Archive: Business & Technology

Tompkins County Legislator Frank Proto took over as chairman of the TCAT Board of Directors at the board’s 2010 reorganizational meeting Jan. 28.

Proto replaces 2009 Chairman Dan Cogan, member of Ithaca Common Council. “We are very thankful to Dan Cogan for his hard work, talent and ingenuity at the helm of TCAT’s board in 2009,” said TCAT General Manager Joe Turcotte. “It was a busy year in which TCAT opened its new Green Street Station, part of TCAT’s City Center Project of which Dan was very instrumental from day one. Dan and the board also guided TCAT in 2009 as staff prepared to launch our new route system and state-of-the-art fare collection system that went into effect Jan. 17.”

 Referral Institute, the world’s leading referral training organization, announced the opening of its newest operation in Ithaca, NY.  The Ithaca region (covering Tompkins County and Cortland County), is run by networking and referral expert, David Makar.  The Ithaca operating region will offer training, workshops and consulting for area businesses that desire organic growth through a stronger network of referrals.

The Referral Institute teaches business professionals how to achieve success through relationship-based, referral marketing methods.  “Referral business development is the most effective way to drive sales and provide sustainable growth for businesses.  It worked so well for my own business, I felt compelled to share what I’ve learned with others in my community.” said Makar.

Vision-Powered Planning is a process that uses both sides of the brain, the creative and the logical, to help people visualize their biggest goals and then create a strategic action plan to achieve them.

Local entrepreneurs Carmen Munson, LMSW of Groton, NY-based Climb Higher, and Pamela Moss, PhD., of Ithaca-based Inner Vision Portraits, have joined forces to create the Vision-Powered Planning Retreat, a full-day retreat that combines creativity and visioning with strategic thinking and planning. The Vision-Powered Planning Retreat will be held on Saturday, January 30, 2010, from 8:45 a.m., to 5:00 p.m. at Island Health and Fitness Center.

Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) is offering six new homes for sale in the city of Ithaca at an open house on Saturday, January 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are slated to become the first homes to be sold under the Community Housing Trust.

The Trust has been established by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services in order to build an inventory of homes in the County that will remain permanently affordable. The buyer in turn benefits by being able to purchase a home at a very affordable below-market price. An information session about the Trust is being conducted by INHS’ Executive Director Paul Mazzarella from 12:30 to 1:30 that Saturday at the Henry St. John’s Building located at 301 S. Geneva Street, just a few blocks away from the Corn Street homes. Prospective homebuyers are especially encouraged to attend.

Half way to Florida we named our GPS 'Dolores.'  Sir Lancelot's castle was named Dolorous Gard, 'dolorous' meaning sorrow, grief, and pain.  Bob Hope's wife's name was Dolores.  He was joyful so I imagine she was, too.  As it turned out the Insignia NAV01 is a little of both.

Still, that may be better than expected for this low-end GPS unit.  Actually it was the Best Buy guy that suggested the Insignia, which is Best Buy's store brand.  I just wanted something cheap.  Two things attracted me to it.  One was that it was $79.99, $20 cheaper than the next cheapest unit, a TomTom.  Evidently it was on sale for the holidays, because it costs more today (but so does the TomTom).  The other was that it has a 4.3" screen versus the TomTom's 3.5" screen.

Downtown Ithaca is one of ten U.S. communities to win a competitive application process that will result in a 2010 visit to the City of Ithaca, by an interdisciplinary group of national professionals from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Sustainable Design Assessment Team. (SDAT)   The application was submitted by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance

The AIA’s SDAT program is a competition-based, annual community assistance program that focuses on the principles of sustainability. It brings teams of professionals such as architects, urban designers, landscape architects, transportation, downtown, development and economic planners, landscape architects, hydrologists, and others to work with community decision-makers and stakeholders to help them develop a vision and framework for a sustainable future.

Bishops Pro-Home Center, a fixture on West State Street for many years, closed its doors on Monday November 23. Jerry Dietz of CSP Management, which manages the building, says that the owner of the hardware store, J. Forrest Putney II, told the owners of the building that he was disappointed to close the store, that he and his staff had “gone to the wall” to save it, but falling sales led to its demise.

The business next door to the Pro-Home Center, Bishops Carpet One, has been under separate ownership since 2003 and remains open. Its owner, Dave Pirko, says his store, which sells all types of flooring and window coverings, is “doing well”.

With a couple of PCs and a Mac on our network I had a complicated scheme to make it so that all the computers could print.  I had to use a special switch on my desk to share an HP all-in-one printer (printer/copier/scanner) between my PC and the Mac.  Another printer in the closet was connected to a wireless print server that all the computers could access.  Then the print server died.  My first instinct was to get a new print server.  But then I got to thinking that a wifi-able all-in-one printer might solve multiple problems.

The cost of a printer these days is just a little more than the cost of color cartridges for most brands.  My HP had run completely out of ink, so I decided to look at printers as well as ink prices.  I had heard that Kodak's new marketing strategy was to offer ink at much lower prices, hoping to get a much higher market share.  I found a relatively low priced Kodak all-in-one, the EPS-5200 with wifi capability.  In theory, so far, so good!

Indianapolis, IN – (12/1/09) -- Kevin Kennedy Associates, a privately held global engineering and scientific consulting firm, announced management promotions and a new branding effort designed to enhance the company’s mission – to give corporations access to senior-level talent in critical areas such as due diligence, engineering, expert testimony, insurance industry support without the added cost of adding them on staff.

(Ithaca, NY)  -  The Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes (CRCFL) has been named the recipient of the 2009 Not-for-Profit of the Year Award, given by the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce.

“We were absolutely delighted by the high quality and quantity of all of the nominees for this year’s awards,” said Tompkins Chamber President Jean McPheeters. “In the end, these two organizations were at the top of the Awards Committee’s rankings.”

(Ithaca, NY) The year 2009 will be remembered by the public as an economic rollercoaster, but in downtown Ithaca, it will be known as the Year of the Expanding Business.

Thirteen of the fifteen downtown businesses that opened or expanded in 2009 are locally or regionally owned. They include Wildfire Restaurant and Lounge, Simeon’s on the Commons, Palmer Pharmacy, Unique World, The Edge, The Shop, Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon Company, Gimme! Coffee, Sweet Melissa’s, Cinemapolis, Ithacards, Angry Mom Record and Birdie Smokin’ Gift Shop. The two national businesses include Urban Outfitters, and Cell Phone City.

Simeon’s American Bistro recently completed a 1,700 square-foot, $200,000 expansion, in a move that adds 12 more outdoor dining seats along downtown Ithaca’s Restaurant Row, 20 new seats inside the restaurant, creates new jobs, expands the restaurant’s full-course menu selections, increase the availability and selection of Finger Lakes wines for local diners, and enhances the visual appearance of Restaurant Row through an exterior façade renovation.

Simeon’s is located on the corner of Aurora and State Streets, at 224 The Commons. Owners Rich Avery and Dean Zervos purchased the adjoining building at 106 North Aurora Street, following the closure of a business that was located in it.