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WHITNEY POINT, N.Y. — New York State Police at Whitney Point arrested a local man on Thursday, July 10, for allegedly making more than $5,800
Leadership Cayuga recruiting for 2026 class
AUBURN, N.Y. — Leadership Cayuga, a civic-leadership program of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce, is now recruiting for its 2026 class. Leadership Cayuga is
Greater Binghamton Airport completes $54 million renovation project
MAINE, N.Y. — A $54 million project to modernize the Greater Binghamton Airport is complete with a reimagined main terminal that improves traffic flow and
Second flyover ramp along I-481 in Cicero is now open
CICERO, N.Y. — A second flyover ramp connecting Interstate 481 (I-481) northbound (future I-81) to State Route 481 northbound in Cicero opened in time for
A.O. Fox Hospital opens new universal inpatient care unit
ONEONTA, N.Y. — Bassett Healthcare Network’s A.O. Fox Hospital in Oneonta opened a new eight-bed universal inpatient care unit on Tuesday, July 1 to serve patients admitted to the hospital who need varying levels of inpatient care. “With the highest volumes of emergency department visits across Bassett Healthcare Network, A.O. Fox Hospital is uniquely positioned
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ONEONTA, N.Y. — Bassett Healthcare Network’s A.O. Fox Hospital in Oneonta opened a new eight-bed universal inpatient care unit on Tuesday, July 1 to serve patients admitted to the hospital who need varying levels of inpatient care.
“With the highest volumes of emergency department visits across Bassett Healthcare Network, A.O. Fox Hospital is uniquely positioned to care for patients in a more densely populated area,” Bassett Healthcare Network President/CEO and A.O. Fox Hospital President Staci Thompson said in an announcement. “The universal care unit, which houses eight beds, contains acuity-adaptable rooms that have the resources to accommodate a wide range of patient-care needs. We need more beds, and Fox is the perfect place to grow our space.”
The new rooms will allow the hospital to admit a greater variety of clinical cases and reduce the need to transfer patients to Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown or out-of-network.
The A.O. Fox emergency department in Oneonta drew 25,837 visits in 2024.
“A.O. Fox Hospital resides in the health system’s most populated municipality,” A.O. Fox Hospital VP of Medical Affairs Jonathan Daniel Croft said. “It is the best interest of Bassett Healthcare Network that we embrace Fox’s space and amenities to the fullest, including, importantly, inpatient accommodations. By opening more beds in a universal-care unit, Fox is equipped to treat more patients and keep intensive care unit beds open in Cooperstown for patients with the most critical care needs. Additionally, Bassett Healthcare Network’s partnership with Equum, a tele-critical care service, ensures we have 24/7 access to specialized critical care with on-call tele-intensivists.”
The goal is to increase the number of beds open in the universal care unit at Fox, Bassett Healthcare Network Senior VP and Chief Nursing Executive Angela Belmont said. “By the end of this year, we aim to have eight beds. But this will grow in time, especially as we continue working to recruit caregivers. It will also be an opportunity for our terrific nurses and other caregivers at Fox to expand their skills.”
Bassett has plans to continue to grow services at A.O. Fox including ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and orthopedic services. In 2024, Friends of Bassett launched a $2 million fundraising campaign for an expansion of FoxCare Center’s cancer-treatment clinic.
NYS awards Tompkins County $1 million grant for project at SouthWorks Ithaca
ITHACA, N.Y. — Tompkins County will use a $1 million state grant to support infrastructure construction for The Woods, the first phase of the SouthWorks
Oneida County hotel occupancy, room revenue jump double digits in May
UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County hotels registered a strong month of business in May, posting increases in overnight guests and room revenue that each exceeded 10 percent. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) jumped 10.5 percent to 66.5 percent in the fifth month of 2025 compared to the year-ago month,
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UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County hotels registered a strong month of business in May, posting increases in overnight guests and room revenue that each exceeded 10 percent.
The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) jumped 10.5 percent to 66.5 percent in the fifth month of 2025 compared to the year-ago month, according to a report from STR, a Tennessee–based hotel-market data and analytics company. Year to date through May, occupancy was up 6 percent to 57 percent.
Revenue per available room (RevPar), an important industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, climbed 12.1 percent to $98.65 in May in the Mohawk Valley’s largest county versus May 2024. In the first five months of the year, RevPar gained 6.4 percent to $75.98.
Average daily rate (ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, edged up 1.4 percent to $148.24 in Oneida County in May 2025, compared to the same month a year before. Through May 31 of this year, ADR was up 0.4 percent to $133.28.
Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown campaign is now in its 11th year
Harvey Skeele ON Farm Fest set for Sept. 20 SYRACUSE — It’s a campaign that seeks to encourage the public to choose food and products grown in Onondaga County by more than 570 farm families. The 11th year of the “Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown.”
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SYRACUSE — It’s a campaign that seeks to encourage the public to choose food and products grown in Onondaga County by more than 570 farm families.
The 11th year of the “Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown.” campaign is now underway.
The Onondaga County Agriculture Council launched the campaign at the June 26 farmers market at the CNY Regional Market at 2000 Park St. in Syracuse.
The council also used the event to announce 10 host farms for the 9th annual Harvey Skeele ON Farm Fest, which will take place on Sept. 20.
This year’s host farms include Anyela’s Vineyards, Tre-G Farms, Albanese Longhorns, Emmi Farms, Brady Farm, Sunshine Horses, Tim’s Pumpkin Patch, Palladino Farms Heritage Hill Brewhouse & Kitchen, Dutch Hill Maple, Navarino Orchard, Rocking Horse Farm, according to the ON Farm Fest page of the Onondaga Grown website.
The county’s Agriculture Council chose to launch the Onondaga Grown campaign at the CNY Regional Market to highlight the fact that shoppers can access freshly harvested food from dozens of local farms — “all in one convenient location,” per an announcement from Onondaga County.
“This year’s been a challenging year for farms already with the very cool and wet spring we had. It creates a whole … list of challenges,” Onondaga County Legislator David Knapp, who also chairs the Onondaga County Agricultural Council, said in his remarks at the June 26 event. “Our farms persevere and get it done, even when the weather turns [hotter] and we’re in over a hundred degrees feel-like temperature … We were bailing hay on Tuesday.”
The “Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown.” campaign educates the community on the health and economic benefits of purchasing in-season produce and other local products. Through radio and TV commercials, social-media posts, and signage, the campaign also highlights specific producers from within Onondaga County.
All local retailers — from restaurants to grocers, farm stores to markets — who offer agricultural products grown in Onondaga County are invited to participate in the Onondaga Grown campaign by requesting a free media kit containing posters, window clings for entryways, and sheets of stickers for Onondaga Grown products, giving consumers an “easy way to identify and purchase” those products.
“Buying local not only means fresher, tastier, more nutritious food for our families, but it also helps build stronger connections with our local family farms,” Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in the county’s announcement on the topic. “Those relationships between farmer and consumer are further strengthened thanks to our popular ON Farm Fest event! This fun and informative day of agritourism is completely free and we are incredibly proud to offer this unique experience each year … I want to thank everyone who helps make this campaign and ON Farm fest possible.”
ESF capital campaign gets key gifts from Hueber-Breuer, alumni
SYRACUSE — A Syracuse construction company and two graduates have made major donations to the largest fundraising initiative in the history of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. of Syracuse has pledged $250,000 to the Campaign for ESF, while two 1979 graduates Jesse and Betsy Fink plan to
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SYRACUSE — A Syracuse construction company and two graduates have made major donations to the largest fundraising initiative in the history of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).
Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. of Syracuse has pledged $250,000 to the Campaign for ESF, while two 1979 graduates Jesse and Betsy Fink plan to donate $2 million to the $40 million Campaign for ESF.
The Hueber-Breuer donation will support ESF initiatives that include unrestricted scholarships; the Timbuctoo Program, which is committed to increasing awareness, access, and opportunity in environmental fields for high school-aged youth from “systemically marginalized” communities; the construction-management degree program; and conservation efforts on the Onondaga Lake watershed.
Hueber-Breuer’s donation continues its longstanding partnership with ESF, the college said in its announcement.
Founded in 1872, Hueber-Breuer is a sixth-generation, family-owned firm that offers services in construction management, design-build, and general contracting services across the region.
Speaking at the campaign launch, Andy Breuer, president of Hueber-Breuer and a member of the ESF College Foundation board of directors, emphasized the importance of investing in ESF’s mission.
“ESF has relevance on both a global and local scale. I know that when we support ESF, we’re investing in passionate young people who are engaged in the fight against climate change and other global environmental issues,” Breuer said. “We’re also investing in a practical, well-equipped workforce — as evidenced by the outstanding ESF graduates who work for Hueber-Breuer. For me, ESF represents legacy, practicality, relevance, problem solving, value, and opportunity.”
The donation comes as ESF embarks on its $40 million Campaign for ESF, which aims to expand student access, enhance campus-learning environments, and advance critical research, the college said.
ESF describes Jesse and Betsy Fink as “longtime champions of environmental innovation and education,” per the school’s announcement.
The Finks have doubled their investment in the Betsy and Jesse Fink Career Development Program and expanded their support for two “cornerstone” initiatives at ESF: the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment (CNPE) and the Restoration Science Center (RSC).
“Private donations are more important now than ever before and we are very grateful to Jesse and Betsy,” ESF President Joanie Mahoney said in the announcement. “The Finks are helping to ensure that ESF has the resources it needs to continue our groundbreaking research and prepare our students to be the environmental leaders of tomorrow.”
The Finks’ gift reflects their commitment to “systemic investing,” a philanthropic approach that seeks to “transform the underlying systems that drive environmental challenges,” the school said. Their foundation, the Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation, supports organizations and leaders working toward a more sustainable and equitable future.
“Supporting ESF is really important to us because it formed who we are and gave us a foundation for our environmental work,” Jesse Fink said in the school’s announcement.
Founded in 2018, the Betsy and Jesse Fink Career Development Program helps ESF students secure internships and fellowships, covering travel and other related expenses.
Jesse Fink says he’s grateful to ESF for helping launch his career.
“The career development team played a big role in getting me my first job … As a result, I personally want to do everything we can to help students get an internship or fellowship,” he added.
Betsy Fink’s undergraduate studies in forest ecology and restoration “nurtured a deep commitment” to biodiversity and sustainability,” ESF said. She’s been particularly inspired by the work of the CNPE’s founding director and 1975 graduate Robin Wall Kimmerer.
“Storytelling is a powerful tool for helping people understand and care about how we use and relate to the natural world, and few have done this more powerfully than Robin, whose work inspires more thoughtful and respectful stewardship of our shared resources,” Betsy Fink said in the ESF announcement.
United Way of the Mohawk Valley launches new strategic plan
UTICA — United Way of the Mohawk Valley recently unveiled a new strategic plan that will guide the nonprofit organization as it works to help the community over the next two years. It was time, says CEO/Executive Director Susan Litera, who has been in the role for about 18 months. The needs of the community
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UTICA — United Way of the Mohawk Valley recently unveiled a new strategic plan that will guide the nonprofit organization as it works to help the community over the next two years.
It was time, says CEO/Executive Director Susan Litera, who has been in the role for about 18 months. The needs of the community have changed in recent years, and the United Way’s strategic plan needed to better align with those needs.
“Before we really launched into it, my team and I spent a lot of time pulling data and analyzing it,” Litera says. The organization also polled the community, members, partners, and other agencies “to make sure the work we going to do makes the most sense for the community.”
After pouring through all that data, the community’s needs became apparent, she says. “There weren’t a ton of surprises, but it was tough to see.”
Food and housing insecurity are among the top issues the community faces, and those numbers have increased dramatically in recent years, Litera says. “Transportation is another one.”
Those needs all fall into three impact areas the United Way of the Mohawk Valley outlined in the plan — health and wellness, economic stability, and community responsiveness.
Through health and wellness outreach, the United Way works to support people with complex needs and those who struggle to afford basic needs. Under economic stability, the United Way is working to strengthen and broaden its revenue streams to address issues including housing, employment, transportation, and education. Finally, under community responsiveness, the United Way works with community partners to develop a comprehensive response system that supports the community during critical and urgent needs.
“We’ve got a plan, we’ve got a mission, and now we just execute,” Litera says. The organization supports one out of every three people in Herkimer and Oneida counties in some way.
The new plan recently came into play after two tornadoes struck Oneida County in late June. The United Way’s plan calls for a proactive emergency response plan – formulated after last July’s tornado that struck downtown Rome. Rather than reactively work to raise funds after a disaster strikes, the new plan incorporates a disaster relief fund, and the United Way was able to utilize that fund after the June tornadoes to support clean-up and other efforts.
The new strategic plan also trends heavily toward collaboration and working in partnership with other community organizations, Litera notes. “Everything is centered on and based around collaboration,” she says. “Even agencies doing similar work have gaps.”
Working together with other agencies helps ensure wraparound care that helps people with long-term solutions, not just short-term fixes, Litera says.
The United Way of the Mohawk Valley is also shifting its fundraising and gifting model as the agency finds itself doing more direct support along with its traditional grants to other organizations. Working collaboratively with other agencies also helps increase the odds of obtaining funding, she adds.
The United Way of the Mohawk Valley has served the area since 1921.
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