Social media job search
The Times-Union reports that many firms are relying exclusively on social media to make their hires:
With more than 500 million users on Facebook, 160 million on Twitter and 75 million on LinkedIn, social media are a growing avenue for employers to reach out to fill open positions and for potential employees to find jobs. Those statistics, combined with the competitive job market and the 6.8 percent local unemployment rate, add up to a new mandate for career-minded men and women: Get a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account and learn how to use it.
Empire state of mind
The Democrat and Chronicle's Vote Up blog reminds us that New York is far from over the hump when it comes to state budget gaps, so the gubernatorial election is a high stakes game.
And in advance of November's elections, the Times-Union has a big spread about property taxes, calling them a "nightmare," and a "labyrinthine disaster." Tell us how you really feel!
Nuclear security
Senator Schumer wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to require better training and more background checks for workers at nuclear power plants. From the Post-Standard:
Schumer said the audit from the NRC Inspector General recommended improving employee training so that workers can better identify potential terrorists, and allowing the NRC direct access to background-check databases, as opposed to relying on information provided by third parties.
Community college summit
A partnership between a community college outside Buffalo and a power company in need of employees to replace retirees will be on the agenda at the White House today. Erie Community College's president has been invited to the White House Summit on Community Colleges, according to the Buffalo News. The novel program provides students with immediate employment opportunities.
Eco challenge
It ain't easy going green, according to a Post-Standard piece about green building. The paper has an update on three green building projects with a "steep learning curve."
Borrowing and banking
The Buffalo News asks "what's next" for M&T, now that the bank has ended merger talks with a Spanish firm. M&T's biggest shareholder, Allied Irish Banks, or AIB, is getting antsy:
While their options are generally well-known — find another bank to buy it, get a handful of other major investors to split it, or disperse it in a broad public offering—AIB isn’t discussing its plans, leaving everyone guessing.
Historically low (or non-existent) interest rates are spurring corporations to borrow madly - but they're not spending the money on new facilities or hiring, according to the New York Times.
Unfair broadband
As the Innovation Trail's Dan Bazile pointed out last week, many in New York struggle with few options for broadband, or none at all. But today the Post-Standard reports that state dollars are going to subsidize a broadband start-up in a region where there already two high speed Internet providers.
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