July 3, 2012
More details in Schuylerville shooting, big plans for Albany riverfront park, man accused of repeatedly hitting police horse, that's a lot of toe shoes
The woman charged with fatally shooting her (perhaps former) boyfriend Sunday in Schuylerville allegedly did so at point-blank range, according to Saratoga County DA Jim Murphy. The DA says Joey M. Paul has not claimed self defense and Matthew Furlani was not armed. "Friends" tell WNYT that the gun used was an AK-47. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian] [WNYT]
Colonie police say they arrested a mother for allegedly leaving her toddler alone in a car outside a store Monday afternoon. The windows were down and the temperature was 81 degrees. Police say the child was in the car for about 10 minutes. A passerby noticed the child and called police. The child ended up being OK. [WNYT] [TU] [News10] [YNN] [Fox23]
A Saratoga County Board of Supervisors committee has effectively stopped Saratoga Springs' bid to roll back last call to 2 am. [Saratogian]
The city of Albany bid for state economic development money includes plans for a big makeover of the waterfront park at the Corning Preserve. [TU]
It will take until the middle of next year for all the restaurants in Albany County to get new health inspections that will prompt the public display of the results. An Albany County law requiring restaurants to post health inspection results near the front door took effect on Sunday. [TU]
Gen. Martin Dempsey -- the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the nation's top military leader -- was in Troy Monday for a Wounded Warriors fundraiser. [Troy Record]
Yarn bikes
We had to smile at these yarn bombed bikes on Broadway outside Common Thread in Saratoga Springs. The bikes -- and a nearby building column -- were yarn bombed during Knit in Public Day last month.
Either that, or this is some sort of new bike lock.
A few more large-format photos post jump.
Earlier on AOA: Yarnbomb in Troy
Politics are Albany's first sport
The ValleyCats' giant mayor races are featured in a Slate story about "the hilarious, treacherous, smelly world of minor league mascot races." Running at full speed while wearing a giant mayor's head pro tip from ValleyCats exec Michael Johnson: "A little trick I learned last year was to look down out of the bottom of the head to make sure I am still on the warning track." (Important question: Have the ValleyCats gotten new giant heads this season for Gary McCarthy and Lou Rosamilia?) [via @Tenner]
Peach Jack from Harvest Spirits
An experiment gone awry -- and then right.
Let's put the name aside for a moment.
What's important to know is that this is the essence of summertime in a glass. Because regardless of what anyone else says, nothing says summer as much as biting into a ripe and juicy peach as the nectar drips down your chin and arm. It's sweeter than the first sweet corn, it's juicier than even the ripest of strawberries, and it's more satisfying than the plumpest tomato. Nobody can be unhappy while eating a perfectly ripe peach.
This latest creation from Harvest Spirits in Valatie has been in the works for about a year, but was released just last week. Officially, it's a peach-flavored brandy, and it is indeed packed with the flavor of whole peaches. Calling it "peach flavored" however really does it a disservice, and actually it's not quite a brandy either. Technically, it's a peach infused applejack. But that too doesn't fully get to the heart of this spirit.
The story of how Peach Jack came into existence begins with an experiment gone awry.
The Brian side vs. the Mike side
Over at the New York Times, St. Rose professor Daniel Nester explores the Beach Boys as "two sides of the American character." "If you buy into the Beach Boys' myth, no analogy seems too highfalutin. We're talking Jefferson versus Hamilton, Buckley versus Vidal, Gore v. Bush, Occupy Wall Street versus Tea Partiers."
Where to go paddleboarding?
Elisabeth emails:
I want to paddleboard! Where can i do it in the capital region?
Here's a little more about paddleboarding -- as the name implies, it basically involves standing on something like a surfboard and paddling. We get impression it's become more popular over the last few years.
Got a suggestion for Elisabeth? Please share!
photo: Flickr user free4lance2 (cc)
A beer dinner, course by course
We give away tickets to a lot of stuff that sounds fun -- and we admit that sometimes we're a bit envious of the people who win. Because we'd like to go, too!
So when we emailed Alex recently that he was the winner of the tickets to the beer dinner at Central Steak, we were pleasantly surprised that he offered to take photos and share them with us. We're always curious to hear about how these events turn out. And we want to know if people had a good time. (Seriously, if you win tickets from AOA and the event doesn't go well, we want to know.)
After the jump, photos from the five course dinner at Central Steak, courtesy of Alex and his wife, Marissa.
Independence Day exhibit at the Capitol
If you're around the ESP for the fireworks and whatnot on the Fourth of July, you might want to stop into the Capitol for a new exhibit of artifacts highlighting New York's role in the revolution. Among the items now on display: a large, 1813 portrait of George Washington, GW's ceremonial sword, a Revolutionary War soldier's kit, and Benedict Arnold treason papers. The Capitol will be open from 2-8 pm on Wednesday -- and the exhibit will be on display through July.
... said Sandra about Breweries, wineries, and distilleries of New York