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SYRACUSE — The Syracuse University (SU) Kauffman Entrepreneurship Engagement Fellows program has continued growing since its beginning three years ago. This year’s group totals 16 students, up from 10 a year earlier and just two in the program’s first year in 2009-2010. The students receive one year of tuition at the university and make a […]
Excellus will keep local emphasis, CEO-elect says
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield will remain a regional company with work forces in various areas of New York, according to the CEO-elect of the health plan and its parent company. “We believe the local employment is good for our company,” says Christopher Booth, who is currently the president of Excellus, Central New York’s largest health insurer.
Survey: Major health-care plans’ costs to rise in lockstep
Different types of employer-provided health-insurance plans will increase in cost at virtually identical rates in 2012, according to a recent national survey from Buck Consultants, LLC. The National Health Care Trend Survey 2012, which the human-resources and benefits consulting firm Buck Consultants released April 5, projected that preferred-provider organization plans (PPO), point-of-service plans (POS), health-maintenance
PSD joins Green Button Initiative
ITHACA — Performance Systems Development, an Ithaca–based provider of building performance software and services, has joined the White House-led Green Button Initiative. The White House last year called on industry to provide electricity consumers with easier access to their energy usage data via a green button on utility websites. Access to the information can help
Survey: Employer wellness programs on the rise
More employers are launching wellness programs, and the majority of organizations currently offering wellness initiatives are looking to invest in and expand them. That’s according to the 2011 Willis Health and Productivity Survey by Willis North America’s Human Capital Practice in Atlanta, a unit of global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, plc (NYSE: WSH). The national survey found 60
EBRI: Consumer-driven health-plan enrollees are healthier, wealthier
People enrolled in “consumer-driven” health plans tend to have higher incomes, higher educational levels, and report better health behavior than do those enrolled in traditional health plans. But they are not younger. Those are just a few of the findings of a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) that examines trends
New York Optometric opens location in Armory Square
SYRACUSE — A new branch of an optometric business has opened at 85 Walton St. in the Armory Square district. Lou Enzerillo, owner of New York Optometric, opened his second location in Syracuse on April 16. Enzerillo’s first store is at 116 E. Washginton St. He is calling the stores New York Optometric Downtown and
Startups That Shoot From the Hip, End Up Shooting Off Their Own Foot
Have you ever wondered how many times you have tried to do something half-way, only to discover that it would have been easier if done the right way from the very beginning? My daughter hates to read instructions. She will build a model or assemble a new toy by “intuition.” Sometimes she goes forward one
Maybe it’s my imagination, but we seem to have gotten awfully regal in this country. That’s what came to mind when I heard about the kafuffle over our Secretary of Defense. Leon Panetta has been flying home to California most weekends — on Air Force jets — costing taxpayers $32,000 per round trip. The Defense
Our Region Takes a High-Risk Approach to Investing
Would you take the advice of a financial advisor who told you to invest in only two or three industries? The answer is — of course not. Most individuals, corporations and institutional investors realize the value of diversity within a portfolio. Yet, as a region, we seem to ignore this principle. The good news is
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.