Saratoga Springs, NY, Mar 06, 2012 — The Adirondack North Country Association is sponsoring its 26th annual "Buyers Days" at the Saratoga Springs City Center this week. The event starts at noon on Wednesday. Todd Moe talks with ANCA's Melissa Hart, who is coordinating the show, which brings together local artisans, food producers together and retail buyers in the region. Although not open to the public, Hart says the event is part of the "buy local" puzzle.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Nov 23, 2011 — Congressman Bill Owens visited Saranac Lake's new community store Tuesday.

The first-community owned department store in the state offers basic goods - everything from underwear to bedsheets - things people in Saranac Lake had a hard time finding locally since the last chain department store closed nearly nine years ago.

Organizers had sold half a million dollars in shares to get the business off the ground. The store opened its doors last month. As Chris Knight reports, Owens visit brought just the latest in a string of accolades.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Nov 01, 2011 — The first community-owned department store in the state of New York opened its doors in the North Country this weekend.

The Community Store in Saranac Lake traces its roots to the shutdown of the Ames department store chain in 2002. Organizers of the project sold half-a-million dollars in shares to local residents to get the store off the ground. As Chris Knight reports, shoppers who visited the store Saturday liked its selection and its prices.  Go to full article

Ticonderoga, NY, Aug 16, 2011 — The Lowes corporation abruptly closed its big box store in Ticonderoga Sunday night, a move that affects more than eighty employees.

The company blamed lackluster sales and shuttered six other stores nationwide.

As Brian Mann reports, efforts are already underway to help laid-off workers. But the closure could also hurt regional contractors and construction workers throughout the southern Champlain Valley.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Mar 14, 2011 — A proposal to tax the rich to help balance the state's budget deficit and avoid cuts to schools is a popular idea among New Yorkers. But business groups say what's often overlooked in the debate is that the tax, in its current form, is paid by some of the state's smallest and most marginal businesses. Karen Dewitt Reports from Albany.  Go to full article

Ogdensburg, NY, Aug 26, 2010 — One of the North Country's oldest retailers is dropping its name. Hacketts, based in Ogdensburg, will change its name to Outlet Center in Ogdensburg. The beleaguered company is in bankruptcy. It has only one store open this summer. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, May 24, 2010 — Price Chopper is set to re-open five North Country grocery stores, shuttered nearly two months ago. These are the former P & C markets in Canton, Potsdam, Massena, West Carthage and Gouverneur. The stores closed after P & C's parent company, Penn Traffic, declared bankruptcy. Price Chopper's stores in Canton and Potsdam open today. In West Carthage, doors open Tuesday. And the Massena and Gouverneur locations will open Wednesday. Todd Moe has more.  Go to full article

Ogdensburg, NY, Nov 11, 2009 — An iconic North Country retailer has filed for bankruptcy. Hacketts stores filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday. President and COO Herbert Becker said in a press release the move will allow the company to "assure its financial viability while repaying creditors". He said Hacketts intends to keep its existing stores in Ogdensburg, Massena, Tupper Lake, and Sackets Harbor open.

Hacketts was founded in Ogdensburg in the mid-1800s. At its peak two years ago, Hacketts had expanded to nine stores as far-flung as Pulaski and Hamilton. But that growth hid massive debt in Hacketts' parent company, Seaway Valley Capital Corporation, owned by Thomas Scozzafava, brother of Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava. Martha Foley talks with David Sommerstein, who has reported extensively on Seaway Valley and Hacketts, about what the bankruptcy means.  Go to full article

Watertown, NY, Sep 16, 2009 — This morning, we have a special report on how two North Country retailers, Hacketts and Wise Buys, came together in a shifting delta of deals and dreams. And debt, because this is a story of a bold idea for a homegrown venture gone sour. Republican Dede Scozzafava's run for Congress helped turned the spotlight on the business dealings of her brother, Tom, and her involvement in them. But the fortunes of Wise Buys and Hacketts had been in the headlines for years. They were joined two years ago in a new company, headed by Tom Scozzafava. Seaway Valley Capital Corporation has now absorbed other local businesses as well, including Sackets Harbor Brewery and Alteri's bakery in Watertown. Dede Scozzafava plays no active role in the company, but she is one of its most valued lenders. The company is now buried under $37 million in debt, double its assets. A look at the company's public filings shows a thicket of complex debt instruments, used to raise capital and pay off other loans. Stockholders have lost millions of dollars. As with all struggling companies, it wasn't supposed to turn out this way. In this special report, David Sommerstein untangles the complicated story of Seaway Valley, Hacketts, and Dede and Tom Scozzafava.  Go to full article

Sep 16, 2009 — Seaway Valley Capital Corporation has become a concern in Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava's campaign for Congress. According to her personal finance disclosure form, Scozzafava has at least $1 million invested in the company. Financial filings show her firm, Seaway Capital Partners, loaned Seaway Valley more than $400,000 last month.

Dede Scozzafava was mayor of her hometown of Gouverneur and has enjoyed broad support while serving in the state Assembly since 1999. Her public stature is often cited by investors as a factor in their decisions to buy stock in her brother's company. And now that their investments are nearly worthless, they want answers. "I can't defend any of that," Scozzafava says, "because I'm not involved in any decision making in the public company." Dede Scozzafava is vice-president and chief operating officer of Seaway Capital Partners, the firm that started Wise Buys in 2003. In 2007, Seaway Capital sold its share in Wise Buys to Seaway Valley in exchange for preferred shares of stock. Scozzafava told David Sommerstein she has always been just a "passive investor" in the new company.  Go to full article