Local Yahoo! workers will be holding their breath this morning as the company is expected to announce around 2,000 layoffs worldwide.
According to the New York Times, the layoffs are part of a broader reorganization under Scott Thompson, Yahoo
Yahoo! workers in Lockport fearful of cuts
April 4, 2012 By
Audio: Rockford airport director says Falls isn’t alone in Direct Air anger
April 3, 2012 By
The demise of Direct Air didn’t only hurt Niagara County, which saw a full cancellation of flights out of Niagara Falls International Airport. The regional carrier left a number of smaller airports throughout the country scrambling after it ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy.
We talked a few weeks back with Henry Sloma, the NFTA interim chair and a Lewiston resident, and he said it wasn’t the Falls, but other airports that took down the carrier.
But Mike Dunn, the director of Chicago Rockford International Airport, contacted us to challenge Sloma’s statements.
Dunn said the loads out of Rockford were as good as they were here in the Falls, with 99 percent of the seats for March’s flights sold.
Dunn added that all regional airports who had counted on Direct Air are bitter about the way the company handled the situation.
Because the airline says it plans to reorganize and resume flights in May, neither credit card companies nor the airline will issue refunds.
Here’s a statement Dunn issued:
I
The Soapbox with Craig Avery (April 2, 2012): Rob Brawn, Custom Bench Advertising
April 2, 2012 By
The great thing about guys like Rob Brawn, who runs the Niagara Falls-based Custom Bench Corp., is that you’re just as likely to find him helping to clean up the area in front of his shop as you are to see him processing a transaction. Rob’s benches provide a seat for those taking local transportation, as well as a chance for local advertisers to get their word out. Hear his story as he comes into The Hub!
And Craig has a great idea, how about running the rapids on one of Rob’s benches?
Tired of the naysayers? Check out “The Soapbox” where everyday we present a new friend of the Hub making a living here in Western New York, and can speak positively about the experience. Learn about businesses that have been here for decades, or hear about new ventures from our area’s entrepreneurs. Upcoming events, political issues, and funny stories of days gone by, you’ll hear it all on Niagara Hub’s Soapbox.
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A new episode posts every weekday at 2 p.m.!
New York’s sales tax exemption is back in effect
April 2, 2012 By
Got a trip to the mall or out to your favorite local retailer on your planner? Might be time.
New York state’s sales tax exemption on clothing purchases under $110 was fully reinstated yesterday.
From October of 2010 to March of 2011, the exemption was repealed as the state sought to raise an additional $330 million in revenue.
The exemption was phased back in for purchases of less than $55 from April of 2011 to last month.
The state imposes a four percent tax on clothing and footwear that exceeds the exemption limit.
The Soapbox with Craig Avery (March 30, 2012): Jennifer Pauly, Niagara River Region chamber
March 30, 2012 By
A business association that grew into a chamber of commerce helps the northtowns to work together. The group’s president, Jennifer Pauly, stopped by The Hub to discuss her role in managing business, historic, and community concerns from her membership with the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce.
We need your comments! Please listen to this week’s Soapbox and hear what each agency and association has to say.
Then let us know if you have ideas related to the topics.
The Soapbox with Craig Avery (March 29, 2012): Candace Corsaro, Hyde Park Business Association
March 29, 2012 By
Hyde Park is certainly one of the jewels of Niagara, and Candace Corsaro aims to turn it into the whole treasure chest. Hear what’s going on and how she gets her support and ideas for working together.
Click to hear the services they offer and the relationships they foster in Niagara County.
We need your comments! Please listen to this week’s Soapbox and hear what each agency and association has to say.
Then let us know if you have ideas related to the topics.
Video: Lewiston’s Hibbard’s set to open new addition next week
March 28, 2012 By
When the owners and staff at a local landmark tried to assess the needs of modern-day Lewiston, they realized a slice of the past might be exactly what’s in order.
That’s the reason for the expansion at Hibbard’s, which is scheduled to become a full-service restaurant next Monday when the addition opens and the business starts selling more than just custard.
Marley McCormick, longtime manager at Hibbard’s, said the idea resembles the one the family had decades ago, when the group sold fish fries and hamburgers.
“In the past few years, we’ve found a need for a restaurant like that. Obviously, we have a lot of great restaurants here, but they’re all sitdown, you spend an hour or two. But not something you can something on the fly,” McCormick said. “We have a lot of pizza. But not so much sandwiches, hamburgers, good summer day food. That inspired us to reincarnate the old dream of the custard and the hot dog.”
McCormick said the old restaurant was on the same grounds as the new addition.
“I don’t know what the layout was like,” she joked. “It was way before my time.”
Hibbard’s will make hamburgers and cheeseburgers with their own recipe, and will offer Hofmann’s hot dogs out of Syracuse.
“They’re delicious,” McCormick said of the hot dogs. “And we’re making our own beef on weck as well. We’ll have daily specials, like mac and cheese and different sandwiches. And we’ll have fresh-cut curly-Q French fries.”
McCormick said plans for the extenstion started at the end of the season in 2010, but it took a while to get the ball rolling. The restaurant is owned by Jim and Harold Hibbard, Jim being the brother of the original owner while Harold is the son of the original owner.
With a new contractor on the project, however, the site should be ready by next week, and with a big summer of events scheduled for Academy Park, McCormick said that’s sure to keep things busy.
“There are definitely using this space a lot better. They’re going to put more parking in and they’re hoping to have more events there,” McCormick said. “And that would be beautiful for us. You can go wrong with the park right across the street, right?”
The new addition will be open year-round, and although the hours will start from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., McCormick said that will be adjusted accordingly.
“The good thing about having the restaurant open is that we can serve the custard year-round,” McCormick said. “We can get people their fix.”
See McCormick below discussing the new restaurant.
New human resource website helps keep Lew-Port student’s memory alive
March 28, 2012 By
Maybe more than most, Jeannine Brown Miller understands the human in
Soapbox with Craig Avery (March 28, 2012): Ron Anderluh, Niagara Street Business Association
March 28, 2012 By
A great example of successful management of the services offered by business associations, Ron Anderluh speaks about his role on Niagara Street, and as a board member of the Niagara USA Chamber.
We need your comments! Please listen to this week’s Soapbox and hear what each agency and association has to say.
Then let us know if you have ideas related to the topics.
Officials hoping to weather storm as AES transfer looms
March 28, 2012 By
Local leaders who have long bet on coal are preparing to double-down on the natural resource, hoping that drying up rainy-day funds will get them through a tough patch in the industry that’s pushed the county’s largest taxpayer to the brink of extinction.
Many have been preparing for the next step on the AES Somerset plant upon hearing that the company was filing for bankruptcy.
Members from the Town of Somerset, the Barker School District and Niagara County will all meet with members of the county’s IDA on Wednesday to discuss plans for the plant.
This isn’t a new scenario, as the groups have been through multiple negotiations before, but this one presents a different twist.
The bondholders who are expected to assume control of the plant next week have yet to close on the plant and they need a new PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement to do so.
Town of Somerset Supervisor Dan Engert said he was part of a group that met with the plant’s leadership last week and no qualified bidders have come forward to buy the plant.
Engert admits there are no factions looking to squeeze money out of the plant now, as many just hope it can survive.
“There was a side before that would say, they’re making all kinds of money, and there’d be a discussion about the value. But that’s not been part of our discussion at this point,” he said. “The school, the town, the county all recognize that this is a worst case scenario.”
According to officials, the purchase agreement will be acted on by the court later this week.
Next week is when the group needs to have an agreement on what the value of the plant is. Engert said that means plenty of nervous waiting.
Officials for AES have said this is part of a cycle that’s keeping the coal industry down, but they don’t expect it to last more than a few years.
“We’re going to approach this from the perspective that we’re going to give everything we can for two years,” Engert said. “We’re going to tighten, tighten, tighten for two years, and use reserves that were taken in for this very reason. And we’re going to try to weather it.
“Hopefully, on the end of that two-year cycle, an energy company will purchase the plant and the value goes up.”
AES is the county’s largest taxpayer,