Springs police respond to gun fire, shoot off-duty sheriff
Saratoga Springs police responded to active gun fire at the corner of Broadway and Caroline Street at 3 a.m. Sunday, the Times Union is reporting. Police shot a Rutland-Vermont-area sheriff’s deputy as he turned to face police with drawn gun, the story says. In the story, Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino says, the shootout started when the deputy got into an argument in a bar that moved onto the street where both the deputy and the man with whom he argued drew guns, the story says. The deputy should survive though he was hit with 10 rounds of 11 fired. The deputy’s girlfriend was grazed and a Utica man with whom the deputy was arguing is in bad condition at a local hospital. The situation is under state police investigation and may involve the New York State Attorney Generals Office, the story says.
New Saratoga Biochar meeting
Saratoga Biochar Solutions will hold a public hearing about their carbon-fertilizer plant proposed for the Moreau Industrial Park. Plans for the plant passed muster with the Moreau Planning Board already, but now the Department of Environmental Conservation gets to weigh in. In December or January, the Post Star is reporting, the company will hold a hearing specifically for the residents of Glens Falls, Hudson Falls and Fort Edward. [Read our Saratoga BioChar coverage here.]
West Mountain using RFID cards for ticketing
West Mountain Ski Center in Queensbury is switching from traditional lift tickets to an RFID card system found at larger mountains, the Post-Star is reporting. Skiers and snowboarders will buy a $6 reusable card at the mountain and then recharge it online. The card will be used for ticketing and can be used for buying food and equipment at the mountain. The cards are individual and can be used to see how much a person buys and when they ski. The system cost about $400,000, the story says. The mountain opens Dec. 10, weather permitting.
Apartments, townhomes at Wilton Mall clear hurdle
The Town of Wilton Planning Board will tell the town board to change zoning so that a 380-plus residential development on the Wilton Mall property can move forward, the Albany Business Journal is reporting. Mall owners and Paramount Development hope to invest $125 million into the project that would see nearly 300 apartments and 80-some townhouses on the former Bon-Ton space. The mixed-use idea would breathe life into a shopping center whose revenue has dropped 45% since 2016, the story says.
BST & Co. acquiring O’Connor & O’Connor
BST & Co. CPAs is acquiring the smaller O’Connor & O’Connor CPAs of Albany, the Albany Business Journal is reporting. Siblings John O’Connor Jr. and Mary O'Connor will move with the merger as will two other employees the story says. This has been years in the making, but the pandemic pushed it along. BST is one of the area's largest accounting firms.
Amtrak likely relaunching Adirondack line
The pandemic is under control enough to allow travel between the U.S. and Canada, so that railroad company Amtrak may reinstate the Adirondack Line that has been closed since March 2020, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise is reporting. During a trip to Plattsburgh, U.S. Sen. Kristin Gillibrand said that she supported reopening the line. Officials said they expect a spring relaunch.