July 22, 2013
Massachusetts AG: Troy woman defrauded Boston bombing victims fund, concern about security of oil tanker trains, rally for Trayvon Martin in Albany, Cherry Hill mansion scraping for funding
A Troy woman was arrested Friday after she was accused of collecting a fraudulent $480k claim from the fund for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing -- the Massachusetts state attorney general alleges the woman had claimed a traumatic brain injury from the bombing. Troy police say Audrea Gause had the money deposited in a local bank account and withdrew $377k, which she carried in a paper bag, and talked about the money on Facebook. [Mass AG] [Troy Record]
Eric Green, accused of stabbing a state trooper in the neck at the Empire State Plaza in March, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder on Friday. Green is facing 30 years in prison. [TU] [Albany County DA]
The Times Union got a copy of a report on a 2008 investigation of the State Police by the office of then-attorney general Andrew Cuomo -- among the details: Eliot Spitzer liked space from his State Police protection. [TU] [TU]
Watervliet's fire chief on discussions with railroad companies about security for oil tanker cars at a railyard that borders Watervliet and Colonie: "The feeling I got was that they didn't think anything's going to happen, and they have the insurance to cover it if it does." [TU]
The almost-century-old bulkheads along Troy's riverfront probably need to be replaced -- but the city doesn't have the millions of dollars necessary for the job. [TU]
My Exit: Jeremy & Sarah Clowe
Tonight on My Exit, Jeremy and Sarah share some of the music that brought them together.
Monday again. Time for another My Exit, WEXT's show where listeners get to program an hour of their favorite music.
The right piece of music can bring you right back to a time or place in your life, or make you think about a certain person.
This week's My Exit DJs -- Jeremy and Sarah Clowe -- use music to take us on their journey together, from the Rolling Stones song that was playing when they first met, to Diego Garcia's Ray Davies cover they danced to at their wedding.
Wandering Dago food truck bounced from The Track because of name
The Wandering Dago food truck at the Food Truck Festival of NY in Troy earlier this summer.
The owners of the Wandering Dago food truck -- Andrea Loguidice and Brandon Snooks -- said Saturday in a statement that the truck was bounced from the Saratoga Race Course after an "unidentified state official" complained that the truck's name is offensive. (full press release post jump)
NYRA spokesman Eric Wing told the TU it had received "several complaints" on Friday. And to the Daily Gazette: "This should have been handled before Friday, but once we received complaints, we took immediate action on behalf of our customers." And to the Saratogian: "Saratoga's a very welcoming family place. If patrons are telling us they are offended, that's important to us." [TU] [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian]
The term "dago" has been used as a slur against people of Italian descent, and sometimes people from Spain and Portugal as well. But as Snooks explained to AOA last year, the couple says they had embraced an alternative definition of the word in an effort to reclaim it:
Brandon, who's Italian, explains that he knew the term as a word used for Italian immigrant workers back in the day who wanted to "be paid as the day goes." "Day-goes" became "dago." And in parts of Italian culture, he says the word has been reclaimed as a term of endearment.
Brandon and Andrea say they chose Wandering Dago "because we wander as the day goes."
It appears others aren't ready to get on board with reclaiming the word, though. Snooks and Loguidice also say in the press release that they were "banned by the Empire State Plaza Vendor Program" this year because of the truck's name. Update: From Heather Groll, a spokeswoman for the Office of General Services, which oversees the ESP:
The food vendor in question was not banned from selling food at the Empire State Plaza. OGS has the authority and latitude to determine whether it is appropriate for any particular vendor to be issued a permit. This food truck applied for a vendor permit for the 2013 season and was not issued one. Among other reasons, it was determined that their application was not appropriate because the name of the business was found to be an offensive ethnic slur by any standard.
The food truck open last year, working primarily in Schenectady. It's since expanded its coverage area to also include other parts of the Capital Region (such as Rockin' on the River in Troy, and the Riverview Center in Menands). Snooks and Loguidice moved to the area from Colorado to open the truck.
Drawing: Capital Region Craft Brewers Festival
Drawing's closed!
The annual Capital Region Craft Brewers Festival returns to The Joe this weekend, and we've got a pair of "Grand Slam" passes to give away. The passes include: admission, souvenir sampling glass, 10 tasting tickets, a t-shirt, admission to the VIP area with a catered buffet, and a ticket to a future Tri-City ValleyCats baseball game.
To enter the drawing, please answer this question in the comments:
Baseball and beer are a classic summer pairing. What's your favorite summer pairing?
The answer could be anything, but you'll earn 100% non-redeemable and completely imagined gold stars for local answers. We'll draw one winner at random.
The Capital Region Craft Brewer's Festival is this Saturday, July 27 from 2:30-6:30 pm. It brings together more than 25 brewers from the Capital Region and beyond, including Brown's, Crossroads Brewing, The Beer Diviner, Brooklyn Brewing, Shmaltz Brewing Company, and Long Trail Brewing. There will also be food, music, and brewing demonstrations.
Tickets for the festival start at $25 ($32 at the gate) and include 10 tasting tickets, a sampling glass, and a ValleyCats ticket. (The "Grand Slam" passes are $40 ahead, $47 at gate.) Proceeds from the event benefit the New York-Penn League Charitable Foundation, which helps maintains youth baseball fields around the area.
Important: All comments must be submitted by 5 pm on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 to be entered in the drawing. You must be 21 to enter. You must answer the question to be part of the drawing. (Normal commenting guidelines apply.) One entry per person, please. You must enter a valid email address (that you check regularly) with your comment. The winner will be notified via email by midnight Tuesday and must respond by noon on Wednesday, July 24.
Photos from Hat Day 2013 at Saratoga
The winner in the "Uniquely Saratoga" category.
Special fashion correspondent Katilin Resler was AOA's representative on the judge's panel for this year's Hat Contest at the Saratoga Race Course on Sunday. She reports back, with photos:
The whole thing was super fun! I judged with Jenny from Mamatoga and Shanna from 99.5 The River. This year contestants were encouraged to involve the 150th anniversary into their hats (although it wasn't required), so a lot of the hats and outfits did just that.
One woman wore a black antique dress from the 1800s! Another wore a yellow flower hat made by a friend (who made several of the hats worn today), and over all there was quite a good mixture of hats made by their wearers and not. One of the winners from the Uniquely Saratoga category's hat featured a horse head wearing its own hat, which she let us know was standing in as the first horse to win at Saratoga.
Here's the list of winners.
A handful of Kaitlin's photos are after the jump. The horse head hat is pretty great.
"No politician has impressed us more in the last few months than Gillibrand."
Noted: Kirsten Gillibrand is #4 in the Washington Post's rankings of potential Democratic candidates for the 2016 presidential election. Andrew Cuomo is #3, behind Joe Biden (#2) and Hillary Clinton (#1, "simply a massive favorite").
Rest Fest 2013 tickets on sale
Tickets for this year's Restoration Festival are now on sale. Early bird full festival passes for the two-day music festival are $22.50, and available online. (The price will go up after the early bird is over.)
New this year: a back stage pass for $150.00. From festival organizer Louis Apicello: "You will get all access to the green room for the weekend, and be able to relax with the artists and volunteers and enjoy all of the awesome food and drink you want right along side with them." There are limited number of these passes available.
This year's Rest Fest is September 6-7 at a new venue -- the Contemporary Artists Center at Woodside in Troy. The headliner is the Philadelphia-based indie band Man Man. The rest of the lineup is still to come.
AOA has been a media sponsor of Rest Fest.
A collection of moments from Saratoga
Over at the Elario Photography blog they've posted a beautiful photoset of shots from the Saratoga Race Course by "Big Joe" Elario, taken over the last three years. The set includes a lot of good moments.
Browsing through the photos is like a 3-minute trip to the Track.
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?