer John R. Koelmel. “This creates important density in our key legacy markets and allows us to further leverage our business model with greater scale in a region we know so well. We’ve been building an organization to support our vision for the future and I’m very proud of our team’s readiness to move forward with this opportunity on the heels of our three most recent acquisitions. The transaction is an exciting next step in advancing our growth strategy, strengthening the foundation in our home markets and even better positioning the organization for the future. I am very confident in our ability to efficiently and successfully integrate these branches while fully meeting the needs of our new and existing customers and communities,” Koelmel continued.

There will be no changes to customer accounts or branches until after the transaction is completed, and First Niagara and HSBC are already collaborating to ensure a smooth transition for the businesses and individuals they serve, according to the news release sent by First Niagara.

First Niagara expects to have approximately $38 billion in assets, $30 billion in deposits and 450 branches across Upstate New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, upon completion of the transaction.

HSBC customers outside the acquired area will not be affected by the acquisition.

A list of affected branches is located here.

Shark Week begins tonight (Sunday, July 31^st) on the Discovery Channel at 9 pm.  I’ve already seen multiple Facebook statuses about it, ranging from, “Shark weeeeeeeeeeeeek” to the more articulate, “I love Shark weeeeeeeeeeeeek.”  It’s the number one trending topic on Twitter, and so many having been tweeting about it (“Shark weeeeeeeeeeeeeek is the best!”).  And yes, Shark Week is the best, my Facebook friends.  But where did it come from?  It hasn’t always been quite the uniting social event that it is today.  It’s not that sharks don’t deserve this week; in fact, it was created to educate people and give them a greater sense of respect for these often villainized creatures.  And it’s not that sharks aren’t absolutely fascinating animals.  But it wasn’t always cool to admit to liking the Discovery Channel.

Shark Week has become the poster child of a fairly recent insurgence of a widespread hipstery attitude toward television.  Hipsters aren’t the only ones who watch Shark Week; everyone does.  It is just that hipster motto/mantra/way of life to “like something that’s so not cool” that has infiltrated all our minds and made Shark Week a thing you have to be “up on.”  We all like to watch sort of silly reenactments of shark attacks; we love to see myths getting busted; and we drool when watching a rugged man named Bear barely survive truly harrowing situations, but only within the past five or seven years has it become not only kosher but actually trendy to go social media crazy about such programming, to really flaunt your Discovery or History or Science Channel or (depending on the show) Animal Planet habits (Whale Wars is my personal favorite. It’s a super cool show, don’t worry).

But my mother has been watching the Discovery Channel for years, and no one has handed her a solid gold 8-track (the trophy of hipstery things, obvs). Who decided it was cool, and when?  Was it the same influential hipster who decided Planet Earth was the new Dark Side of the Moon?  Or has it just been a successful marketing effort?  It is a distinct possibility that it has been cool forever and I’m just incredibly slow on the uptake.  Maybe, hopefully, it’s due to the simple fact that everyone finally realized that Shark Week is actually totally awesome.

Did you know this year’s Shark Week is hosted by Andy Samberg?  I definitely did. (Translation: I had no idea Shark Week had a host).  So have fun, watch some sharks, and don’t worry about how fashionable it makes you (hint: it’s much more fashionable than those shark tooth necklaces boys wore in middle school and you inexplicably wanted to buy every time you left the aquarium).

It’s fourth down and inches as Washington remains gridlocked in figuring out a deal to raise the debt ceiling and to get the country’s finances in order.

The debt ceiling negotiation – whether to have gone for the “grand bargain” deal to raise the amount of debt the U.S. can handle on top of tax revenue increases through the 2012 election to now a watered-down deal to at least get the country past Tuesday – shows what the process has lacked: a concerted effort to negotiate on both sides.

Former N.Y. Governor Mario Cuomo once said, “campaign in poetry, govern in prose” – campaign under idealism and playing to the base, but governing pragmatically is needed in order to get anything done. What should be added is “negotiate like a boss.”

Negotiate in a way that can be substantial – it’s the only way to get anything done, especially in Washington. Put everything on the table, leave nothing sacred, and you can get a deal. A small victory is still a victory, and it’s no more important to eek a deal that everyone can at least participate in.

The Obama administration, the House GOP, and Senate Democrats were all sent to Washington to change the way business is conducted. In 2006, voters put in a Democratic Senate majority. Two years later, they put Barack Obama in the White House. Another twenty-four months after that, Boehner, Cantor & Co. were the proud owners of a new GOP majority in the House.

Each of these groups were the culmination of voter opinions – to change the country’s direction as a response to the incumbent officeholders’ decisions. War fatigue and Katrina played in Democrats regaining Congress in 2006. The idea of electing the first African-American President and the handling of the economy by George W. Bush made Barack Obama the nation’s bet in 2008. Growing deficits and health care reform allowed for the GOP to take back the keys of at least the House in 2010. However, with each succeeding generation of “let’s take back our country,” it’s been tailoring more toward the fringes than the center.

Negotiation is required in governing – getting to an equitable solution that is (a) responsible, (b) effective, and (c) real. Leaving the table or not picking up phone calls is not part of the process. Going in front of the American media to control the spin isn’t what the American public wants – they want leadership they can trust. By relying on fringe elements to dictate the process instead of meeting halfway not only is not responsible, but it’s insanity.

Come November 2012, voters won’t have to negotiate much to decide what way they want the country to go.

Camilius, a village in Onondaga County, may be forced to consolidate with the surrounding town.

I think this problem is an unfortunate side effect of the structural problems that undeniably need to be corrected. The fact of the matter is New York is riddled with tons of these little micro-municipalities and tax districts that overwhelm the taxpayer and the solution to the problem is to consolidate them. I don’t think the appropriate response to these problems is universally consolidate all of these municipalities or even universally consolidate the delivery of services. I like that Albany is a city and believe it should remain one and should maintain its own facilities and infrastructure. Our circumstances make this an intelligent move (though, I would have Albany absorb surrounding municipalities to increase revenue and provide better services–Watervliet is a really dense urban center, yet it seems to be underserved by services like CDTA).

They do make a point, one that Albany Citizen One herself frequently makes and one that I agree with, that the state calls for an abundance of unfunded mandates that make the tax cap an unreasonable punishment which is why I was against it and for the circuit breaker, tying property taxes to one’s income. We’ve seen similar tax caps in places like Massachusetts and have seen their taxes outpace ours in growth even with it in place.

To read the rest from Sean Collins at the UAlbany Sentinel, a partner of the Knickerbocker Ledger, click here.

After a heartbreaking loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game, the New York Jets return to the field, for no other reason than to win the 2011-2012 Super Bowl – anything less would be a huge disappointment. Following back to back seasons where the New York Jets failed to make the playoffs (2007, 2008), they reached the AFC Championship game the following two seasons (2009, 2010), but failed to win either game.

Here we are in 2011 – looking forward to see Rex Ryan’s guarantee finally come true as he stated “I believe this is the year that we’re going to win the Super Bowl.”

“I thought we’d win it the first two years. I guarantee we’ll win it this year,” Ryan continued. And it’s that guarantee that separates the Jets from the 2007 and 2008 teams to the 2009 and 2010 teams, the story continues in 2011 to see if the New York Jets can win the Super Bowl for the 2nd time in their team history and not since 1969, that’s 42 years! On top of that, the Jets have never made another appearance in the Super Bowl game since their last championship.

This season looks to be the most difficult of the Rex Ryan era. The Jets have a lot of tough decisions to make early on in the season. Although there is much hype about football and a joyous feeling of it to return, the truth is, football never left. The NFL merely took a break from normal operations during non-operating hours and marketed it as having a comeback. But all this did was distract players and coaches, which may be followed by some of the sloppiest and amateurish play that fans have even seen. This, of course, cannot be proven until the 2011 NFL season officially begins on Thursday, Sept. 8th.

Sticking to tradition, the first game will be a rematch of the Super Bowl from earlier in the year. The current Super Bowl champions Green Bay Packers will face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jets will have to wait until Sunday, Sept. 11th, as they host the Dallas Cowboys, in what should be a very emotional week 1 game for all of New York.

While it will be easy just to look ahead and say “Come Feb. 5, 2012, the New York Jets will hoist the NFL championship title in the air in Indianapolis” and all will be good with the world. The first step is Week 1 against Dallas. A victory can give the Jets the confidence they need to move them to their ultimate goal, but a loss can destroy their confidence and make them lose sight of their goal. What we do know is the decisions that are made in August will affect the outcome of the season and the playoffs, so look closely this preseason, a few major acquisitions may change the face of one team. Who do you think will win this year’s Super Bowl?

JETS REGULAR SEASON

Sun 9/11       Dallas Cowboys        8:20 pm
Sun 9/18       Jacksonville Jaguars  1:00 pm
Sun 9/25       @ Oakland Raiders    4:05 pm
Sun 10/2       @ Baltimore Ravens  8:20 pm
Sun 10/9       @ New England Patriots       4:15 pm
Mon 10/17     Miami Dolphins         8:30 pm
Sun 10/23      San Diego Chargers  1:00 pm
Bye
Sun 11/6       @ Buffalo Bills          1:00 pm
Sun 11/13      New England Patriots 8:20 pm
Thu 11/17      @ Denver Broncos    8:20 pm
Sun 11/27      Buffalo Bills    1:00 pm
Sun 12/4       @ Washington Redskins   1:00 pm
Sun 12/11      Kansas City Chiefs    1:00 pm
Sun 12/18      @ Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 pm
Sat 12/24      New York Giants       1:00 pm
Sun 1/1         @ Miami Dolphins      1:00 pm

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo‘s economic development council for the Capital District includes a contributor who now serves as its co-chair.

SEFCU CEO Michael Castellana, who serves as co-chair of the council along with RPI president Shirley Ann Jackson gave then-Attorney General Cuomo contributions for his run for Governor.

Castellana gave $1,000 to Cuomo’s campaign in March of 2009, according to the New York State Board of Elections.

The council, comprised of elected officials, business leaders, union leaders, and community leaders, will compete with nine other entites across the state for $1 billion dollars in state funding to develop a plan within 90 days. Council members include George M. Philip, the president of the University at Albany, and James Barba, the CEO of Albany Medial Center.

No other Capital District member of the council – outside elected leaders – has given to Cuomo directly in recent years. The Daily News Friday afternoon reported a number of council members for the New York City unit gave to his campaign as well.

In comparison to the $1,000 Castellana gave, New York City members gave over $180,000.

Correction: Finch Paper CEO Joseph Raccuia earlier was cited as giving $2,000 to the Governor’s campaign, which was incorrect. A New York City doctor by the same name was the actual ‘Joseph Raccuia.’

When your political rivals don’t listen, Tweet the hell out of them all day long.

Or so goes the logic of President Obama’s campaign team on Friday in an attempt to shape the public debate on the debt ceiling situation in Washington.

Former NYS DEC Commissioner Denise Sheehan, who’s currently running against incumbent Democrat Paula Mahan for Colonie Town Supervisor, criticized on Friday the Town of Colonie for signing a 25 year deal to outsource its trash operations to California-based Waste Connections, Inc.

“From a financial standpoint and from a taxpayer standpoint, this 25-year deal will hurt the Town for decades. Although this could serve as a short-term quick-fix to address the Town’s current deficit, in the long-term, the Town will lose money under this deal.  Supervisor Mahan hasn’t shown how this deal will lead to long-term fiscal stability,” said Sheehan, who urged the Town Board to vote against the plan.

The Colonie Town Board – comprised of six Democrats and one Republican – voted upon party lines to approve the $100 million deal. The landfill, first built in the 1960s, is currently at about six million cubic yards. The deal calls for Waste Connections to collect another 9.8 million cubic yards.

The lone Republican, Daniel Justin, had made a motion to delay a vote until September. No other board member seconded the motion.

“This agreement does nothing other than camouflage the current administration’s failure to close a $22 million deficit and that is the bottom line. The deal is analogous to cashing in your retirement savings to pay off your credit cards. It will simply exacerbate our financial problems in the future,” Sheehan continued.

The Town of Halfmoon, which lies on the opposite side of the Mohawk River, expressed it’s distaste for the deal.

“We feel it’s a financial issue for (Colonie) to deal with,” said Halfmoon Supervisor Mindy Wormuth, “It’s a quality of life issue for us to deal with.”

Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings also expressed criticism Friday morning on Talk 1300, in which he had hoped Colonie would have participated in regional efforts to discuss collective sanitation efforts. Albany’s landfill facility on Rapp Road is the only other landfill in the area.

With Tuesday’s deadline for a debt ceiling deal now four days away, Wall Street has already begun the selloff.

This week, the Dow lost nearly 500 points since Monday, the NASDAQ nearly 70 points, and the S&P 500 about 50 points. The Department of Commerce announced today that the U.S. economy only grew at 1.3 percent – down from estimates of 1.9 percent.

President Obama Friday morning urged Congressional leadership to act on the situation.

“But we are almost out of time.  We need to reach a compromise by Tuesday so that our country will have the ability to pay its bills on time, as we always have — bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses,” said Obama.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) is set to put up a new proposal that will lift the debt ceiling which is expected to be voted upon later in the afternoon. However, Tea Party activists are clamoring against such a move.

“The ‘cuts’ proposed now are not real. They are phantom cuts to take place in the future,” said Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler, co-founders and national coordinators of Tea Party Patriots.

“We simply will not accept their lazy, fiscally irresponsible approach,” the group said.

Colin Powell, Karl Rove, Howard Dean, Barbara Walters, Bill Clinton… Magic Johnson?

A source close to the UAlbany Student Association has confirmed that former Los Angeles Lakers superstar and business leader Magic Johnson is being “considered” to speak at the World Within Reach Speaker Series this fall at the University at Albany.

Johnson, 51, has been named one of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” after retiring in 1996. Since retirement, Johnson has built Magic Johnson Enterprises into a $700 million business empire spanning franchise locations for chain restaurants and movie theaters across the country, typically in urban locations.

In addition to his company, Johnson also has the Magic Johnson Foundation which, according to its website, “works to develop programs and support community-based organizations that address the educational, health and social needs of ethnically diverse, urban communities.”

The World Within Reach Speaker Series – started in 2009 – has been an initiative pushed forward by the UAlbany Student Association. Last March’s installment with President Bill Clinton cost the organization $200,000, an amount criticized amid the University at Albany’s recent budget cuts. The budget for this year’s installment has been set at $125,000.

Magic Johnson Enterprises could not be reached for comment.