Archive: Business & Technology

New York State received 84 cents for every dollar it sent in taxes to the federal government in 2016, a wider gap than three years before, according to a reportreleased today by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

"New York sent an estimated $40.9 billion more in tax payments to Washington in 2016 than it received back in federal spending," DiNapoli said. "While the Empire State fares well in some areas, in total it receives significantly less per tax dollar than the vast majority of states. Federal decision makers should consider this imbalance as they debate proposed budget and policy changes that could significantly impact New York and other states."

Cornell University’s endowment returned 12.5 percent for the year ending June 30, bringing its value to $6.8 billion, its highest total to date.

Performance was led by the endowment’s public equity portfolios, which benefited from broad gains in global equity markets, particularly in Europe and in emerging economies, and by its private equity investments.

A free upgrade to macOS launched Monday, adding security fixes and a rather spare list of day to day work flow benefits.  After waiting the hour or so for the upgrade to download and install, you will immediately notice that pretty much nothing has changed.  There are a few things that may stand out.  For example I like to order my most used folders in the Finder sidebar, and they were all mixed up after the upgrade.  But that is easily remedied by dragging them back into the order you want.  I mention that, because it illustrates how insignificant the changes will seem to be.

Here's what Apple is saying are the key benefits of High Sierra:  Improvements to Photos, Safari, Notes, shared files and Family iCloud sharing, flight information by typing in Spotlight (the macOS quick search), saving photos during a Facetime call, the arrangement of windows in Mail when in 'full screen', and 'top hits' in Mail search results.

It is mandatory for companies like Apple to hype the features and benefits of their latest/greatest to create buzz and boost sales.  That's fair.  The truth is that most major iOS upgrades have improved an already good product, but haven't actually been as earth shaking as the hype would imply.  The hype builds up the product to be knocked down when reviewers who aren't swept away by all the excitement realize that the so-called life-changing big things are really not so big in the context of everyday use.  The knock-down is also artificial, since the product, pretty great before the upgrade, is still pretty great, but with new little pieces of greatness added.

iOS 11 launched Tuesday around 1pm Eastern Daylight time.  As it downloaded and installed I had two questions: would I still be able to do all the things I am used to doing?  What new features will make my everyday experience better?  In that order, because I still needed to use my phone, but didn't have much time before my next appointment to learn a whole new operating system.

The Computing Center, an Ithaca, NY based computer technology systems integration company is pleased to announce that it has acquired the assets of Sherpa Technologies, Inc. The acquisition has been under discussion since May, 2017 and closed on September 7th.

CEO, Mary Stazi, said that the acquisition of Sherpa fits well within The Computing Center's strategic initiatives: "From The Computing Center's perspective, our two companies have been respected friendly competitors for decades. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to expand our client base and staff by acquiring a company with the same values of client focus, integrity, and local Ithaca based ownership."

Challenge Workforce Solutions is proud to announce that Life's So Sweet Chocolates has been chosen as a winner of a New York State "Works For Me" Award, which recognizes businesses that hire individuals with disabilities, as well as the contributions the individuals bring to the workplace.

Life's So Sweet owner Darlynne Overbaugh began working with Challenge in 2013 when Danya S., who went through Challenge's Employment Training Program, began a work experience at Overbaugh's former shop in Trumansburg. Danya, who is legally blind and has been diagnosed with a developmental disability, was later hired as an employee by Overbaugh. Danya handles many tasks at Overbaugh's Ithaca store, including stocking, packaging, and even helping out with cutting chocolate.

For the first time since the Great Recession, more than 9.1 million New Yorkers were working in 2016, according to a reportreleased today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. But regional growth remained uneven, with downstate regions experiencing the highest employment growth while most upstate regions saw declines.

“New York’sdiverseworkforce is a key strength as we compete in today’s global economy,” DiNapoli said. “Statewide, employment is growing and unemployment shrinking. But ensuring good job opportunities for all New Yorkers remains a challenge.”

Construction noise complaints called into New York City's 311 system have more than doubled in recent years, rising from 14,259 in 2010 to 37,806 in 2015. At the same time, the number of after-hours work permits issued by the city's Department of Buildings (DOB) increased, according to an auditreleased today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"Construction is reshaping the city's skyline but the accompanying noise of construction activities is not always welcome by New Yorkers," DiNapoli said. "The city Department of Buildings has allowed noisy work to take place on thousands of projects well before and after normal construction hours. Communication between the city's Building Department and Department of Environmental Protection must improve and the after-hours permitting process needs to be revised to muffle persistent noise problems across the five boroughs."

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has not done enough to prevent automotive repair shops and inspection stations from operating without valid registrations, putting consumers at an increased risk to be scammed by dishonest businesses, according to an audit issued today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"DMV has a responsibility to help prevent consumers from being taken for a ride by unscrupulous repair shops," said DiNapoli. "This means doing more to ensure that New York's repair shops are legitimately registered and working harder to investigate and resolve consumer complaints in a timely manner."

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued a report Monday detailing the impact of federal aid on New York's municipalities and school districts. In 2015, local governments and school districts outside New York City received $4.7 billion in direct federal aid. Separately, New York City received $7 billion, of which $1.7 billion went to funding the city's public schools.

"Local governments receive much-needed federal aid that supports our schools, fixes our roads and keeps our communities safe," said DiNapoli. "But potential policy changes in Washington could have a considerable impact on local government operations. In today's political climate, it's important for New Yorkers to get a sense of how much funding is at stake and what programs might be at risk."

State tax collections totaled $18.6 billion in the first quarter of the new fiscal year, $1.2 billion less than the same period last year and $315.7 million below projections, according to the state cash reportissued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.State tax collections totaled $18.6 billion in the first quarter of the new fiscal year, $1.2 billion less than the same period last year and $315.7 million below projections, according to the state cash reportissued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"We're three months into New York's fiscal year and personal income tax collections are falling short of what was expected," DiNapoli said. "Taxpayer anticipation of federal tax changes has contributed to the decline. Offsetting that, business tax collections are well over estimates."

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, as trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund), announced today that Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and Nisource Inc. have agreed to the Fund's request that they publicly report all direct and indirect corporate political spending.

"Investors must be able to determine if political spending is consistent with enhancing a company's profitability," DiNapoli said. "I applaud Goodyear and Nisource for agreeing to voluntarily disclose their political spending and urge other companies to follow suit. Shining more light on the use of corporate resources to influence the political process leads to better understanding of how this activity can affect a company's bottom line and long-term value."