Last Friday I had the opportunity to take part in an event marking a new era in local economic development—the groundbreaking ceremony for the Yahoo! data and customer care center expansion project.

Yahoo’s growth in Lockport has been remarkable, and it has been a very welcome addition to the town.  Now the company is investing another $170 million in our community, which will lead to the creation of 115 new high-tech jobs.  That is great news!

I was pleased to have supported this project from the start, including helping to secure a substantial low-cost hydropower allocation from the New York Power Authority and other incentives.  Now, construction on this state-of-the-art facility will get under way.

As the Yahoo! project moves forward, let’s congratulate this investment and keep working on bringing more good news to Western New York.