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CenterState CEO announces finalists in five categories for the annual Business of the Year awards
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — CenterState CEO has announced finalists in five categories for the 2023 Business of the Year awards. The awards “celebrate member companies and

Oneida County’s UAS Test Site receives new FAA flight authority for larger drones
ROME, N.Y. — Drones flying between Syracuse and Rome are getting bigger and heavier with authorization from the FAA for Oneida County’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Schumer says guidance released on investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturers
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) on Thursday announced the initial guidance for the investment tax credit (ITC) for semiconductor manufacturing is now available.

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor to use grant to support adaptive recreation
WATERFORD, N.Y. — The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor announced it will use grant funding of nearly $9,500 to support adaptive recreation along the Erie

Oneida County hotel-occupancy rate drops more than 4 percent in February
UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County’s hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) fell 4.2 percent to 49.6 percent in February from the

New York Credit Union Foundation adds Alternatives Credit Union CEO as trustee
ITHACA, N.Y. — Kevin Mietlicki, president and CEO of Alternatives Credit Union in Ithaca, became a trustee of the New York Credit Union Foundation at the start of this year. He will serve a three-year term on its board. “Credit unions that I have been a part of in the past have used the Foundation,”
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ITHACA, N.Y. — Kevin Mietlicki, president and CEO of Alternatives Credit Union in Ithaca, became a trustee of the New York Credit Union Foundation at the start of this year. He will serve a three-year term on its board.
“Credit unions that I have been a part of in the past have used the Foundation,” Mietlicki said in a foundation news release. “I hope to spread the word so that more credit unions will see the Foundation’s value.”
The New York Credit Union Foundation is the charitable arm of the New York Credit Union Association (NYCUA). The trustees are responsible for overseeing the operations of the foundation while establishing policies and grant programs to help fulfill its mission of positively impacting New Yorkers through credit unions. By providing grants and other financial aid, the foundation helps credit unions to teach critical financial skills to adults, youth, and children; enhance member service with new technologies and initiatives; provide staff and volunteers with training opportunities; and distribute relief funds to those impacted by natural disasters.
Alternatives is a community development financial institution (CDFI) credit union serving Tompkins, Tioga, Cortland, Cayuga, Seneca, Schuyler, Steuben, and Chemung counties.

Two Onondaga County firms certified as service-disabled veteran-owned businesses
New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner Jeanette Moy recently announced that a pair of Onondaga County businesses have each been certified as a service-disabled veteran-owned business (SDVOB). The New York OGS Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development (DSDVBD) issued the certification to Crossett Hospitality Group, LLC, which is located in Syracuse and
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New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner Jeanette Moy recently announced that a pair of Onondaga County businesses have each been certified as a service-disabled veteran-owned business (SDVOB).
The New York OGS Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development (DSDVBD) issued the certification to Crossett Hospitality Group, LLC, which is located in Syracuse and leases residential buildings and dwellings; and to Integrated Solutions Delivered, LLC, which is based in Skaneateles and specializes in construction management (as owner’s representative) and consulting services.
The two LLCs were among nine newly certified businesses across the state announced by the OGS on Jan. 26. The DSDVBD was created by New York State government in May 2014 through enactment of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act. The state had 1,061 certified businesses, as of Jan. 26.
For a business to receive certification, one or more service-disabled veterans — with a service-connected disability rating of 10 percent or more from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (or from the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs for National Guard veterans) — must own at least 51 percent of the company. Other criteria include: the business must be independently owned and operated and have a significant business presence in New York, it must have conducted business for at least one year prior to the application date, and it must qualify as a small business under the New York State program. Several more requirements also need to be met.
Lockheed Martin’s Salina plant awarded $8.4 million Navy contract modification
SALINA — Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (NYSE: LMT) facility in suburban Syracuse has won a more than $8.4 million adjustment to a previously awarded contract from the U.S. Navy to exercise options for Navy equipment and engineering services. Work on the fixed-price-incentive-fee modification will be performed in the town of Salina (66 percent); Millersville, Maryland (33
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SALINA — Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (NYSE: LMT) facility in suburban Syracuse has won a more than $8.4 million adjustment to a previously awarded contract from the U.S. Navy to exercise options for Navy equipment and engineering services.
Work on the fixed-price-incentive-fee modification will be performed in the town of Salina (66 percent); Millersville, Maryland (33 percent); and Marion, Massachusetts (1 percent). It is expected to be completed by January 2025, according to a March 7 contract announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds of $5.6 million (66 percent); fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds totaling $1.4 million (17 percent); and fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds of $1.4 million (17 percent) will be obligated at the time of award. The funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, the announcement stated. The Naval Sea Systems Command at Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. is the contracting activity.
Onondaga County hotels see 10 percent rise in occupancy in January
SYRACUSE — Onondaga County hotels opened 2023 with another solid increase in business activity, according to a recent report. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county climbed 10 percent to 44.5 percent in the first month of the year compared to January 2022, according to STR, a
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SYRACUSE — Onondaga County hotels opened 2023 with another solid increase in business activity, according to a recent report.
The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county climbed 10 percent to 44.5 percent in the first month of the year compared to January 2022, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. It followed a year of 12 straight monthly gains in occupancy, ranging from more than 6 percent to nearly 34 percent.
Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, jumped 22.7 percent to $47.16 in Onondaga County in January from a year earlier.
Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, increased 11.6 percent to $105.91 in January compared to January 2022.

New York snap-bean production rose 5 percent in 2022
New York farmers produced an estimated 1.86 million cwt (hundredweight) of snap beans (also called green beans or string beans) last year, up 5 percent from the 2021 estimate, according to a recent government report. The average yield per acre was estimated at 75 cwt in 2022, unchanged from the prior year’s average yield, per
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New York farmers produced an estimated 1.86 million cwt (hundredweight) of snap beans (also called green beans or string beans) last year, up 5 percent from the 2021 estimate, according to a recent government report.
The average yield per acre was estimated at 75 cwt in 2022, unchanged from the prior year’s average yield, per a Feb. 15 release from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), New York Field Office.
Area harvested for snap beans in the Empire State was pegged at 24,800 acres last year, up 5 percent from 2021. The value of production totaled $44.5 million in 2022, which was a 61 percent jump from the previous year’s figures.
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