The Buffalo News, N.Y., Buffalo's Business Column.

Byline: David Robinson

Dec. 30--Sooner or later, times will change for the better in the Buffalo Niagara region.

It just didn't happen this year.

The good news was that the local economy didn't get killed by the latest recession, instead taking a hit that was more in line with the rest of the country. But when you didn't grow in step with the rest of the country during the good times of the 1990s, the 3,000 jobs that have disappeared in the last year hurt even more.

So, in that somber setting, let's look back at some of this past year's winners and losers in Western New York's business world:

The winners:

--Mark …