CLINTON — The Auto Specialist, an automotive accessory shop, formally opened its renovated facility on May 4 in Clinton.

The business held a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce.

“We are happy to introduce to the public our services that address the style, speed and sound of your vehicle,” Dominic Corelli, owner of The Auto Specialist, said in a chamber news release.

 The business, located at 7850 State Route 5, is focused on remote car starters, car and marine audio, vehicle convenience and safety, suspension upgrades, and car and truck accessories and installations.

According to the release, The Auto Specialist has more than 10,000 brands in-house.

BINGHAMTON — Hotels in Broome County were fuller in March compared to a year ago, continuing a long string of monthly occupancy increases, according to a recent report.

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county jumped 11.2 percent to 51.4 percent in March from 46.2 percent in the year-prior month, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. It was the 11th consecutive month in which Broome County’s occupancy rate increased. Through the first three months of 2018, the occupancy rate was up 9 percent to 45.8 percent from 42.0 percent in the first quarter of 2017.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry indicator that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, increased 11.7 percent to $42.65 in March from $38.19 in March 2017. Broome County’s RevPAR has gained eight months in a row. Year to date through March, the county’s RevPAR was up 9.4 percent to $37.45 from $34.23 in the first three months of 2017.

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, inched up 0.4 percent to $82.98 in March from $82.63 a year earlier, per STR. Broome County’s ADR is up 0.3 percent year to date to $81.70.

New York farms produced 137.8 million eggs in March, down 5 percent from 145.2 million eggs in the year-ago period, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.

The average number of layers in the Empire State declined by 6 percent to 5.35 million in March from 5.71 million a year prior.

New York egg production per 100 layers totaled 2,574 eggs in March, up 1 percent from 2,542 eggs in March 2017, according to NASS.

In neighboring Pennsylvania, egg production rose 2 percent to 710.9 million eggs in March from 694.6 million eggs a year earlier, NASS reported.