Archive: Business & Technology

Corning, NY - Congressman Tom Reed highlighted the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program Tuesday and its benefits throughout his congressional district. Reed toured some of the projects with Housing and Urban Development Region II Administrator, Lynne Patton, last week to show the positive way our local leaders are using these resources.

CDBG provides our district with flexible funding opportunities to help local businesses and homeowners. From assisting an individual to buy their first home to helping small businesses invest and grow, CDBG empowers local leaders to revitalize their communities.

Congressman Tom Reed announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission has approved a $67,728 grant to the Finger Lakes Regional Prosperity Network (aka TCAD Foundation) for a pilot Food Processing Business Incubation Program (FoodBIP). FoodBIP is a technical support program for the local food and beverage manufacturing sector.

"This grant will help manufacturers build necessary connections that will give them a fair chance in the food industry and allow them to grow. I care about bringing more jobs to our region and with this program, I believe that goal can be achieved," Reed said.

Congressman Tom Reed announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission has approved a $67,728 grant to Tompkins County Area Development, Inc. (TCAD) for a pilot Food Processing Business Incubation Program (FoodBIP).

"This grant will help manufacturers build necessary connections that will give them a fair chance in the food industry and allow them to grow. I care about bringing more jobs to our region and with this program, I believe that goal can be achieved," Reed said.

Tax receipts for State Fiscal Year 2017-18 reached $79.3 billion, $4.9 billion, or 6.6 percent above the previous year, according to the state cash reportreleased today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The state ended its fiscal year on March 31 with a General Fund balance of $9.4 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion over the prior fiscal year.

"Strong personal income tax receipts from December through March helped boost the end-of-year bottom line," DiNapoli said. "The state's economy continues to expand, but recent financial market volatility is a cautionary sign and questions still remain about how federal tax changes will affect the state's finances in the year ahead."

New York state's personal income tax (PIT) check-off funds are not distributed promptly to charitable causes, even after legislation aimed at speeding up the process was enacted in 2015, according to a reportreleased yesterday by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. His office found more than $15.7 million remained in the funds as of the end of state fiscal year 2016-17.

"Each year, thousands of New Yorkers support important causes through personal income tax check-off programs," DiNapoli said. "As check-off options expand, it's essential that state agencies ensure that contributions are used effectively and expeditiously."

Diane M. Cecero, age 62, of Pittsford, New York, admitted today to unlawfully "double-dipping" and receiving state retirement benefits to which she was not entitled. She agreed to pay back those benefits, with interest, as part of a pretrial diversion agreement.  The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"For the six years Ms. Cecero was general counsel to Monroe Community College, she unlawfully took $85,000 in state pension benefits on top of her six figure salary," State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said. "As a result of our investigation, she must repay the money with interest. I thank United States Attorney Jaquith for prosecuting this case."

Securities industry profits rose dramatically in 2017 for the second consecutive year and the average bonus paid to industry employees in New York City jumped 17 percent to reach $184,220 according to an estimate released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"When Wall Street does well, the city and state benefit from higher tax revenues," DiNapoli said. "The large increase in profitability over the past two years demonstrates that the industry can prosper with the regulations and consumer protections adopted after the financial crisis. It is too soon to tell how increased volatility in the financial markets might impact profits in 2018."

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that the New York State Common Retirement Fund (the Fund) plans to vote against all board directors standing for re-election at companies that have no women on their boards. In situations where a company has just one woman on its board, the Fund will vote against members of the board's governance committee standing for re-election. DiNapoli also announced agreements with four Fortune 500 companies to formally include gender and racial diversity in their considerations of board candidates.

"It is unconscionable that hundreds of publicly-held U.S. companies have no women directors," DiNapoli said. "We're putting all-male boardrooms on notice – diversify your boards to improve your performance. There is ample research that board diversity benefits companies. We will continue to urge our portfolio companies to adopt inclusive policies to diversify their boards, but we're also going to be speaking loudly with our board votes. We commend those companies that have agreed to improve their policies in an effort to diversify their boards."

Lindsay Hart, with RE/MAX In Motion, has recently been presented with the RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award, which honors successful agents who have earned more than $1 million in commissions during their careers with the company. Less than twenty-three percent (23%) of all RE/MAX Affiliates have earned this prestigious award.

Hart is a 2002 Graduate of Ithaca College's Park School of Communications with a Bache- lor of Science in TV/Radio with concentration in Ad/PR.

The LOCATE Finger Lakes website was launched Wednesday to promote the Finger Lakes Region as a great place to locate business enterprise. The new website was produced by an initiative begun last summer, and today that initiative also announced it is changing its name to coincide with a new brand and logo, LOCATE Finger Lakes.

The LOCATE Finger Lakes website highlights many strengths of the Finger Lakes, and focuses attention on the region's attractiveness for locating businesses and new career opportunities.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Monday announced Monday that, as Trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, he has filed a legal action against officers and directors of Wynn Resorts Ltd. The derivative action alleges that certain officers and directors were aware that former CEO Stephen Wynn repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances towards employees and pressured employees to perform sex acts, yet failed to investigate or hold him accountable.

"These board directors and officers were duty-bound to protect employees and the company, yet they failed to confront allegations of predatory behavior," DiNapoli said. "We are asking the court to hold accountable the company officers and directors who allowed this behavior to go unchecked. The deeply disturbing revelations underscore that this board was loyal to Mr. Wynn at the expense of the safety of the company's employees and the company's shareholders."