Springs: Black Elks Lodge needs help
Both the Daily Gazette and the Times Union have stories about the “Black Elks Lodge” of Saratoga Springs. The lodge, now in the Beekman Arts District, has fallen on hard times and on low-enrollment of the ranks. Formally the Frederick Allen Lodge No. 609, the social club was built about 100 years ago to be a congregation for the city’s African American population when white people would not allow Blacks into their social clubs. Down to just 25 members, the club held a fundraiser Sunday and has a GoFundMe page to raise the needed $80,000-plus in repairs.
Lia Auto Group founder dies
Bill Lia Sr., founder of the Lia Auto Group which covers three states, has died. He was 85, a story in the Albany Business Journal says. Lia opened his first Honda showroom in Delmar in 1978, grew it into 21 dealerships, four Vent Fitness clubs, two BurgerFi franchises, and an insurance brokerage. He also has commercial real estate investments, the story says.
Putting iPaces through the paces
iPACES — Interactive Physical and Cognitive Exercise System — is conducting clinical trials to test its “exergame” device, the Albany Business Journal is reporting. The company, started by Union College professor Cay Anderson Hanley, works the legs with an under-table bike pedaler along with a screen on the table that asks the player to remember a list of errands and “walk” to the appropriate locations to complete the errands. Using grant funding, Anderson Hanley is testing with the hope that the game will eventually be prescribable for people with early stages of dementia.
North County, Canadian chambers ask for leniency
Quebec’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the North Country Chamber of Commerce have asked the Canadian Government to end its requirement that Canadians entering the U.S. must get tested before returning to the Great White North, the Adirondack Sun is reporting. The U.S. determined that the risk to the fully vaccinated, who have been allowed to cross the border and back since Nov. 8, should be enough to convince the Canadian government of the same, the chambers say in the story.