Praying with their feet
Rabbi Joshua Gray reminded the crowd of all ages in Glens Falls that Rabbi Heschel, “prayed with my feet,” when he walked for civil rights in the 1960s. He told the crowd they were doing the same for Ukraine now, Gray said, according to a story in the Post-Star. Gray and his wife, Meghan, organized the event to benefit Ukrainian refugees. Proceeds from the downtown walk will go to Global Giving, the story says.
Nisky gathers donations for Ukraine
The Ukrainian Catholic churches held donations drives throughout the Capital Region, including one at the Niskayuna Town Hall, over the weekend to benefit the Ukrainian people, the Daily Gazette is reporting. Donations included food, clothes, cash and others, the story says.
Short-term rentals in the Adirondacks are money makers
It is not your imagination, more people are staying in the Adirondacks, the Adirondack Explorer says. In the nine-month period from January to September last year, Airbnb hosts inside the Park received $52.8 million—a $31 million increase over 2019. The percent increase, 151%, beat Airbnb’s growth nationally for a similar time period. Hotels and motels stayed strong, but the data show a shift toward the home-as-short-term-rental market, the story says.
Sen Daphne Jordan’s district a bit bluer
Redistricting has increased the active voter enrollment for New York’s 21st Congressional district, where Republican Elise Stefanik holds the seat, and maintained a large majority of Democrats in the 20th District where Democrat Paul Tonko holds the seat. The trends tended to be the same for state races, too, a story in the Post-Star says. The solid GOP districts where Legislator Matt Simpson and Senator Dan Stec hold seats are still heavily red, while the district where Democrat, Legislator Carrie Woerner is the incumbent edged a bit toward purple. Only in the district where Senator Daphne Jordan holds a seat, she’s a Republican, have the demographics shifted significantly bluer, the story says.
Joro spiders won’t bite—maybe give you a heart-attack
Don’t fear the palm-sized spider that, literally, has a version of Edvard Munch's “The Scream” painted on its abdomen. For weeks, Joro spiders have made over-the-top headlines as they are expected to reach the east coast, a Times Union story says. They “rarely” bite, says Union College’s Assistant Visiting Professor Alexander Sweger, a biology and spider expert. [We rarely add our two cents in these executive summaries, but we must add a very stern mmmm-hmmm! Really, click the story and look at the abdomen—"The Scream" is there, wearing Buddy Holly glasses, but still.]