Soares says DWIs should lead to Alive at Five re-evaluation, charity shipments ripped off, CDTA has big plans for Schenectady, more people deciding pet care too expensive, Knicks going to Skidmore, how Marylou exercises
David Soares says Albany should "re-evaluate" the Alive at Five events after a bunch of people were arrested for DWI following last week's event. Thirty-two people were arrested during a four hour sweep following the Thursday night concert. A state police deputy says that's the highest number of arrests he can remember in such a short period of time. [TU] [Daily Gazette]
The CEO of Ellis Hospital says his org wasn't prepared for St. Clare's to be shut down two months ago. The lack of readiness has led to long waits in Ellis' emergency department. [Daily Gazette]
Three men have been charged with ripping off charity shipments from the Target in Wilton that were intended for volunteer fire companies and charitable organizations. [Daily Gazette]
CDTA says it has a plan to revamp service in Schenectady pretty much all ready to go, but it needs about $3 million from the state to make it happen. The transit org figures the expanded service will increase ridership about 40 percent. [TU]
Vets and animal shelters report that the slowing economy had led more local people to shop around for cheaper animal care -- or abandon their pets all together. [Daily Gazette]
There's still no word why the Troy Pork Store closed, but other local business owners speculate that rapidly rising meat costs led to the closure. [Troy Record]
The Knicks will be training at Skidmore for a week this fall. The practices will not be open to the public, though. [TU]
Marylou Whitney says she chops vegetables and pounds veal for exercise and has never bet on a horse. The 82-year-old socialite also says that recovering from her stroke two years ago has been "hell." [Daily Gazette]
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"Marylou Whitney says she...has never bet on a horse."
Let's face it, gambling on a horse race is most exciting when you can least afford it. For the truly rich that would involve wagering sums that would cripple the oddsmaking/parimutuel system. Which is why the truly rich buy horses and call their gambling "investing". Allowing the rest of us to throw our dinner money away on the always-lousy 10th race at Saratoga in a desperate attempt to salvage our profit/loss ratio for the day.
... said Elizabeth on Aug 18, 2008 at 12:25 PM | link
(note from AOA: Kari sent us these comments last week and we encouraged her to post them here as a comment)
Here's the thought(s) I had when I read the article the first time...
Headline at the Times Union caught my eye, as * DA wants to 're-evaluate' events like Alive at Five.
Apparently Alive at Five is the reason there were so many drunks on the road last night. I don't doubt that. I'm sure they all got together at the opportunity to listen to Irish music & *gasp* drink beer. But blaming the event is simply ridiculous.
It is my experience (I've been an emergency dispatcher - I'm also a volunteer beer wench at Alive @ 5 & Tulip Fest) that the local police will set up "random" check points when there is a major event in the area. There's no coincidence that we drove through a significant check point after Jazz Fest last month at SPAC. I think the number of drunk drivers is probably as high as it was last night, during any public event where alcohol is either allowed, or served. And if it's not allowed, people will bring it in. I see Albany PD turning a blind eye to anyone who has a bottle/can of anything that's not served at the location. I've also seen other volunteers pour someone's drink into an "authorized" cup, so that person doesn't get in trouble. That, I admit, is not right.
The point is that there may have been several people caught last night, but there are always drunks on the road, particularly when they party, there just isn't police presence during ALL of these gatherings. If there were, we'd really need a larger police force. No wonder people were doing 80mph on 787 at 8pm last night. All the officers were readying themselves for the check points.
I'm all for the random check points, but let's be realistic about the drunk driving issue in this country and don't press monger these situations by causing "fear" over public events that have been taking place for years. Let us have something to do, and hold the individual accountable! I get free beer after serving for 4 hours, and I only had 4 oz's at the end of the night. Other people can control their drinking as well. It's not the event!
... said Kari on Aug 18, 2008 at 3:28 PM | link