SARATOGA REPORT

 

 

COLUMN AS I SEE ‘EM – THOUGHTS AND COMMENTARY FROM SARATOGA FOUNDER/PUBLISHER DAN De FEDERICIS

Well I did not mean to go this long without writing this column, but those damn things like life, work and family keep getting in the way.  Fortunately for all of you Arthur Gonick, Editor of The 12866 blog, paid this columm a nice compliment Tuesday afternoon so I’m fired up to get going.  So, from the Saratoga Report World Headquarters in a nondescript office on Franklin Street…Here is the latest installment of Column as I see ’em:

  • Yes, those are Bunnies!  Easter Bunnies?  Nope!  Rabbits to hunt?  Definitely nope!  We’re talking rescue bunnies – at the Wilton Mall!

 Hop on Home, according to the flyer available at their place inside the mall near what used to be a food court (more on that below), “is the first organization in Saratoga County devoted to saving, protecting and finding loving homes for pet rabbits”.  My daughters loved having the bunnies sit on their laps – pretty neat – other than the part where they ask to bring one home (Dexter, my black lab, would think that’s a splendid idea). Bring the kiddies and check it out or log onto the oranization’s web site.

  • OK, staying in the Wilton Mall – it’s not dismal there or morbid –  but let’s just say lightly traveled. There are shoppers there – not many but some – at least based on my last two trips to get the kids moving somewhere indoors with outside temps in the single digits.  There are, however, plenty of vacancies – including almost the entire food court and former movie theaters, the former Sunglass Hut location, the former Lily & David jewelers (which moved across RT 50 near Best Buy) and let’s keep crossing our fingers that JC Penney sticks around.  To the mall’s credit, they are active in getting new tenants – many of them unconventional, non-retail mall tenants such as Saratoga Hospital, Homemade Theater, the aforementioned bunny sanctuary, and a few others.  I’d like to see some other non profits take advantage of what presumably is reasonably-priced space (because it’s ummm….empty).  Maybe some of the local museums want to join together to rent space that could serve as sort of a sample and a draw to get some younger people and families into their respective city locations.  A Sherman tank in the mall would surely draw some families to the NYS Military Museum, a snazzy Porsche to the Saratoga Automobile Museum (are you reading this brilliance Carly?), an interactive exhibit from the Racing Museum and Hall of Fame would get more feet into their Union Avenue location etc. etc.
  • OK, a rather topical subject – ice.  Namely, the ice covering Saratoga Lake.  I live near the lake but am a total scaredy-cat when it comes to walking out there – or any body of water bigger than a bathtub.  I don’t understand these ice fisherman who, after a few brisk December nights and a quarter inch of newly-formed ice, not only walk out there but DRIVE HEAVY MACHINERY – ATV’s trucks and the occasional Sherman tank – in a dangerous cold quest to get the same stuff I can get at Moby Rick’s in Congress Plaza. OK,  I realize there’s more to it than the procurement of seafood, but there’s always one or two that take the plunge – with or without machinery – here or on (in) some other nearby lake.  Some make it – and some don’t.  So my whole point is January was so freakin’ cold that even I’m not afraid to walk out on the lake as I assume it’s glacier-thick underneath my 180 (OK, 190) pound frame.  Heck I might even have the courage to risk the added weight of my daughter’s snowshoes – but nothing with an engine.  Noooo thank you.
  • Yes, your math is correct – that’s twice now I mentioned a “Sherman tank”.  Points for paying attention.
  • I was sorry to see Farmers Hardware close up.  I loved what Julia Sanzen and Tyler Russell did but certainly respect their decision.  I don’t know if I’d run a restaurant for a million dollars.  Thank you to those of you that do.
  • So NYRA will rebuild the Wilson Chute.  A friend of mine, Jeff – who almost exclusively communicates via wisecracks – wondered how a track patron can watch the start of races from the chute.  I told him the same way you watch most of the race – on the TV.  But his question is good – will there be seating or at least standing room at the starting gate when races start from that chute?
  • There are a lot of tattoo shops in town.  Damn.  There are two right across the street from each other on Henry Street near Caroline.  Now that’s competition.  Is business that brisk that they can all make rent? Saratoga rent?  I guess time will tell.
  • Speaking of Henry Street, the NY Thoroughbred Breeders used to be located on Phila at the corner of Henry Street for years.  Last year they moved to the other side of Broadway on Division Street, near Chianti Restaurant.  NY Thoroughbred Breeders is one of Saratoga Report’s newest advertisers, BTW, and if you’re a horse owner you should consider joining as membership has a lot of benefits.
  • I search a lot of Saratoga and horse racing terms to complete my daily writeups.  What I can say is there are a lot of weird happenings, often involving death, in Saratoga Springs, Utah.  Saratoga Street in Baltimore and Boston are not streets I want to be alone on during the nighttime – as they sometimes happen to be the location of violent crimes involving firearms.  Finally, a lot of dead bodies end up in aqueducts.  There I am barely awake at 5:15am searching to see who Andy Serling has in the 5th race and I end up reading about a grisly discovery in some aqueduct in California or Europe.  But that’s why I make the big bucks here at Saratoga Report.
  • Sherman tank, Sherman tank, Sherman tank.  That makes five.
  • Do you love Saratoga like I do?  Do you shop and dine downtown not only because you love to but also to support those businesses?  Good, then support some of the media that makes the Spa City so great. Saratoga Living has a tiered offering that gives you a free online option called Saratoga Living After Hours – and it gives you a lot more fun and interesting Saratoga content if you pay just a little bit.  Saratoga-themed puzzles, local gossip, slice-of-life vignettes, long-length interviews with local celebs—Saratoga Living‘s fun new After Hours email is the super-local feed our community’s scene has been missing. Sign up for a limited membership for FREE, or support local journalism (and get VIP treatment!) for as low as $5/month; just $100/year will get you “founding member” status—and go a long way towards keeping our vibrant local media scene alive!  You heard of downtown’s “shop here or it disappears” campaign.  Well, Saratoga Living is not disappearing – in fact they are doing fine considering the challenges of the pandemic.  But the long term plan needs to make it a viable business – so spend just $5 a month – or $100 to get founding member status (be the envy of your friends on social media – not to mention the increased marketability on dating apps!).  Click here for more. And BTW their current issue is really well done and enjoyable – get a copy!

  • Sticking with local media, it’s ironic that actor Howard Hesseman, aka Dr. Johnny Fever of WKRP fame, died over the weekend because I have been meaning to reference the Johnny Fever character in a comment about STAR radio.  I really like STAR radio as it’s very Saratoga-centric, has an agreeable playlist that essentually tracks my life, and I’m a fan of general manager Fran Dingeman.  If I had a complaint about the station it’s that the DJs are a little too smooth, too perfect.  I would like to see them hire just one Dr. Johnny Fever type – you know the guy who has a raspy voice from decades of smoking, been in and out of rehab, drives a ’98 Toyota Corolla, has 3 ex-wives and lives paycheck to paycheck as he’s been fired from umpteen radio stations – you get the idea. It’s not going to happen, but it would be fun if it did haha. Maybe in November Fran can at least organize some sort of turkey drop.

OK folks that’s it as I need to get the morning report out.  It should warm up to THE HIGH 30S (!) Today (Wed. Feb 2) but snow then bitter cold is again on tap for Thursday throught the weekend.  Stay warm – and be careful on the ice!