Archive: Business & Technology

Syracuse, NY – Joe Stabb, Director of Emerging Media at ABC Creative Group, was selected to judge the 2010 Bronze Anvil Awards this past Saturday along with three professors from Syracuse University.

“It is an honor and a privilege to judge content from my peers nationwide,” said Stabb. “I am excited to know that my peers in the communication industry see me as an industry expert.”

The Kiplinger Letter, a well-respected newsletter that offers weekly forecasts on business and economic trends, said in its April 23, 2010 issue in its section on the Economy that “…smaller cities are seeing improvement before some bigger cousins.

About two dozen larger metro areas, including Denver, Houston, Dallas, St. Louis…and Boston have put the recession behind them. But nearly 200 smaller cities have done so. From Huntsville to Peoria, Billings and Chattanooga to Ithaca, NY, metro areas with populations below a million are enjoying the swifter pickup in economic activity.”

GORGES, an Ithaca-based website design and development group, announced the release of a new website for the Tompkins County SPCA.

The new website features animals for adoption, upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, frequently asked questions and much more. GORGES CEO, Christopher Grant, said: “The key improvement for the new SPCA website is the ability for staff and volunteers to maintain the website through an integrated content management system”.

Windows brought the Graphic User Interface to the masses.  America Online made computers and the Internet understandable to the masses.  While these things had been done before, and many would argue that they were done better by others, these things changed the face of computing because they were understood and used by the masses.  Despite past pad computing duds, I think the iPad is going to be one of these major moments that change the face of computing.

Here's why: we were sitting in my parents' living room the other day.  You know those things you can almost remember, or things you'd like to know about someone you see inn the news?  With a few finger swipes I was able to look them up without even pausing the conversation.  We looked at my sister's vacation pictures on her facebook account.  My mother, who doesn't use computers at all, was finger-swiping away, to browse through scores of photos.  Last night I got home to find my son in our family room chatting online on the iPad.  I can already see I'm going to have to wrestle him for the use of it.

The Shops at Ithaca Mall will welcome Music Works, a store specializing in electronic music equipment and accessories for professional and home-use. 

Starting May 1st, disc jockey beginners and pros can rent or purchase stereo equipment, lighting and even stages—and Music Works can provide a set-up crew for large staging and truss rentals.  Party planners and karaoke lovers can find machines for sale or rent.  Also, those who wish to give a special gift or enjoy a little fun can record their own voices at Music Works’ public recording booth.

County Legislative Chair Martha Robertson today announced that the County has reached agreement with Cayuga Medical Center on the sale of the property currently occupied by the County Health Department and located adjacent to the hospital.

The sale includes the “Biggs” building currently occupied by the County Health Department and nine acres of land that surround it.   Under the agreement, Cayuga Medical Center will pay the County $1,059,000 and take ownership of the building on August 1, 2010.

March 30 – RP Solutions , a software developer and remittance processing solutions provider, announced today that Bill Pierce has joined the company as Executive Account Manager. Working from his home office in Omaha, Nebraska, Bill is responsible for developing and executing programs to drive sales of RP Solutions' remittance processing products in the Midwest region.

Bill is a very results-driven individual with a proven track record in business development," said Jim Mills, VP Business Development, RP Solutions. “He is extremely good at building long-lasting client relationships and that is essential to our commitment to delivering outstanding customer service. Bill is the consummate sales professional and we're glad to have him on our team.”

Representatives of Triax Management Group, L.L.C. presented a plan Tuesday that will bring an 82,000 square foot stand-alone retail building to the Shops at Ithaca Mall, as well as a bird sanctuary and housing for seniors.  The project will be built on land the company owns between the mall and Oakcrest Road in the Village of Lansing.  Village Trustees and Planning Board members held a joint meeting to consider the project and whether it will become the first Planned Development Area (PDA) since a new law was passed allowing such plans earlier this year.

"As we all know it's been a difficult time in the economy for everybody, especially retail," said Triax Principal Partner Eric Goetzmann.  "We were able to find a retailer and convince them that the Village of Lansing in Tompkins County is the right place to be because there are consumers here that are looking for their goods.  We spent over a year finding a way to take no and turn it into a yes."

Effective April 6 2010, the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport will be adding an extra regional jet to Detroit. The new flight, departing at 12:15 pm, will complement the existing 6:30 am and 4:36 pm departures, in many cases giving shorter holdover times for connecting flights out of Detroit.

Ithaca, NY. March 23, 2010 – The Country Inn & Suites by Carlson Smith was presented with a 2009 Country Inns & Suites President’s Award.

The President’s Award is presented to the properties that achieved top scores in guest satisfaction as measured by guest feedback for cleanliness and consistency in meeting the brand’s product quality standards. Steve Mogck, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Country Inns & Suites, presented the award to Ilana Bobroff, general manager of the Country Inn & Suites Ithaca for the achievement.

Jon Reis Photography has relocated from its 27-year home above the former Home Dairy building to 102 West State Street, Suite 201 (Corner of State St and Cayuga – above Handwork Craft Store).

The new space offers access to upgraded technologies, a gallery space and will be more conducive to visitor traffic and access.

Ithaca P&C to Close April 18th as Tops Markets Continues Review of all Penn Traffic Stores

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. –Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in Western New York, Central New York, including Rochester, and Northwestern Pennsylvania, announced today that as part of its review process of the acquisition of a majority of Penn Traffics assets, the P&C store located at 212 Hancock Street in Ithaca, NY will close on April 18.