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

Man has been using hemp and finding new uses for it for thousands of years, but it’s still emerging and developing as a plant and as an industry today. Hemp is defined in New York by the Department of Health ...

This legislative session for 2021 is looking to be the year that state lawmakers legalize recreational marijuana in New York, with those supporting the measure saying the economic devastation from the COVID-19 pandemic is one driving force behind getting the ...

New York State Electric and Gas, Rochester Gas & Electric and Avangrid Foundation have donated $400,000 to the Project SHARE Heating Fund to help lower-income residents with their heating bills this winter. The program also is funded with support from ...

Tagged with: Avangrid heating project SHARE RG&E

ESL Federal Credit Union has distributed another $15 million to members, completing the largest Owners’ Dividend payout in the program’s 25-year history. The latest payout brings the total 2020 Owners’ Dividend distribution to $35 million. ESL had paid out $20 ...

Erica Mangers, an executive director with Watermark Retirement Communities, joins the RBJ to talk about Watermark’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization’s approach to vaccinations, silver linings from the past year and more. WATCH VIDEO This item is part of ...

New York state will again allow indoor dining at all restaurants, removing a burdensome restriction that had caused economic hardship for restaurateurs in designated COVID-19 Orange Zones. “We’re ecstatic and happy to be back open,” said Van Zissis, owner of Highland ...

When Victor Salerno left his accounting job in 1971 to oversee the finances of O’Connell Electric Co., he brought with him a personal expectation. He didn’t intend to use this role as the company’s vice president as a stepping stone ...

Realtor.com no longer considers Rochester a Top 10 hottest housing market, but that doesn’t mean the the online real estate listings website thinks the area has cooled off. A year ago, Rochester ranked No. 6 among the country’s 100 largest ...

Brave Women FLX, a tourism campaign promoting female leadership and awareness of women’s history in the Finger Lakes, is using a virtual fitness challenge to support its purpose and raise money to promote women-owned businesses and women-focused historic sites. The ...

Longtime Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation President and Trustee Donald Whitney died on Sunday following a brief illness. He was 72. Mr. Whitney was born Jan. 29, 1948, in Watertown, Jefferson County. Following his graduation in 1966 from Adams Center Central ...

Tagged with: daisy marquis jones donald whitney obituary

Area experts are mixed on whether a final rule set last week by the U.S. Department of Labor that clarifies the standard for employee versus independent contractor status could impact local businesses at this time. They also question whether the ...

In 2019, the city of Rochester, working with numerous internal and external stakeholders, put together a comprehensive plan, a nearly 500-page document that addresses six initiative areas that was designed to enable the region to realize its full potential. Rochester ...

Mercantile on Main, featuring five food operators and coffee brewer, has opened in the atrium of Sibley Square at 240 E. Main St. Palermo’s Market Nani’s Kitchen, Flour Kitchen, CUT and Broth are preparing food for takeout and delivery only ...

Wayne County’s Jrlon Inc. has extended its footprint with the acquisition of South Carolina manufacturer Metalworx Inc. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Metalworx is a high-performance contract manufacturer that specializes in precision machining and complete metal fabrication. ...

Tagged with: acquisitions brandon redmond jrlon manufacturing metalworx

Willie Lightfoot, vice president of the Rochester City Council, has been appointed to the National League of Cities Public Safety & Crime Prevention federal advocacy committee. During the one-year term, Lightfoot will help the committee determine strategic direction for the ...