Madison County warns of potential COVID-19 exposures at Oneida businesses

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ONEIDA, N.Y. — The Madison County Health Department announced it has confirmed that patrons at three businesses in Oneida have tested positive for COVID-19. The

Leadership Alliance to host COVID-19 economic recovery town hall on Wednesday

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Health Care, Nonprofits, Regional News, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

DICKINSON, N.Y. — The Leadership Alliance says it will host a COVID-19 economic recovery town hall on Wednesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The program

Carthage Area Hospital to prohibit visitors beginning Tuesday, citing rise in virus cases

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Health Care, Nonprofits, Regional News

CARTHAGE, N.Y. — Carthage Area Hospital says it will suspend all hospital and assisted-living facility visitation starting Tuesday, citing the recent rise of COVID-19 infections

SUNY’s mental-health network for students is expanding amid increased need

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The mental-health services available to SUNY students is expanding to more campuses. The network provides counseling and psychiatry services to 11 campuses

Customers may have been exposed to virus at Prime Steak House as employee tests positive

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Health Care, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga County Health Department announced Saturday night that that an employee at Prime Steak House at 101 East Water St. in

Restaurants posted their best sales in September since the pandemic started

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Comparable restaurant sales in the U.S. fell 8.1 percent in September, compared to the year-ago period. That’s the best-performing month for U.S. eateries since February, before the coronavirus pandemic hit, according to a report from Black Box Intelligence, a data provider for the hospitality industry. “Not only was this the first month of the COVID

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New York corn production rose an estimated 1 percent this year, USDA forecasts

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New York farms are estimated to have produced 86.8 million bushels of corn this year, up 1 percent from 86.1 million bushels in 2019, according to a USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast issued on Oct. 9. New York farms are projected to harvest an estimated 520,000 acres of corn for grain in 2020, down

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Barton & Loguidice uses acquisition to add Connecticut office

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SALINA — Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. (B&L) has expanded its footprint into Connecticut with the acquisition of a firm in Hartford. B&L has acquired Anchor Engineering Services Inc. (Anchor Engineering), a multidisciplined engineering and land-surveying company. The local firm didn’t release any details on how much it paid to acquire the Connecticut company. The acquisition

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SALINA — Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. (B&L) has expanded its footprint into Connecticut with the acquisition of a firm in Hartford.

B&L has acquired Anchor Engineering Services Inc. (Anchor Engineering), a multidisciplined engineering and land-surveying company. The local firm didn’t release any details on how much it paid to acquire the Connecticut company.

The acquisition closed Oct. 5, says John Brusa, Jr., president and CEO of Barton & Loguidice. The two firms have been discussing a possible acquisition for about two years, he adds. Brusa spoke to CNYBJ in an Oct. 19 phone interview.

Salina–based Barton & Loguidice is an engineering, planning, environmental, and landscape-architecture firm that serves clients in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

The new office will allow B&L to “further develop” its existing services in New England, as well as add land surveying to the company’s list of practice areas. Land surveying — which includes boundary and right-of-way surveying, property and title research, flood certification and topographic surveying — will initially remain a Connecticut–based service.

Land surveying is a licensed profession like licensed engineers, Brusa notes. B&L has not been in the land-surveying profession for “a couple decades,” he adds.

“They have a licensed land-surveying practice, so it brings that practice back into B&L. Probably not locally here in New York state. They’re licensed in Connecticut and the surrounding states, so it would really be more service out of Hartford until we analyze it and look to grow it further in the future … initially, it’s got to be in New England,” says Brusa.

Anchor Engineering’s ownership will join B&L’s existing leadership team. Mark Zessin, former president and principal owner of Anchor Engineering, becomes senior VP and executive manager of the new Connecticut office.

Zessin was familiar with Barton & Loguidice through its work in the engineering sector, according to Brusa. Both firms also have a many of the same clients.

“We had a lot of discussions and we thought it was the right move,” he adds.

In addition, Scott Atkin, Bill Wertz, and Matt Brown will join B&L as senior associates. Besides the leadership group, an additional 27 employees will also join the B&L team.

“We couldn’t have chosen a better company than Barton & Loguidice to join forces with,” Zessin said. “Despite the many challenges this year has brought, B&L has continued to grow, largely due to the company’s incredible team and its valued relationships with clients, industry colleagues and community members for more than 60 years.”

“[Zessin] was looking for a way for him and his partners to take care of their people and their clients,” says Brusa. “It was a really great fit culturally between the two firms.”

Besides its Salina headquarters, B&L operates additional New York offices in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, New Paltz, and Somers in Westchester County — along with offices in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania; Annapolis and Baltimore in Maryland; Fairfield, New Jersey; and now Hartford, Connecticut.

CNY jobless rates remain higher than a year ago

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Regions post large year-over-year job losses Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, and Elmira regions dropped further into single-digit figures in September, compared to the prior month. But jobless rates remained significantly higher than a year ago amid the impact of layoffs and sluggish rehiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The figures are

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Regions post large year-over-year job losses

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, and Elmira regions dropped further into single-digit figures in September, compared to the prior month.

But jobless rates remained significantly higher than a year ago amid the impact of layoffs and sluggish rehiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Oct. 20.

Regional unemployment rates

The jobless rate in the Syracuse area was 6.1 percent in September, up from 3.9 percent in September 2019.

The Utica–Rome region’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent, compared to 3.9 percent a year prior; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s rate rose to 5.4 percent from 4.7 percent; the Binghamton region’s number hit 5.7 percent, up from 4.2 percent; the Ithaca area posted 4.3 percent, up from 3.7 percent; and the unemployment rate in the Elmira region was 5.9 percent in September, up from 3.9 percent a year ago, per the state Labor Department.

The local-unemployment data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires.

The unemployment rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said.

State unemployment rate

New York state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 12.5 percent in August to 9.7 percent in September. However, the rate remained much higher than the 3.9 percent posted in September 2019.

This September, the number of unemployed New York state residents decreased by 302,000, while labor-force levels fell by 362,900.

The state’s 9.7 percent unemployment rate was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in September.

The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of a monthly telephone survey of 3,100 state households that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts.

September regional jobs data

The latest monthly jobs report that the New York State Department of Labor issued Oct. 15 revealed large job losses across Central New York compared to a year ago.

The Syracuse region lost nearly 33,000 jobs in the past year, representing a decrease of 10.2 percent.

The Utica–Rome metro area lost more than 9,000 jobs, a decrease of about 8 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region shed nearly 4,000 jobs, a decline of about 9 percent; the Binghamton area lost 6,400 jobs, a drop of about 6 percent; the Ithaca region lost 2,300 jobs, a decrease of about 3.6 percent; and the Elmira area shed 1,600 jobs in the past year, a decline of 4.3 percent.

New York state as a whole lost nearly 1.1 million jobs, a decrease of 11 percent, in that 12-month period. The state economy gained more than 109,000 jobs, or a 1.3 percent increase, in the latest month, the Labor Department said.

New Onondaga Lake boat launch opens

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SYRACUSE — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Oct. 16 announced the completion and grand opening of the new Onondaga Lake boat-launch site in the town of Geddes. The site is dedicated to Kenneth P. Lynch for his commitment to the restoration of Onondaga Lake. Lynch served as regional director of

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SYRACUSE — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Oct. 16 announced the completion and grand opening of the new Onondaga Lake boat-launch site in the town of Geddes.

The site is dedicated to Kenneth P. Lynch for his commitment to the restoration of Onondaga Lake. Lynch served as regional director of DEC’s Region 7 for nearly two decades, and most recently as executive deputy commissioner until his retirement in March 2019.

The Onondaga Lake boat-launch site offers free launching capabilities for trailered motorboats and cartop boats, such as canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards, the DEC said. Site features provide access for wheelchairs and visitors of all abilities. The new launch site complements the Loop-the-Lake Trail extension that traverses the site.

The boat-launch facility was funded through an Environmental Benefit Project (EBP) as part of an Onondaga Lake cleanup consent order with Honeywell. EBPs are agreed to as part of the settlement of an enforcement matter and are designed to benefit the local community and environment, the DEC explained.

The boat-launch features include:

• Double-width, center-launch ramp with two accessible floating boarding docks on either side to allow launching of trailered motorboats even as water levels fluctuate;

• Separate car-top boat launch with designated accessible parking;

• Accessible fishing and viewing platform;

• Accessible picnic area with concrete pathway, pads, and tables;

• Temporary wheelchair accessible portable toilet, with a permanent accessible restroom facility to be constructed in the spring;

• Paved parking area that accommodates 30 vehicles with trailers and 30 single vehicles, with additional designated accessible parking for both trailered and single vehicles;

• Solar-powered safety lighting, designed to minimize light pollution;

• Multiple tie-down areas with invasive-species disposal bins and running water for flushing bilges and livewells and hosing off boat surfaces to help reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species; and

• Designated boat-preparation area to help foster safer and more efficient launching.

“The Ken Lynch boat launch site provides enhanced recreational opportunities along Onondaga Lake that were unthinkable just a generation ago,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement. “Water quality has improved, aquatic populations are rebounding, and bald eagle numbers and other wildlife are increasing. This project makes it possible for anglers, boaters, and outdoor enthusiasts to experience a reinvigorated Onondaga Lake.”

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