LI Business News articles from December 2005

LI Business News archives from December 2005

Newsday eliminates 110 jobs.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Carl Corry Newsday fired 70 non-editorial staffers today and said it eliminated another 40 open jobs as the daily newspaper continues efforts to cut costs following a circulation scandal that erupted nearly two years ago.The cuts...

Cablevision's chairman breaks with industry.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter Breaking with the cable television industry, Cablevision Systems said it supported the "a la carte" pricing proposal of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin.In a statement, Cablevision Chairman...

KeySpan chairman: Brace for higher winter gas bills.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter Long Islanders will be facing natural gas bills that are 30 percent to 40 percent higher than last year if the region has a "normal winter," said Robert Catell, chairman of KeySpan Corp.Speaking at the Long Island...

S&P upgrades Nassau bond rating.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Carl Corry Wall Street ratings agency Standard and Poor's has upgraded Nassau County's long-term bond rating, citing steady improvement in the county's finances.The upgrade, which brought the county's rating to "A" from "A-", was...

Arrow buys majority stake in Taiwan distributor.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik Shares of Arrow Electronics Inc. jumped 5 percent to $32.47 in midday trading after the firm said it's acquiring 70 percent of Ultra Source Tech. Corp. for about $62.5 million.Arrow (NYSE: ARW) said it had obtained...

Long Island's lackluster 2005 office market could spill over into next year.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty A year ago, Long Island's office market was sizzling hot, and 2005 was supposed to be another clear winner. Highlighted by the sale of the Island's premier office complex, EAB Plaza, to Reckson Associates...

Rising costs, bumps in interest rates, slow sales of homes on Long Island.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik At the start of the 2005, bidding wars were in vogue as home prices continued a seemingly never-ending push higher. With the market's upward trajectory defying the odds for several years, few questioned that this year...

Long Island hotels rebound as rates and occupancy rise.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik Long Island hotels mean business. That's the message that hoteliers are spreading as local occupancy and rates are up. In fact, hotels are boasting some of the best room prices and occupancy rates since the late...

In 2006, mergers, litigation and regulation will top agenda, predict leaders of LI's law community.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The legal upheavals of 2004 were in short supply in 2005, and leaders of Long Island's law community predict a 2006 that will be punctuated by nothing less than success. Gone were the roiling scandals at large...

Long Island Legal Briefs: December 2, 2005.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik The New York State Bar Association has created a task force to analyze the use of eminent domain and to make recommendations regarding legislative and regulatory changes. Local members of the 21-seat task force...

Pipeline firm questions proposal for floating liquid natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter Broadwater Energy, whose proposal for a floating liquid natural gas terminal touched off political storms on both banks of the Long Island Sound, is facing tough new questions from an unexpected source: the owners of...

Brookhaven Town Council taking aim at big-box stores.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The Brookhaven Town Council is poised to approve an ordinance that opponents say will cripple retail development of big-box stores like Wal-Mart and The Home Depot. The measure, sponsored by Democratic Councilman...

Sandata Technologies Inc. files suit against two companies to protect its intellectual property.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter About five months after buying three patents from MCI Corp. for about $10 million, Sandata Technologies Inc. is going to court. The provider of data processing for health-care agencies has filed lawsuits against...

Expanding Long Island law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein finds new space in Garden City.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty The space at 990 Stewart Ave. in Garden City had everything expanding law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein wanted: conference rooms with molding and wood paneling, large private offices, ample filing space...

Interview with Richard H. Schaffer, chairman of Suffolk County Democratic Committee.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Nov. 8 was a big day for Long Island Democrats, and perhaps no one loomed larger than Richard H. Schaffer, chairman of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee. Schaffer drew up the plans that produced the first...

Outsourcing health care services in Long Island hospitals.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik They might not know it, but emergency room patients at Long Beach Medical Center, Southampton Hospital and South Nassau Communities Hospital aren't treated by doctors that work for them. Instead, these hospitals...

As NIH faces funding pinch, medical researchers face tougher time obtaining grants.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik Medical researchers are facing a tougher time obtaining grants from the National Institutes of Health due to an increase in competition and a decrease in funding. Local research institutions said they're facing a...

Long Island Fight for Charity to announce its new site within two weeks.
December 2, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff The Long Island Fight for Charity is back, or at least it looks that way. Thwarted last month by obscure amateur boxing rules and letter-of-the-law state liquor regulators, the event's organizers have been looking for a...

DHB Industries chief books rock-star lineup for his daughter's birthday reception.
December 2, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff We've all heard of an over-the-top bar or bat mitzvah. But David Brooks, chairman of body armor maker DHB Industries, may have raised the bar on the coming-of-age rites. The Daily News reported that Brooks, the...

Downtown building to become one of Suffolk's six district courts.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty In the early 1900s, the boxy building at 30 E. Hoffman Ave. served as a milk-processing facility, back when milk was still delivered via horse and buggy. But when a bigger competitor opened in what is now...

Union decries changes required by Nassau University Medical Center.
December 2, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff Nassau University Medical Center said it is requiring emergency department physicians to be trained through residencies and certified in emergency medicine, prompting outcries from the union covering hospital employees....

Napco Security Systems' shares rise nearly 10% after strong first-quarter net income.
December 2, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff Napco Security Systems (Nasdaq: NSSC) shares rose nearly 10 percent to $14.30 after the Amityville-based security firm posted strong first-quarter net income. The company said it had a 59 percent jump in...

American Community Survey shows more young people leaving Long Island.
December 2, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff It's getting worse. Not only are more young people leaving Long Island, but greater numbers of residents of varying age groups say they are more likely to move to areas with cheaper housing. According to the U.S....

Commentary: Spitzer must take Suozzi seriously.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Martin Cantor If you like watching political theater, the upcoming race for governor should be as good as it gets, as Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi gears up for his race for the nomination against Attorney General Eliot...

Commentary: It's all about politics, and Murtha was used.
December 2, 2005... Byline: John Kiernan There is an old adage: be careful of what you wish for. It appears that the Democrats in the U.S. Congress forgot that lesson. The day before Congress was scheduled to adjourn for Thanksgiving, one of the more...

Commentary: A great volunteer dies, and will be missed.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Jerry Kremer The vast majority of my readers have never heard of Lou Horowitz. While he wasn't a household name, there are thousands of people all over this country who do what Horowitz spent the past 10 years doing. They are known...

Centereach-based Community Development Center helps finance childcare businesses.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Adina Genn Five hundred dollars may be petty cash to some, but it changed Tatyana Perry's life. Perry, received a $500 grant from Centereach-based Community Development Center in 2003 and used that money to help start Samantha...

Legal Ease Consulting helps solo attorneys/firms hone the core details of their businesses.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Adina Genn The solo attorney leads a hectic life, running from courthouse to courthouse, attending trials around the region. On nights and weekends the solo prepares cases. And in this shuffle, many find little time to hone the...

Commentary: Succession planning that makes all the difference.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Stuart Levine As the lead director of a public company board, I'm fortunate to be on the front line of trends in American business governance as they take shape. Today, when people talk about governance, they're immediately drawn...

Deputy director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center wins research prize.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Scott W. Lowe's job is no small task. He is deputy director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. His work has not gone unrecognized. This month,...

Nassau County Sports Commission appoints Neil Firtle to board of directors.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The Nassau County Sports Commission appointed Neil Firtle to its board of directors. Firtle is president of Intelligent Sports Performance and area developer for Velocity Sports Performance, which helps...

St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson bestows Theodore Roosevelt Award upon Gregory J. Naclerio.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson bestowed its Theodore Roosevelt Award upon Gregory J. Naclerio. He is an attorney with the firm of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek in Uniondale. Naclerio chairs the firm's health...

Garden City firm of Sahn Ward & Baker names Ralph Branciforte an associate.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The Garden City firm of Sahn Ward & Baker named Ralph Branciforte an associate with the firm. He had been a law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein of the U.S. District Court, Eastern New York...

Yaphank-based Insula-Dome Skylights names Peter Kroes strategic partnership consultant.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Yaphank-based Insula-Dome Skylights, a manufacturer of skylights and roof windows, named Peter Kroes strategic partnership consultant. He had been president and chief executive officer Chester, Conn.-based Roto...

Progressive Marketing Group in Melville names T. Philip Perlman director of client services.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Progressive Marketing Group in Melville named T. Philip Perlman director of client services. He had been vice president of marketing and communications for the Suffolk Nassau Chamber of Commerce at Huntington....

Long Island non-profits announce staffing changes: December 2, 2005.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Lynda Distler, board member and former executive director of Breast Cancer Help, was appointed by Gov. George Pataki to the Governor's Breast Cancer Detection and Education Program Advisory Council. Distler is...

Long Island real estate agencies announce staffing changes: December 2, 2005.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Bridge Business & Property Brokers named Dominick DiCorcia president of Bridge Business Franchising, Bridge's franchising division. He had been president and franchisee of Melville-based Allcare Nursing...

Long Island technology companies announce staffing changes: December 2, 2005.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Computer Associates International elected Christopher B. Lofgren to its board of directors. He will be independent director of the company. Lofgren is currently president and chief executive of freight...

Knockout Pest Control partners with Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Knockout Pest Control has partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk, an organization that builds houses for families that cannot afford to do so. Knockout will provide termite control for each new house...

Nature Conservancy receives $1M from Congress for Peconic Estuary.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The Nature Conservancy received $1 million from Congress' Safe, Affordable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, which will go toward the Peconic Estuary. The Peconic Estuary encompasses...

Long Island Association and Long Island Works Coalition hold networking event.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The Long Island Association and the Long Island Works Coalition held a networking event on Nov. 3. The groups invited students from the business school at C.W. Post to participate. The networking event was...

Long Island Works Coalition honors local businesses with Workforce Builders Awards.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The Long Island Works Coalition honored many local businesses with Workforce Builders Awards. For school-site activities, LIWC granted School-site Initiatives Awards to Lawyer Norman Sammut, Thomas F....

Huntington Arts Council to hold its Laff-Off fundraiser.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The Huntington Arts Council needs a few funny people. On March 10 it will hold its Laff-Off fundraiser. The event will be hosted by comedian Bob Nelson. If you want to perform, send a video of your stand-up...

Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk asks for donations of gift cards this holiday season.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk is looking for donations of gift cards this holiday season. Cards to grocery stores, clothing stores, toy or department stores will be welcomed. For more information,...

Asthma Coalition of Long Island supports families in their fight against asthma.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Ken Cerini Each day, 49,000 children grapple with asthma on Long Island. Since July of 2000, the Asthma Coalition of Long Island, which was created as part of a New York State Department of Health grant to the American Lung...

Survey says that number of holiday parties at small businesses will increase this year.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Adina Genn More than half of smaller firms expect to party this year 'Tis the season of the office party - and small businesses expect to spread more holiday cheer this year. A new survey says 55 percent of companies will...

Sales trainer at Rockville Centre-based A&S Sales Development offers holiday sales tips.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Adina Genn If your sales dip after Thanksgiving, you're not alone. It's a phenomenon Jeff Goldberg calls "holiday hesitancy." Goldberg is a sales trainer at Rockville Centre-based A&S Sales Development, an affiliate of the sales...

LI hospitals fiscally unhealthy, study says.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik More than one third of hospitals on Long Island are losing money, and most operate with razor-thin profit margins, according to a new study by the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council. "That's just plain unhealthy and not...

Audit faults Nassau Health Care Corp. procurement.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik An audit by the New York State Comptroller found that Nassau Health Care Corp. purchased some goods and services through improper and expired contracts and failed to prove the goods and services were purchased at the...

AT&T joins Cablevision as a la carte supporters.
December 2, 2005... Byline: David Reich-Hale Telephone giant AT&T Inc. said Thursday that it would support offering a la carte shopping to their cable customers once it rolls out television services. AT&T's comment came after Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) broke...

Founder of CPI Aerostructures to remain as chairman emeritus through 2006.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik CPI Aerostructures Inc. said Monday that co-founder Arthur August will remain chairman emeritus through the end of 2006.The firm said that August had planned to retire at the end of 2005, but had now agreed to remain...

Shares of Comtech Telecommunications fall on downgrade.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik Shares of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq: CMTL) plummeted 7 percent in midday trading to $41.55 after AG Edwards analyst Mark C. Jordan downgraded the stock to a "hold" rating from a "buy."Jordan backed off...

Wachovia cancels first Long Island grand opening.
December 5, 2005... Byline: David Reich-Hale About two weeks after Wachovia opened its first branch on Long Island, the grand opening celebration that was supposed to go with it was cancelled because of a weather forecast that calls for up to 6 inches of snow...

Pall Corp. touts filter study.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik Pall Corp. said that a new study found its filters can remove arsenic from drinking water effectively enough to meet new government standards slated to take effect next month.Municipal and community water providers...

Melville-based FalconStor in Tokyo deal.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik FalconStor Software Inc. said two firms plan to set up a new disaster recovery services center in Tokyo using its network storage software.The firm said that Softbank IDC Corp. and Triangle Spirit are teaming to...

Wireless is the future, CA's Swainson says.
December 7, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter Wireless computing is the future of CA, John Swainson, the software maker's chief executive said Wednesday. In a keynote address at the annual conference held by the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information...

Long Island-based Moloney Family Funeral Homes go solar.
December 7, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik Moloney Family Funeral Homes Inc. on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious shift to solar power at all five of its facilities. Solar cells went up on the roofs of the company's five funeral homes - in Ronkonkoma, Bohemia,...

Audit of Wyandanch School District finds weaknesses.
December 7, 2005... Byline: Claude Solnik Yet another school district has received poor grades for its financial controls and oversight. The state comptroller's office on Wednesday released an audit of the Wyandanch school district that found "lax oversight."...

Uncle Wally's in Suffolk County plans expansion.
December 7, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty The Suffolk County legislature Tuesday passed a resolution granting Uncle Wally's a temporary transfer of development rights, essentially letting the baker expand by 16,000 square feet at its Shirley...

Globecomm gaining toehold in Afghanistan.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter On Thanksgiving Day, Globecomm executive Paul Knudsen was driving around town on business when a crowd in a nearby field caught his eye. He pulled to the side of the road and joined a throng watching horsemen playing...

Home Depot to build Bellport store.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty In her seven years as an associate at the Dress Barn in The Outlets at Bellport, Vikki Petersen has watched as more and more stores have left the complex because of sparse business. Gone are retailers such...

Housing tops list of worries for Long Island economy.
December 9, 2005... Byline: David Reich-Hale The lack of workforce housing is the biggest challenge facing the Long Island economy, business owners said in an annual economic survey by Hauppauge-based accounting firm Albrecht, Viggiano, Zureck & Co. and...

Cell phone telemarketing scare an 'urban legend'.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter Hold the phone, sister. Mobile phone users who fear a telemarketing onslaught of junk calls in 2006 can rest easy. The federal government and industry experts would like you to know those e-mails warning of...

LI-based United Capital Corp. up 8%.
December 9, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff Shares of United Capital Corp. (AMEX: AFP) rose $1.87, or 8 percent last week to $24.47 after the company decided to buy back up to 1 million of its shares. A.F. Petrocelli, United's chief executive officer,...

Commentary: Brownfield Cleanup Program failing to live up to potential.
December 9, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff Passage of the state Brownfield Cleanup Program in 2003 was hailed as a great win for both environmentalists and developers. Environmentalists liked that thousands of polluted sites would be given a much better shot at...

Commentary: New Mexico's governor admits to lying on biography.
December 9, 2005... Byline: John Kiernan One of the most interesting articles that appeared during the usual slow news cycle of the Thanksgiving Weekend involved Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. Holiday weekends usually are very slow for hard news unless,...

Commentary: The words of Hoover relived by Bush.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Jerry Kremer Since he was re-elected last year, President George W. Bush has been pilloried for the Iraq war, the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and countless other policy mistakes. One columnist even labeled him as "the...

TKD Industries flies into Islip foreign trade zone.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty After 22 years in Lindenhurst, repackaging giant TKD Industries Inc. is coming to Ronkonkoma's Foreign Trade Zone, a 52-acre campus at Long Island MacArthur Airport that grants tax breaks to businesses engaged...

2-minute drill with Michael Wellesley-Wesley, CEO of Chyron Corp.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter At TV studios around the world, the word "Chyron" is as familiar as "Xerox" is in offices. Melville-based Chyron Corp. makes gear that generates the bold graphics and characters used by customers such as FOX, ESPN,...

KeySpan Corp., Brookhaven National Laboratory run biofuel test.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter KeySpan Corp. is working with Brookhaven National Laboratory to test biofuels for use in electric plants. "We're the first utility in the Northeast, or, perhaps, in the country, to do a demonstration like this,"...

Three bills would expand OSHA standards.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Adina Genn Business groups are praising three new bills designed to expand workplace safety regulations, which they claim are currently burdensome, unclear and punitive. But labor groups say the bills would leave workers less...

Survey shows one-in-three American consumers don't save for holiday purchases.
December 9, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff According to a recent HSBC-North America survey, one-in-three American consumers don't save any money in advance for holiday purchases. Also, consumers who exceed their holiday budget do so by nearly $400. With that...

Bohler Engineering taking some space vacated by Atkins Nutritionals.
December 9, 2005... Byline: LIBN Staff Bohler Engineering is taking some of the space vacated by Atkins Nutritionals Inc., when the anti-carb company went bankrupt in July. Bohler inked a deal for 28,000 square feet at 2002 Orville Drive North in Ronkonkoma,...

Two Long Island companies obtain venture capital funding.
December 9, 2005... Byline: David Reich-Hale Two Long Island companies were able to obtain venture capitalist funding in the third quarter of 2005, according to the MoneyTree Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Ventura Economics and the National Venture...

Survey shows big banks benefit most from insurance brokerage fees.
December 9, 2005... Byline: David Reich-Hale Big banks are making out the best when it comes to insurance brokerage fee income, according to a survey by Michael White Associates, a Radnor, Pa.-based bank insurance consultant. Banks with more than $10...

People's Alliance Federal Credit Union moves Westbury branch to ground floor.
December 9, 2005... Byline: David Reich-Hale People's Alliance Federal Credit Union has shifted its Westbury branch from the third floor of 1600 Stewart Ave. to the ground floor. Why? Convenience, said Lisa Mitnick, senior marketing manager for the...

Groovecar Inc. relocates from Melville to Hauppage.
December 9, 2005... Byline: David Reich-Hale GrooveCar Inc., which facilitates auto loans, just relocated its headquarters from Melville to Hauppauge. The company purchased 5,000 square feet of space at 200 Motor Parkway, Suite 10B. GrooveCar expects...

Long Island Lean Users Group helping businesses improve production.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter From the ashes of World War II sprang a business idea with enduring value, said Ron Loveland, project manager for the Long Island Forum for Technology. It began when the Japanese surveyed their tattered post-war...

Stony Brook ranks 18th in nation, spinning off $11.9M in royalties.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter When it comes to producing licensing revenue, Stony Brook University is playing in the big leagues. The university raked in almost $12 million in technology royalties in fiscal 2004, ranking it 18th nationwide,...

Northrop Grumman passes milestone on E-2D Advance Hawkeye.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Ken Schachter Northrop Grumman's basic designs for radar, mission computer and workstations on the E-2D Advance Hawkeye aircraft have passed muster with the Navy. That clears Northrop to complete production of two test...

Big-box retailers moving forward with Smithtown development despite lawsuits.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty After two failed lawsuits and protests by angry neighbors, nearly 400,000 square feet of big-box retailers just off the Long Island Expressway's Exit 52 is moving forward. Three giant retailers, a...

Michigan-based shoe company to open Huntington store.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty It might have made sense for Merrell, a 24-year-old shoe company adored by outdoor types, to pick rugged Denver or Seattle for its first store in the country. But it chose Main Street in suburban...

Five law firms relocate to Long Island.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty If three signals a trend, what's five? A super trend? If so, there's a super trend of law firms relocating on Long Island. At 100 Ring Road West in Garden City, Brand Glick and Brand is spread across three...

United Realty agent sells Farmingdale building.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty United Realty's Mario Asaro sold 63 Milbar Blvd. in Farmingdale. The 5,250-square-foot industrial/office building commanded $975,000, or about $185 per square foot. The average selling price for that area...