First hour: Understanding Start-Up NY
Second hour: Songwriter and former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi
In our first hour, we examine Start-Up NY: is the governor's program in trouble? Critics on both sides say it looks like a flop, but the governor says that's being unfairly hasty. Companies participating in the state's Start-Up NY program created 76 jobs in 2014; the promise is more than 2,000. The governor says we're well on the way to achieving that number. So why are the critics so adamant that this program is a waste of tax dollars? What do economists say? What are the early success stories? On the panel:
Leslie Whatley, Executive Vice President of Start-Up NY
Mike Durant, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses
Kent Gardner, Center for Governmental Research
Roger Cook, Working Families Party western NY chapter
Then, second hour: How do you write a hit song? Kara DioGuardi knows something about that. She's a songwriter who has worked with Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, and many others. And DioGuardi was a judge on American Idol for two seasons. She's visiting Rochester as a guest of the Institute for Popular Music at the University of Rochester. She'll be offering a songwriting workshop and will be joining IPM's free "In Conversation series." In studio:
Kara DioGuardi, songwriter and former American Idol judge
John Covach, director of the Institute for Popular Music