[Editor's note: FoothillsBusinessDaily.com is on hiatus until July 12. We will have sporadic postings until then.]
Violence and reaction in Saratoga Springs
In Saratoga Springs, a violent Saturday night brawl that ended with a stabbing and shots fired, spurred a press conference from the Assistant Chief John Catone and Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton. At that conference Catone and Dalton blamed out-of-towners and gangs for the violence, and Catone, who pushed back against what he sees as a narrative that labels police racists, said he would use his family’s 130-year history in the community to lift up the unheard majority and stop that narrative. The Times-Union has the story, here.
This morning, the T-U has the follow-up that reports the reaction from Democrats and others. Dalton, a former Republican, is running for mayor as an independent on the Saratoga Stronger Together line. Ronald Kim, her Democratic opponent, called for a better security plan and less “blaming” and “finger pointing.” Local civil justice activists pointed out the dog-whistle nature of the assistant chief’s remarks and said this is why they protest in Saratoga Springs. [Editor's note: We will follow the developments closely in this story once we are back from hiatus.]
Ice Castle in Lake George this winter
Ice Castles is coming to Lake George Village, a story in the Post-Star says. The company will set-up a frozen, wintertime attraction in the Charles R. Wood Park in the village and expect to attract about 100,000 people, the story says. They have gotten $50,000 in marketing help from the county’s occupancy tax committee and will pay $50,000 to the village to rent the park for six months, though the attraction takes six weeks to build and two months to tear down, so it will be open for a couple of months starting in January.
Springs: Comfort Inn and Golden Corral coming out of financial troubles?
Niral Patel will save his own hotel and restaurant from the jaws of other investors, the Albany Business Journal reported earlier this week. The Comfort Inn and Suites along with the Golden Corral, on Old Gick Road just north of U.S. Route 50 in Wilton had fallen into financial hard times during the pandemic, ended up in Chapter 11 and then Chapter 7, and Patel and his holding company has offered nearly $8.3 million for the 7-acre property, the story says. He used to run the operations with his mother.
RPI's head stepping down
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s president, Shirley Ann Jackson, is stepping down, a year from now, the Albany Business Journal reported. RPI is the largest private university in the area. Under the long-time president the university’s student body has become more diverse and international.
Dewatering plant redevelopment
The Warren Washington IDA is looking to redevelop the dewatering plant near Lock 8 of the Champlain Canal, the Post-Star reported earlier in the week. General Electric originally used the site to clear contaminates from the Hudson River sludge. That operation ended in 2016.
For farming or development, the land is prime
Dairy Farmers in Moreau are asking to rent “prime farmland” to solar energy producers, but the town is pushing back, according to a story in the Post-Star. Some of the farms have been in the family generations, and they are having troubles paying taxes and maintaining the property, the story says. The town says farmers could sell to larger farming operations, but the farmers say they are courting down-state developers.