State officials tout new economic development program

Syracuse.com reported that Deborah Van Amerongen, commissioner of the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, came to Syracuse today to promote New York's "Main Street" grant program, which Gov. David Paterson recently signed into law.

The program provides money to municipalities and non-profit organizations to improve streets, renovate facades and rehabilitate buildings in downtown areas.

A pilot version of the program previously existed, but the bill Paterson signed makes the program permanent and expands its scope. Local governments, for instance, will now be able to apply for awards of up to $500,000, up from the previous limit of $200,000.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida.

Since the pilot began in 2004, the state has issued 265 grants, worth $61.3 million, in 175 communities. Syracuse and Central New York has received millions of that money.

Syracuse's Unemployment at 7.9 percent

The Central NY Business Journal reported that New York's unemployment rate climbed to 9 percent in August, up from 8.6 percent in July, according to new data the state Labor Department released today.

August's rate was the highest since April 1983, according to the department. The state's unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in August 2008.

New York's private-sector job count fell by about 2,200 in August, less than 0.1 percent, to about 7.1 million.

In Syracuse, the number of private-sector jobs fell 2.5 percent, about 6,800 jobs, between August 2008 and August 2009. The unemployment rate was 7.9 percent last month, down from 8.1 percent in July and up from 5.5 percent in August 2008.

History of Human Services Leadership Council

Below is a helpful summary of the history of HSLC. This is a great summary showing what peer support groups can accomplish and their value.

11/19/04: Pres Ex: discussion of change of name and direction
1/14/05: Voted to become Human Services Leadership Council of CNY; with new committee structure
3/11/05: Rob Simpson of MDA on regional perspective of CNY
5/13/05: Panel discussion on succession planning
9/9/05: Angela Douglas/Margery Connor: “Bridges out of poverty” conference
11/18/05: Panel on “Race and Class Issues as they affect Emergency Disaster Planning and Response” in consideration of Hurricane Katrina
1/13/06: Meeting with NYS legislators on “safety net”
3/10/06: Follow up with members regarding issues raised at the January meeting with legislators
5/12/06: Vito Sciscioli and Laurie Black “West Side Strategy”; “Bridges out of Poverty” by Margery Connor
9/8/06: Kim Scott of CNY Community Foundation on read ahead
11/3/06: Susan Horn’s facilitation of “Truth or Dare: How Are We Doing?” A consideration of (1) CompassPoint report “Daring to Lead 2006: A National Study of Nonprofit Executive Leadership” and (2) the Maxwell School’s survey “Onondaga County Not for Profits: An Assessment of Organizational and Leadership Capacity”; Kathy Goldfarb-Findling on changes in grantmaking process
1/12/07: Susan Horn’s facilitation of discussion of common themes as a follow up of the Nov 3 meeting
3/9/07: Peggy Liuzzi facilitation of panel on strategic restructuring
5/11/07: How we use technology
9/6/07: Candidates forum for County Executive race
9/21/07: One-minute reports on agency mission and general stats
10/26/07: Mission-driven restructuring forum at Genesee Grande, Doug Sauer of Council on Community Services, and many panelists
11/9/07: Mini-presentations: Advanced care planning (Dave Pasinski); Governor’s rep (Dan Young); Deborah O’Shea (Volunteer Lawyers)
1/11/08: Chat with Ann Rooney, newly appointed Onondaga County Administrator for Human Services
3/14/08: Generational issues in the workforce (Renee Downey Hart)
5/9/08: Panel on middle management training
9/12/08: Johanna Hannah on “Helping employees cope with caring for aging family members”
11/14/08: Conversations with state and federal leaders: Congressman-elect Dan Maffei, and Governor Patterson’s local rep, Dan Young
1/9/09: Conversations with state legislative leaders: impact of NYS budget proposals
3/13/09: Discussion of “Strategic Partnerships: Now More Than Ever?”
5/8/09: Presentation of “Impact of 23 Onondaga County Not for Profits”