The Ithaca Downtown Conference Center and the Asteri apartment complex, which offers affordable housing and the country’s first fully electric conference center, has opened in Ithaca. It includes 181 affordable housing units in the heart of the city's downtown. Forty of those units are supportive housing for people who have experienced homelessness. Tompkins County IDA supported this project in 2020.| Read more at WSKG.

Central NY wins federal grant to train 800 apprentices for semiconductor, tech industries In a historic federal investment, MACNY, The Manufacturers Association, has been awarded a $6 million grant by the U.S. Department of Labor to expand Registered Apprenticeships for advanced manufacturing, including the semiconductor industry, to train and upskill workers for highly in-demand, good-paying jobs. Central NY wins federal grant to train 800 apprentices for semiconductor, tech industries. | Click here to read the story

The Biden administration has approved New York’s initial “Internet for All” proposal, enabling the Empire State to request access to funding and begin implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment or "BEAD" program. New York was allocated over $664 million to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service. | Click here for the story on WAMC.

New York City will soon be home to one of the nation's largest offshore wind projects. In June, developers broke ground at the municipal South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), an old container and general cargo port facility occupying 73 acres that will provide crucial services for Empire Wind 1, a federally approved offshore wind farm set to contribute 810 megawatts of clean electricity to New York’s power grid by 2027. | Click here to read the story.

Warren County is voicing its support of Barton Mines, which is seeking permits from the APA and DEC to expand their quarry by 58 acres on land it already owns. Without new permits, company officials say they would have to close within a few years. Barton Mines has been in operation in Warren County since 1878. It currently mines garnet for industrial applications from its Ruby Mountain mine in North River. | North Country Public Radio has the story here.

Finger Lakes program connects manufacturers with emerging young apprentices. FLYAP, a one-of-a-kind training program, connects students to local advanced manufacturing through skilled trades job shadowing and co-ops. Each student who participates receives related instruction toward a NYS Registered Apprenticeship. As youth apprentices, they receive education and skills through job shadowing in 11th grade and a paid co-op in 12th grade. | Read more at Rochester Business Journal.

More women are skipping college to make six figures as electricians, car mechanics and truck drivers. This NY Post Article features a 25-year-old Albany woman who owns her own car repair show. While attending Voorheesville High School, Carl took part in a two-year BOCES program, which allowed her to attend heavy duty truck classes during her junior and senior years of high school. | Read more at NY Post