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Bigham named CFO and treasurer of Five Star Bank parent
WARSAW, N.Y. — Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI), parent company of Five Star Bank, recently announced that it has named Justin K. Bigham executive VP,
Report: New York’s craft-beer industry generated $5.4B economic impact last year
Craft beer is making a big impact on New York’s economy, a new trade group report says. In 2018 the New York state craft beer

Syracuse University chooses CEO of San Francisco Fed as commencement speaker
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Mary Daly, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, will deliver the 2019 commencement address at Syracuse University’s

People news: Community Bank promotes Berg to district manager
ROME, N.Y. — Community Bank N.A. announced it has promoted Wendy Berg to district manager of the Oneida/Herkimer section of the bank’s Lowville district. She

Onondaga County to use $2M state grant to prevent, reduce tobacco use in three counties
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The state has awarded the Onondaga County Health Department a five-year, $2 million grant to support the prevention and reduction of tobacco
Some recent tweets that came across the @cnybj Twitter feed, offering various small business, marketing, HR, career, and personal tips. SBA @SBAgovSBA’s Learning Center has a variety of free online training courses on topics such as financing your business, accounting and pricing. Launch the courses —http://ow.ly/9eFF30oh60a NFIB @NFIBAs the social network with the greatest focus
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Some recent tweets that came across the @cnybj Twitter feed, offering various small business, marketing, HR, career, and personal tips.
SBA @SBAgov
SBA’s Learning Center has a variety of free online training courses on topics such as financing your business, accounting and pricing. Launch the courses —http://ow.ly/9eFF30oh60a
NFIB @NFIB
As the social network with the greatest focus on professional and business communities, @LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for #SmallBiz owners. Start boosting your business’ profile with these tips: https://www.nfib.com/content/resources/marketing/how-to-boost-your-small-business-profile-on-linkedin/
Small Business Expo @SmallBizExpo
Branding Strategies That Create Customers Who Spend 300% More http://twib.in/l/bg7oGog9nqBb
Kayla Fujinaka @MaplewildMarket
Reviews are the life blood of small businesses. According to some studies, over 80% of consumers read reviews for local businesses and they read an average of 10 reviews before feeling like they can trust a business. How many reviews do you have?
Cktechconnect@cktechconnect
Tips to drive traffic to your #website https://buff.ly/2A7l0xY #SEO #marketing
Hootsuite @hootsuite
Setting social media goals is a key step toward proving (and improving) the value of your social media work. Here are 10+ social media goals you should track: http://ow.ly/5JJc50ovY7y
Mitch Mitchell @Mitch_M
How Content Marketing Can Be Your Business Saviour https://inspiretothrive.com/how-content-marketing-can-be-your-business-saviour/ … via @inspiretothrive
MARK BRITZ@britz
I’m amazed when I hear that Marketing still counts “likes” as a significant measure. Liking in social media is almost an involuntary act, like breathing. How many times have you “liked” something and could recall that you did?
Dave Ulrich @dave_ulrich
When HR delivers value to key stakeholders through talent, leadership and organization, they are fully engaged in helping the business succeed. https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Point-of-View/Dave-Ulrich-on-the-outside-in-view-of-HR.html …
Carolina @Carolicen
“Women leaders eclipse their male counterparts in many of the ways known to inspire high levels of commitment, initiative, and loyalty in 21st-century workers.” / by @MarkCCrowley @FastCompany://www.fastcompany.com/3045453/how-the-wrong-people-get-promoted-and-how-to-change-it …
Hannah Morgan @careersherpa
Survey Results #Turnover 2019: Why Employees Leave – @hrbartender #HR #Recruiting https://hrbar.co/2HYROxw
Bonadio Group @bonadiogroup
Tim Doyle discusses classroom enrichment opportunities your students might be missing. #bonadio http://bit.ly/2Tml9nE
Kristie Leong M.D. @DrKristieLeong
When we give up starchy carbs, there’s more room on our plates for colorful #fruits & #vegetables. More nutrients & fewer calories. Isn’t that a switch worth making? #healthyeating
JAMA @JAMA_current
#Aerobic #exercise improved executive function in healthy adults who had below-average #fitness levels, found a recent study https://ja.ma/2FAXNWG
Our Neighborhood Chef opens at Destiny USA
SYRACUSE — Our Neighborhood Chef, a new café and pastry shop offering locally baked goods, recently opened at Destiny USA. “Our Neighborhood Chef showcases different chefs from local neighborhoods,” Maggie Levy, owner, said in a Destiny USA news release. “There are many talented culinary creators in our community, and we want to provide the platform
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SYRACUSE — Our Neighborhood Chef, a new café and pastry shop offering locally baked goods, recently opened at Destiny USA.
“Our Neighborhood Chef showcases different chefs from local neighborhoods,” Maggie Levy, owner, said in a Destiny USA news release. “There are many talented culinary creators in our community, and we want to provide the platform to share their sweet treats.”
The shop outsources the majority of its desserts — various Italian cookies, slices of cakes, pies, pastries, and cannoli — to area shops like Biscotti’s Café, Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen, and more. However, Levy says that nine types of funnel cakes are made on site. Customers can also create their own funnel cake and even add fresh fruit.
Our Neighborhood Chef is located on Destiny USA’s 2nd level in the Canyon area, next to Razzle Dazzle. That establishment is known for serving Italian Ice and is also owned by Levy and her husband Reverend Curtis Levy. The food sold at both shops benefits a local ministry called Last House on the Block Ministries Transitional Housing, Inc. The ministry houses men and women recovering from substance abuse, mental-health issues, incarceration, or domestic violence. The goal is to help them learn to become productive members of society, per the release. Both Razzle Dazzle businesses help fund the agency in providing extra bedding, resources, staff, and other items the clients need.
Dish Network renews lease of nearly 10,800 square feet in DeWitt
DeWITT — Dish Network Services, LLC recently renewed its lease of 10,755 square feet of commercial space at 201 East Hampton Place in the town of DeWitt. Dish Network — a satellite TV provider, with more than 12 million subscribers, and Internet service provider — is using the space for storage and distribution. Bill Anninos,
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DeWITT — Dish Network Services, LLC recently renewed its lease of 10,755 square feet of commercial space at 201 East Hampton Place in the town of DeWitt.
Dish Network — a satellite TV provider, with more than 12 million subscribers, and Internet service provider — is using the space for storage and distribution.
Bill Anninos, of CBRE/Syracuse, represented the tenant Dish Network Services, in this transaction, according to a news release from the real-estate firm. No lease terms were disclosed.
The East Hampton Place building, located on 0.65 acres, is owned by EFT Realty Corp. and assessed at $222,500, according to Onondaga County’s online property records.
Booz Allen Hamilton renews lease and expands again in Rome
ROME — Booz Allen Hamilton, a global management and technology consulting firm and government-services contractor, recently renewed its lease and expanded its office in the Griffiss Business & Technology Park in Rome for a second time. Marty Dowd, of CBRE/Syracuse, and Mateo Diachok, of CBRE/Washington D.C., represented Booz Allen in the lease renewal and expansion
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ROME — Booz Allen Hamilton, a global management and technology consulting firm and government-services contractor, recently renewed its lease and expanded its office in the Griffiss Business & Technology Park in Rome for a second time.
Marty Dowd, of CBRE/Syracuse, and Mateo Diachok, of CBRE/Washington D.C., represented Booz Allen in the lease renewal and expansion to 7,152 square feet of space at 500 Avery Lane, according to a news release from the real-estate firm. Lease terms were not disclosed. That square footage is up from 5,840 square feet the last time Booz Allen Hamilton expanded in Rome in late 2017.
The Rome office is the only upstate New York location for McLean, Virginia–based Booz Allen Hamilton, which provides management and technology consulting and engineering services to corporations, government agencies, and nonprofits.
Some of the job titles of the people that Booz Allen employs in Rome include cloud security engineer, cybersecurity tester, Linux system administrator, quantum scientist, scrum master, and virtualization and network administrator, according to the company’s website.
Booz Allen Hamilton employs more than 24,200 people globally.

OCC, Barnes & Noble offer bundled-pricing model for textbooks
ONONDAGA — Onondaga Community College (OCC) this fall is offering a new program that reduces the price of textbooks and a laptop computer for its students with a bundled-pricing model. OCC on March 27 announced its partnership with Barnes & Noble College on the three-year program. New York City–based Barnes & Noble College — which
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ONONDAGA — Onondaga Community College (OCC) this fall is offering a new program that reduces the price of textbooks and a laptop computer for its students with a bundled-pricing model.
OCC on March 27 announced its partnership with Barnes & Noble College on the three-year program.
New York City–based Barnes & Noble College — which is part of Basking Ridge, New Jersey–based Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE: BNED) — operates the OCC campus bookstore.
The “Box of Books” program will provide students with “flat-rate, predictable pricing” for textbooks and a lower cost Chromebook computer, OCC said in a news release. The program is formally called “First Day Complete,” promising to offer “first-day-of-class access to affordable, high-quality course materials for all courses,” per the release.
“We’ve heard from students over the course of several years with the escalating cost of textbooks [and] online computer access codes … causing a real struggle,” Casey Crabill, president of Onondaga Community College, said during a March 27 news conference on the college’s campus. “Students have been unable to have the funds necessary to buy the materials required to participate in schools.”
Last year, fewer than half of the students at OCC were able to afford the books and access codes necessary, creating a “playing field that isn’t level,” Crabill contended.
Students paid an average cost of nearly $82 for each textbook during 2018, for a total average cost of $615 per semester, the college said.
Under the “Box of Books” program, students will pay $21.50 per credit hour or $64.50 for each required textbook. The cost of textbooks for one semester will total $322.50. The program also allows students to purchase a Chromebook for $250, the school added.
Crabill described the talks with Barnes & Noble College as a negotiation with a company that understands that its business model “needs to evolve into current realities for students.”
“I think they’ve probably taken on some risk with us and I think they’ll be watching it as closely as we will,” said Crabill.
“This inclusive access model will support affordability, accessibility and achievement for the Onondaga campus community, by providing all course materials conveniently delivered as a bundle for students on or before the first day of class,” Paul Maloney, VP of stores at Barnes & Noble College, said in the school’s release.
OCC said it is the first public college in the U.S. to join this Box of Books program.
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