News stories tagged with "industry"

(05/24/12) Computer chip company executives from around the globe are in Saratoga Springs this week.

As the Innovation Trail's Marie Cusick reports, it's yet another sign of the Capital Region's growing importance in the world of advanced manufacturing. more

(05/08/12) This week, North Country Public Radio is continuing our look at people in the North Country who do traditional work, reviving industries that have been part of this region's economy for a century or more.

Today, we revisit Brian Mann's conversation with Matt Foley. He began his career as a glass blower, but he wound up refurbishing old hydro dams in the Adirondacks.

Using antique equipment, Foley is generating power that lights homes and businesses from St. Regis Falls to Westport. more

(05/01/12) We continue our series, the Adirondack Attic, with Andy Flynn. You may know Andy from his series of Adirondack Attic books on local history. He uses the objects people make, use and leave behind to tell stories about the life and times of the region. NCPR is collaborating with Andy and his sources at the Adirondack Museum and other historical associations and museums in the region to bring these stories to air.

Today, Andy travels to the Adirondack Museum for a closer look at a wire basket used by miners in the mid-1900's.

(04/19/12) Small business leaders were in Albany Wednesday for their annual day of lobbying. As the Innovation Trail's Marie Cusick reports, one of their top priorities relates to an obscure 19th century labor law dealing with scaffolding. more

(01/24/11) President Obama touched down in upstate New York Friday for a brief visit to General Electric's energy operations in Schenectady. As the Innovation Trail's Emma Jacobs reports, his visit left many in the region feeling optimistic. more

(01/07/11) There were cheers this morning in Massena, where Alcoa officials just told workers the company will reopen its East smelter after a two-year furlough.

The company will hold a press conference to make the news official at 11 this morning. Alcoa will recall 95 workers who were laid off and hire another 20 to 30 new employees.

Company spokeswoman Laurie Marr said this morning those rehires will begin immediately.

Low aluminum prices as a result of the recession were also a factor in the extended furlough. Prices have been rising steadily in the last several months.

Massena Mayor James Hidy told the Watertown Daily Times the news is "a morale boost for the whole community."

Meanwhile, a planned modernization of the plant has been put on hold. As a part of its low cost power contract, Alcoa was to have invested 600 million dollars into the facility. But the New York Power Authority agreed to let Alcoa put off that project until 2013.

(12/13/10) Demolition of the former General Motors plant in Massena will begin next month. The project is expected to take nearly two years because of toxic contamination at site. The Innovation Trail's Ryan Morden reports.

(08/20/10) Critics of the Adirondack Park Agency have long claimed that its zoning rules and regulations stifle economic activity.

But over the years, the APA has approved eight shovel-ready business parks for light industry and manufacturing.

Businesses who choose to locate in these industrial parks - which stretch from Tupper Lake to Moriah - face little or no APA oversight.

Still, most remain empty or nearly empty.

As Jon Alexander reports, the real problem may be the lack of infrastructure and convenient access in remote rural towns.

(07/28/09) St. Lawrence County lawmakers want more time to decide whether to foreclose on the site of a polluted former iron mine in the southern part of the county. Residents of Clifton and Fine want the county to take control of the J&L mines site so a wood chip processor can open a plant there. David Sommerstein reports.

(06/29/09) The North Country's Congressional delegation was at the center of the debate over historic climate change legislation. A bill that would cap carbon emissions and create a trading system for pollution credits passed the House by a narrow margin on Friday. As Brian Mann reports, Republican John McHugh and Democrat Scott Murphy both voted in favor of the controversial bill. more