Rochester Business Journal Leading source of business news and information in Rochester, N.Y.

Family businesses are the economic engine of America and can range from a two-person “Mom and Pop” operation to a billion-dollar company that employs thousands. According to family business thought leader, Joseph Astrachan, 89 percent of businesses in the United ...

The New York state Legislature passed legislation Monday that makes it a misdemeanor offense to fail to securely store a rifle, shotgun or other firearm or render it incapable of being fired when a child is in a home. Sponsored ...

This Saturday (Feb. 16), a Rochester home will serve as the centerpiece of the public television show “Home Diagnosis,” which airs locally on WXXI at 6:30 p.m. The show is a cross between “CSI” and “This Old House.” Experts diagnose ...

As communities across the country deal with measles outbreaks, discussions have increased about whether “philosophical” exemptions to childhood vaccinations should be allowed. In New York, a measure to drop an exemption due to religious beliefs that Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, D-Bronx, ...

Rochester City Council held a public forum Monday on the council draft for a Police Accountability Board that would significantly change how police misconduct is investigated. Plans for a Police Accountability Board have been hotly debated, with the PAB Alliance—an ...

The government shutdown stretched past the one-month mark this week, and it has already had a number of effects. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have not been paid, though some of them are still working. Limited or no staffing ...

I’m no Cassandra.  I’m a realist who started his career in the mid-1980s and has experienced many economic cycles.  The recent divergence between the economy’s performance and markets around the world reminded me of a column I wrote for the ...

Starting Tuesday, New York City pharmacies will not be allowed to sell cigarettes or other tobacco products. The ban includes businesses that contain pharmacies, such as supermarkets and big-box stores. The new rules follow a ban on electronic cigarette sales ...

A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives has the potential to help the U.S. make significant strides on carbon emissions while also helping the economy. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act— sponsored by Rep. Ted ...

A committee created earlier this year to issue a report on increasing pay for New York lawmakers released its final recommendations Monday. The committee recommended significantly increasing the salaries for legislators and other state lawmakers while also drastically limiting stipends ...

  In the current climate in which federal budget deficits are the rule rather than the exception, the question as to whether we should retain or eliminate the mortgage interest tax deduction keeps coming up. Proponents and opponents of the ...

The autonomous vehicle revolution, if it ever happens, will be a slow, lengthy process. But the next step in that process may have taken place this week. Waymo, Google’s self-driving car spinoff, on Wednesday started offering small-scale ride hailing service ...

State Sen. Kevin Parker, D-Brooklyn, has proposed a bill that would require the police to check the social media activity and online searches of handgun license applicants and deny anyone who has published violent or hateful posts. Handgun applicants would ...

Rochester has always been a philanthropic community, following the example George Eastman set with his gifts that shaped and sustained many organizations. That spirit of generosity was on display yet again this week for the eighth annual ROC the Day, ...

When Amazon announced that it was soliciting bids from cities to become the site of a second headquarters, New York City and the Washington, D.C., area were among the immediate favorites to win. So it was no surprise this week ...