Focus turns to cleanup after massive Columbia County fire, customers get lei'ed at supermarket opening, yogurt summit planned for Albany
The massive fire at an electrical disposal company in Columbia County was "virtually out" by Thursday afternoon. Now officials are trying to figure what was in all that heavy smoke -- experts say that highly toxic substances could have been created and spread by the fire. the company processes old electrical transformers and related equipment, which often contain PCBs. Officials say initial tests did not indicate the presence of PCBs in soot spread by the fire -- tests for the presence of dioxins should be back today (dioxins are especially nasty pollutants). TCI -- the company that owns the Ghent facility -- said in a statement that "minimal regulated material was stored" in the building at the time it caught fire. Officials have issued a list of recommendations for how nearby residents should clean up the soot. One resident says he found an oily substance on his car, lawn, and pool. [TU] [TU] [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record] [WHO] [Fox23] [Fox23] [News10]
An expert witness in the trial of three men accused of killing an alleged drug dealer and dumping his body in an Albany sewer testified yesterday that a body could in fact "disarticulate" in a sewer. [TU]
More than 300 people lined up ahead of the opening of Trader Joe's on Wolf Road this morning. The line was wrapped around the parking lot. The first person in line showed up at 10 pm last night. TJ's employees handed out leis to people in line. [TU] [JenIsGreen] [Fox23] [News10]
John Boehner will be in Lake George today for a fundraiser for Republican Matt Doheny, who's running against Bill Owens for the new 21st Congressional District (which now includes northern Saratoga County). [Post-Star]
Michelle Obama will be in Pittsfield, Massachusetts today for a fundraiser with James Taylor. [YNN]
A new state law requires sex offenders to get new photos of themselves for criminal records if they change their appearance (example: grow a beard). [TU]
The Cuomo admin is organizing a yogurt summit in Albany later this month. [State of Politics] Earlier: Upstate is yogurt country
New York State's lottery is North America's largest and most profitable. [TU]
The lease for the Palace Theatre is up for renewal, and some members of the Albany Common Council say they're worried about a provision that would require the city (which owns the theater) to be financially responsible for structural repairs. [TU]
The developer looking to build a new Price Chopper at the site of St. Patrick's in Watervliet has revised its proposed plan for the site. [Troy Record]
The Troy city council has endorsed the efforts of the group trying to get state money to start the renovation of the Troy Proctor's theater. [Troy Record]
The head of the GE unit that includes many of the operations in Schenectady is leaving the company -- with an exit package worth at least $28.3 million. [TU] [Fortune] [WSJ]
Police say the teen who allegedly plowed a car through a Rotterdam house in May didn't have a license and wasn't wearing a seat belt (and was more or less unharmed). [Daily Gazette]
A fire hit Sabina's Wood Fired Restaurant across from The Track early this morning, but the owner says they'll be open for dinner tonight. [Saratogian]
It sounds like the owners of Curtis Lumber are not fans of Barack Obama. [TU]
Ron and Michele Riggi were the winning bidders in a charity auction -- at $75,000 -- for dinner with Marylou Whitney and her husband. [Saratogian]
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Oh, Curtis Lumber, say it ain't so. Why can't you be handing out leis with Trader Joe's? Is it because leis are from Hawaii and so is Obama? I understand.
... said Leah the Nosher on Aug 3, 2012 at 10:46 AM | link
I appreciate the fact that there is a whole spectrum of views on what the appropriate size of government is, but in my opinion, the family of Curtis Lumber show a complete lack of respect for many of the services government does provide (granted, not always effectively or efficiently) that they would be screwed without. Maybe government should go on strike one day to demonstrate this fact to Curtis Lumber, by refusing to maintain roads, shut down sewer systems, close down fire departments, etc. and see how far they get in growing their business. Curtis Lumber does what it is best at doing, providing quality construction materials to the consumers, and shouldn't be expected to be burden with maintaining the roads to their building or having to put a fire out on their own. That is the government’s role, and it should be respected and not discounted as an essential piece to helping small businesses grow in this country. I know it is futile to rail at partisans who love to take a comment out of context (much like liberals got all excited over Mitt’s “I love to fire people†comments), but it is still sad to see a respected small business lose sight of the bigger picture and completely misrepresent the President’s message.
... said Dick on Aug 3, 2012 at 11:33 AM | link
"It sounds like the owners of Curtis Lumber are not fans of Barack Obama. [TU]"
And it sounds like I'll be a former customer of Curtis Lumber....
... said Bob on Aug 3, 2012 at 12:42 PM | link
Wow, Obama supporters posting on AOA. Who would've thought...
... said bk on Aug 3, 2012 at 2:32 PM | link
Wow, a snarky comment ridiculing Obama supporters posting on AOA. Who would've thought...
... said Bob on Aug 3, 2012 at 3:47 PM | link