Archive: Business & Technology

Norma Jayne, Chief Executive Officer of the Ithaca Board of Realtors® is being honored by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® with the REALTORÒ  association Certified Executive (RCE) designation, which recognizes exceptional efforts made by the REALTORÒ  association executives.

Jayne is one of over 450 REALTOR® association executives who have achieved this mark of excellence. Local and state association executives who hold the RCE designation represent REALTORS® in 48 states/territories.

"This is truly an honor and I am very proud to be receiving this designation. It is a high point in my career as an association executive," Jayne said.

Novomer, Inc. announced the sale of their breakthrough Converge® polyol technology and associated operations November 3rd, to Saudi Aramco at a value of up to $100 Million.

Novomer, Inc., was the first pre-revenue company that Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) provided a loan to through the loan fund. The company paid off their loan in full. TCAD also assisted them in securing a $150,000 grant from New York State to set up their first lab space here in Ithaca. The company relocated to Boston, MA in 2008.

ADC, known for Precision Motorized Optical Tables, announced today its one hundredth manufacturing contract for the rugged and high tech Precision Motorized Optical Tables automation system. The latest unit was delivered to Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

These high tech systems are the new generation precision motorized system with the flexibility to adapt to demanding customer requirements and environments. In today's rapidly evolving science and engineering landscape, engineers and researchers need to manipulate and move large and heavy equipment with micron precision. In a recent demonstration, the SLAC precision optical table showed it can move large loads with sub-micron precision.

The securities industry earned profits of $9.3 billion in the first half of 2016, which puts it on course for higher profits than last year and could end three years of consecutive declines, according to a report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"Wall Street had solid profits in the first six months of the year and, barring a major setback, profits are on track to surpass last year," DiNapoli said. "While the securities industry in New York City is smaller than before the financial crisis, it remains critical to our local economy and one of the largest contributors to city and state tax revenues. New York City continues to be the global capital of finance."

A company that was supposed to collect rebates from drug manufacturers on behalf of the New York State Health Insurance Plan (NYSHIP) failed to turn over nearly $1.5 million in rebates to the state over a four-year period, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"Contractor Express Scripts collected rebates but failed to turn over a significant amount of them to the state. This money is intended to help hold down costs of the program and contractors are expected to make every effort to collect and turn over all rebates," DiNapoli said. "The Department of Civil Service and United HealthCare need to make sure this money is fully collected and remitted to the state."

Williamsville, NY – Tops Friendly Markets has been recognized as a 2016 Healthiest Employer, an awards program presented by Syracuse Media Group.

Select employers from New York State were named winners of the awards program, held earlier this month. The winning organizations were honored for their commitment to employee health, with exceptional corporate wellness programming.

The 4th generation of the Apple TV appeared in stores late in October last year, so I made an appearance in an Apple Store to learn why I should upgrade from the 3rd generation version.  In almost every instance of my infrequent visits to Apple stores I have spoken to engaged, knowledgeable employees who were willing to spend however much time it took, even if I wasn't buying anything.  This was not one of those times.

When I asked my question the only thing the employee could come up with was the Siri remote.  I learned on the Apple Web site that Siri Remote and Apps are the two big selling points.  If I bought a 4th gen I could talk to my TV and it would find shows and movies for me.  Oh, and I could play games on my TV.  When I told him I am not a gamer and that Siri is not my friend he lost interest in me and became quite chilly.  He ditched me as soon as possible.  I left without purchasing, and continued to enjoy my 3rd gen device for another 12 months.  Now, a year later, I randomly found new information when I was poking around the Internet that caused me to rethink that decision.  Here is what I found...

Hundreds of New York school districts are increasing children's consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and helping students learn about food production through farm-to-school programs, but the growth of these programs may be limited by various challenges, according to a report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

DiNapoli released his report when he toured the Gov. George Clinton Elementary School garden in Poughkeepsie.

Congressman Tom Reed met with 10 small business owners from the greater Geneva area and representatives from the Geneva Chamber of Commerce to discuss challenges to business development and specific challenges they face as women in the workforce.

"We care about helping our small businesses thrive because they are the backbone of our economy. As a former small business owner myself, I recognize the challenges they face," said Reed. "It's only right we fight to ensure small business owners have the resources needed to succeed, including taking advantage of those provided by our offices throughout the district."

New York - Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman  and Acting Tax Commissioner Nonie Manion announced today a settlement with K3 Learning, Inc. (f/k/a Metropolitan Preschools, Inc.) and its president and owner Michael C. Koffler, together with his sons, Brian and Daniel Koffler, and his special education preschool, Sunshine Development School ("SDS"), for overcharging the State of New York for services rendered by SDS and for failing to pay millions in personal and corporate income tax.  Following a coordinated investigation with the Department of Taxation and Finance and an audit and investigation by the Office of the State Comptroller, Koffler and the other parties have agreed to pay the State over $4.3 million to resolve the investigation.

"This family manipulated the system to enrich themselves at the expense of children with special needs," said State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. "Now, thanks to my partnership with Attorney General Schneiderman, they will pay back millions for their actions. My office will continue to work to protect vulnerable New Yorkers and punish those who exploit those in need and defraud the taxpayers."

The state Department of Health (DOH) overpaid managed care organizations nearly $19 million for the state fiscal year 2014-15, in part, because of a flaw in how it calculated premiums, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Auditors warned that another $56.8 million was at risk of overpayment over the next three years due to the flaw.

Additionally, DiNapoli's auditors found DOH, because it had not provided sufficient cost reporting guidance, is missing out on millions in annual savings it is supposed to realize through reforms recommended by the state's Medicaid Redesign Team. The department also failed to collect $38.6 million in actuarial costs, incurred since 2009, from managed care organizations (MCOs).

The Super 8 of Ithaca at 400 South Meadow Street announced Tuesday that Julie Swigart, General Manager has been recognized with the GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD by the Wyndham Hotel Group. This award recognizes outstanding performance of a general manager, one that goes above and beyond the call of duty.

In celebration, Swigart was presented the award by Super 8 and Wyndham Hotel Group leadership at the 2016 Wyndham Hotel Group Global Conference in Las Vegas before an audience of more than 6,000 hoteliers. There are over 2,700 Super 8 motels located around the world.