Editor:

Over the last few months, our community has united in shared opposition to the proposed STAMP data center complex from STREAM US Data Centers and Apollo Global Management.

At this point, the concerns of GLOW Region residents are well-known: air and water pollution, noise, harm to our wildlife and birds, increased electricity rates and decreased property values, a loss of the rural and peaceful way of life that we so value here, and the threat of bad corporate actors – deeply tied to the Epstein files – that do not care about us.

The propaganda and spin from STAMP developer GCEDC and STREAM are well-known too. They dismiss our fears and try to sweet talk us with promises of jobs and tax revenues. When we point out all the ways that this data center complex would clearly not be a good deal for Genesee County, they say we don’t understand what we’re talking about.

Now a third-party expert has weighed in, and what do they say? The Applied Economics Center, a non-profit consulting group that offers expert services in the areas of energy, environment, and consumer protection, reviewed the financial incentives applications from STREAM and produced a report that addresses the claimed costs and benefits for the local community. The data center would not be a good deal for Genesee County or the GLOW Region. Here are some of their key findings:

• STREAM does not provide any supporting materials for its cost-benefit analysis (CBA), which fails to meet standards expected in a public decision-making process and is insufficient to determine whether the proposed project would provide net benefits for the local community.

• STREAM failed to address potential costs associated with the project, including: effects on property values, effects on tourism and recreation, utility bill impacts, public health impacts, the cost of public infrastructure required for the project, or the local disturbances associated with project development such as placing cables and fiber optic lines.

• STREAM’s job creation estimates exceed values found in publicly available data and information, average publicly available estimates indicate that the proposed project would create about 4,100 fewer direct temporary jobs than the company claims, and 1,300 fewer indirect temporary jobs than the company claims.

• STREAM has requested a local sales tax abatement and mortgage recording tax abatement, which – taken together – are worth 25 times more than the benefits provided by the proposed PILOT/Host payments. In other words: STREAM has requested tax abatements worth 25 times more than the promised benefits.

• STREAM’s proposed data center may negatively impact local tourism and recreation, which are an integral part of the community and economy.

Mic drop. Thank you, AEC, for validating what we already knew.

Genesee County has said “No” and will continue to say “No” to this terrible deal. We’re still in a critical decision-making phase. Join me to voice your opinion: I’ll be at the Supplemental Public Hearing on April 16 at 4 p.m. and the Site Plan Hearing on April 20 at 6pm, both at the Alabama Fire Hall. (The April 20 hearing has been postponed.)

I’ve already submitted written comments to GCEDC and I will submit more before the April 17 midnight deadline. For more info, see STOP the STAMP Monster Data Center on Facebook and follow Allies of TSN on Facebook and Instagram.

Alyssa Beuler

Oakfield

Editor:

 Did you ever go to work and get harassed? Did you ever go to work  and get harassed even before you made it to the employee entrance, and right under a security camera.

Did you ever go to work and get harassed, right in front of management? Did you ever go to work and get harassed, by management right in front of a human resource representative? If you have had any of these experiences, did anything really become of it?

Perhaps you got over it and played the role of the bigger person. Maybe filed a complaint with management, HR, or the union? Documentation is important. Another possibility is that you just talked some about it to other like-minded team members?

 But, if sadly you have ever had any of this happen to you, let me ask you this: Was any of that, according to your boss, a valid excuse to get out of work, or even not report to work? My guess is probably not. And while many of us often have opinions about our bosses, maybe Mr. Hawley shouldn’t forget who his real boss is, and go to work.

James Pasnik

Medina

Editor:

What started as a vacation to Puerto Rico became something much more for Jennifer Stilwell of Albion, New York—it became her calling.

Walking the streets, she saw what many try not to see: dogs suffering, starving, and dying with no one to help them. For some, it’s a heartbreaking moment you carry home. For Jennifer, it was a moment that changed everything.

She couldn’t look away.

When she returned to New York, she didn’t just talk about making a difference—she built one. From the ground up, she created Make a Difference Rescue of WNY, earning her 501(c)(3) status and dedicating her life to saving dogs that would otherwise never get a second chance.

For the past 11 years, she has rescued, rehabilitated, and successfully adopted out over 2,300 dogs—a number that speaks not only to the need, but to her relentless commitment.

A few weeks ago, I visited her rescue on Ridge Road—and what I saw stays with you.

This isn’t just a shelter. It’s a place built on compassion, grit, and relentless heart.

Every dog that arrives has already been given a chance most never receive. In Puerto Rico, they are fully vetted, tested for disease, sterilized, and carefully quarantined before ever making the journey north. Jennifer works closely with a few trusted partners on the island who not only rescue these dogs but help socialize them and understand who they are—so they can truly thrive in a home.

But what stood out most wasn’t just the process—it was her.

You can see it in the way she moves through the rescue, in how she looks at each dog, in the quiet, constant effort it takes to do this work every single day. This is not occasional work—this is 365 days a year, unpaid, strictly volunteer. She cares deeply, and it shows.

Her love for these animals does not have borders.

And the dogs?

If you’ve ever met one of these rescues, you understand. There’s something different about them. A quiet gratitude. A connection. It’s as if they know they were given a chance—and they spend the rest of their lives giving that love back.

Make a Difference Rescue of WNY isn’t just saving dogs. It’s changing lives—both theirs and the people lucky enough to adopt them.

What Jennifer Stilwell saw on a distant island could have been just another sad memory.

Instead, she turned it into a mission.

And because of that, lives are being saved every single day.

If you are interested in adoption, you won’t be sorry. Reach out on Facebook, find them on Petfinder, and follow their journey online to see the lives being changed every day.

You can add that I was on vacation when I visited her rescue, and I am an Albion native .

Thank you

Melissa Tower

San Diego, Calif.