VisitErie released hotel tax data today for May 2008. According to their report, $48,593 was collected, an increase of 16.4% over April and an 13% growth year to date. Of the 5% collected tax, VisitErie receives 1 percent and the Erie County Convention Center Authority receives the remaining 4 percent. The numbers for June should [...]

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In November 2007 just before her new son was born, Tia Peterson, soon to be a new single mother, made the decision that she would stay home to raise her son. She began freelancing as a virtual assistant and has never looked back. Instead, she has moved on to form a virtual assistance firm called [...]

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Erie Indemnity Company (Erie Insurance) (Nasdaq: ERIE) announced financial results for the first quarter 2008. Net income per share-diluted decreased to $0.51 per share, compared to $0.88 per share in the comparable quarter in 2007 influenced by net realized losses on investments of $0.27 per share, after tax. Although they sold more policies and their [...]

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US Senator Hillary Clinton spoke yesterday in Erie at Mercyhurt College. The Mercyhurst Athletic Center was packed for her one hour speech. The pro-life group People for Life picketed outside the main gates of the campus. Clinton discussed economic and health care issues. A day earlier, Erie Roman Catholic Bishop Trautman said he was canceling [...]

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Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio got away with it. GoErie.com reported that DiVecchio paid $285 in reimbursements for snowplowing and parking fines. DuhVecchio still doesn’t comprehend that what he did was wrong. The article by Kevin Flowers quoted him as saying “I just want this over with.” If you get caught, all you have to [...]

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VisitErie (formerly the Erie Area Convention and Visitors Bureau) released the latest Erie County hotel tax figures. In November 2007, they received $44,885 vs the 2006 November amount of $31,878, an increase of about 41 percent. The Buffalo NY area saw a decline for November 2007 vs November 2006. The fiscal year to date figures [...]

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The Commonwealth Court upheld a ruling that Erie County can use the hotel tax to fund the building and operations of a hotel. Eighty percent of the 5 percent hotel tax goes to the Erie County Convention Center Authority for the Erie Bayfront Convention Center and the Bayfront Sheraton Hotel as well as Jerrry Uht [...]

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