Business Beat

As flying has become as routine and popular as driving, it's developed a key connection with the auto world. Think traffic jam.

Sadly for those in the metro area, and those arriving from all over the country and world, Kennedy Airport has become the poster child for congestion. It's on the roads, in the terminals, on the tarmac and even in the skies all around it.

For many, the question has become urgent: is there any way to improve the situation? In my colleague James Bernstein's story, you'll see that the federal government is trying, but others have their own ideas of how to help. So even the drawing board of change for the airport is in gridlock.

Misery loves company, so it may help to know that JFK passengers aren't alone. Here are some articles about congestion at Kennedy and other airports, and what's being done:

http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/jfk_flight_reductions/

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/mcgee/2007-10-31-avoiding-holiday-delays_N.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/11/airlines.scheduling/index.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/july-dec07/delays_08-07.html

And here's a fascinating web site where the Federal Aviation Administration shows you delay information in real time at airports around the country.

http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp

--Noel Rubinton

People have probably started naming their babies "Google."

Google is clearly the go-go-go company of the moment. And everything it touches or talks about touching gets some added oomph.

So for the last day, the buzz has been that Google and Verizon Wireless are working on a secret mobile project together. Ok, iPhone, how about a gPhone?

It's far from clear that this partnership will come to pass and Verizon Wireless is working with others, as Google likely is. But with Google stock surging past $700 a share today, the association was positive for Verizon. Even if the stock only was up 71 cents, it ended up near its high for the year. More than that, it was being talked about in a lot of sentences along with Google. And that, as Martha would say, is a good thing.

Here are some of the stories speculating about the latest in mobile phone and this possible Google-Verizon Wireless team:

http://www.newsday.com/technology/wire/sns-ap-google-stock,0,2581546.story

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/31/smbusiness/iPhone.fsb/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/31/smbusiness/iPhone.fsb/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

http://seekingalpha.com/article/52242-how-apple-s-iphone-changed-verizon-wireless?source=yahoo

--Noel Rubinton

There’s salary news for IT workers and then there's salary news for the rest of us. A recent study mentioned on Business Beat indicated that the shortage of high-tech workers was translating into wage increases as high as 6 percent.

That’s more than 60 percent higher than what workers in general should expect. Salaries overall are expected to raise 3.8 percent in 2008, according to Salary.com, which just released the latest results of its National Salary Budget Survey.

The survey found that 64 percent of companies plan no changes in their salary budgets. That compares with just 26 percent that plan to increase their pay levels and 10 percent who expect to reduce them.

For more on the high-tech survey go to:

http://yoh.com/yohindex/

If you have a burning desire to start your own business, you’re not alone. Small businesses drive the U.S. economy, according to the Small Business Administration.
They represent 99.7 percent of U.S. businesses and employ about half of all private-sector employees.

The SBA will host a program at the Riverhead Free Library on how to start or expand a small business. The agency’s top administrator for this region will be on hand. Representatives from the local Small Business Development Centers and the Service Corps of Retired Executives will attend. The advice is free and so is admission.

The program takes place on Nov. 13 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information call 212-264-7750.

For more on SBA programs go to:

http://www.sba.gov

As Yogi Berra said, it's deja vu all over again.

In a federal courtroom Tuesday in Central Islip, an attorney for David H. Brooks--the multi-millionaire now charged with mega counts of crimes--was arguing that Brooks' personal wealth could be used to securely detain him at home instead of at a government jail.

The U.S. attorney's office opposed the move. It all sounded familiar. In fact, it was an extremely similar debate to what went on earlier this year over the Sabhnanis, the Muttontown couple accused of enslaving two of their domestic workers. To add to the coincidence, the Sabnanis are currently the subjects of a high profile trial in the same building. After many weeks and hearings, they were released to home detention. There has been some sparring over those arrangements since their release, but they remain in effect.

The judge in the Brooks case, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, said the two parties should keep talking and present a compromise plan to her Friday.

To read about the debate in the Sabhnani case and the ultimate resolution, go to:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-bzslav0605,0,1513271.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-bzslav0821-story,0,1106345.story

--Noel Rubinton

Today's session of the federal court trial of Varsha and Mahender Sabhnani--the multimillionaire couple accused of enslaving two domestic workers--was graphic and, I'm sure, hard for some to take. The allegations of abuse of two domestic workers were dramatically presented in photographic form. The images were wrenching.

Many who hear of this case react along the lines of: "Here? This can't be happening here."

But the allegations were made here on Long Island, about actions reported to have taken place behind the closed doors of a Muttontown estate.

Without getting into the ultimate guilt or innocence of the Sabhnani couple, it's worth noting that cases of abuse against domestic workers from overseas are more common than many would like to believe. In fact, some term it an epidemic.

Here are some stories that show the landscape:

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/usadom/

http://www.ips-dc.org/campaign/index.htm

http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/humanrights/28034res20070117.html

--Noel Rubinton

Today is quite a day for action in the huge DHB Industries legal action that started last week. The company's chief honcho, David H. Brooks, has his bail hearing this afternoon at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.

This morning was a quiet warm-up act. Sandra Hatfield, Brooks' former chief assistant, had her arraignment. But from the media turnout and lack of intensity in the court action, says my colleague, Dan Wagner, it was seen as a rather routine affair. She'd already made bail and said she's innocent of all the charges.

When Brooks, who is accused of truly massive fraud, comes up for his bail hearing later, there promises to be a lot more action and interest.

The only thing keeping the reporter count down will be the trial in the same building of Varsha Sabhnani and her husband, Mahender. The couple, accused of enslaving two domestic employees, are part of the headline event at the courthouse these days.

--Noel Rubinton

Temp hiring continues strong, according to the latest reading from the American Staffing Association.

The group's hiring index has set a record so far this month, rising to 109 from last month’s record 108. The Virginia-based organization says its index is the most comprehensive reading of the weekly changes in temporary and contract employment.

For a few months now, some Long Island staffing company have said that demand has been steady, especially for accountants and sales executives.

Temp stats are closely watched because they are considered a key barometer of hiring trends in general.

For a closer look go to:

http://www.americanstaffing.net/statistics/staffing_index.cfm

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

The Center for Women’s Business Research in Washington needs you if you are a woman and own your own business. The group wants to establish a national online research panel made up of female entrepreneurs.

The panel would give the group a way to weigh in quickly on debates over policies and programs that affect women business owners. Participants must own at least 25 percent of their business.

To fill out a profile and to learn more go to:

http://www.womensbusinessresearch.org/

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in in Alaska in 1989, it quickly became one of the century's greatest environment disasters. An estimated 1,200 miles of coastline were dirtied and hundreds of thousands of birds and mammals died as a result.

Attention quickly turned to the tanker's captain, Joseph Hazelwood, and that, amazingly and sadly, turned attention to Long Island. Hazelwood was a resident of Huntington and the protracted story that unfolded brought Huntington far more than its usual share of national and international attention.

The wheels of justice grind slowly, they say, and wheels took a few more turns Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider the appeal from the company, now Exxon Mobil.

Hazelwood has slipped below the radar. In the late 90s, he was still living and working in the metropolitan area, but it's not clear whether he's ever resumed his Huntington life.

Here's news of the Supreme Court action, as well as a fascinating Time magazine special report from 1989 about Hazelwood, his local ties and the case in which he became embroiled:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071029/scotus_exxon_valdez.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,958192-4,00.html

--Noel Rubinton

In electoral politics, they sometimes call it "walkaround money," where a politician spreads cash on Election Day (or before) to encourage people to go out and vote.

In the world of land development, which is often a close cousin to electoral politics, companies often make available "grants" in the community to help gain support for their plans. In Suffolk recently, for example, Caithness and LIPA promised millions to help the community surrounding a proposed new power plant in the Yaphank area.

On Monday came news that Charles Wang and Scott Rechler, partners in the huge plan to redevelop the area around the Nassau Coliseum, were donating $1 million to endow a new grant-making charity they call the Lighthouse Foundation, which they say will help fund community-building projects in the neighborhoods around the Nassau Coliseum area they hope to redevelop.

The foundation will support education and job programs with the goal of improving the region's quality of life. It will help underwrite community events, arrange scholarships, and support job creation and home-ownership efforts.

At the same time, Wang and Rechler are trying to go into high gear towards gaining the needed governmental approvals, primarily from the town of Hempstead--whose constituents are the same ones who stand to benefit from the Lighthouse Foundation.

--Noel Rubinton

To hear people talking about the case of Mahender Sabhnani, and his wife, Varsha, the wealthy Muttontown couple accused of enslaving two Indonesian women working for them, you know the case touches a nerve. Yes, it seems exotic to some, but many talk about the case as only an extreme example of what can, and does, happen to other workers.

One group of workers who are regularly seen as targets are "guest workers." Without the legal protection of American citizens, they are seen as vulnerable. So while people will be watching the trial of the Sabnanis closely, many will also be thinking about others not on trial but equally suspect.

To read more about the worries about "guest workers," go to: http://www.coxwashington.com/news/content/reporters/stories/2007/03/14/BC_GUEST_ABUSE13_COX.html

--Noel Rubinton

Finding motivational speakers to inspire the troops is a common strategy for companies hoping to increase sales. And the Hauppauge Industrial Association is taking that tack for its members on Thursday, when Brian Parsley, a Charlotte, N.C.-based certified professional behavior analyst will speak to the group. He focuses on the links between increased sales, customer loyalty and employee retention.

By his reckoning, all those elements form an intricate web with human capital at its core.
“Employee involvement leads to employee commitment,” he said in an interview. “Employee commitment is what leads to employee loyalty. Employee loyalty drives customer loyalty and customer loyalty drives profit.”

Parsley will speak during an executive breakfast forum on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The cost is $70 for members and $95 for nonmembers. For more information call 631-543-53

The Tax Man always cometh in many different ways.

And to make sure the IRS gets it due of direct-sales transactions, it has issued new a fact sheet for direct sellers.

These are the sales people whose income is based on their sales and not on the number of hours they work. They do such things as sell consumer products in the home or any place other than a permanent retail establishment. It seems they have trouble deciding what to declare as income--that could include such things as prizes, awards and gifts received from the selling business.

To view fact sheet FS-2007-24 go to:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/content/0,,id=104575,00.html

The FCC looks ready to deal another body blow to the kind of exclusivity that has long fed the money money of Cablevision and other top cable companies.

The commission seems set to strike down this week the thousands of contracts that have given monolithic cable providers the exclusive chance to serve apartment dwellers. These residents around the country (including those served by Cablevision in places like the Bronx) would have new-found rights and opportunities to choose different cable companies. The competition is expected to reduce prices paid by consumers.

Competition for cable service came only recently to Long Island, mostly in the form of Verizon, and the pace seems poised to pick up.

For more about the move, see:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/business/media/29cable.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

--Noel Rubinton

Sustainable Long Island is an organization with an eye-catching name. How exactly can you be against sustainability?

Well, the group's work isn't always successful. Its community-involving "visioning" projects around Long Island have not always gotten beyond the drafting tables.

But the idea of sustainability is worthy of consideration no matter what.

Here's a new story about the group's work by my colleague Rhoda Amon:

http://www.newsday.com:/business/ny-lfcov1028,0,2651033.story

Here's a further look at the theory of sustainability, and its application:

http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/

And here's a way to look at the organization itself:

http://www.sustainableli.org/

--Noel Rubinton

Can small still be beautiful, and profitable, in banking today? Like in so many other areas, consolidations have become the norm in banking in this country, leading to a few mega-mega banks.

In such a world, independents such as Astoria Federal have become the exception. Whether they will succeed and survive in the longer term is an open question.

Here's some looks at the question of scale in banking, including a Time magazine article about North Fork a few years before it too was gobbled up:

http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/851204-1.html

http://www.dallasfed.org/research/swe/2004/swe0401b.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,536217,00.html

--Noel Rubinton

The mourning is probably over for those feeling sorry for the Dolans not getting an ok this week to take the company private.

The new news is that Cablevision will raise its rates by an average of 4.7 percent, and that means the Dolans, and other company stockholders, will be winning where it really counts--in the bank account.

After three years of increases that were below the rate of inflation, Cablevision has broken that barrier again and will reap millions from the hikes. The higher increase suggests that competition for cable tv services from Verizon and DIRECTV isn't seen as overly price sensitive, at least right now. Cablevision won't be increasing the cost of the "Triple Play" for new tv, internet and phone customers--which reflects how competitive the phone and internet markets are.

If it makes anyone feel better, there are other significant cable tv increases around the country. Here's a report on Comcast, another huge cable company:

http://www.tvpredictions.com/comcastrates101607.htm

--Noel Rubinton

An effort to leverage the buying power of gays and lesbians is leading to Long Island’s first gay-friendly business directory, to be launched Nov. 13.

The directory will have not just gay-owned businesses, but also gay-friendly companies, an idea from Robert Vitelli, director of development at the Long Island GLBT Community Center in Bay Shore, after he had enough of facing insensitive experiences “every day” as a consumer.

“If I’m going to spend my buying power somewhere, I want to spend it where they understand who I am,” Vitelli said. “If you want to chase the gay dollar, you have to recognize us.”

The venture, called Partners in Pride, is a new program under the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth nonprofit in Bay Shore. So far, several dozen businesses have signed up to be in the directory, but hundreds are expected to join in after word gets out. It requires membership fees of $175 to $2,500, but discounts will be given to those signing up by Nov. 7.

The launch party will be held 6-8 p.m. at the Four Food Studio in Melville.

Supporters see the directory as a marketing tool and business boost to gay-friendly companies.

“We get so many phone calls: ‘Do you know of a gay-friendly doctor’ or a ‘gay electrician’ . . ., “ said David Kilmnick, executive director of Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth. “Too often people assume everyone is heterosexual.”

He remembers when he and his partner were applying for a mortgage with a loan officer: “Right in front of our faces, he said, ‘Oh, where’s your wife?’ “

---ELLEN YAN

Syosset resident Lorraine Donlon, whom we profile in Friday's paper, was estactic over winning the Martha Stewart "Dreamers Into Doers" award Tuesday for organizing a civic association to clean up a neighborhood eyesore.

She couldn't have been more thrilled with her award but she wanted to make one thing clear in an interview lest her friends get the wrong idea: Though she was recognized by the Domestic Diva, Donlon says she herself is the opposite of that.

"I am not known for my domestic goddess skills," says Donlon, a reading teacher.
"I would cater cereal if I could."

For the full Newsday story on Donlon's award go to:

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzright5431935oct26,0,1557829.story

For more on the contest winners go to:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071023/nytu027.html?.v=101

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

Most people have heard about Long Island getting grayer. The combination of greater longevity and other powerful economic, social and geographic trends will leave Long Island with a far larger over 50 and over 65 population in the decades to come.

There hasn't been a lot of thinking and talking about what this will mean to Nassau and Suffolk, including to our overall economies.

Enter Martin Cantor, in collaboration with Paul Arfin. Cantor is director of Dowling College's Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute; Arfin is president of Intergenerational Strategies.

In preparation for Friday's Roundtable for Long Island's Future, usually at Dowling but this time held at Newsday, Cantor and Arfin produced a white paper on "The Aging of Long Island: A Crisis in its Infancy." The report is sobering, about how the older population, including aging baby boomer, could lead to large economic and sociological problems.

Here's the whole paper:

http://www.dowling.edu/liesp/papers/AgingLI.pdf

--Noel Rubinton

There's a lot of buzz around the decision by James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA and Nobel laureate, to step down from his long-time post as head of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Part of that buzz is that it was going to cost the lab way too much money if Watson stayed connected after his highly controversial remarks about the intelligence of blacks. It costs a lot of money to be at the cutting edge of science and Cold Spring Harbor has been a money machine for years. Watson was a leader in those fund-raising efforts and now, the argument goes, he was threatening to bring them down.

This may sound heartless, but there's also the ring of truth. As Watson himself said, being at the cusp of 80 years old suggests that it's time to step aside.

Here's an article about how the lab has been compensating for the drops in federal funding and increases in needs for research:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4189/is_20070302/ai_n18724866

and here are Newsday's fresh stories on Watson's departures:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liwats1026,0,988983.story?coll=ny_home_rail_headlines

--Noel Rubinton

Since Motorola took over LI's own Symbol Technologies at the beginning of this year, just about all visible signs of Symbol disappeared. It became hard to know how continuing Symbol business was doing.

Motorola announced quarterly earning Thursday and it was seen as a good report, with profits beating Wall Street estimates.

As best as can be translated, Symbol moved into the "Enterprise Mobility Solutions" area at Motorola and here's what the company's report said about that division:

Enterprise Mobility Solutions had segment sales of $2.0 billion, up 47 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. Excluding highlighted items, operating earnings were $336 million, compared with operating earnings of $280 million in the year-ago quarter.

During the quarter, Enterprise Mobility Solutions:

-- Launched MOTOTRBO, a dual-mode digital 2-way communications platform
that integrates voice and data, in key markets in Asia and Latin
America.
-- Awarded several county-wide public safety contracts in North America.
-- Shipped the one millionth MC9000, the industry leading rugged mobile
computer.
-- Started shipping the MC17 mobile computer, aimed at retail, in-store
applications for enhanced personal shopping experiences.

For full Motorola earnings, see http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071025/aqth014.html?.v=33

--Noel Rubinton

Wall Street doesn't have much heart. Rather, it's a searingly analytical calculator of worth and risk vs. reward.

In the case of Cablevision, the Street has been talking for a while now. Except for a period a few months ago when the company's stock briefly went about the $36.26 per share offer from the founding Dolans, the stock's price has been drifting down, down, down. It was down Wednesday after the shareholders voted down the deal and today it's down about another 5 percent, headed toward the low point for the year.

What does it mean? Probably the simplest translation is that no sweeter deal is coming along any time soon for the company and rough seas could be ahead.

--Noel Rubinton

Outsourcing means a lot of things to a lot of people. To companies it's a boon. To workers it's a scourge. To Barbara Viola, the president of Viotech Solutions, a Farmingdale staffing company, it's overrated.

She may have an ax to grind because she places high-tech workers, but some new data support what she says. High-tech workers are still commanding strong pay increases, according to the lastest data from YOH, a Philadelphia staffing comany.

"The outsourcing never really turned out to be as disastrous as we thought it would be," Viola says.

She says a majority of companies have outsourced their IT functions only minimally because they proved difficut to implement overseas. The companies face intensive training for workers, a difference in time zones and complex foreign employment laws.

"Companies, when they have gotten their feet wet, find it might be cheaper but they have to do a lot more work," she says..

For more on the wage study go to:
http://www.yoh.com

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

A new study shows that the IT worker shortage is still translating into higher wages for techies.

The latest wage index released by a YOH, a Philadephia high-tech staffing company shows that high-tech wages in the third quarter (July to September) rose as much as six percent during the quarter, compared with a year ago. Wages averaged slightly more than $31 a hour.

Technology workers’ pay has continued to rise on Long Island as well, says Barbara Viola, president of the high-tech staffing firm Viotech Solutions in Farmingdale. She says that IT workers on the Island are commanding higher wages not only because of the worker shortage, but also because companies here feel the competitive tug of high-tech pay at securities companies on Wall Street.

“It really is making a big difference and is forcing companies out here to raise their salaries,” she says.

For more on the study, go to:

http://www.yoh.com

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

The arrest and jailing of David H. Brooks under a mega federal indictment brought back stories/memories of an event seen as a monument to excess--his daughter's reputed $8 million bat mitzvah. And the indictment makes it clear that this lavish affair wasn't just about Brooks and his family--the feds allege it was about theft of corporate money. Lots of it.

To read more about the legendary bat mitzvah, go to http://mog.com/sethpian/blog_post/7493

--Noel Rubinton

The Dolan family saga, otherwise known as the life and times of Cablevision, got quite a new chapter on Wednesday. By rejecting the family's $36.26 per share offer, stockholders sent the company into some sort of wild blue, or grey, yonder.

For fascinating analysis of today's vote, see:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119323978458569943.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo

http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto102420071906490185&referrer_id=yahoofinance

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/analysis-the-dolan-discount/

--Noel Rubinton

It turns out that the office is a house of horrors for a lot of people. An Adecco poll asked workers which person they feared the most at work. Their answers crossed a broad spectrum of people.

The immediate boss ranked highest, with 34 percent reporting a fear factor. That title struck more fear into the hearts of the respondents than the actual company head, the president and CEO. Just 28 percent cowered because of that person. Rounding out the top five list were co-worker: 25 percent; HR representative, 9 percent, and the front desk receptionist, 5 percent.

Generationally speaking, Baby Boomers are less afraid of the boss than Gen Xers, 27 percent vs. 29 percent. But they are equally guarded against the front-desk receptionist: 2 percent vs. 2 percent.

Check out the survey: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071022005248&newsLang=en

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

What's the big hurry?

Isn't it the wisdom (conventional, at least) that you search widely for job candidates and then choose when you are ready? In baseball, somehow, it seems like the list of managerial possibles is set in stone even before there's officially an opening, and then you rush to announce the new man. In the Yankees case, it seems like the pre-ordained number of manager wannabes was three--Joe Gerardi, Don Mattingly and Tony Pena.

You certainly don't want your best candidate to be scooped up by another organization. But what's the harm in being a little more deliberate and casting the net wider? It's what businesses and non-profits do all the time and sometimes it even leads to a surprise candidate who's a winner both in the search and in the job.

For the latest on the Yankees, here's my colleague Kat O'Brien, with a report that even connects two subjects not often linked--Steinbrenners and patience: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks1025,0,4383164.story

--Noel Rubinton

Local economist Martin Cantor has once again stepped into the fray on a controversial development proposal -- and once again, his findings are eerily consistent with the goals of his financial backers.

Cantor accepted $7,000 from the Birchwood Civic Association and Cerro Wire Coalition for a study released Wednesday indicating that an "alternative development proposal" would be preferable to a decade-old plan to build a large, high-end shopping mall at the former Cerro Wire headquarters in Syosset. The anti-mall coalition receives funding from Simon Property Group Inc., which owns the Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington and Roosevelt Field in Garden City.

The analysis was based on an version of the mall proposal that called for an 860,000-square-foot building. Proposed developer The Taubman Co, which has not been above using creative marketing (such as in http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/business/ny-bzmove245429875oct24,0,3776563.story) to advance its cause, had offered to submit a scaled-down proposal for the mall, but the town declined to negotiate.

Earlier this year, Cantor acknowledged receiving more than $10,000 in consulting fees from the developers of the proposed Glen Isle project in Glen Cove. Cantor later espoused that project's virtues at a meeting of Dowling College's Long Island Economic & Social Policy Institute, which he directs.

--Daniel Wagner

Making the dean’s list gives college students bragging rights. (And they make their parents feel good about their big-bucks investments.) Companies have their own version of making the dean’s list: Making the list of the fastest, biggest... etc.
Here are some of the newest Long Island high achievers:

Juma Technology, a Farmingdale company that provides integrated communications services for businesses, ranked No. 62 on Deloitte’s 2007 Technology Fast 500 list of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications and life-sciences companies in North America.

Verint Systems, a Melville company that supplies software and services to businesses, ranked 98 on Software Magazine’s annual Software 500. The list ranks the world’s largest software and service providers.

The microbrewery Southampton Publick House won silver and bronze medals at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. The brewery won the medals respectively for its Southampton Double White and its Southampton Saison.

Class dismissed!

--Carrie Mason-Draffen

So the deal is done. Really done.

Cablevision says its founding family defeated in its attempt to take the giant company private for $36.26. And CEO James Dolan immediately pronounced it "a very positive event. We see today's outcome as a vote of confidence in the prospects of Cablevision, its management team, its 20,000 employees, and the industry's future."

For other views on the vote, see:

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/analysis-the-dolan-discount/

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071024/cablevision_dolans.html?.v=11

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119323978458569943.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/shareholders-vote-against-cablevision-buyout/index.html?hp

And there's the company's own news release:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/071024/20071024005915.html?.v=1

Well, here we are: 11 o'clock this morning, Cablevision hq, Bethpage, the special stockholders meeting of the year. Will the Dolans take the company private or will they be taken down? We'll have two Newsday reporters there filing for the web throughout the proceedings at newsday.com/business.

Meanwhile, not surprisingly, the gossip continues up to the last minute. Today's NY Post touts a softening of the wall against the Dolans among top stockholders. Read it here: http://http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN2440129220071024?rpc=44

And from slightly less racy sources, stock analysts and proxy advisory services, here's more late news: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071024/cablevision_ahead_of_the_bell.html?.v=1

The Wall Street Journal weighs in with a report on Verizon's growing clout in the television and internet field and how it might complicate the Cablevision decision: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119318239126769111.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo

--Noel Rubinton