Archive: Business & Technology

Plans for a proposed $17 million dollar, 105 room branded hotel in downtown Ithaca moved forward this week and with final approval, would further solidify Ithaca as an upstate hub of commerce, tourism and economic activity.

Ithaca Properties L.L.C. is proposing to build the eight-story hotel on the corner of Aurora and Green Streets on the same site that once housed the landmark Ithaca Hotel. The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency demolished the hotel in 1966 to make way for new development and the city took ownership of part of the property. Ithaca Properties is now asking the IURA to approve the sale of the land to it, so the site can be redeveloped. An approval by the IURA and a final approval by the Ithaca Common Council would allow Ithaca Properties to submit formal site plans for the project, to the city. Those approvals will be considered in early April.

When Changing Jobs, Don't Shortchange Your 401(k)

Your 401(k) plan can be a major source of your retirement savings. As you know, your 401(k) offers several different investment options and the chance to accumulate tax-deferred earnings. But what will happen to your 401(k) if you leave your job before you retire? You've got several choices - and it's really important that you make the right one, because your decision can have a major impact on your retirement lifestyle.

What are the main options regarding your 401(k)? Let's take a look.

Dr. DigitDr. Digit 'Splains It All

Are you the kind of person who lives on the edge?  In other words do you skip making regular backups of your computer hard drive?  And has your computer hard drive ever crashed?  Did you lose anything important?  Or everything important?  How long did it take you to recover from that?  And do you need more space for your MP3s, or videos or pictures that you download?

I solved both by buying a Network Accessible Storage (NAS) device.  That's just a fancy way of saying that it's a hard drive that doesn't need to be attached to a computer to use it.  In other words if your computer is on you can access it.  If your kid's computer is on he or she can access it.  But your computer doesn't have to be on for your kid to use it, and vice versa.  It just sits on my desk next to my modem and router.  Though it wouldn't have to -- as long as you can plug it into your router it can be anywhere in your house.

Any Valentine's Day gift is thoughtful. Still, most of these presents have fairly short shelf lives - flowers fade, chocolates get eaten and those little candy hearts that say "Be Mine" get stale. This year, why not give your special valentine a gift that keeps on giving for years to come?

Specifically, consider making a financial gift. Here are a few possibilities:

• Give stocks. You might want to give shares of stock in a company that makes products favored by your loved one. As an alternative to buying stocks, you could give some shares of your own. You'll need to know what you originally paid for the stock (its tax basis), how long you've held it and its fair market value at the date of the gift. The recipient will need this information to determine gains or losses when he or she sells the stock. (You'll also need to determine if you have to pay gift taxes. You can give up to $12,000 per year, free of gift taxes, to as many people as you want.)

Mayor Carolyn Peterson and other officials from the city of Ithaca and the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce are scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting ceremonies for Warren Real Estate of Ithaca's downtown office. The ceremony will be held at 12:45 p.m. on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 301 East State Street. The ceremony is sponsored by the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce.

The East State Street location is Warren's first office in downtown Ithaca and the 3rd one the company has opened. It's also the company's second expansion in a year and a half. Warren Real Estate of Ithaca is headquartered on Hanshaw Road in Cayuga Heights and also has an office in Cortland.

When you retire, it would be convenient if all your expenses were to "retire" as well. But they won't. In fact, you'll likely need between 80 percent and 100 percent of your pre-retirement income to maintain your standard of living in retirement. And you may even need more, depending on what you plan to do during your retirement years. So, well before you retire, ask yourself a couple of key questions: Where will the money come from? And when can I get at it?

Let's take a look at some of your likely retirement income "pools," along with the rules governing withdrawals from these sources.

Whenever you see people enjoying a comfortable retirement - traveling, volunteering, pursuing hobbies, taking up a new career - you can be pretty sure it all didn't happen by accident. In fact, success at retirement is similar to success in just about any endeavor - you have to plan for it.

Of course, your planning could take many different forms. But, as you get close to retirement, you might find it easier to organize your efforts if you ask yourself these five key questions:

 

(Ithaca, NY) The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce will review successes from 2007 and outline plans for 2008 to encourage businesses and people to "Get Connected", at its 121st Annual Meeting and Dinner. The event will be held at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, January 31st, 2008 in the Emerson Suites at Ithaca College. Outgoing Chamber Board of Directors Chair David Iles will review the successes of 2007, while incoming Board Chair Robert Pass will introduce his agenda and theme for the Chamber in 2008.

Pass has chosen a theme of "Get Connected" The theme will encourage the Chamber and its membership to be more than a means to connect business with business and to help people connect with people. Pass says, "The Chamber is the one organization that has the ability and influence to connect hundreds of member businesses to advance the economic and social well-being of Tompkins County. The Chamber is not only a means to connect business with business, but even more importantly assists in connecting people with people." Pass will also introduce a work plan with 5 core activities... business and tourism development, membership and community and organizational development.

Apple released its latest operating system, publicly known as Leopard to much fanfare last Fall. Among the many new features that were shipped with the much ballyhooed release is the Boot Camp application which was offered as a free beta for users who purchased Mac computers with the Intel Duo Core. BootCamp is actually a partitioning application that separates the hard drive into one or more partitions thus allowing different operating systems like Windows and Linux to be installed and run on the same machine.

There is however one caveat - BootCamp requires that you shutdown and reboot your Mac to run Windows. If you want to return to your Mac, you must repeat the same process. For many users that need to switch back and forth between Mac and Windows or Linux, this can be time-consuming and unproductive.

Ithaca NY -- January 18, 2008 -- Kate Richard, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson at RE/MAX In Motion in downtown Ithaca has earned the EcoBroker Certified® designation, having successfully completed a unique and educational training program on the energy and environmental issues that affect real estate transactions.

The "performance home" movement is getting a boost thanks to this type of high quality real estate professional earning the EcoBroker designation. EcoBrokers®, like Kate, throughout the country are forging this market and creating competitive advantages for their customers. With national surveys indicating that 80% of consumers consider themselves "green-minded," real estate professionals with the EcoBroker designation are in a better position to serve the real estate consumer.

"My EcoBroker education and certification helps me ensure customer satisfaction," Kate explains. "From windows to moisture control to energy savings, I now have more resources at my disposal to help my buyers and sellers make green real estate decisions. The EcoBroker designation allows me to better understand the issues and to convey this understanding to my buyers and sellers."

As you are no doubt aware, 2008 is a presidential election year. As a citizen, you may well have a great deal of interest in the election. But how about as an investor? How does an election year affect the investment climate? And - again from the perspective of an investor - does it matter who wins?

To begin with, let's examine how the stock market reacted in the past to the selection of a president. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose in nine of the past 11 presidential election years, with an average gain of slightly more than nine percent. So it's clear that, for the most part, the market has done pretty well when America goes to the polls.

Pittsford, NY - Spider Graphics Corporation of Ithaca has combined with ITX, a web technology and hosting firm based in suburban Rochester, to form the largest provider of contracted computer programming and website development services in the Finger Lakes region. The operations in Ithaca will operate as Spider ITX, providing increased capacity and a greater diversity of services in this expanding field.

"This action provides new value to our clients and maximizes growth potential," said Spider Graphics CEO, Don Ellis. "We now have a local interface with a major hosting center and can access the skills of the more than 100-person technology staff of ITX."