Celebration and Fundraiser for the Public Accountability Initiative - 'Pie for PAI' on 3.14 - Pi Day!

Pie for PAI, a celebration and fundraiser for the Public Accountability Initiative, will be held Tuesday, March 14th (3.14, which just happens to be Pi Day! π = 3.14... get it?), at Rohall's Corner. 

Please join us for homemade pie and a drink at the bar.

Pie for PAI
Tuesday, March 14, 6PM - 8PM
Rohall's Corner in the backroom (540 Amherst St, Buffalo, NY)
$20 suggested donation
Free pie, cash bar

Over the past nine years, PAI’s watchdog research on undue influence and corruption has spiked rotten deals, prompted resignations and recusals, and exposed corporate front groups, in Buffalo and beyond.

LittleSis, our database and research community that tracks ties between politicians, lobbyists, financiers, and their affiliated institutions, continues to grow and inform hard-hitting journalism and organizing.

Some quick local highlights from this past year:

PAI research was behind a front-page Buffalo News story on Rep. Chris Collins' insider investment tips to Buffalo-area elites, as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. Check out the article in the Buffalo News: https://buffalonews.com/2017/01/19/buffalos-elite-joined-collins-australian-investment/

PAI exposed the political influence strategies of three New York State oil and gas pipelines, two of which were later canceled. Check out the report: http://public-accountability.org/2016/03/natural-gas-infrastructure-lobby-ramps-up-spending-in-new-york-state/

PAI helped kickstart the Buffalo Research Collective, a network of local organizers who are mapping out Buffalo’s power structure to help guide local campaigns. Check out the Buffalo Research Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113244239150002/

Come hear about all these and much more at Pie for PAI!

By challenging corporate power, we change the terms of the debate and make sure people – not just wealthy corporations – get a seat at the table and a piece of the pie (wink wink).
Please join us! 

But if you can't make it, you can always donate online at this link: http://public-accountability.org/donate/

Fundraiser for Watchdog Group after Another Successful Year

Buffalo's Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) and LittleSis.org are celebrating another successful year. Their watchdog research on corporate power, undue influence, and corruption received national media coverage and delivered big impact.

Some highlights from the year: 

• Senator Schumer's recusal. They reported on the role of Senator Charles Schumer's brother in crafting the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal. After initially praising the merger, Schumer recused himself from oversight of the merger as a result of our investigation. [AP]
  
• Front group exposed. They exposed a gas industry front group and greenwashing effort called the "Center for Sustainable Shale Development." The president of the Heinz Endowments was a major supporter of the initiative, and resigned from his position at the foundation after they reported on his ties to the gas industry. The Heinz Endowments has since severed ties with CSSD. [Tribune-Review]
  
• Conflicts of interest in the Syria debate. Their report on the "military-industrial pundits" – pundits with defense industry ties who were pushing for war with Syria – received major coverage in the Washington Post and elsewhere and caught the attention of two of their favorite investigative journalists: Glenn Greenwald and John Cusack. [Washington Post]
  
• Wall Street Higher Ed Watch. They teamed up with the Higher Ed Not Debt campaign to develop a new tool on LittleSis that will support campus-based research on Wall Street's role in higher education.
  
• Open Buffalo. They helped plan the winning Open Buffalo proposal, and they're looking forward to contributing to Open Buffalo's efforts to build a more equitable, just, and democratic city!
  
• Introducing: the Oligrapher. They developed a new tool on LittleSis that graphs the cozy ties of the powerful individuals and organizations profiled in the database (to see an example, go here).

CELEBRATION & FUNDRAISER: You can show your appreciation for PAI's work and also meet the watchdogs in person at a celebration and fundraiser, whimsically entitled "Pie for PAI" (free pie will be served by PAI). A $20 donation is suggested, and there will be a cash bar.

WHEN & WHERE: Thursday, April 17, 6 PM, Allen Street Hardware (backroom), 245 Allen Street, Buffalo.

If you can't make it to the event but still want to support PAI, you can always make a donation online.

Web: http://public-accountability.org/   

Web: http://littlesis.org/

UPDATE - April 10, 2014:  Meet Kevin Connor: Change Agent ~ Artvoice report by Harper S. E. Bishop

Help Re-Tree WNY and Sabres Score a Green Goal

When the surprise October snow storm of 2006 devastated much of the area’s towering foliage, it took with it some of the glory of springs to come. An all-volunteer organization, Re-Tree WNY, stepped forward with a bold plan to plant 30,000 new trees and help restore the area’s landscape. 

Re-Tree WNY has planted a total of 23,880 of their 30,000 tree goal. The organization needs more help from the community to reach its goal of planting 30,000 trees by the end of this year.

Re-Tree WNY recently launched a new fundraising campaign, called “Green Goal,” in cooperation with the Buffalo Sabres Foundation, The Buffalo News and Entercom Radio. 

Donors who make a $40 gift to Re-Tree WNY by Feb. 26 will have a tree planted in their name. The Sabres Foundation will match the $40, bringing the total gift to $80—enough to pay for the cost of a 10-to 12-foot tree, as well as stakes and ties. The News will print the names of donors, or the name of a loved one in memoriam, in a future edition.

Tax-deductible donations can be made:
- Online at greengoalwny.org
- Mail a check to Re-Tree WNY Green Goal, P.O. Box 347, Tonawanda NY 14151-0347

To see a flyer about the Green Goal campaign, click here.

A Buffalo News editorial about the campaign is here.

Donate Food Scraps for Compost

Drop Off small amounts or arrange for Pick Up of large amounts
at the
Community Action Organization (CAO)
[Click image to enlarge]