GUILDERLAND — When stylists Erika Bates and Rebecca Riggi signed their lease for a space in Guilderland Center earlier this year, it was the culmination of a years-long desire to own their salon. But then the coronavirus was declared a pandemic. 

Several citizens urged the zoning board not to allow a renovated McDonald’s to have triple the allowed signage.

Katy and Victoria Carl officially became co-owners of what was known for 38 years as Advanced Auto Repair Service on April 6, and rechristened it Carl’s Advanced Automotive & Truck Repair Center.

As New York State begins to reopen, the horticulture industry, which includes greenhouses, nurseries, sod farms, and arborists, has been deemed essential and these businesses are now permitted to resume business statewide, in all regions.

According to the president of Hannay Reels, the company’s “essential” designation by the state, the layout of its facility, and a small-business loan have each allowed for a level of stability in the face of uncertainty.

This Memorial Day Weekend, a community car parade celebrating Altamont’s small businesses and veterans will make its way through the village.

Fifteen small businesses are the first to be awarded COVID-19 Grants from the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region. 

The program has been funded through donations from Neil and Jane Golub, the Capital Region Chamber, Berkshire Bank, Citizens Bank, KeyBank, as well as other municipalities and community organizations.

The Washington Park and Guilderland farmers’ markets are going to start up an online market.

The United States Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses in New York that are suffering substantial economic loss as a result of the coronavirus.

Some local businesses have had to completely alter how they do things after new general- and business-related coronavirus guidance coming from both the state and federal governments this week.