Lockport Union-Sun & Journal Online Bob Confer

CONFER: Long-term care, long-term burden

2011-04-21T00:58:02-04:00

Sometime very soon, the Department of Health and Human Services will iron out details of the CLASS Act and submit information to employers in preparation for enrolling their employees into the voluntary program in 2012.

CONFER: Regrowing the Niagara frontier

2011-03-01T21:17:07-05:00

Green is the buzzword of the 21st century. Businesses and governments everywhere endeavor to pursue green practices in an effort to preserve Earth’s fragile natural world and her limited resources.

CONFER: Chris Lee threw away great potential

2011-02-21T01:35:43-05:00

Famous or not, adultery is a serious character flaw. It’s just that the former pay for it more than the latter once discovered. Former congressman Chris Lee knew that, just as the others did. Yet, they took the risk and suffered the losses.

CONFER: A new power struggle

2011-02-21T00:27:00-05:00

If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know that the high cost of electricity is a recurring theme. As someone whose company is a heavy power user, I can’t help but rail against New York’s exorbitant cost structure and its adverse impact on economic development.

CONFER: Wanted: Seat on NYPA board

2011-01-31T20:02:56-05:00

Do you ever feel like Niagara County is the so-called “red-headed stepchild” when it comes to state governance?

CONFER: Stories the trees tell

2011-01-28T04:41:36-05:00

The Erie Canal towpath was once the interstate for itinerant workers — hoboes, if you will — who traveled from town to town in search of their next farming or handyman gig. While doing so, they frequently stopped over on my family’s farm, which butts up to the canal.

CONFER: Why do I stay in New York?

2010-08-24T00:20:28-04:00

Longtime readers probably wonder what keeps me in the Empire State. You can’t blame them for being quizzical, for a good many of my columns focus on what’s wrong with New York. Usually, it’s a government run amok that creates ever-growing taxes, prevents prosperity and sends long-time residents away.

CONFER: The real unemployment rate

2010-08-16T12:13:31-04:00

The July jobs report recently issued by the labor department noted that total employment was down by 131,000 jobs for the month. Despite the significant drop in employment, the unemployment rate stayed at 9.5 percent.

CONFER: Solar is not the answer

2010-08-02T14:01:00-04:00

Knowing the struggles that my company faces in paying some of the highest electrical rates in the nation — double what our competitors pay — many people have asked me: “Have you ever thought about solar energy?”

CONFER: Having a say in school closings

2010-07-25T21:06:05-04:00

I recently wrote a column in which I discussed the need to return to a more localized approach to schooling, in which the teachers, school boards and parents were empowered to determine the curriculum for their schoolchildren and teach accordingly. Nowadays, such local control is grossly subdued as the federal and state governments dictate what and how the teachers can teach, making for a standardized and markedly dumber student body.