Westchester County Business Journal + Front Page

A just-released federal study combines Westchester County with Putnam and Rockland counties, eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and New York City – the New York metropolitan statistical area (MSA) – to produce an economic colossus with an annual gross domestic product of nearly $1 trillion.

The business talk and sales pitches see-sawed between English and Mandarin last week at the Hilton Rye Town. The 19-person delegation visiting Westchester County handed out bilingual business cards. China, fast transforming from a brawn-based to a brain-based economy, came courting businesses and investors here, and was courted in turn, at a technology cooperation seminar hosted by county officials.

A Greenwich, Conn., company headed by the founder and former CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to build a hotel in Port Chester, according to village officials.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has sued reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Company L.L.C., claiming the company pocketed more than $80 million in illicit profits by arranging inflated insurance prices as much as 40 percent above the industry average.

With the various plans for the future of the Interstate-287/Tappan Zee Bridge corridor still being studied for the foreseeable future, one regional transportation group is calling on the state to address land use issues related to the future of the corridor more thoroughly.

In addition to learning in classrooms, students at Stamford’s Academy of Information Technology & Engineering learn by simply walking through their building.

Continuing with the theme of distributing awards that better reflect its goals and programs, the Westchester County Association (WCA) has introduced the Young Professional APEX award, which will be presented to Adam Stark of Stark Business Solutions.

Two developers, Greater Centennial Community Development Corp. and The Future Home Company of Westchester Inc. officially opened the James Varick Homes in Mount Vernon last week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Founded in 1998 in Rockdale, Ga., the Miracle League provides the opportunity for children with disabilities to play baseball. In 2005 when Stephen Madey visited the original Miracle League facilities and saw the joy of the children at play, he knew he wanted to bring that happiness to Westchester.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for more than $1 trillion of the $2.3 trillion the federal government spent in 2005, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau earlier this month.

A 23-year-old rookie in the hospitality industry, Jaclyn Ragette hustled through drills in her first day of “boot camp” in Westchester County.