Archive: Business & Technology

Another September, another mobile operating system from Apple...  or systems: iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS version 14 have all been released.  It must be a measure of my satisfaction with iOS13 that for the first time in years I didn't notice iOS 14 was available until five days after it was released.  When I did I updated all three, and here are my first impressions.  For the most part, as in past years, the human experience (versus the under the hood enhancements) isn't much different, but the new OSs add features to what we already had.  That means there is virtually no learning curve.

The one thing that is obvious when you first start using 14 is that widgets have been added and improved.  I use the widget  screen often on both my phone and iPad, so this was a bit confusing at first, since the new and improved widgets are on top.  I scrolled down to find my old widgets looking decidedly not new or improved.  Eventually the 3rd party developers will, no doubt, update the look and feel of their widgets, which remain the most useful for me because, after all, I told my devices to use them.

Williamsville, NY - Tops Friendly Markets announced that is has raised over $333,000 for JDRF (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) during its annual campaign. This year marks the 50th year JDRF is embarking on a campaign to find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Now more than ever the onset of T1D can happen suddenly, impacting people of any age, affecting them every moment of every day, and it lasts a lifetime. That’s why Tops was proud to join them in the fight as it launched its 27th annual JDRF Campaign. Since 1993 Tops has raised more than $13 million dollars for the cause with Tops fund-raising efforts putting the company in the top 10 fund-raisers in the country for many years.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today released five audits of the Department of Health's (DOH) Medicaid program that identified approximately $706.6 million in unnecessary, improper or questionable payments and made several recommendations for improving the program.

"The state is facing budget gaps of billions of dollars because of the COVID-19 crisis and needs to find cost savings wherever it can," DiNapoli said. "Hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved with better financial and management controls over the state's Medicaid program. In recent years, my auditors have identified billions of dollars in waste in the program. Our oversight of the program will continue in earnest as DOH can do much more to save taxpayer dollars."

Aurora, NY - The Inns of Aurora announced Thursday the purchase of Pumpkin Hill. Situated on a hill on the south side of the Village of Aurora, the 23-acre Pumpkin Hill site is home to the Sellen Farmhouse, built nearby in 1820 and later moved to its current location. Under the recent ownership of Terry Dewis and Andy Casas, the charming house was lovingly renovated with intimate dining rooms, a small bar, and kitchen and run as Pumpkin Hill Bistro & Vineyard. Walking trails, cut into fields of tall grass that surround the farmhouse, wind down the gentle hill to Long Point State Park.

The purchase of Pumpkin Hill is part of the Inns of Aurora's ongoing development of its boutique resort, which includes five distinctly designed luxury inns, 1833 Kitchen & Bar, the Fargo Bar & Grill, the Village Market, Aurora Cooks! Demonstration Kitchen, the Schoolhouse Activities Center, and a lakeside wedding ceremony and reception venue under a series of custom Sperry Tents. Following an outstanding summer season, the team at the Inns of Aurora is looking forward to opening a spectacular 15,000-square-foot wellness spa and a state-of-the-art conference center, both of which are scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2021. The property at Pumpkin Hill will be an important part of serving the increasing number of visitors that these attractions will bring to Aurora.

Novasterilis, a local company based in Lansing and recently acquired by iFyber, LLC, was granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) by the FDA on August 20 for its carbon dioxide sterilization technology specifically to be used by healthcare facilities to enable the re-use of N95 respirators in the treatment of COVID-19.

"With the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, NovaSterilis recognized the potential for the Nova2200 to help address the extreme shortage of PPE for medical personnel by using our process to decontaminate N95 masks," said Tony Eisenhut, President and CEO of NovaSterilis. "Words cannot adequately describe the courage and devotion of healthcare workers caring for people with COVID-19. They deserve the best safety support we can offer. The NovaClean process effectively kills the coronavirus, and provides added comfort for healthcare personnel who receive their own N95 respirators back after decontamination, rather than someone else's."

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today said that state tax receipts are $3.2 billion lower than last year, as he released the State Cash Report for August. DiNapoli noted state tax receipts of $4.3 billion in August were $309.3 million above the latest projections by the state Division of Budget (DOB), but $219.1 million below collections in August 2019.

"Tax revenues continue to fall short of levels needed to fund education, health care and other vital services in this year's budget," DiNapoli said. "The revenue hole the pandemic created is getting deeper. Unless Washington acts to provide further fiscal relief for New York, painful budget decisions lie ahead."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that the 20 finalists selected to participate in round two of Grow-NY, a food innovation and agriculture technology business challenge focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage and agriculture innovation cluster in Central New York, the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions. Finalists were chosen from a field of over 260 startups that applied to be part of the initiative. The Grow-NY region includes a broad 22-county swath that includes Upstate New York's farming community as well as several major urban centers, including Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca and Binghamton.  Halomine and Norwhey are the two Ithaca firms in the finals.

Cornell University's Center for Regional Economic Advancement is administering the competition and New York State is providing funding for the Grow-NY competition through the Governor's Upstate Revitalization Initiative connected with the three regions - CNY Rising, Finger Lakes Forward and Southern Tier Soaring.

"New York State is committed to supporting our world-renowned food and agricultural industry," Cuomo said. "Once again, the Grow-NY competition has attracted a group of diverse, innovative entrepreneurs who are ready to focus on finding new, innovative ways to further transform this critical industry. It is through targeted efforts like Grow-NY that we will continue to bolster these regional economies, fostering statewide growth as we work to build back better."

Cornell University engineers and researchers are designing the nation’s first statewide Internet of Things public infrastructure.

Thanks to a $1.5 million grant awarded by the National Science Foundation, Cornell faculty will collaborate with community partners around New York – through Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) in each county – to set up networks based on low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology, a form of low-frequency radio.

Local government sales tax revenue declined by 7.8 percent in August compared to the same period last year, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. August’s sales tax collections totaled $1.3 billion for counties and cities, or $111 million less than in August 2019.

This drop in revenue is similar to the decline in July of 8.2 percent, though much less extreme than the early months of the pandemic when sales tax collections plummeted by double digits.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced yesterday that the Department of Financial Services has filed charges and initiated administrative proceedings against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - collectively, "Johnson & Johnson." These charges are the fourth set to be filed against opioid manufacturers arising from the ongoing DFS investigation into the creators and perpetrators of the opioid crisis.

"The opioid crisis has taken too many lives and New York State will continue to take action against those who helped fuel this public health catastrophe and bring a measure of justice to families who have lost loved ones," Cuomo said. "Misrepresentation of opioids to consumers for profit is inexcusable and we will use every tool necessary to help ensure those responsible are held fully accountable."

Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) announced September 1st that Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) President, Heather D. McDaniel, has been appointed to a seat on the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC) Board of Directors. NYSEDC is a nonprofit organization representing economic development professionals in New York State. TCAD is the economic development organization for Ithaca and Tompkins County, NY. TCAD's mission is to build a thriving and sustainable economy that improves the quality of life in Tompkins County by fostering the growth of business and employment.

"The NYSEDC is proud to add Heather McDaniel to our board of directors. Heather's knowledge and experience will provide great value to the organization and help us move New York's economy forward," said Ryan Silva, Executive Director, New York State Economic Development Council.

Since 2008, The Tompkins County ReBusiness Partners program has supported over 250 Tompkins County businesses and organizations with reducing waste and saving money through 4R (reduce, reuse, recycle, and rebuy) practices. The program has now been updated to meet the ever-evolving needs of businesses of all sizes and allow for remote consultations in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Becoming a ReBusiness Partner starts with completing a waste assessment and receiving assistance to streamline waste handling, examine reuse practices, and codify green purchasing” said Nancy Webster, Waste Reduction and Recycling Specialist. “Staff will help businesses address any waste management headaches at their business, acquire bins and signage, and implement a uniform recycling system throughout their location.”