Archive: Business & Technology

Heather D. McDaniel, Vice President and Director of Economic Development Services at Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a national recognition that denotes a mastery of skills in economic development, professional attainment and a commitment to personal and professional growth.  Candidates must pass a rigorous and comprehensive examination, which has three parts, including an interview portion, and spans two days.

McDaniel was one of 12 candidates (out of 40) that passed the CEcD exam administered by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) on September 24-25, 2016 in Cleveland, OH.

Last week iOS 10 arrived on a Wednesday, and only one day later it was already on 14% of devices.  That is pretty impressive when you consider that Apple celebrated the billionth iPhone sale last July.  As of Monday iOS 10 had been installed on over 34% of devices.  macOS Sierra  launched around 1:40pm Tuesday afternoon (EDT).  As always, your intrepid reporter was one of the first to download and install them both.

Apple is known for inter-connectivity among devices, so my expectation was that macOS would go all the way to integrate with iOS devices.  But it seems like the two programming groups didn't even share a lunchroom.  The Mac team didn't seem to be much interested in much besides Siri (Apple's voice assistant), while all the fun programmers seem to have been assigned to the mobile OS this time around.  Siri is big news in macOS, but it is old news in iOS.  So even if you are a big Siri fan, having her on your computer, while undeniably useful, feels like a bit of a yawn.

Laurie Linn will receive an honor in Career Achievement for the Successful Business Women Awards.

The 2016 Successful Business Women Awards will be held on September 21st in Syracuse, New York. Recipients for the Career Achievement category were nominated by members of the community. After receiving over 40 nominations, a judging panel reviewed all the candidates. The panel took into consideration mentorship practices, community engagement, leadership qualities, years in service, and  years in business.

The Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) and City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick will host a pair of ribbon cutting ceremonies on Friday, Sept. 2 to welcome two of the latest establishments to open on The Commons.

The first ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. at Due Amici Ristorante, in the newly renovated space at 124 East State St., on The Commons between Petrune and Julie A. Stone Salon, and will be immediately followed by a ceremony at The Range, 119 East State St., above Trader K's on The Commons.

New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Matthew J. Driscoll today announced that GEICO is sponsoring 'Text Stops' along state highways operated by the department, helping to discourage texting while driving and providing nearly $1.3 million in revenue to New York State over the next five years.

"Governor Cuomo initiated the first-ever 'Texting Zones' along state highways in 2013, and this innovative partnership with GEICO supports New York's broad efforts to curb distracted driving and the traffic safety hazards it creates," Commissioner Driscoll said. "This sponsorship agreement provides one more way to encourage motorists to focus on driving and pull off the road to text or use mobile devices."

State tax collections totaled $24.2 billion over the first four months of the state fiscal year (SFY), a drop of $1.1 billion, or 4.4 percent, from the same period last year, according to the July state cash report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Tax collections through July were $21.8 million over the Executive's latest projections from earlier this month. However, collections are more than $500 million below initial projections, primarily due to lower than expected personal income tax (PIT) collections.

David MandryckyInsero & Co. CPAs was recently named as one of the 2016 Best Accounting Firms to Work for by Accounting Today for the fifth consecutive year. Accounting Today has partnered with Best Companies Group to identify companies that have excelled in creating quality workplaces for employees. Insero is the only firm in New York state to have been named to the list each of the last five years.

"We're thrilled to receive this honor for the fifth year in a row," said David Mandrycky, Director of Human Resources at Insero. "We owe many thanks to our entire team for upholding our focus on our people and building an environment where people are fulfilled and excited to come to work each day. Because of this focus, our reputation across the state has grown, employee turnover rate is well below the industry average and we are an employer of choice on the college campuses. That, in turn, benefits our clients, who appreciate being able to work with the best people. It's truly a win-win."

Citing a need for additional dwellings in the City of Ithaca, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) announced one of downtown's housing projects is nearly complete.  The Carey Building, an upscale, mixed-use complex that has been undergoing a residential housing expansion for the past year, is almost ready to welcome tenants.

The $4 million project included the construction of 20 high-end residences - 16 micro-apartments and four two-bedroom penthouses - and an additional 4,000 square feet of commercial space into the roughly 18,000 square feet vertical addition that was built above the existing two-story structure at 314-320 East State St., just east of The Ithaca Commons.

Frost Travis, president of Travis Hyde Properties, the building's owner, anticipates that this project will be done and tenants will be able to move in by the end of this week.

Tompkins Financial Corporation (NYSEMKT:TMP) - Tompkins Financial announces that Brian A. Howard has been named president of Tompkins Financial Advisors, the wealth management division of the company, with offices in Ithaca, Pittsford and White Plains, New York, and Wyomissing and Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. In addition, he will serve as a member of the leadership team of Tompkins Financial. Howard joined the company on July 25.

Howard brings more than 30 years of leadership experience with nationally recognized financial service firms to his position at Tompkins Financial Advisors. Most recently, he served as a senior vice president, market manager for Key Bank covering the Central New York region, where he oversaw the bank's full service wealth management division for high net worth clients. At US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, he held leadership positions including managing director, market executive for the Boston, MA, market and senior vice president, market leader for the Central New York market. There he was responsible for revenue growth, strategic initiatives and building collaborative and top performing teams.

Local sales tax collections across New York state only grew 1.7 percent in the first six months of 2016, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Overall, growth slowed from 2.6 percent in the first quarter to 0.8 percent in the second quarter.

"While statewide sales tax revenues continue to rebound slowly, only some parts of the state are seeing growth," DiNapoli said. "The slowdown in sales tax collection growth reflects a three-year trend. Collections trickle in the first half of the year, followed by more robust growth in the second half. And recent economic projections suggest that sales tax collections will pick up again in the second half of 2016."

New York state faces potential budget gaps in future years, according to an analysis of the state's Financial Plan released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The budget gaps result from spending increases and tax reductions enacted this year, and the use of temporary resources to pay for recurring costs.

"New York is facing the prospect of outyear budget gaps," DiNapoli said. "New York's rainy day reserves are at low levels compared to many states and the use of temporary resources to meet recurring expenses contributes to the state's potential outyear budget shortfalls. More must be done to promote long-term structural balance and ensure that taxpayers' dollars are used cost-effectively."

Tom Reed brought together manufacturers from across the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes and Western New York, during a day-long manufacturing summit held at Corning-Painted Post High School.

"We care about helping U.S. manufacturing succeed because it means good jobs for people right here at home.  This summit gave local manufacturers an opportunity to learn about what programs are available to them and share ideas so they can grow and create the jobs that our workforce deserves," said Reed.