The Rickety Man/Ann Kielbasa (2021)
"The Rickety Man" is now online (see below).
Springs: The search for a head of IT continues
Minita Sanghvi, Saratoga Springs’ incoming Commissioner of Finance, wrote in an email to FoothillsBusinessDaily.com that she is still not comfortable hiring Lisa Shields, the current deputy mayor, to head the Office of Information Technology.
Sanghvi wrote it was her understanding that the current commissioner Michele Madigan and the current head Kevin Kline had agreed not to pursue.
“I think her appointment as director of IT would be politically divisive and not in the best interests of our city,” Sanghvi wrote.
Madigan replied it was her understanding that they had agreed to allow the transfer to go forward under Civil Service rules.
Lisa Shields has, since our first posting of this, confirmed that her pursuit of this is likely over. She had not withdrawn her candidacy as much as saw the difficulty in the pursuit.
"I don't want to work in this kind of environment," she said in an interview, adding that Sanghvi has set what Shields called the wrong tone for this situation. "She hasn't even met me."
[Read our earlier coverage here.]
[Editor's note: This story has been updated. Lisa Shields called shortly after posting. We have added her comments but had originally said that she could not be reached.]
Warren County Board of Supervisors to hold hearings on fireworks law
From a press release: The Warren County Board of Supervisors will hold two public meetings later this month to allow Warren County residents to provide input on a proposal to halt fireworks sales in the county.
In response to complaints by residents about quality-of-life issues related to fireworks use, the Board of Supervisors is weighing whether to continue to allow the sale of certain types of fireworks during specified periods of the year.
Public hearings on the potential law change will be held:
- Wednesday, Dec. 15, Warren County Municipal Center, 7 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 17, Warren County Municipal Center, 10 a.m.
Both meetings will be livestreamed on the Warren County YouTube page, linked here.
The Board of Supervisors adopted a county law in 2015 that allows the sale of sparklers, fountains and some other types of fireworks (see link to state law here) during certain times of the year. While only sold during certain time periods, they can legally be used all year long under the current county law.
The Board of Supervisors Governmental Operations and Advocacy Committee began discussing possible repeal of the law over the summer, and after a review of statistics related to complaints, opted to pursue public hearings for formal resident input. A vote on a potential repeal could occur at the Dec. 17 meeting.
"The Rickety Man": See it on YouTube
Cameron Gallagher, the local filmmaker whose short horror flick “The Rickety Man” had its North America debut during ScreamFest in Hollywood last October, reports to us: “No wins, but the feedback has been great!”
The 16-minute film is now online on "The Rickety Man" YouTube channel.
A period piece, the film was shot and produced locally, with interior scenes filmed in a Victorian-era Saratoga home and many outdoor scenes filmed in Glens Falls. It stars Ava Torres, Russell Shealy and Wyatt Cary.