Column as I see ‘em – SARATOGA REPORT

Column as I see ‘em – January 11, 2023

OK Here we go. First of all, thank you to those of you that have lauded not just Saratoga Report but this specific column. There are many of you who spoke to me or sent notes of appreciation and am no doubt missing some but Dan, Jeff, Arthur, Barry and a few others – thank you for the encouragement. Now awayyyyy we go:

Wow! What an emotional week my hometown Buffalo Bills had, starting of course with last week’s near-death injury to Damar Hamlin, followed by his shockingly-quick but much appreciated release from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center less than 7 days later. Let me say it again – Wow! Oh, BTW the Bills knocked New England out of the playoffs in between. That was fun.
ICYMI: The Buffalo Bills were conceived here in Saratoga Springs. Read the Saratoga Living article I wrote here!
Being from WNY makes me not only a Bills fan, but also a Wegmans snob. I was brought up on top-notch supermarkets and turn my nose up at the local offerings, even the so-called “healthy…fresh” markets that charge $100 for 8 items. Just between us girls though, I’ve been known to shop at Aldi now and again, because it’s ummmm…cheap. We’ll debate quality in a future column, but I’ve got a family budget to work under here. Anyway, there is a checkout clerk at the Wilton Aldi named Kristen that is hands down the fastest checker-outer (yes that’s a term) I’ve ever seen. Wow it’s like lightning fast. And if you glance at your texts during the process she firmly, but professionally, prods you to start the credit card transaction process to avoid jamming up her line. Yowza!
So staying in that general box-store area, the guy who owns Koto down in Colonie bought the long-empty Golden Corral near Wal-Mart and will turn it into essentially Koto II. Well, I never ate at Golden Corral and never really planned to, plus my daughter loves Japanese Food and had fun at her first Hibachi dinner a few months back – even though she almost got singed by the flames – so I’ll give this new restaurant a thumbs up.
That family hibachi dinner I just mentioned was at Duo. I have to imagine Duo’s owner(s) took notice of this transaction. Sure, Koto won’t bring much to the area as far as new cuisine goes, but let’s just be thankful it’s not the Saratoga area’s umpteenth Italian Restaurant.
My brilliant, late brother Guy De Federicis (that’s him on the right with me in the pic at the top) once wrote a comedy skit called “Old World Heaven” about words that aren’t used any more or not used enough. I don’t have Guy’s comedic talents but in the academic sense I like his concept of bringing back seldom-used words. There are just some good words in the English language that don’t get much usage. I like “dearth”: noun – a scarcity or lack of something. I’m Not a fan of “paucity” which means essentially the same thing. Paucity sounds like something an economist would say, and we all know how fun economists are.
I’m racking my brain here trying to segue into a bullet point with the word dearth in it. The reality is that – and honestly this just came to me now – I have a dearth of options here.
Damar Hamlin is not the only athlete to suffer a horrifying injury recently. 21-year old jockey Joree Scriver Jockey suffered lower-limb paralysis in a violent one-horse accident on New Year’s Day at Sunland Park in New Mexico. Although she is not improving nearly as fast as Damar Hamlin did, she is showing signs of improvement and is regaining some sensation in her lower extremities after surgery. Man, that is a tough way to make a living, and I know all of us here in Saratoga and beyond wish her the best in her recovery.
So the city did a solid – not stellar but solid – job in promulgating the boil water advisory after last Sunday’s water main break. To be clear, the rapid response and quick repairs were highly commendable; I’m focusing on the communications here. Here’s my issue: Based on this advisory they treated the boil water advisory like it was a light switch. It’s on, now it’s off. But isn’t it more complicated? We’re talking microorganisms here – which indicates to my relatively unscientific brain that there’s not a lot of room for error. OK, the advisory is off? Should we run our water lines in our refrigerators some? How much? What about the ice bins – shouldn’t we cycle them through a few times and clean them out? Cycle the ice how many times? Call me a wimp, but I’d like to avoid that whole diarrhea thing (or worse) here. I did cycle water through but guestimated the specifics – I probably should have at least Googled it. My point is that this “Boil Water Advisory Lifted” flyer seemed to have limited information and I’d like a little more guidance from the city next time so I can avoid the need for Pepto-Bismo.
And it sure seems like there will be a next time. You may recall we had another boil water advisory exactly 18 months earlier on July 1, 2021 due to – you guessed it – another water main break. So is that the beginning of a pattern? A water main break every 9 months? With the bulk of these pipes approaching – or in some cases surpassing(?) – the century mark? I’m not going on a limb here suggesting this is a trend that will continue. To his credit, DPW Commissioner Jason Golub. in a Times Union interview reported last week, flagged aging pipes as something that needed to be addressed. Fine, but this will take time and will compete for funding – and replacing pipes may be necessary but it’s not sexy – so expect it to get worse before it gets better.
Fire Station 3, on Henning Road, seems to be coming along rather nicely.

Holy diesel fumes Batman, a developer is putting three new homes on Lake Avenue literally right next to the Northway. We’re talking spitting distance from the southbound shoulder. Starting at 619,000 smackaroonies! Wow! But it will be close to Fires Station 3, so in the (slightly altered) words of Bill Murray, it’s got that goin’ for it.

I’m not sure how much longer you have but if you have not seen the holiday lights on the lake side of Crescent Avenue just a short ways from Union Avenue go take a ride by. Wow what an ambitious effort to light up a tree – but I won’t tell you more as I don’t want to spoil the experience. GPS 648 Crescent Ave if you wish but you won’t miss it as long as it hasn’t been taken down yet.
What a terribly sad story to read about the 57-year old tree service worker – Eric LaRue – who died from a 30 foot fall in Wilton a few days after Christmas. This follows another man dying in similar fashion in Halfmoon in August. These are dangerous jobs for sure, but there has to be away to reduce these accidents. I guess we should all hold back our winces when reviewing that seemingly-high estimate to remove that leaning oak tree in our backyard. I’m not climbing up that tree.
Can someone explain to me why something mailed from Saratoga to me here in Saratoga takes 3 days? Good lord if it was mailed from the inside slot in the Broadway post office that means it took 3 days to arrive 8 feet away in my PO Box.
Did you know Bush Furniture has a “Saratoga” line? It’s true – see here. Nothing says regal like ready-to-assemble veneer-covered particleboard.
I’m a fan of the hard-working pharmacy staff at the Congress Street CVS, but Saratoga could sure use an independent pharmacy. Tell me another community that would support an independent (full service) pharmacy more than Saratoga.
Did you ever stand in line at that CVS pharmacy as the phone incessantly squawks “One Pharmacy Call, One Pharmacy Call”? I’d last about a day if I worked there, then I’d punch the next obnoxious customer bitching about his $7 copay, of course resulting in my firing, arrest and shame for my family.

OK folks, I didn’t have a dearth, paucity or shortage of things to write about and there is plenty here, so I’ll wrap this up. If you’re looking for me, I’ll be the guy pathetically searching for a quarter in the Aldi parking lot, or perhaps over at CVS looking to punch obnoxious customers, just as a public service. Thanks for reading.