Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

Donaghey to receive Greater Baldwinsville Chamber Business Person of the Year award
BALDWINSVILLE — Barbara Donaghey has been selected to receive the 2016 Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) Business Person of the Year award. She will

Smith Market wins $25,000 prize in Community Foundation’s Impact Opportunity Challenge
UTICA, N.Y. — The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, Inc. has selected Smith Market as the winner of its $25,000 Impact Opportunity Challenge.
Small-group market health-insurance rates in N.Y. to rise 8% in 2017
Health-insurance premiums in the Empire State’s small-group market will rise by an average 8.3 percent in 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), which regulates the state’s insurance market, announced Aug. 5. Health insurers had requested an average rate increase of 12.3 percent, DFS said in a news release. Premium rates for

Entrepreneur Holdrege builds an idea into Idea Kraft
BINGHAMTON — Ewelina Zajac came to America as a college-exchange student in 2002. She spent the summer at Scott’s Family Resort on Oquaga Lake, before returning to her native Poland to complete a master’s degree with honors in industrial and graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw. She graduated on a Thursday

New York is investing $5 million to help create hub for upstate drone industry
New York will make an “initial” $5 million investment to help ongoing efforts to create a hub for unmanned-aerial system (UAS) “innovation” and manufacturing in upstate New York. The funding seeks to “support and grow the emerging” UAS industry in the upstate region, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Aug. 2. Unmanned-aerial systems are

Startup firm Bojaga Studios’ farmstand location app is almost ready for iPhone
SYRACUSE — Bojaga Studios, a startup company that is a virtual tenant at the Syracuse Technology Garden, has a mobile-phone application (app) that will soon be available for iPhones. The app, called Farmstand Finder, is already available for Android devices, says Alexander (Alex) Jones, the fledgling firm’s chief information officer. It’ll be available for the

New York state adds 6,400 private-sector jobs in July, ADP report says
Private-sector employers in New York state added 6,400 jobs in July, according to the latest ADP Regional Employment Report issued Wednesday. All the job gains

SBA, partners to host Aug. 16 event for entrepreneurs over the age of 50
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Entrepreneurs over the age of 50 who want to start or grow their small business can participate in an event scheduled for
EBRI: Small employers cutting health-insurance coverage
In the wake of the national health-care reform law, fewer small employers are offering health-insurance benefits to their workers, but big employers are holding steady. That’s according to new findings from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). EBRI says its analysis examines the percentage of employers offering health insurance from 2008–2015 to “better understand” how

Pretty Garden Boutique and Cafe to formally open Aug. 2 in Utica
UTICA, N.Y. — The Pretty Garden Boutique and Cafe will formally open Tuesday, Aug.2 in a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce.
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.