Archive: Business & Technology

(Ithaca, NY)  The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, June 20th at Fine Line Bistro.  This exciting new restaurant is located at 404 West State Street in downtown Ithaca. The event will begin at 1:00 PM.

Fine Line Bistro, Ithaca’s newest fine dining experience, is the end result of the combined creativity of Seth Gregory (Chef) and Danny Doyle (General Manager).  Their goal was to create a non-pretentious, transparent environment in which to dine.  The open kitchen allows for the diner to see up close and personal the work being done to their food.   The menu, entirely chef driven, is best described as eclectic fusion.  It combines traditional styles of French and Italian cuisine with newer flavors and unique interpretations on the classics.

ITHACA, NY - News/Talk 870 WHCU won the top award at the New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA)  43rd Annual Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting in the category “ Best Public Service Announcement/Campaign” for the station’s “Conversations on Equity” PSA series.

Cayuga Radio Group donated $50,000 worth of air time to be used over a one year period by the Tompkins Chamber of Commerce “Conversation on Equity” task force.  This donation of air time, as well as creative services and production, was used to help promote and create a sustained community dialogue.

Summer is officially here, which means, among other things, that you should apply sunscreen when you go out in the hot sun. But no matter what the season, you'll also need to protect yourself from another potential source of burns -"hot" stocks.

Stocks that seem poised to "take off" will always capture investors' imaginations. But the lure of these stocks may be particularly strong during, or following, periods of market volatility, when investors are looking for potential bright spots.

However, it's usually not such a good idea to chase "hot" stocks - and here's why:

A six-screen first-run movie theater, an ice skating rink, plenty of outdoor café seating, and an overall commitment to the success of their downtown are some of the things that stood out to a group of Ithacans who traveled to Charlottesville, VA this week.

The fact-finding trip was hosted by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance as part of a continuing effort to explore ideas and learn how other similar cities have created successful, thriving downtowns. The information and ideas that were gathered will serve as points of reference for D.I.A. and city of Ithaca officials to consider as they work to grow and promote downtown Ithaca, in the development of a new 10 year strategy for downtown, and in town/gown relations.

With thousands of mutual funds on the market, how can you choose the ones that are right for your individual needs? For starters, you need to know the objective of each mutual fund in which you plan to invest.

Let's take a look at the investment objectives of some of the most popular types of mutual funds:

Growth funds - These funds invest in the stocks of growing companies, with the goal of providing investors with capital appreciation. In plain English, you invest in these funds for the potential to make your money grow. If you invest in these funds, you will almost certainly experience the "ups and downs" of the market, but if you hold your funds long enough, and they are well managed, you may increase your investment's potential return.

Monday saw 100 degree weather.  Tuesday there was a tornado watch.  But Wednesday the weather was almost perfect with clear skies, a sunny day, and tolerable temperatures.  It was as if someone knew that Showcase Tompkins was scheduled for Wednesday.  The annual business exposition is hosted by the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce at the Ithaca Farmer's Market each year, so decent weather is a must.  "I have to thank the weather gods," said Director of Membership and Public Relations Doug Levine.  "If this had been on Monday when it was 101 degrees out I probably would have canceled it.  But with the weather breaking like this I am absolutely thrilled."

Father's Day is almost here. If your father is handy around the house, you might be considering giving him tools of some kind. Of course, drills, sanders, saws and screwdrivers make excellent gifts, but this year, why not give Dad something that can help him build his future? Specifically, why not give him a "financial toolkit"?

What could go into this toolkit? Here are a few suggestions:

• Stocks - You may want to give shares of a company that produces products or services that your father uses. If you're going to give some of your own shares, you'll need to know what you originally paid for the stock, how long you've held it and its fair market value at the date of the gift. Your father will need this information to determine gains or losses if he decides to sell the stock.

Dr. Digit 'Splains It AllDr. Digit 'Splains It All

A few weeks ago my computer slowed down to a crawl.  When it tried to access a network drive it would take 30 seconds.  Then it was fine for a minute.  Then another 30 second delay.  30 seconds doesn't seem like a lot of time until you have to sit through it multiple times in a day.  If I work here for eight hours you're talking 320 times, or a total of more than two and a half hours.  We keep just about everything on our network drive including pictures and articles for this publication and any number of things that we need to put out a weekly newspaper.

So I set out to figure out what was wrong.

(Ithaca, NY)  From tourism to technology and everything in between, the diverse nature of the many types of businesses in Tompkins County will be on display at Showcase Tompkins, which is taking place Wednesday, June 11th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Ithaca Farmers Market.

June is one of the most popular months for weddings. This may be due, in part, to June being named for Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage. Of course, Juno and her husband, Jupiter, probably had very little trouble with money, but if you are getting married this month, you and your spouse will need to work together on your finances - which means, among other things, that you will have to reconcile your investment styles.

As you set up a household together and establish common long-term financial goals, you will need to make investing a priority. But you and your spouse may well have different attitudes about investing, and some of those differences may be due to your respective genders. A major, long-term study by researchers at the University of California found that women trade stocks less often than men, do more research before making an investment decision, and tend to stick with their investments longer.

It's that time of year when students across the country are graduating from college. It took a lot of effort to earn those degrees, but it took something else, too - money. It's this financial aspect of college that may concern you if you have children. How can you take some of the stress out of paying the high costs of higher education?

To begin with, it pays to be informed about what college actually does cost. Consider these figures from the College Board's 2007-2008 Trends in College Pricing: The average total expense (including tuition, fees, room and board) is $13,589 per year for in-state students attending four-year public colleges and universities; for students attending four-year private colleges and universities, the average total cost per year is $32,307. And over the past several years, college costs have been rising faster than the general inflation rate, so you can expect to pay considerably more in the future.

The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce welcomed Lansing's newest insurance agent with a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday.  Local business people and dignitaries gathered to see Eric Toftegaard's new State Farm Insurance office at Lansing Village Plaza and to meet Toftegaard and participate in the ceremony.  Village of Lansing Mayor Donald Hartill and Bob Messenger from U.S. Congressman Michael Arcuri's office were among those who attended.

After spending several years in the Adirondacks, Toftegaard and his wife Jill have lived in the Ithaca area with their yellow lab for almost a year.   Having grown up in Lansingburgh, NY a small town outside of Albany, Eric loves the tight-knit community that he has discovered here in Ithaca.