Gov. Andrew Cuomo returned to Albany on Dec. 8, 2016, for the annual Regional Economic Development Council awards, where more than $700 million was given out to 10 different regions around the state.

Matt Ryan has more on the day’s events and the governor’s defense of a process some have compared to the “Hunger Games.”

Innovation Trail (innovationtrail.org) is a reporting project that aims to help the public gain a better understanding about some of the big issues that upstate New York communities are facing. Our reports focus on research, development, education, funding, and policy issues in emerging fields like energy, information technology, biotech, health and education. The project continues to explore the relationship between technological breakthroughs and the revitalization of upstate New York.
Our journalists are based across the region from Buffalo to Albany.