Brunswick at Saratoga sold
Owners of the Brunswick at Saratoga Bed and Breakfast have sold the 4,900 square foot, 10-room inn, the Albany Business Journal is reporting. The family sold the building, on Union Avenue across the street from the Saratoga Race Course, to a Florida investor for $1.1 million. Built in 1886, the building was purchased in 2016 and renovated shortly thereafter, the story says.
Former Nxivm building in Halfmoon to become a restaurant
The owner of Joe’s Tavern in Cohoes is moving to the former Nxivm building on Route 9 in Halfmoon, the Albany Business Journal says. The owner and chef Mike Fortin told the journal that the size of the building in Cohoes became too small for the popular bar, adding that traffic was tight, and the bar did not have enough parking, the story says. The 4,010 square foot building in Halfmoon was formerly owned by the cult-like group Nxivm, the story says.
Construction company owner gets prison
Construction company owner Shawn M. VanVeghten was sentenced 2-and-a-third to seven years in prison and paid $100,000 in partial restitution to those he defrauded, the Times Union is reporting. He owes a total of $1 million. He pleaded guilty in December to money laundering and fraud, after taking people’s home payments in a Ponzi-like scheme and spending it on himself, the story says.
Long-time Queensbury teacher suspended over COVID testing
Queensbury Elementary School teacher Joe Traina has been suspended for not submitting to weekly COVID testing, the Post-Star is reporting. Traina, who is unvaccinated and had COVID, he said, posted on Facebook that he believed he was taking a stance against government overreach. Superintendent of Schools Kyle Gannon told the paper that 90% of the district’s staff is vaccinated and testing is ongoing. Schools that violate the state’s testing order expose themselves to fines.
Stewart’s Shops cups go blank
The Stewart's Shops coffee cup with the company logo will soon be gone, thanks to supply chain issues related to the pandemic, the Times Union says. A paper shortage forced the company to shift suppliers. Stewart’s sells 25.55 million cups annually.
De-escalation and use-of-force topic of Schenectady training
All Schenectady police have been trained in de-escalation strategies, a story in the Daily Gazette says. The news came during the city’s meeting of the police reform and reinvention collaborative, a group created earlier this year as part of the police reform discussions that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo required. Police Chief Eric Clifford said the civilian review board has gotten the department thinking more deeply about issues such as de-escalation.