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Oneida County reports 4 COVID deaths in last day, other data improves
UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County on Monday reported that four county residents died from COVID-19 on Sunday. That followed one death on Friday and none

Upstate Medical to break ground on Upstate Cancer Center in Verona on Oct. 20
VERONA, N.Y. — Upstate Medical University plans to break ground on its new Upstate Cancer Center in Verona next Wednesday, Oct. 20. The upcoming 30,000-square-foot

Crews finish transforming school into $22 million Endicott Square housing development
ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Workers have completed a $22 million renovation of the “underutilized” Henry B. Endicott School building into 61 affordable apartments in the village

NYPA CEO, Quiniones, leaving for top job at Illinois utility with CNY connection
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Gil Quiniones, president and CEO of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), has resigned from the position after 10 years to

$40M renovation of CNY Psychiatric Center starts in Oneida County
MARCY, N.Y. — Work has started on a $40 million modernization of the Office of Mental Health’s Central New York Psychiatric Center and Secure Treatment and Rehabilitation Center campus in Marcy in Oneida County. The project undertaken by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York will overhaul 100,000 square feet of the facility,
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MARCY, N.Y. — Work has started on a $40 million modernization of the Office of Mental Health’s Central New York Psychiatric Center and Secure Treatment and Rehabilitation Center campus in Marcy in Oneida County.
The project undertaken by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York will overhaul 100,000 square feet of the facility, including its infrastructure, according to a Sept. 29 news release from the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Crews will renovate Building 77 and the Building 39 Medical Suite, including the campus pharmacy and kitchen. The project will include upgrades to the electrical, lighting, data, and security systems, HVAC replacement, selective demolition, and asbestos and PCB abatement.
The work includes the installation of new boilers, chillers, pumps, and a new chilled water and heating-water distribution system. Both buildings will be occupied throughout the duration of construction, the release noted.
Delta Engineers, Architects, & Surveyors says on its website that it is the prime consultant for this extensive renovation of key building systems and safety infrastructure at the CNY Psychiatric Center campus. Delta is based in Endwell and also has offices in DeWitt, Vernon, and Schenectady.
The CNY Psychiatric Center provides inpatient services for inmates in custody of the state Department of Corrections and Community Services and pre-trial detainees from 25 upstate county jails, as well as restoration services for individuals found unfit to stand trial. The Secure Treatment and Rehabilitation Center provides residential treatment to individuals ordered confined under New York’s Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act.

SRC wins $14.5 million Air Force contract for MDACE technology
CICERO, N.Y. — SRC, Inc. has been recently awarded a nearly $14.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for Multi-Domain Agile Condor Enhancements (MDACE) software prototype/hardware. SRC is a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Cicero that focuses on areas that include defense, environment, and intelligence. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract provides for the research and development of
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CICERO, N.Y. — SRC, Inc. has been recently awarded a nearly $14.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for Multi-Domain Agile Condor Enhancements (MDACE) software prototype/hardware.
SRC is a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Cicero that focuses on areas that include defense, environment, and intelligence.
The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract provides for the research and development of widely applicable technologies that increase perception, adaptability, re-configurability, resiliency, self-optimization, security, and autonomy for energy-efficient, agile Air Force platforms. That’s according to an Oct. 8 contract announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Work will be performed in Cicero and is expected to be completed by Oct. 8, 2024. This award resulted from a competitive acquisition in which two offers were received, per the contract announcement. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test, and evaluation funds totaling $2,030,471 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome is the contracting authority.
Stifel renews lease for Skaneateles office
SKANEATELES, N.Y. — The national financial-services firm Stifel recently renewed the lease of its Skaneateles branch office. Stifel’s office is located in suite 2 at 36 Jordan St. in the village of Skaneateles. Randy Powers is the office branch manager and a financial advisor, according to the Stifel website. Frederick Shibel and Dan Wright are
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SKANEATELES, N.Y. — The national financial-services firm Stifel recently renewed the lease of its Skaneateles branch office.
Stifel’s office is located in suite 2 at 36 Jordan St. in the village of Skaneateles. Randy Powers is the office branch manager and a financial advisor, according to the Stifel website. Frederick Shibel and Dan Wright are also financial advisors at this location.
Bill Evertz and Sam Vulcano from Cushman & Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Company negotiated the lease renewal. Evertz represented the landlord and Vulcano represented the tenant, Stifel.
Sonbyrne Sales, Inc. owns the 36 Jordan St. property, which has a 2021 total assessment of more than $576,000, according to Onondaga County’s online real-estate records.

USDA launches $100M loan-guarantee program to expand meat and poultry processing capacity
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Oct. 4 announced that the department is planning for another $100 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The money would leverage hundreds of millions more in lending through community and private-sector lenders to expand meat and poultry processing capacity and finance other food supply-chain
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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Oct. 4 announced that the department is planning for another $100 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The money would leverage hundreds of millions more in lending through community and private-sector lenders to expand meat and poultry processing capacity and finance other food supply-chain infrastructure. The goal is to expand competition and alleviate bottlenecks in the food-supply chain that were exacerbated by the pandemic and helped lead to meat shortages and higher prices.
The USDA plans to publish specific details on the new program and how to apply as part of USDA’s Build Back Better Initiative, a plan to invest $4 billion to “strengthen the resiliency of America’s food supply chain while promoting competition.” The new commitment of $100 million for loan guarantees comes on top of the previously announced $500 million in federal spending to expand meat and poultry processing capacity.
Through this program, USDA will use $100 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to “catalyze millions more in lending available for working capital, facilities, equipment, and other investments.” The loan guarantees seek to help to start up or expand businesses in the food supply chain that aggregate, process, manufacture, wholesale, or distribute food; address supply-chain disruptions; and increase the resiliency of the food supply chain.
The USDA is preparing to issue a notice soon to announce eligibility requirements and the application window.

The company that’s building its $1 billion Mohawk Valley Fab near Utica is now operating under a new name. Durham, North Carolina–based Cree Inc. has changed its name to Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE: WOLF). The renamed firm specializes in silicon-carbide technology and production. The Mohawk Valley Fab — which is under construction at the Marcy Nanocenter on the
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The company that’s building its $1 billion Mohawk Valley Fab near Utica is now operating under a new name.
Durham, North Carolina–based Cree Inc. has changed its name to Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE: WOLF). The renamed firm specializes in silicon-carbide technology and production.
The Mohawk Valley Fab — which is under construction at the Marcy Nanocenter on the SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Marcy — has been described by New York State as the “world’s largest silicon carbide device manufacturing facility.”
The company in early November 2020 said it expects production to begin there in 2022.
Wolfspeed has served as the brand name for the company’s silicon-carbide materials and semiconductor-devices business unit for the past six years. The company contends the name Wolfspeed “conveys both the noble traits of the wolf — leadership, intelligence and endurance — and speed, characterized by the pace at which the company innovates and operates…”
“Today officially marks a transformative milestone for Wolfspeed as we are now a pure-play global semiconductor powerhouse,” Gregg Lowe, CEO at Wolfspeed, said. “The next generation in power semiconductors will be driven by Silicon Carbide technology, with superior performance that unleashes new possibilities and positive changes to the way we live.”
Lowe joined the company in September 2017.
Wolfspeed says it has forged multi-year, long-term materials agreements totaling more than $1.3 billion across several industries, has a device pipeline that totals more than $15 billion, and an increased production capacity 30 times larger than previous facility plans.
The company says its technology is key to the electrification of the drivetrain to support the shift to electric vehicles, wireless infrastructure to unlock the potential of smart cities, and power storage to enable broader adoption of renewable energy.

With upcoming retirement, Preferred Mutual appoints new leadership
The firm on Oct. 4 announced the promotion of R. Benedikt Sander to the role of president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. PMIC has also promoted Jeffrey Lopata to COO and executive VP, also effective at the beginning of the new year, per a company news release. Preferred Mutual Insurance is based in New Berlin
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The firm on Oct. 4 announced the promotion of R. Benedikt Sander to the role of president and CEO, effective Jan. 1.
PMIC has also promoted Jeffrey Lopata to COO and executive VP, also effective at the beginning of the new year, per a company news release.
Preferred Mutual Insurance is based in New Berlin in Chenango County.
PMIC’s current CEO, Christopher Taft, will be retiring but will become the chairman of the company’s board of directors. In that role, Taft replaces Robert Wadsworth, who will continue to support PMIC as a member of the board.
“As we position PMIC for its next chapter, we’ve identified an opportunity to strengthen our corporate structure by promoting two individuals who will lead PMIC into the future,” said Taft. “My new role as chairman of the board will allow me an opportunity to continue to focus on shaping the culture and strategic direction of PMIC in partnership with our leadership team.”
Sander, who joined PMIC in June 2019, has been serving as EVP, insurance operations, and has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the insurance industry. In his time at PMIC, he has supported strategies to improve company growth and profitability as well as initiatives that “foster strong relationships” with employees, agents and business partners.
“I am humbled to be PMIC’s next leader and am looking forward to continuing its proud 125-year-old tradition of being centered on our community, our policyholders, our agents and all our employees,” Sander said. “We have a supremely talented team at PMIC and I look forward to working closely with Jeff Lopata, the leadership team, our new chairman Chris Taft, and the board of directors as we chart the course to continued success.”
Lopata, who has been serving as EVP, chief strategy officer, has worked on PMIC’s strategic-planning initiatives across several key areas of the company during his 17-year tenure. Those areas include information technology, enterprise project management, and the development of many business strategies and services.
In business since 1896, Preferred Mutual Insurance Company provides property and casualty insurance coverage to more than 232,000 individual and business customers through a network of more than 500 independent agents throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
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