BUSINESS ROUNDUP
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Berkshire Agricultural Ventures $500,000 to support rural small businesses under the USDA Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program. The funds will be distributed to eligible farms and local food businesses within BAV’S service area in the Berkshire-taconic Region of Berkshire County, Mass., Litchfield County, Conn., and New York’s Dutchess and Columbia counties.
Cardona’s Market is inviting Capital Region residents to enjoy its sandwiches while supporting hunger relief efforts during National Sandwich Day: On Wednesday, $1 from every large sandwich sold at Cardona’s Market locations in the Capital Region will help alleviate food insecurity in the community. The Latham market, at 9 Cobbee Road, and Saratoga Springs market, at 222 Washington St., were recently acquired from Roma Foods Importing Co. The two new locations supplement Cardona’s original flagship storefront at 340 Delaware Ave., Albany.
At SUNY Schenectady’s new Mill Lane Confections Lab last week, faculty chefs in the School of Hotel, Culinary Arts and Tourism joined college officials, representatives from Schenectady County, the Mill Artisan District, others for a ribbon-cutting and and lab tours. Students in the culinary arts programs are learning how to make high-quality “bean to bar” chocolate for the first time this semester in lab using a 2,936-square-foot space on the ground floor of 10 Mill Lane, in the Mill District in downtown Schenectady.
Deborah Jean Smith ,a professor in the SUNY Empire State College School for Undergraduate Studies, has been named to the Fulbright Specialist Roster for a tenure of four years, which began Oct. 8.
Amtrak is introducing more than 200 new kiosks in more than 150 stations across the country, which will feature an updated user interface consistent with other Amtrak digital channels that allows for a minimum touch experience for the most common in-station transactions. Kiosks will begin with a Northeast rollout, starting in Washington Union Station, the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station in Wilmington, Del., and Moynihan Train Hall in New York City.
Lighthouse Guild has reopened its Guildcare Albany Adult Day Health Care program at 30 Century Hill Drive, Latham. Also, a new director, Nancy Ann Smith, has been appointed. She will be responsible for day-to-day operations and overall management of the Guildcare Albany program that closed last year in accordance with COVID -19 guidelines.
The Hudson River Maritime Museum Sailing School and Kingston Sailing Club will host the annual Riverport Women's Sailing Conference from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13. The event is virtual and will include presentations and panels featuring women mariners. Topics include maritime navigation, safety around large vessels and outboard engine troubleshooting. Advanced registration is required and is available at www.hrmm.org/sailing-conference.