Albany NY

as a reference to the simpsons episode?

For anyone who is interested in testing for their Technician license or upgrading to General or Amateur Extra:

The Troy Amateur Radio Association will be holding a VE session this Saturday at the Watervliet Senior Center (1501 Broadway, Watervliet).

Doors open at 9:30am and the session begins at 10am. Don't be late!

Bring your FCC-supplied FRN #, current license (if you have one), $15 test fee, and photo ID. Links and more relevant information can be found at www.N2TY.org/tvet.htm.

North Creek’s rail bike company rescued RPI students who got stranded while river rafting. After their rafts got stuck, the rafters hiked six hours and then, after midnight, pedaled back to civilization on the rail bikes.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/stranded-hudson-river-rafters-rescued-adirondacks-18352332.php

Bruce Springsteen canceled his Albany concert so he can deal with a medical issue. The concert was already rescheduled from March due to a band member’s illness.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/ailing-springsteen-cancels-albany-syracuse-18351649.php

The holiday lights show which was supposed to move from Washington Park to Altamont Fairgrounds this year is also canceled, because the Albany Police Athletic League couldn’t get it organized in time. (During the pandemic the Bethlehem police department killed our adorable Christmas parade which brought the community together in favor of a drive-through lights event. If they stick with that this year, I bet it will be extra packed.)

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/no-holiday-lights-altamont-year-18350989.php

The Belmont Stakes will likely be at Saratoga in 2024 and 2025 as Belmont Park is being renovated.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/belmont-stakes-coming-saratoga-2024-18348161.php

The Saugerties town board would like to pass a motion to deny all FOIL requests for records regarding resignations and retirements, which is pretty clearly illegal. This is presumably to avoid releasing records about the police chief who recently left following a sexual assault scandal in his department.

https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/news/article/saugerties-foil-request-retirement-resignation-18350358.php

It’s the first day of a lot of local schools. Will this year continue the trend of chronic absenteeism, which spiked during the pandemic when many students either decided school was bullshit or were too sick to attend?

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/millions-kids-missing-weeks-school-attendance-18289670.php

Today’s DocGo news: the NYC comptroller rejected their contract, largely because “There was little evidence to show that this company has the experience to provide the services it has been contracted for” and because the CEO said out loud that the migrant crisis is good for them. I suspect it’ll go through anyway but this is a pretty big deal.

In addition, an audit by the NY Department of State found that DocGo security guards (because they provide migrants with security guards rather than social workers) lack proper licensing.

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/nyc-comptroller-rejects-docgo-s-432m-migrant-18350070.php

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/state-violations-security-upstate-migrant-18347653.php

There has been a big increase in the number of criminal cases dismissed because the prosecution takes too long. Defendants have the right to a speedy trial, and in NY that is defined as six months for a felony and 30-90 days for other crimes. Statewide they have increased 161% since 2019; in Albany County, from 92 to 150 speedy trial dismissals. (The article does not include what percentage of all cases this is.)

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/ny-sees-surge-botched-prosecutions-speedy-trial-18277664.php

Employers now need to state salary ranges in NY job listings. It’s about time!

https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/show-money-pay-transparency-law-takes-effect-18340241.php

Albany County is installing a solar array under a radar tower near the airport. Its production will offset the county’s electric bill. BOCES will also be using it as a teaching tool.

https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/albany-county-breaks-ground-solar-array-18341175.php

Lots of people overstay the 14-night maximum at DEC campgrounds by having different family members sign up for consecutive weeks. The DEC is proposing a long-term permit option at Rollins Pond, but it seems unlikely to me that it will reduce the problem at other more desirable sites.

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/dec-considers-testing-longer-stays-at-adirondack-campground

Hochul signed the bill preventing radioactive water from being discharged into the Hudson. This mostly targets the Indian Point nuclear power plant, which has already been shut down but not yet dismantled.

https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/gov-hochul-signs-save-hudson-ending-18303513.php

Guilderland Library is getting a café.

https://www.timesunion.com/tablehopping/article/roundup-cafe-con-mel-18347539.php

Vassar women professors are suing due to gender-based pay discrimination, which is particularly sad since Vassar used to be a women’s college. Their evidence is pretty good.

https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/news/article/vassar-college-gender-discrimination-pay-lawsuit-18338123.php

There has been a spate of robberies of ice cream stores; the Saratoga Ben & Jerry's, Stewart's, and the Delmar Tastee-Freez. (William Kennedy was arrested for trying to steal an ATM at that last one, but not THAT William Kennedy.)

https://www.news10.com/news/crime/2-charged-with-jims-tastee-freeze-grand-larceny/

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/man-accused-robbing-stewart-s-shop-route-9-malta-18346514.php

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/man-e-bike-robs-crowded-ben-jerry-s-saratoga-18346457.php

If you miss going to a parking garage to buy weed but don't want to support Mexican drug cartels, you're in luck: legal weed is for sale in the Saratoga City Center parking garage.

https://www.news10.com/news/saratoga-county/cannabis-growers-showcase-coming-to-saratoga-springs/

DocGo, the company which is failing to provide or coordinate services for the migrants NYC paid it to relocate upstate, is poised to win an even bigger federal contract to do the same.

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/docgo-looks-toward-4-billion-migrant-contract-18340462.php

A fugitive evaded capture for five months, camping out in the Adirondacks. I wonder what his plans were for winter?

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/dec-fugitive-hid-months-adirondacks-18338811.php

In fraud news, a Mechanicville man has been charged with Medicaid fraud after charging Medicaid for over $1 million in transportation services which didn’t happen, and a woman got worker’s comp to pay $27,000 over six years for travel reimbursement to “aquatic therapy” at the Guilderland Y.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/ex-postal-worker-watervliet-sentenced-27k-scam-18294921.php

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/saratoga-county-man-charged-1m-medicaid-scheme-18335138.php

Albany Med continues to have the second longest ER wait time in the state, and the median time listed here (six hours) is a lot shorter than what I’m hearing from friends who’ve gone. St. Peter’s is only ten minutes faster. The other area hospitals don’t have the facilities to do as much, plus they are dangerous to women because they’re affiliated with the Catholic church and can't be relied on to prioritize women’s health over their fetuses.

https://www.timesunion.com/health/article/albany-area-hospitals-longest-er-wait-times-n-y-18336129.php

The Guilderland IDA unanimously approved $2.2 million in tax breaks for Costco. https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/guilderland-ida-backs-2-2-million-tax-breaks-18334088.php

The owner of five historic buildings on Troy’s River and Front Streets wants to knock them down because the city hasn’t installed a sewer line to them. The city says they can’t install the line until he tells them how he plans to use the buildings. Razing the buildings could threaten the structural integrity of neighboring buildings and of River Street, which is held in place by the Front Street buildings. https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/troy-s-oldest-downtown-commercial-buildings-face-18306630.php

A Gloversville neo-Nazi cried in court while pleading guilty to conspiring to rob a bank and to possessing a weapon he wasn’t allowed to have because he previously assaulted his wife. He previously operated Tyr Tactical Training, focused on “primitive survival skills.” His social media and group chats are filled with Nazi shit. https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/alleged-neo-nazi-gloversville-weighs-guilty-plea-18300661.php

NYRA asked Saratoga Springs to remove animal rights protesters from the racecourse entrance. The city did not do that (which would be illegal; it’s a public sidewalk) but pressured them to reduce the number of people there. Counter-protesters from a group backed by NYRA showed up. The animal rights group thinks they were trying to force a confrontation which would allow police to remove them. https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/churchill-hiding-saratoga-horse-deaths-conceals-18333794.php

The Schenectady school district is proposing modifications to its grading system that will make grading more consistent across classrooms and end consideration of attendance or behavior in academic grades. https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/schenectady-city-schools-look-make-grading-18338351.php

Broadview has donated a hydroponic “freight farm” to the regional food bank, which allows it to grow fresh produce year-round. Apparently it has previously funded them for other local groups so hopefully it works out well, but it strikes me as a logistical headache and unlikely to save a ton of money over buying wholesale produce. https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/broadview-federal-credit-union-donates-farm-18334141.php

Stewart’s won awards for chocolate and Mint Cookie Crumble ice creams at the state fair, and again won the best milk award. https://www.stewartsshops.com/news/stewarts-shops-wins-big-at-the-new-york-state-fair-once-again/

Migrant updates: Hochul called out Biden for federal inaction on immigration, particularly focusing on the need to expedite work permits. The state attorney general reminded public schools that they need to admit migrant children. (The law already included special protections for those living in temporary housing so they don’t need to wait for proof of residency to enroll.) She also informed DocGo, the company which has been doing a very bad job at managing housing and services for migrants it’s been contracted to serve, that it’s under investigation. It does not seem they are assisting migrants in applying for asylum.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/nyregion/hochul-biden-migrants.html

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/hochul-pitches-biden-new-yorkers-new-strategy-18329023.php

https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/state-officials-direct-n-y-schools-enroll-18332913.php

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/ag-investigating-docgo-say-cease-limitations-18307511.php

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/asylum-cases-lag-migrants-lack-required-casework-18328465.php?IPID=Times-Union-state-article-ribbon

Horseracing stuff: Two horses died on Travers Day, bringing up this year’s total number of deaths to 14. NYRA said they would “examine the overall condition of all three racing surfaces.” A new federal authority was already conducting an expanded review of the track.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/nyra-said-track-checked-travers-day-horse-deaths-18332920.php

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/new-federal-authority-probing-saratoga-race-18330442.php

Attempts to unionize Saratoga backstretch workers are tricky because they are employed by individual owners/trainers, because its agricultural classification would mean that unionization is overseen by the state Public Employment Relations Office instead of the federal NLRB, and because most workers are immigrants who do not speak English. (This last bit, of course, means they are more easily exploited.)

https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/group-pushing-saratoga-backstretch-workers-18310466.php

Some horseracing dude in Walkill filled 18 acres of federal wetlands, rerouted streams, and discharged pollution into waterways. He has regularly won more than a million dollars per year, so the $200K civil penalty won’t hurt him much.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/epa-reaches-deal-ny-horse-trainer-wetlands-18303737.php

The nanotech college is back at SUNY Albany, splitting off from SUNY Poly.

https://www.timesunion.com/education/article/suny-poly-s-nanotech-college-returns-ualbany-fold-18299392.php

Albany Bicycle Coalition meets at 6pm on 8/30 at the Bull Moose Club to propose improvements to pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure.

https://www.facebook.com/100064425024574/posts/pfbid05aG75gVTPigkk7qCXTs7kTkBP2KcsvTYm11WfuZic7Afp1zx7MX4juP4SqLy7Snbl/?mibextid=Nif5oz

A man who refers to himself as “Mr. Pickles” is going to jail for cocaine trafficking, so will miss out on the Mr. Pickle beer that will be release at Indian Ladder Farms’ Picklepalooza on 9/2.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/christopher-kelly-key-witness-mafia-linked-drug-18303828.php

The Albany school district wants public input on what to do with 16 stained glass windows from 1887-1909.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/albany-school-district-display-historic-stained-18305340.php#photo-24155974

Forest rangers responded to a 3am call from a drunk 57-year-old hiker who said he was being “hunted like in Predator.” They found him at 6am asleep off the trail.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/dec-hiker-feared-hunted-predator-18312614.php

New owners of the property which for decades has served as a trailhead for Chimney Mountain near Indian Lake have closed it to the public.

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/chimney-mountain-trailhead-closed-to-the-public

Albany, which previously categorized cannabis dispensaries the same way a methadone dispensaries, are looking to change that to allow them to open in more areas. They would be classified the same way as liquor stores or bars.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/albany-change-cannabis-zoning-18301096.php

The Galway school board voted to keep two books in the high school curriculum after complaints. The previous vote on the same issue was a tie, because “ two of the members who voted against it before explained Monday they are new to the board and didn’t understand the impact of their previous vote.” (I am now concerned about their education level.)

https://www.timesunion.com/education/article/galway-school-board-weighs-removing-2-books-18306351.php

The limo company manager convicted of manslaughter in May would like to be released on bail while he appeals. (I am not a fan of post-conviction bail; once you’ve been convicted and sentenced, that should be that until AFTER you win your case.)

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-i-bail-while-i-appeal-conviction.html

A carving of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been added to the state Capital’s Million Dollar Staircase.

https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/justice-ginsburg-portrait-unveiled-new-york-18306893.php

Drome Sound is closing after over 50 years.

https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/drome-sound-music-store-closing-offering-18307190.php