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Riding the Blue Wave Counting cars B’ville’s Greg Spencer stages Great Salt City Blues Concert 8 By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer Ever since he took The Kingsnakes into the studio in 1985, Baldwinsville resident Greg Spencer has operated Blue Wave Records, Central New York’s most accomplished independent label. Now 67, Spencer still runs Blue Wave out of the home he shares with his wife, Sue, on Perryville Road. Releasing an average of one album for each year it existed, Blue Wave’s catalog runs the gamut from legendary rockers such as Eric Burdon, Kim Simmonds, Cub Koda and Syracuse’s own Jimmy Cavallo to the cream of our region’s blues crop, bands like Built for Comfort, Backbone Slip, Kim Lembo & Blue Heat, and, of course, The Kingsnakes. Along the way, Spencer won a 1994 Syracuse Area Music Award for Best Producer and in 2005, he was inducted into the Sammys Hall of Fame; bluewaverecords.com. On the day after Christmas, Spencer will present the Great Salt City Blues Concert 8, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, at St. George Church Hall, 5083 Onondaga Road, in Syracuse. This will be the first time the event has been staged at St. George. The first six concerts took place at the Palace Theater in Eastwood, and last year’s Boxing Day blues bash was staged at Middle Ages Brewery. This year’s concert will be limited to 400 seated patrons, and there is plenty of free parking at the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Food and beverages will be available, served by the church staff. Many of our area’s best musicians will pay tribute to the music of four Blues Hall of Famers: Michael Bloomfield, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Ruth Brown and Big Bill Broonzy. Vocalist Dianna Jacobs will recall Ruth Brown’s career while The Shylocks duo will appear on the acoustic stage to remember Arkansas guitarist Big Bill Broonzy, Steve Grills and Ronnie Leigh will be doing Texas bluesman Johnny “Guitar” Watson, while singer Joanna Nix Jewett and guitarist Mark
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Baldwinsville resident Greg Spencer, founder of Blue Wave Records, presents the Great Salt City Blues Concert 8, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, at St. George Church Hall, on Route 173 in Syracuse. Doyle will pay homage to Chicago sixstringer Michael Bloomfied. “And for the first time ever, we’re pumping up the sound with a four-piece horn section featuring Joe Colombo on trombone,” Spencer said. “We’re excited.” Tickets cost $30 in advance. If tickets remain available at the door, they will cost $40. Advance-sale tickets can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com, and in person at Sound Garden in Ar-
mory Square; 315-638-4286. The musicians making the Great Salt City Blues scene on Dec. 26 are Bill Barry, Mike Burns, Rock Carbone, Joe Colombo, Mark Doyle, Dave Frateschi, Steve Grills, Dave Hanlon, Dianna Jacobs and Joanna Nix Jewett, along with Ronnie Leigh, Dave Liddy, Bob Purdy, Bob Sherwood, Ron Spencer, Jeff Stockham, Morris Tarbell, Mark Westers, Mark Yonnick and Rodney Zajak all joining the bill.
Park & Vine Holdings hold trip-generation review By Russ Tarby Contributing writer
At its monthly meeting on Dec. 9, the village planning board continued a public hearing about a developer’s proposal to build two four-unit “townhomes” at the corner of Brow and Vine streets. Owner-developer Michael Dougherty and his daughter, Lily Dougherty, of Park & Vine Holdings and Taber Rowlee of the Rowlee Construction Company reappeared, as they did in July and September, to provide details about their plan for eight upscale apartments inside row housestyle townhomes at 103 Vine St. Their Manlius-based engineer, Neal Zinsmeyer of Napierala Consulting, also attended. Zinsmeter submitted a letter to the board from Gordon Stansbury, a Chittenango-based traffic operations engineer who runs a business called GTS Consulting. Brow Street residents have repeatedly voiced concerns about anticipated traffic congestion and parking problems. But after conducting a trip-generation review, the developer’s traffic engineer thinks the townhomes will cause a barely noticeable increase in traffic. “Overall, the proposed development will be a negligible traffic generator with less than five vehicles expected to be entering or exiting during the typical morning and evening weekday peak hours,” Stansbury wrote. “This level of traffic generation does not meet industry standards for warranting a detailed traffic study.” Planning Board Chairman Bob Bradt reported that he has met with both Mayor Stacy Finney and Police Chief Jerry Unger to discuss the traffic issues involved with the townhomes. Six village residents spoke at the meeting citing concerns about density and traffic, especially on Brow Street, one of the narrowest roadways in the village. Brow Street resident Joni Romano pointed out that a major renovation of the Onondaga Lake Park Marina will soon be underway. “The impact of the marina needs to be studied,” Romano said. “We need a comprehensive traffic study done.” But Stansbury insists “This level of traffic will have no notable impact on traffic operations in the area and will generally be unnoticeable to existing motorists in the village,” he wrote. “Any additional traffic review for this project is not necessary or warranted.” Each rental unit at 103 Vine St. would include two or three bedrooms. A basement garage for a single vehicle would be located beneath each unit and each tenant would have access to two additional parking spaces. Dougherty estimated that the monthly rental fee for each townhome would be between $3,500 and $4,000. The planning board – Chairman Bob Bradt and Nathan Holliday, Heidi McElwee, Sam Reppi and Jim Rosier – will continue the public hearing at its Jan. 27 meeting.
Micron, Dept. of Commerce finalize CHIPS agreement for up to $6.1 billion
On Dec. 10 Micron finalized an agreement with that will allow the company to access $6.1 billion in grants for its plans to build plants in Clay and Idaho via the CHIPS & Science Law. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Micron and the Department of Commerce have finalized its CHIPS agreement for up to $6.1 billion in direct funding through the bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law. Schumer said this funding will support Micron’s planned landmark $100+ billion publicprivate investment over the next two decades – the largest private investment in New York’s history – as well as Micron’s expansion in Idaho – creating thousands of new good paying jobs. “Micron’s CHIPS funding is locked for Upstate NY. $6.1 billion from my bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law is now secured for Micron to build its new, state-of-the-art complex of memory chip fabs in Central NY and Idaho,” Schumer said in a press release. “A historic day and historic agreement for Upstate New York and America. This final award locks in the federal investment Micron needs for shovels to be able to hit the ground and create thousands of good-paying jobs here in Upstate New York. Without my bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law none of this would be happening and America would be over reliant on semiconductors from overseas. The memory chips Micron makes are the bedrock of America’s future, from AI to EVs to smartphones, as well as our most sensitive defense technology. The signed CHIPS award is the start of a new chapter for Central
NY and America. Today the feds make the bold investment needed to bring manufacturing back, to strengthen our national security, and to make sure America stays #1, with Micron and Central New York leading the way.” According to Micron.com, in 2022, Micron announced its investment plans to bring leading-edge memory manufacturing to Central New York. The Department of Commerce awarded Micron up to $6.165B in direct funding under the CHIPS Act to support planned leadingedge memory manufacturing in Idaho and New York. The grants will support Micron’s plans to invest approximately $50 billion in gross capex for U.S. domestic leading-edge memory manufacturing through 2030. The CHIPS grants and additional state and local incentives will support the construction of one leading-edge memory manufacturing fab to be co-located with Micron’s existing research and development facility in Boise, Idaho, and the construction of two memory fabs in Clay. These planned investments represent the first step toward Micron’s vision of both a leading-edge research and development and manufacturing center in Boise and a four-fab manufacturing complex in Clay to be built over the next 20-plus years with potential investment totaling up to $125 billion, according to the website. “Micron’s planned state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing facilities are expected to
create approximately 75,000 domestic jobs over the next 20-plus years and strengthen U.S. economic and national security, furthering American innovation and competition for years to come,” the website says. “In New York, this includes 9,000 Micron jobs, 4,500 construction jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs.” According to Micron, it plans to Micron says it plans to break ground in fall 2025 at the 1,400-acre site off Route 31 in Clay. Before receiving these grants, Micron and the Commerce Department will have to meet a set of milestones in Clay and Boise before funds are disbursed, which could be paid out in increments as these milestones are met. Per the agreement, Micron is eligible for up to $4.6 billion in grants for Clay and $1.5 billion in grants for Boise. As of press time what these milestones will be have not been made public. According to Schumer’s press release over the next 20 plus years, more than $100 billion will be invested in New York creating up to 50,000 “good paying jobs.” Schumer and state and local leaders worked for years advocating for Upstate New York and promoting the benefits of the area including ,”…reliable and cheap water and power, a highly skilled workforce, top-notch educational and research institutions, and other capabilities to lead in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation.” After years of advocacy and the passage of the bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law which created the federal programs needed to spur
semiconductor industry investment, Micron selected Central New York for its new advanced memory chip fab complex. “This is one of the largest single direct federal investments in Central NY’s history,” Schumer said in his press release. “I wrote the CHIPS & Science Law with Upstate New York as my north star, promising that it would deliver big. Today a promise made is a promise kept.” Over the next 20+ years, Micron plans to build a colossal complex of memory chip plants in Central New York, constructing up to four manufacturing plants at White Pine Commerce Park in Clay. According to Schumer’s office, the company’s plans call for building a clean-room space that will cover about 2.4 million square feet, the size of almost 40 football fields. Micron is the fourth largest producer of semiconductors in the world and makes memory chips that are essential to technology people use every day, from cellphones to cars, and to critical technologies like AI as well as technologies that are used by our military. According to Schumer, thanks to this CHIPS funding Micron plan’s will help the U.S. grow its share of advanced memory manufacturing from less than 2% today to approximately 10% by 2035. The Commerce Department also announced a new preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) with Micron for up to $275 million in CHIPS incentives to support a planned Micron l Page 2
Volume 131, Number 51 The Star-Review is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206. Periodical Postage Paid at Syracuse, NY 13220, USPS 316060. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Star-Review, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
CNYspce pet of the week: Meet Spanky, the curious couch potato.
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holidays: ‘Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.’
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PennySaver ���������������� 6
history ������������������������ 5
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