Some 60 students taking helicopter flight school at Stewart International Airport in Orange County are wondering if they’ll ever see the tens of thousands of dollars in tuition they’ve paid to Silver State Helicopters after the company suddenly shut down operations Sunday.

Silver State Helicopters, a privately owned company based in Las Vegas, ceased all operations Sunday evening and yesterday filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, according to a press release posted on the company’s Web site (www.silverstatehelicopter.com).

“This action followed a rapid, unprecedented downturn in the U.S. credit markets,� the statement read, “which severely curtailed the availability of student loans for the company’s flight academy students and resulted in a sharp and sudden downturn in new student enrollment.�

Calls placed to the company’s Nevada headquarters this afternoon went unanswered.

The Journal News reported Silver State’s decision to open a flight school at Stewart in July.

Speaking at the time, company founder, president and chief executive Jerry Airola said tuition, which included 200 hours of flight time and 300 hours of classroom and simulator time, was about $70,000.

Airola also said his company had more than 2,600 students enrolled in 34 flight-training academies in 15 states, from Florida to Oregon.

One student whose wondering what will become of the tuition is Jesse Arvidson of Haverstraw, who today was anticipating further word from Silver State about what may become of the tuition he paid.

“Our class has now been in contact with the local FBI, district attorney, and consumer affairs office to see what our options are,� Arvidson wrote in an e-mail.

He and thousands of others students are awaiting word from the company, which is expected to release further information for students and the media this evening.

For 67 years, Pleasantville Jewelers has been a place where customers buy gems for weddings, anniversaries or special occasions.

But in February, the store at 3 Wheeler Ave. is expected to close.

Michael Weinberg, the fourth owner of the store in its long history, said that the jeweler is still making money. But he is exiting the business to return to a marketing career. Corporate marketing had been his focus before he bought the jewelry store three years ago from Ben Nessim, who had owned it for 27 years.

“It was nice owning your own business,â€? Weinberg said. “But I miss marketing so much, working with big companies and coming up with promotions….I really wanted to get back to it. You really have to follow your dream.â€?

Leaving the jewelry business was not an easy decision, he added.

“The hardest part will be missing the people from the town,� Weinberg said. “Everyone has been so nice. Pleasantville is such a great town.�

Weinberg said it is possible that he may sell the store.

“It is up in the air,� he said. “Hopefully, someone will buy it and it will stay a jewelry store. It would be great to carry on the tradition. We just don’t know yet.�

Weinberg said the the store is offering deep discounts as it looks to clear its remaining inventory.

“We have a ton of things to sell,� Weinberg said. “There is at least $500,000 in jewelry, diamonds, gold and all that. We have a good 30 days to make it go all away.�

Bruce Ritell of Sleepy Hollow joined other shoppers in looking over the merchandise earlier this week.

“In the past, we have bought some nice pieces of jewelry here, mainly for my wife,� Ritell said. “We have done a lot of repairs here. I am sorry to see them go.�

CVS Pharmacy will move into the new mixed-use building at 7 Popham Road in Scarsdale, adjacent to the Metro North train station, this month. The 15,000-square-foot retail space will replace the smaller store at 90 Garth Road in Scarsdale.
By the end of the year, CVS will move into the 16,000-square-foot space at 24 Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains, formerly occupied by Woolworth’s and Foot Locker.

The moves were announced by the broker, Pam Bren Goldschmidt of Goldschmidt and Associates in Scarsdale.

The parent company of Columbia Home Loans LLC in Valhalla, which lost $12.6 million in the first half of 2007 amid problems with its subprime mortgage portfolio, said it plans to close the operation by Sept. 30.

A “significant number� of workers were let go in early July, said Michael J. Fitzpatrick, chief financial officer of the parent, OceanFirst Financial Corp. of Toms River, N.J. OceanFirst said earlier this year it would close its subsidiary, which once employed about 125.
Columbia’s president, Robert M. Pardes, resigned and a number of staffers who concealed losses in the group’s subprime mortgages were dismissed, OceanFirst said.

About 41 percent of the $728.3 million in mortgages that Columbia originated last year for OceanFirst were considered subprime, that is, they were made to consumers with less-than-perfect credit histories. Because of early defaults by consumers, Columbia was forced to buy back a significant portion of its subprime portfolio from investors to whom it had sold the loans.

Columbia repurchased $13.9 million in subprime loans in the first quarter of 2007, but just $1 million in the second quarter, OceanFirst said.
A savings bank with assets of $2.06 billion, OceanFirst bought Columbia seven years ago. OceanFirst reported a $5.42 million loss in the first quarter largely as a result of Columbia’s problems, but said this week it had second-quarter profits of $277,000, or 2 cents a share.