The Finkelstein Memorial Library in Spring Valley will host a jobseekers’ seminar April 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The “How to Get a Job in the U.S.A.” workshop is geared toward immigrants, foreign nationals or anyone entering the U.S. job market, the library said.

To register, call the library at 845-352-5700.

Mark Stenberg, the newest member of the board of directors of Nutrition 21 Inc. of Purchase, has a three-year employment agreement as senior vice president and holds a 5 percent secured note on the company for $1.25 million, Nutrition 21 said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Stenberg was chief executive officer and owner of 50 percent of Iceland Health, a nutritional supplement marketer that Nutrition 21 bought in August 2006. In the filing this week, the company said it paid Stenberg $500,000 cash and 4.75 million shares of stock, in addition to the note, for his interest in Iceland Health.
As of Monday, accrued interest on the note was $102,000. The note and interest are due in August 2009. Stenberg also qualifies for up to $1.25 million in additional payments if certain sales benchmarks are reached.
Stenberg’s base salary is $225,000, plus a possible bonus. His employment contract ends on Aug. 25, 2009.

A listing on a popular Internet jobs board for a new general manager at Palisades Center means the county’s largest retail complex may soon be under new leadership.

Postings on Monster.com yesterday showed “immediate openings” for both a general manager and the newly created position of assistant manager.

The mall’s current general manager, Peter Janoff, who has overseen operations since 2005, didn’t return calls seeking comment about the ads.

Palisades Center spokeswoman Lee Marie Dell’Accio confirmed that the complex was looking to hire a new general manager and noted that Janoff was still on the job.

Dell’Accio referred further questions to the mall’s owner, Syracuse-based Pyramid Management Group Inc. A call placed to the human resources manager there wasn’t returned.

Also not returned was a call placed to mall partner Tom Valenti.

A member of the board at MBIA Inc. is stepping down to take a position as a consultant to help the bond insurer’s senior management assess future risk, the company said today.

Debra Perry, who has served as a director of the company since 2004, was asked by the company to take the position, which will help the board’s credit-risk committee and Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph W. Brown “to refine and implement MBIA’s risk strategy for the global credit markets” as part of its 5-year restructuring plan, MBIA said.

The Armonk-based company has been hard hit by the subprime mortgage crisis.

Perry’s resignation from the board is effective today, MBIA said.

It isn’t known how much Perry will be paid in her new position. An MBIA spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional information.

As MBIA director, Perry earned nearly $156,000 in 2006.

Prior to joining MBIA, Perry worked for 12 years at bond-rating agency Moody’s Corp., serving as chief administrative officer and chief credit officer with responsibility over several rating groups.

MBIA Inc., the Armonk-based bond insurer hit hard by the subprime mortgage crisis, announced yesterday that it will eliminate 48 jobs as part of a restructuring plan.

All of the cuts will take place in MBIA’s insurance business. Many of the affected employees will move into different jobs, including the company’s asset management business that is not affected by the workforce reorganization, according to the company.

Jay Brown, MBIA chairman and chief executive officer, said that adjusting the company’s work force is critical as MBIA looks to improve its financial position and restore faith with investors.

“As much as I love my job, making tough decisions that negatively impact our employees is, without a doubt, the hardest part,� Brown said in a written statement. “In making these decisions, we have tried to do so quickly and in a manner that is as painless and generous as possible, with the same treatment for every employee who will leave our organization.�

MBIA’s stock has fallen 82 percent during the past year as the market for subprime mortgages to riskier borrowers weakened and foreclosures soared. Investors have been concerned that the problems for MBIA and other financial companies may not be over with the country mired in the weakest housing market in 25 years. For MBIA, the pain intensified in the fourth quarter when it reported a loss of $2.3 billion, the worst quarterly loss in its history.

MBIA and other bond insurers have taken big write-downs on the mortgage debt that they had insured.

“The MBIA senior management team has moved decisively in the last three weeks to assess the talent and workforce composition required to address our immediate needs and the skills that will allow us to compete effectively in the future,� Brown added.

Even though it is eliminating positions, MBIA said that it also is recruiting 15 to 20 new workers for “strategic roles� and filling another 10 open positions.

MBIA reported 483 employees worldwide as of Dec. 31, including 365 in its insurance business and 118 in asset management. Most of the eliminated positions will be in Armonk, where MBIA has 416 employees.

Shares of MBIA fell 58 cents to $11.60 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

If you’ve got good ideas for promoting work force development across the Westchester-Fairfield border, the U.S. Labor Department has up to $2.5 million to make them happen.

Two public events, billed as town hall meetings, are planned in Westchester on Thursday to explain what the program is about and how to apply for funds. The first takes place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Yonkers Public Library at 1 Larkin Plaza. The second takes place from 2-4 p.m. at Berkeley College at 99 Church St. in White Plains.

The meetings are aimed at consultants, schools, government agencies, and anyone else with an interest in helping the two counties solve the shared challenge of labor needs in the 21st century.

The Labor Department is looking for programs that address the issue regionally. Applicants will want to prepare proposals that will operate in both Westchester and Fairfield County, Conn. Of particular interest are ideas that pair up stakeholders, such as higher education and consulting firms.

The Labor Department awarded $5 million this year for the three-year project, called Talent for Growth WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development.)

The WorkPlace Inc., a work force development board in southwestern Connecticut, is lead agency. Business and government officials from both sides of the state line are involved.

The WorkPlace will put out a request for work force proposals in January. A steering committee appointed by regional elected officials will review the proposals and make recommendations. Additional cycles of requests for proposals are planned.

The idea of cross-border cooperation is gaining more attention. On Wednesday, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano will speak at the Stamford Westin Hotel to members of Fairfield County’s business community about the Westchester marketplace and its economic outlook, focusing on work force and demographic issues.

For more information on WIRED, contact Lisa Mercurio at the Business Council of Fairfield County in Stamford at 203-705-0683, or email lmercurio@businessfairfield.com

Danielle Pearson of the Bronx is studying interior design at Kean University in Union, N.J. and would like to get into the hospitality industry, a wish that took her to The Ritz-Carlton Westchester in downtown White Plains today.

Pearson had a lot of company. Hundreds of people applied for jobs and met with managers at the hotel during a four-hour jobs fair.

Though the Ritz promoted the fair as an opportunity for folks to seek jobs at the hotel’s restaurant, BLT Steak, people seeking other jobs throughout the luxury hotel also met with managers.

Jacqueline Sanders, the general manager of the hotel, said about half the 100 or so jobs in the restaurant have been filled. The hotel will have about 254 total employees when it opens Dec. 19, she said. About 80 of those jobs remain unfilled, she said.

“This is a great turnout,� she said, standing in the lobby where smiling applicants tried to impress hiring managers. “I think it helps that a lot of the construction fencing (outside the hotel) has been taken down. That makes people realize we’re really very close to opening.

“We could get 30 or 40 people out of this process, if it works well,� she said.

The hotel has gotten about 3,000 applicants since January, she said.

In Pearson, the hotel got an eager applicant. “I want to learn the ins and outs of hotels,� she said.

Career Blazers, a staffing company in White Plains, has changed its name to Hire Choice Staffing. Robert Miller, the owner, said the new name reflects the rapidly changing job marketplace. The Internet provides corporate clients and job candidates with more recruitment and job search options than ever before, he said.

Westchester’s employment outlook is expected to be one of the weakest in the nation, with employers planning to hire at a stagnant pace during the fourth quarter, according to the Manpower Inc. Employment Outlook Survey released yesterday.

From October to December, 17 percent of companies surveyed expect to hire more employees, 17 percent plan to reduce their staffs, 56 percent expect to maintain current levels and 10 percent were uncertain.

“Employer confidence about hiring is much weaker as compared to one year ago,� Karen Eidelman, manager of the White Plains office of Manpower, said in a written statement. “For the fourth quarter of 2006, 27 percent of companies surveyed planned to boost staff levels and 3 percent expected to reduce payrolls.�

This year, employers in durable goods manufacturing and public administration plan to reduce staffing, while those in wholesale/retail trade and services have mixed intentions, the survey said.

Nationally, 27 percent of employers surveyed said they will see an increase in hiring and 9 percent expect a decrease. The survey is on www.us.manpower.