By Margaret MacDonald

Stewart’s Shops is looking to install 100 charging stations for electric automobiles throughout the greater Capital Region, pending approvals.

The  move coincides with state efforts to expand services in that direction.

State Sen. Jim Tedisco recently called for the state to approve the new Electric Vehicle Fast Charger Network (EVFCN).

Tedisco, a member of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, wrote a letter the state Public Service commissioner in support of the EVFCN and the Stewart’s plan to install charging stations at shops in his 49th Senate District.

“The plan would be to install an electric car fast-charging network, providing an 80 percent charge in roughly 20 minutes,” Stewart’s spokesperson Maria D’Amelia said.

It would be done in a gradual rollout.

New York state’s Grown & Certified program is expanding to include the New York dairy industry.

The state is partnering with Stewart’s Shops to launch the promotional program that distinguishes agricultural products that are local and made by producers who meet safe food handling best practices and demonstrate environmental stewardship.

Officials said Stewart’s Shops adheres to the state Grown & Certified food safety and environmental management plan requirements. They proudly source all of their milk from local farms in Saratoga, Rensselaer, and Washington counties.

Beginning in July, consumers will be able to find the NYS-certified label on Stewart’s dairy products in more than 300 stores across the state. Stewart’s egg supplier, Thomas Poultry Farm from Schuylerville, is also participating in the program.

“The Grown & Certified program connects consumers with high-quality, farm-fresh New York products, while supporting our hard-working farms, businesses and local economies across the state,” Gov.  Andrew Cuomo said. “By partnering with Stewart’s Shops, we will expand this program to promote and provide a boost to some of New York’s best producers and support the dairy industry’s continued growth and success.”

Stewart’s Shops President Gary Dake said, “At Stewart’s Shops we take pride in providing quality products to our customers, and that includes our fresh, local milk and eggs. Growing up in the dairy business, I know first-hand the hard work it entails. We are proud to now carry the certified seal and continue to be partnered with family farms that uphold high-quality and environmental standards right here in our own communities.”

The Hyde Collection on June 10 opened  its newly constructed Feibes & Schmitt gallery.

The museum hosted a community day to celebrate the gallery’s opening, with tours of the museum, children’s activities, art projects, artists at work throughout the campus, live music and farm-to-table food.

The Feibes & Schmitt Gallery is the result of a donation made last year from Werner Feibes and his late partner, James Schmitt, who gave the museum their modern and contemporary art collection valued at more than $10 million, and a $1 million leadership donation to build the 1,500-square-foot exhibition space. The collection establishes the museum as a regional hub for modern and contemporary art, and greatly increases its educational and programming opportunities, said Hyde Collection Director Erin Coe.

“I have visited The Hyde Collection many times and know how important it is to our community’s culture, as well as to our local economy,” said U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik. “This new gallery will make the Hyde an even stronger pillar of our Glens Falls community.”

Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD), a global medical technology company, has reached a deal to purchase medical device manufacturer C. R. Bard Inc., which has a plant in Queensbury.

C.R. Bard, a medical technology leader in the fields of vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty products, will be acquired for approximately $24 billion, officials said. The agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Officials at BD, based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., said the deal would improve its ability to offer products that reduce the chance of hospital-acquired infections.

C.R. Bard’s devices in vascular, urology and oncology will pair with BD’s wide-ranging lineup, including products in diagnostics, diabetes care, injection, anesthesia, pharmacy and laboratory automation.

Under the deal, BD said it expected to cut $300 million in annual costs by the fiscal year 2020.

Tim Ring, C.R. Bard chief executive officer, said the company is “confident that this combination will deliver meaningful benefits for customers and patients as we see opportunities to leverage BD’s leadership, especially in medication management and infection prevention. We also believe that we can expand our access to customers and patients through BD’s strategic selling capabilities, and that our fast-growing portfolio in emerging markets can significantly benefit from their well-established international commercial infrastructure.

“Our two companies share the conviction that a product leadership strategy focused on unmet needs and improved outcomes that provide economic value to the global healthcare system will provide long-term shareholder returns.”

The city of Glen Falls is one of eight in New York state that will be part of a new, $5 million Graduate to Homeownership program designed to help recent college graduates become first-time homeowners.

The pilot program offers low-interest rate mortgages, a down payment assistance loan with no additional fees, and a homebuyer education course.

Other cities participating are Jamestown, Geneva, Elmira, Oswego, Oneonta, Plattsburgh and Middletown.

“We continue to invest in the development of downtown areas across Upstate New York, and with the launch of this innovative program, we will take our efforts a step further by enticing young graduates to make an investment in these communities and in their future,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “By removing barriers for talented graduates and allowing them to afford a new home in the Empire State, we are laying the foundation for stronger, more viable communities across New York for generations to come.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the city to bring new residents into our community,” said EDC Warren County President Edward Bartholomew.

“More and more, young people today are looking to work and live in downtown areas with easy access to community restaurants, shopping, transportation, and culture. Gov. Cuomo’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative is rebuilding our downtowns into walkable and thriving communities where people want to live,” said Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. “The new Grad to Homeownership program completes the package by providing our graduates with the opportunity to buy homes in our downtowns, increasing their attractiveness as places to live, work and raise a family right in Upstate New York.”

By Maureen Werther

The Glens Falls Collaborative is exploring the possibility of developing a wide-ranging hospitality training initiative to promote Glens Falls as a destination for businesses, tourism and entertainment.

The training would involve people who have the most occasion to interact with visitors to the city, such as the sales clerks in convenient stores, restaurant workers and others who have daily opportunities to talk to visitors about what their city has to offer, according to organizers of the program.

Richard Cirino, president of the Glens Falls Collaborative, said the group has sent out questionnaires to approximately 600 different organizations to gauge demand for the training initiative.

“The questionnaire will help us decide how to move forward. After we decide if the demand is there, we will begin to determine how to fund and implement the training,” said Cirino.

The idea for a city-wide training initiative, that would give employees the education and tools to promote the region, evolved from a conversation about constructing a “welcome center” in Glens Falls.

“Then we started to think about it and we gradually began to move away from a physical center to cultivating a hospitality mentality,” said Cirino. He added that people working as clerks in convenient stores and retail shops should be thought of as hospitality workers.

“These are the people on the front lines. If we can give them more knowledge of the area, they can help visitors see and discover things that they may otherwise have been unaware of,” he said.