PFOA detected in another Rensselaer County drinking water supply, Route 5 continues to be dangerous for pedestrians, Trump says he's "most popular person that's ever lived" upstate
Another case of PFOA in drinking water
The town of Petersburgh in Rensselaer County announced over the weekend that state tests detected PFOA in water from one of the wells in the Petersburgh Water District at levels just below the cutoff considered safe for consumption. The town has started distributing bottled water as a precaution. State officials say the tests were prompted by a report from Taconic Plastics that it had found groundwater at its site was contaminated. Basil Seggos, the acting state Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, said his agency believes the company site is the source of the PFOA contamination in Petersburgh. [Town of Petersburgh] [TU] [TWCN] [WNYT]
Hoosick Falls: A mechanical breakdown is slowing the implementation of a filtering system on the village water supply. [TWCN]
Shooting in Schenectady
Schenectady police are investigating the shooting of a man in Mont Pleasant Saturday morning -- and then another reports of shots fired at the same address Saturday night. SPD says the man shot in the morning was shot at close range in the head and was in critical condition Sunday. [Daily Gazette x2] [TU]
Route 5 pedestrian crashes
The Times Union's Tim O'Brien on pedestrian safety along the Route 5 corridor, where five people were killed last year: "Someone gets struck on average more than once a week while crossing the stretch of Route 5 between Albany and Schenectady, where it is known as State Street." [TU+]
Street collapse in Troy
Troy officials say it looks like a partial collapse of a sewer line prompted a large sink to form on Campbell Ave. A city spokesman said crews would be inspecting the hole Monday to determine what needed to be done. The sink hole has closed a portion of Campbell Ave, between Donegal and Sherman. [Troy Record] [TU] [TWCN]
Latham murder/suicide/arson
State Police say they're continuing to investigate the Latham murder/suicide, but have yet to determine a motive. [TU+]
Marquis Dixon
The attorney who filed an appeal for Marquis Dixon, the Albany teen sent to prison 9 years for stealing a pair of sneakers, says there's evidence Dixon didn't forcibly take the sneakers, which would further undercut the the first degree robbery charge and sentence. [TU+]
SPAC president stepping down
Marcia White has announced she'll be stepping down as SPAC president after the 2016 season. White became president in 2005 and helped lead the venue back onto firmer financial footing. [Saratogian] [Daily Gazette]
Lock 7 dam
A Scotia architect is continuing to argue the design of the dam at Lock 7 can worsen flooding along the Mohawk River at Schenectady. [TU+]
Medical marijuana
The state's medical marijuana sales are off to a slow start, in part, advocates say, because it's hard for patients to find who the participating doctors are. [TU+]
Most popular ever
Donald Trump claim: "Upstate New York, I'm like, the most popular person that's ever lived, virtually, upstate New York." [TU]
Death Wish Coffee
Death Wish Coffee owner Michael Brown on the boom since the company's Super Bowl ad: "The first two weeks have been pretty unbelievable. At first it felt like a dream. Now I think it's finally sunk in -- this really happened. The only problems we have are good problems, like getting inventory and taking advantage of the opportunity in front of us." [Saratogian]
Historical, but not old
A recent trend among the new crop of municipal historians around the Capital Region -- they're young. [Daily Gazette]
Stuff going on today
The Princess Bride
The Palace's movie series will be showing The Princess Bride. Inconceivable! Monday 7 pm - $5 / $3 kids
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Comments
The developers who are working on the Broadway Arcade building purchased the parking lot on Broadway across from the USPS annex (760 Broadway). They're planning to build 35 apartments with indoor parking...
... said -B on Feb 22, 2016 at 12:41 PM | link
Does anyone know how often Albany tests the water supply for new and unusual contaminants, and where to find test result records?
... said Howz on Feb 22, 2016 at 12:52 PM | link
-B, AOA recently wrote a piece on that lovely development here: http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2016/01/21/760-broadway-albany
What great news to see a surface parking lot disappear. Now for all the rest in the city...
... said JayK on Feb 22, 2016 at 2:35 PM | link
Thanks JayK, I missed that one, just saw something pop up in my news feed today.
... said -B on Feb 22, 2016 at 2:54 PM | link
@Howz, follow the link below to the Water and Water Supply webpage for the City of Albany. It includes the last published water quality report, along with a bunch of other interesting stuff.. There should be a new one soon (usually comes out in early spring and if you are a billed customer, you typically get a summary in your water bill issued some time in May/June). Hope this helps :)
http://www.albanyny.gov/Government/Departments/WaterAndWaterSupply/WaterQualityReport.aspx
Additionally, the Albany Water Board host several public meetings a year, a great venue to put in your 2 cents, if so desired:
http://albanyny.gov/Government/CityOfficials/BoardsAndCommissions/AlbanyWaterBoard.aspx
... said Rich on Feb 22, 2016 at 3:04 PM | link
@Rich ooh, very useful, thank you!
... said Howz on Feb 23, 2016 at 9:18 AM | link