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Officials hold groundbreaking for Interstate 81 viaduct-replacement project
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Federal, state, and local officials on Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project that remains the subject

Mohawk Valley EDGE accepting proposals for St. Luke’s campus reuse
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley EDGE has opened a request for proposals (RFP) for the repurposing of the St. Luke’s campus once Mohawk Valley

Bond, Schoeneck & King elects new management committee chair
The Syracuse–based firm’s membership has elected Brian J. Butler as its chair, succeeding Kevin M. Bernstein who served as chair for two four-year terms, the

People news: BeerBoard hires sales-development executive
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — BeerBoard — a Syracuse–based provider of technology solutions and alcohol management to restaurants, bars, and beer companies — announced it has appointed

MVHS residency program graduates 11 doctors, with five of them staying in the area to work
UTICA, N.Y. — Eleven doctors graduated on June 30 from the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program, bringing the total number of family physicians completing the three-year, post-doctoral training program to 327. The program is an affiliate of Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS). Program participants trained and provided care at the St. Elizabeth campus of
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UTICA, N.Y. — Eleven doctors graduated on June 30 from the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program, bringing the total number of family physicians completing the three-year, post-doctoral training program to 327. The program is an affiliate of Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS).
Program participants trained and provided care at the St. Elizabeth campus of MVHS, the Sister Rose Vincent Family Medicine Center on Hobart Street, the Women’s Health Center, and at the Faxton and St. Luke’s campuses as affiliates of MVHS, according to Residency Program Director T. Eric Schackow.
Five of this year’s graduates will stay in the area to work, with four of those joining MVHS primary-care practices. Historically, half of the program’s graduates have settled in the upstate region to practice, adding to the primary-care workforce and helping to alleviate the area’s physician shortage.
The graduates are: Kwadwo Ansong, Victor Avila Macias, Jessica S. Baik, Mary Juliana Bapana, Benjamin Flinn, Pete Htwe, Angelina M. Nitto, Priscilla Merli Palomar, Ronald Siregar, Phyu Phyu Thwe, and Sun Koo Yoo.
Macias will work as an inpatient hospitalist for MVHS, Bapana will work in the MVHS Washington Mills Medical Office, Htwe will work in the MVHS East Utica Medical Office, and Thwe will practice primary care at MVHS Medical Group’s North Utica office. Meanwhile, Nitto will work in outpatient and school-based health in Oneonta.
A graduation ceremony and dinner were held at Hart’s Hill Inn in Whitesboro and several awards were presented.
The St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program started in 1975, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and by the American Osteopathic Association. It is affiliated with SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse; University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, Maine; and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Schuyler Health Foundation names two new board members, three officers
MONTOUR FALLS, N.Y. — The Schuyler Health Foundation recently welcomed new board members, Dr. Joseph Mannino and Kathie Notarfonzo. Dr. Mannino recently retired from orthopedics medicine. He cared for Cayuga Health patients for more than 20 years. During his tenure, he took a strategic role in the early affiliation process as he cared for patients
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MONTOUR FALLS, N.Y. — The Schuyler Health Foundation recently welcomed new board members, Dr. Joseph Mannino and Kathie Notarfonzo.
Dr. Mannino recently retired from orthopedics medicine. He cared for Cayuga Health patients for more than 20 years. During his tenure, he took a strategic role in the early affiliation process as he cared for patients at Schuyler Hospital, as well as Cayuga Medical Center. Born and raised in Brooklyn and Queens, Mannino is a member of the Trumansburg community. He recently demonstrated his life-long commitment to service by signing up for the Army Reserve Corps.

Notarfonzo has been in the Watkins Glen area since the age of 11 and is a local business owner of Inner Peace Floats and Exercise Enterprise. Working for the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for 37 years, she is currently assistant regional director. Notarfonzo also serves on the Advisory Council for Catholic Charities, volunteers for M.R. Hess Homeworks, and participates in many local community fundraisers.
The Schuyler Health Foundation also appointed the following board officers: Brenda Warren-Fitch, as chair; Tom Phillips, as vice-chair; and Jerry Mickelson, as secretary/treasurer.
The Schuyler Health Foundation says its mission is to inspire philanthropy in its communities to support the highest quality and equitable health-care services at Schuyler Hospital and Seneca View Skilled Nursing Facility.
Schuyler Hospital, part of Ithaca–based Cayuga Health, is a 16-bed critical access hospital, with a 120-bed skilled nursing facility attached. Schuyler Hospital’s main campus — overlooking Seneca Lake — is located in Montour Falls.
For more than 100 years, Schuyler Hospital has been the primary health-care provider in and around Schuyler County. It has evolved over the years into a network of providers, programs, and services that reaches throughout Schuyler County and into neighboring counties to meet the health-care needs of a population of over 32,000 residents.

CNY Community Foundation names two new board members
SYRACUSE — The Central New York Community Foundation board of directors recently elected two new board members. Warren Hilton, president of Onondaga Community College (OCC), and Leyla Z. Morgillo, a financial planner at Madison Financial Planning Group, were both appointed to serve their first three-year term. Before becoming OCC president, Hilton served as the VP
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SYRACUSE — The Central New York Community Foundation board of directors recently elected two new board members.
Warren Hilton, president of Onondaga Community College (OCC), and Leyla Z. Morgillo, a financial planner at Madison Financial Planning Group, were both appointed to serve their first three-year term.
Before becoming OCC president, Hilton served as the VP of enrollment management and student affairs at Kutztown University. He earned his doctorate degree in education from Drexel University, a master’s degree in student affairs in higher education and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Hilton is the immediate past board chair of the HealthSpark Foundation, and previously served on the board of the Lehigh Valley Red Cross and as a member of the Minsi Trail Boy Scouts Urban Scouting initiative.

Morgillo has more than 15 years of experience in the financial-services industry. She received bachelor’s degrees in economics and international relations from Syracuse University. Morgillo holds the certified financial planner (CFP) certification and is treasurer of the Financial Planning Association of Central New York, having recently finished her term as president.
The CNY Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1927. It receives contributions from donors, manages them to grow over time, and then distributes funding to address the region’s greatest needs. The foundation says it has invested more than
$270 million in community projects that benefit Central New York.
New York corn planted area jumps 10 percent in 2023
New York farms planted corn for all purposes on an estimated 1.13 million acres this year, up 10 percent from the 2022 planted area of 1.03 million acres, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) New York field office. The 2023 total is the highest in a decade. Empire State growers expect to
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New York farms planted corn for all purposes on an estimated 1.13 million acres this year, up 10 percent from the 2022 planted area of 1.03 million acres, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) New York field office. The 2023 total is the highest in a decade.
Empire State growers expect to harvest 650,000 acres for corn for grain in 2023, up 13 percent from 575,000 acres last year.
This year’s U.S. corn planted area for all purposes is estimated at 94.1 million acres, up 6.2 percent from 88.6 million acres in 2022, according to the USDA. Growers expect to harvest 86.3 million acres for corn for grain in 2023, up 9 percent from 79.2 million acres a year ago.

WCNY to use nearly $500K state grant for film industry workforce development
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The WCNY Entertainment Academy is coming this fall with the goal of workforce development for the film industry. WCNY in Syracuse will use a state grant of nearly $500,000 for the effort. The funding comes from the state’s grant program targeting entertainment workforce diversity, Empire State Development (ESD) said in a news
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The WCNY Entertainment Academy is coming this fall with the goal of workforce development for the film industry.
WCNY in Syracuse will use a state grant of nearly $500,000 for the effort. The funding comes from the state’s grant program targeting entertainment workforce diversity, Empire State Development (ESD) said in a news release about the grant funding.
The academy will train the next generation of television and film-production engineers, electricians, set designers, sound mixers, and camera operators to help support the growing entertainment industry in Central New York, ESD said.
To apply for the WCNY Entertainment Academy, visit WCNY.org/academy.
WCNY is a public-communications organization located at 415 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse.
The WCNY Entertainment Academy, which is scheduled to open this fall, will train a diverse group of people ages 25 to 39 in one of three annual 14-week training sessions with about 16 trainees per session, ESD said.
The curriculum will be taught by local union representatives, experienced staff at WCNY, and adjunct faculty members and guest lecturers from across the entertainment industry.
Graduates will earn certifications and will develop relationships that may lead to union membership and job placements.
They will also have the chance to gain professional and life skills in areas focused on television and film-production roles.
I.A.T.S.E. Local 52 will collaborate with WCNY to provide instructors for the program and offer a “real-world baseline of knowledge” and specific skills in grip, electric, video, sound, and shopcraft, which are necessary for graduates to be “job-ready” upon completion.
“This initiative fits the goals we have for WCNY to provide education, create economic opportunity, and enhance quality of life,” Mitch Gelman, president and CEO of WCNY, said in the ESD release. “The Academy builds on the education services WCNY offers and will give us the opportunity to expand our commitment to help further workforce development.”
The funding award comes from the “first-in-the-nation” grant program targeting entertainment workforce diversity, ESD said. The program helps pay for job training and workforce development across the state’s entertainment industry.
It is financed by a percentage from the state’s film tax-credit program.
The program is designed to “further diversify” the industry by targeting residents of economically distressed areas of the state and “creating a pathway” to permanent jobs in film and television production, ESD said. The grant will complement more than $300,000 that WCNY will contribute to launching the Entertainment Academy, it added.

OCC to use $50K Amazon donation to support its student-success coaches
ONONDAGA — Onondaga Community College (OCC) will use an Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) donation of $50,000 to support student-success coaches at the college. The Seattle, Washington–based e-commerce giant operates a massive fulfillment center at 7211 Morgan Road in Clay and a delivery station at 6834 Kirkville Road in DeWitt. In October 2022, Amazon chose OCC to
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ONONDAGA — Onondaga Community College (OCC) will use an Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) donation of $50,000 to support student-success coaches at the college.
The Seattle, Washington–based e-commerce giant operates a massive fulfillment center at 7211 Morgan Road in Clay and a delivery station at 6834 Kirkville Road in DeWitt.
In October 2022, Amazon chose OCC to be its partner in the Career Choice program. Career Choice provides Amazon’s hourly employees the opportunity to take classes at OCC at Amazon’s expense, the school said. Employees can focus on the academic programs of their choosing and learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere.
During the spring 2023 semester nearly two dozen Amazon employees took advantage of Career Choice, OCC noted.
“We are grateful to Amazon for their partnership with us at Onondaga Community College. From the Career Choice program, which is already changing lives, to today’s support of our Student Success Coaches, Amazon is truly making a difference,” Warren Hilton, president of OCC, said in a release. “Their transformational support is paying dividends today and will continue to do so in the future.”
The responsibilities of student-success coaches include monitoring student academic progress and providing “proactive and just-in-time” guidance and support.
They also include providing a “sense of community” by organizing educational and social events for students in their respective school; guiding students through the higher-education landscape and managing competing demands from school, family, and work; and collaborating with colleagues and departments across the institution to provide “holistic support and meet the unique needs of individual students.”
“We know that OCC’s Student Success Coaches program is a critical resource for supporting students as they achieve their education goals,” Carley Graham Garcia, Amazon’s head of community affairs in New York, said “It’s also a great way to support Amazonians who are taking advantage of Career Choice and all the benefits it has to offer them and other employer-sponsored students.”
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