Community Loan Fund expansion plans
The Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region will break ground in the next several months on an $11.2 million building that will include commercial space, apartments for low-income renters and extra space for the start-up incubator program. The four-story, 54,000-square-foot building in Albany will house 22 to 35 additional startups (it hosts 10 now) and three retail spaces for members, the Albany Business Journal says.
Warren County occ tax up
Warren County has collected over $4.4 million in occupancy tax so far this year, more than all of 2020, the Post-Star is reporting, and the year isn’t over. Tax collection may beat the 2019 figure of $4,864,332, officials said in the story. They are crediting a higher local hotel rate, a bill tourists are still willing to foot, the story says.
The mall gets “Axed”
Adirondack Axe, an establishment where people throw axes at wall-mounted targets, will move into Aviation Mall, near Dick’s Sporting Goods, the Post-Star is reporting. Mall officials told the paper that having axe-throwing will bring a steady stream of foot traffic as the company is part of the World Axe Throwing League and hosts tournaments.
Money for Clifton Park nonprofits
The Clifton Park Town Board has money to give, a story in the Times Union reported earlier this week. Nonprofits can ask for up to $10,000 in federal American Rescue Plan funds, so long they can prove that the pandemic affected their operations. The application is still being drafted, but the town hopes to publish the form, receive the responses and make a decision by year’s end, the story says. The town will use $200,000 of the town’s $3.7 million rescue fund cash to fund 20 nonprofits or more.
Pot in Placid
Lake Placid’s school superintendent thinks marijuana dispensaries in town are a bad idea, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise is reporting. He said that devices, such as vapes, already allow students to partake covertly of THC, the psycho-reactive chemical that makes a person high, and that too much access in town would be a bad idea. He spoke at a public hearing about the new state law that says localities may choose to allow, or not allow, retail marijuana sales and marijuana lounges within their borders. The Lake Placid Village Board is still contemplating the decision. About 50 people attended the meeting.