The newly appointed head of New York's chief economic development agency, Empire State Development, dogged Syracuse as a region for growth in nanotech, reports Rick Moriarty at the Post-Standard. Writing in a downstate blog, City Hall, Ken Adams suggests corporal punishment for regional economic development officials who don't want to play by the state's rules:
“We need to be viewed in an entirely different light, if we want to attract investments from other states and other countries,” the publication quoted him as saying. “And that means being very clear that the Capital Region, for example, is the official home for nanoscale science. Period. If someone comes along and says ‘I want to do nanoscale science in Syracuse,’ they should be taken out to the wood shed. You can’t do it.” It is not clear whether Adams was aware of the nanotech project in Salina when he made the statement to City Hall. He could not be reached for comment. But local officials are hoping Adams will back the project that is projected to employ 250 people.
The paper couldn't get in touch with Adams - he's been tough to reach since being nominated by the governor on January 27. The Innovation Trail's Ryan Morden is following up.
New old head for Center for Economic Growth
David Rooney has returned to Albany's Center for Economic Growth after a seven year layover at Berkshire Economic Development Corp., reports Larry Rulison at the Times Union:
"We're at one of those critical junctions," Rooney said Monday. "This is our opportunity to play a central role in the region's growth." Rooney will spend a lot of his time on the road to promote the region at trade shows worldwide. That was the job of Brian Hannafin, who left CEG in December to join M+W U.S., the company building the GlobalFoundries factory.
Housing prices flat
Housing prices in December in western New York were pretty much the same as they were in 2009. But that could be a good thing, reports Jonathan Epstein of the Buffalo News:
But while the number of transactions stayed level, prices rose. The average sale price was up 7 percent from a year ago to $136,636, although that was flat from November's $136,866. The median price rose 11 percent to $116,500, but was almost flat from $116,000 in November. Both were records for the month of December. Median means that half the prices were higher and half were lower.
Recession reinvention
Did a lost job force you to reinvent? The Press & Sun-Bulletin is looking for people in Broome County who came out of the recession with a new line of work.
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