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Ruiz meets Albany politicos to talk trash and fabs
AMD’S HECTOR RUIZ apparently met with the cream of Albany’s political crop yesterday for a cosy little chat concerning the latest developments and progress on the firm’s plans for a chip factory in Saratoga County.
Ruiz met Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, an AMD spinner told the Albany Business Review.
AMD, still defying all those who wax lyrical about the firm going fabless, has said it plans to build a shiny new $3.2 billion chip fab at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta, over in Halfmoon, on the banks of the Hudson River. Ruiz’s firm has until July of 2009 to fully commit to the project and still be able to receive state incentives offered to lure the tech giant there.
AMD spinner Travis Bullard noted that Ruiz had not had the chance of meeting the new governor before and said of the meeting, "This is just a chance to formally introduce himself to the new governor and brief the governor on the project and things we've been working on at the local level".
Bullard elaborated by noting AMD had been working with Malta and Stillwater town boards to meet regulatory requirements.
"We are still working on the project, we're investing resources in it and are still optimistic about the project and doing everything we need to do to make a decision within that window that runs through July," Bullard enthused.
To show their appreciation of AMD, and in anticipation of the company setting up a fab in its backyard, Saratoga County is building a $54 million sewer expansion.
The project, which was given approval by the Dons of Saratoga earlier in June will apparently be able to deal with about three million gallons of AMD gunk a day. Hopefully, AMD won’t give the county cause to let their rubbish plans go to waste. µ
L’Inq
Albany
Business Review
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The real reason Ruiz made a hurried trip to Smalbania (as us locals call it), is Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno abruptly resigned his leadership position Monday and is not planning on running for reelection.

Senator Bruno, as majority leader, was one of the three real decision makers in state government, along with the governor (de jure), and Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver. All the other state senators and assemblypersons were merely their serfs. The state legislature is truely a bicameral dictatorship.

Joe was also the man behind the efforts to entice AMD to build in Luther Forest. Shelly Silver, as a Jew from the east side of Manhatten, thinks that all land north of Yonkers is "unexplored territory", and the new governor, as a black from Harlem, probably thinks the same, so it was Joe that stood up for upstate New York, as long as it was in his district, of course.

Ruiz came to make sure that the deal wasn't going into the can along with Joe.

BTW, the local press is reporting the FBI carted 30 boxes of documents from Joe's Senate offices earlier that day. Just a coincidence, said Senator Joe. The FBI has been investigating for the past three years his private business dealings.