Good morning. Today in your Trail Mix:
Jobless rates are being stubborn throughout upstate.
That could be one reason behind low economic optimism among many upstate New York cities.
And using color to learn more about how we heal.
Energy & environment
The Innovation Trail and WSKG's Matt Richmond has this story about a Southern Tier resident still struggling to get back to normal six months after her home flooded in Tropical Storm Lee.
Nancy Dooling reports for the Press & Sun Bulletin that energy-efficiency projects are catching on in the Binghamton area.
Warm days, cold nights is the best weather for maple sugaring. But Brian Nearing of the Times-Union reports an unusually warm spring is altering the normal tapping schedule, meaning tough decisions for maple syrup producers.
Looking towards the future
A Buffalo developer says he's "bullish" on the economic future of western New York, reports David Robinson for The Buffalo News.
But his viewpoint contradicts the forecast his neighbors may have. Gallup has compiled a year-long survey measuring optimism among Americans. Several upstate New York cities ranked near the bottom for positive outlook, including Syracuse and Buffalo, while Binghamton was the overall lowest (Richard Florida, The Atlantic Cities).
New business
The large central New York engineering firm O'Brien & Geere is now up and running at another location in Clay (Charles McChesney, Post-Standard).
Three clothing boutiques in downtown Syracuse are now under the same ownership, reports the Post-Standard's Bob Niedt.
Jim Catalano of the Ithaca Journal has this profile of a shop trying to resell used camping gear on the cheap.
Work is set to begin this year on improvements to rail service in the Albany area (Eric Anderson, Times-Union). But there are delays to work being done on a new rail station to serve the Buffalo region, reports the Buffalo News.
Jobs
Unemployment rates have either ticked up (Traci DeLore, CNY Business Journal) or stayed stubborn in upstate New York (Matt Daneman, Democrat and Chronicle). In Steuben County in the Southern Teir, the rate is near 11% (G. Jeffrey Aaron, Star-Gazette).
That news comes as WXXI's Leshea Agnew reports there are 600,000 job openings in New York due to a lack of training.
Health
The New York Assembly is renewing calls that a health impact study should be done alongside one for the environmental impacts of hydrofracking (Mary Esch, AP).
Researchers in Buffalo are using light to help determine why some cuts and scrapes (and the more serious wounds too) heal faster than others (Daniel Robison, Innovation Trail/WBFO).
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