Category Archives: Business News

By Rod Bacon

Following years of experience in the information technology field, part of which was with the company he now owns, Carl Grosso decided it was time to take the reins and move the company to the next level.

He and his wife, Marly, now operate Audio Services NY, Inc., a company that provides a full range of audio, video, and security installations for homes and businesses. 

“We supply state-of-the-art systems that allow people to take complete control of the technology in their homes or businesses from anywhere,” said Carl.

Their cutting edge technology allows owners to control video, audio, and security from one user-friendly interface. Their services include home automation, distributed audio, home theater, lighting and climate control, outdoor audio-visual, and interior design.

“With our integrated systems a home or business owner can control pretty much anything in a building; door locks, garage door openers, lighting, water, music, television, alarm systems, and much more,” said Grosso. 

The Rotary Club of Lake George recently announced the unveiling of their new welcome sign, marking a significant milestone during the club’s 75th anniversary.

The Lake George Rotary Welcome Corner is located at the intersection of Route 9 and Route 9N near Exit 21. Denny Galloway, a longtime Lake George Rotarian whose vision sparked the creation of the Rotary Welcome Corner, made the corner a reality in 2004 in collaboration with New York State DOT, Lake George town officials, Warren County officials, and landscape architects with CLA SITE Landscape Architecture, Engineering, and Planning P.C.

The Welcome Corner has been a symbol of community pride and hospitality for two decades. Over the years, the Lake George Rotary Club has diligently maintained the corner, conducting annual cleanups with the help of Lake George High School’s Interact students and senior class.

To ensure the corner continues to make a positive impression on visitors, the Lake George Rotary Club embarked on a project to design and install a new welcome sign. The modern sign incorporates LED lighting, durable materials, halo lighting, and an enticing design that reflects the natural beauty of the Lake George region.

The Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center opened for its third season on May 24. The center, located on the bottom floor (rear entrance) of 75 Fort George Road in Lake George, will maintain a weekend and holidays schedule of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., through the end of June, when it moves to five days per week (Thursday to Monday).

More than 5,000 guests viewed the exhibits at the visitor center during its initial two seasons. Admission is free for all guests.

The center has a wide array of exhibits to explain the significance of the Battlefield Park in American history. These exhibits include four models: two forts, the 1758 radeau Land Tortoise, and the 1756 sloop Earl of Loudoun. Display cases contain artifacts from Native Americans, the French and Indian War (1754-1763), and the American Revolution (1775-1783), as well as from the sloop Earl of Loudoun, the radeau Land Tortoise, and several bateaux. Ten 3×4-foot color resin panels, explaining the history of the park from the habitation of indigenous people through the end of the American Revolution, line the walls of the visitor center.

To many people who use the Warren County Bikeway, the multi-use trail is just a neat place to bike, walk or run. But to local history buffs, the bikeway is much more than a recreational outlet, as many sites along the route were the scenes of significant events in two 18th century military conflicts.

To celebrate that history as the nation’s 250th birthday approaches, Warren County Department of Planning and Community Development has created a new Letterboxing challenge that combines history and recreation on the bikeway, celebrating the centuries-old road that became the bikeway with a fun challenge to identify 10 important sites along the trail.

Letterboxing is a growing hobby that incorporates orienteering, art and puzzle solving to find hidden treasures and complete a challenge. 

The new Letterbox the Bikeway challenge takes participants from the bikeway’s beginning in Glens Falls to its end at Battlefield Park in Lake George, with stops at 10 historically significant locations in between.

Five Corners Development, a local residential developer based in Saratoga Springs, joined its national partner,The NRP Group, recently to present a multi-phase concept plan for the redevelopment of the Albany-Saratoga Speedway to the Malta Town Board. Once approved, the planned development will transform the roughly 50-acre property into a vibrant retail and residential neighborhood along the busy Route 9 corridor through northern Malta, adding hundreds of units of housing and compelling retail concepts along the gateway of a growing community.

The partners have recently placed the property under contract after learning of the landowner’s desire to sell the site as raw land through a local brokerage company. Currently, there is no closing date set and the racetrack is anticipated to continue running at least through its 60th anniversary racing season in 2025.

The initial development process began with a presentation to Malta’s Town Board. Planning reviews are expected to commence over the coming months.

Recruiting in the healthcare industry has continuously been a struggle, which was only magnified by the pandemic.  Hospital staff are on the front lines battling the demands for services with the lack of a skilled workforce. There have been unprecedented levels of turnover within the field. Healthcare professionals are feeling burnout often retiring or...

The Park Theater Foundation is presenting a series of six 90-minute live musical performances featuring local, national and international artists. This is a free concert series that will serve to enhance the accessibility of the arts within the local community. 

The Summer Series Concerts include:

Friday, 06/28 – Wild Adriatic (Rooted in the rowdy spirit of rock & roll, Wild Adriatic has built an international audience on a combination of groove, grit, and guitar-heavy swagger. “Flawlessly tight with infectious melodies and tons of soul.” – Relix) 

Friday, 07/05 – Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio (Equal parts hot swing, snarky songwriting, and lyrical storytelling, Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio combines virtuoso violin, guitar, bass and three part harmony vocals for an energetic performance. “Eclectic jazzy trio with fun original songs and bounding energy.” – Music on Centre)

Friday, 07/12 – Stella Ruze (An award-winning folk rock band from Philadelphia, Stella Ruze blends four-part vocal harmonies with infectious rhythms and horn arrangements to create a new, genre-bending sound. 

The Adirondack Wine & Food Festival returns to Lake George on Saturday, June 29 & Sunday, June 30. Recently voted a top three annual event by LakeGeorge.com, the festival will feature 140 of New York’s best wineries, distilleries, breweries, cideries, artisan food producers, food trucks, crafters, and more at the Charles R. Wood Festival Commons in Lake George Village.

The family-friendly event is one of the most celebrated wine and food events in the Northeast, drawing visitors from 36 states. Now in its eighth year, the festival anticipates approximately 7,000 attendees this year. People visit the region specifically to attend the festival; 88 percent to be exact, according to post-event attendee surveys. The 2024 festival is expected to generate more than 12,000 overnight stays and produce an economic impact of just under $5 million for the region.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the 8th annual Wine and Food Festival here in Lake George,” said Gina Mintzer, executive director of the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB. “This event has become a cornerstone of our summer season, drawing visitors from near and far to experience the incredible culinary and craft beverage offerings of our region and beyond. The festival not only showcases the rich flavors of the Adirondacks but also significantly boosts tourism and visitation, providing a vital economic impact as we kick off the summer.”

By Ann Donnelly

Erbessd Instruments has become a global leader in a highly specialized field: machine health monitoring. The company develops and manufactures a prescriptive analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and wireless sensor technology to help customers understand their machines’ health. 

“They can predict if there is going to be some kind of outage and take action, rather than just wait for a failure to occur, “ says Chairman and CEO Dr. M. David Howard, who started in the industry as a journeyman aircraft maintenances specialist in the United States Air Force.

President and Founder Dr. Thierry Erbessd, based in Mexico, worked in the first iteration of the business his father started 35 years ago and went out on his own 15 years ago. Then, eight years ago, Howard partnered with Dr. Erbessd to bring that vision to the U.S., .and other English-speaking markets. 

Megh McCane-Howard, Howard’s wife, also came on board. The couple, originally from South Glens Falls, decided to base all but the Spanish-speaking operations in this area. First working from the basement of their home, they tried offices in a few other locations until three years ago, when they took over and refurbished 19 Exchange St. in Glens Falls.

The company has customers in nearly every country and works with 145 distributors and partners worldwide. It has approximately 140 employees working between Glens Falls, two locations in Mexico, a European office in the United Kingdom, and a facility in India added last year.