Archive: Business & Technology

A proposed ban on polystyrene foam food service containers would have a devastating impact on businesses in the Finger Lakes region, including Pactiv, which employees over 800 workers at their Canandaigua facility.

The ban is supported by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Councilman Lewis Fidler. The New York City Council Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management recently held a hearing regarding banning polystyrene food service containers.

In a fast-changing retail economy, downtown Ithaca is leading the way.

A number of years ago, in their provocative book The Experience Economy, business strategists Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore heralded the arrival of a new economic era. They argued that "businesses that relegate themselves to the diminishing world of goods and services will be rendered irrelevant. To avoid this fate, you must learn to stage a rich, compelling experience."

Today, business leaders agree that the experience economy has indeed arrived. With the continued rapid rise of e-commerce -- $262 billion of goods were purchased via the internet last year, up from $231 billion the year before - enterprising bricks-and-mortar retailers grasp the need to provide customers with a memorable, personalized shopping experience that you can't get online.

The Regional Economic Development Council initiative (REDC) is a key component of Governor Cuomo's transformative approach to State investment and economic development. The Councils are public-private partnerships composed of local experts and stakeholders from business, academia, local government, and non-governmental organizations that are redefining the way New York invests in jobs and economic growth by putting in place a community-based, bottom up approach and establishing a competitive process for State resources.

The Southern Tier, a Top Performer Awardee of  $81.9 million, was considered one of the best plans in the state last year. The Southern Tier REDC is building on its success with its endorsed priority projects, including expanding health care programs, growing job training resources and supporting projects to boost tourism in the region. The Southern Tier includes: Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Tioga, Schyler, Steuben and Tompkins County.

Gimme! Coffee, an Ithaca announced this month total donations toward anti-fracking in our region has exceeded $20,000. The specialty coffee company’s popular 'Fracktivist' blend has sold over 10,000 units since its release and a portion of proceeds from every bag has been donated to a local agency to assist in the fight against fracking, a controversial drilling method used to extract natural gas from underground shale.

Ithaca-based Toxics Targeting have benefited from the portion of proceeds from 'Fracktivist' and other organizations are being considered for the upcoming year.

Many people agree that all the little signs sprinkled around the Town of Lansing are, well... ugly.  Wednesday the Town Board heard a plan to eliminate all the little business signs on two major intersections and replacing them with attractive wayfinding signs.  They would be replaced with attractive, slatted, wayfinding signs that businesses can buy onto, helping people find them around town.

"That would give the people that have these signs up now an option," said Code/Fire Enforcement Officer & Building Inspector Lynn Day.  "Once we get this in place the Town would own the sign itself and each business  would buy an individual slat.  (Cayuga Signs estimated) the slat and lettering would be about $40, which is exactly our sign fee."

Is there a foodie on your holiday shopping list? Look no further than Downtown Ithaca.

Bon Appetit Magazine named Ithaca one of the foodiest towns in America for a reason. Downtown Ithaca boasts over 50 restaurants and bars with great dining diversity that would normally only be seen in much larger urban markets. Perhaps lesser known in the downtown area are the Gourmet Food establishments, dedicated to providing Ithacans access to oils and vinegars, ciders, wine and beer tastings, homemade chocolates, and more! To top it all off, many of these superb Gourmet Food establishments have opened within the past two years!

Williamsville, N.Y. – Tops Friendly Markets announced Monday that the acquisition of Tops Holding II by a group of senior managers of the Company led by Tops president and CEO, Frank Curci, closed on December 1st.

During the past six years under Curci’s leadership, Tops has more than doubled its number of stores, added new jobs and expanded is geographic reach into eastern and northern New York, Vermont and northern Pennsylvania. In April, 2013 Tops also opened Orchard Fresh a specialty and gourmet food store in Orchard Park, NY.

In a time when so much of what we own is mass-produced, Micky Roof has been upholding the ancient tradition of metal smiths and jewelers. Micky began making jewelry first to pay for college and then as a way to support herself as a single parent. 30 years later, Micky is still making jewelry. Her store, The Jewelbox, as been a vital small business in the community.

It is rare for a small business to to last 30 years, but December 2013 marks her anniversary. Given the changes in the economy and the shift from bricks and mortar to online sales, Micky Roof has persevered by continuing to make beautiful and unique pieces of jewelry. She is also deeply community minded and participates in the annual Aids Ride for Life and Women Swimmin’ fundraisers.

New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio is encouraging local residents to participate in 'Small Business Saturday' and shop at local businesses this Saturday, November 30th.

"Small Business Saturday is a day where we celebrate the important contributions that local small businesses make to our community and help to support their continued success by shopping locally. Please take the time to visit some of our many local small businesses this weekend,” Nozzolio says.

The $160.7 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) has filed a shareholder resolution at AT&T Inc. (AT&T) asking the company to disclose how often and what consumer information it has shared with U.S. or foreign governments, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today. The resolution will be voted on at the company’s 2014 annual meeting scheduled for late April.

“Customer trust is critical for any business, but nowhere is it more so than for those corporations that handle our personal data and communications,” DiNapoli said. “AT&T has not made it clear to investors or customers what data it shares or with whom. Customers should not be the last to know how their personal information is being used by governmental agencies.”

Congressman Tom Reed brought together two fields experiencing a renaissance of growth – natural gas and manufacturing – Thursday to examine what is making these fields successful and how to extend and expand upon that growth. Reed hosted the Congressional Natural Gas Caucus and the House Manufacturing Caucus for a joint discussion with caucus members and expert panelists in the field. Congressman Reed co-chairs both bipartisan caucuses.

“The jobs impact is what is truly remarkable,” Congressman Reed said. “The lower energy and lower transportation costs are creating more manufacturing jobs. On top of manufacturing jobs being added, consumers are seeing less money being taken out of their pockets each month both in their utility bills and at the gas station. We’re now even seeing the average price of a gallon of regular gas inch close to the $3 per gallon mark, with six states now boasting prices below $3 and more states within a nickel of that mark. Natural gas is a large part of that equation bringing down gas prices.”

To a Main Street retailer, store windows serve as their image to the world. In today's world of high-speed internet commerce and social media communication, storefront windows are often underutilized and overlooked by shop owners and consumers alike.

That is changing in downtown Ithaca, thanks to a special pilot program introduced by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance this holiday season. The Downtown Ithaca Visual Merchandising Program seeks to restore the excitement and interest of storefront windows to downtown Ithaca, and in particular the Ithaca Commons.