OK, I had a hiccup this morning with the formatting and it was mostly blank.  All fixed – I hope.  Sorry folks.

Here’s what I’m thinking as I hope we go an entire week without Saratoga Springs driving the entire Capital District news cycle.

• Well, in case we were sleeping, Mother Nature reminded us last week that it was still winter and she was in charge.  That wet, heavy snow knocked out power in many areas but fortunately not in my neighborhood.  We shouldn’t take the National Grid crews (I still think “NiMo”) for granted as those folks seemed ready for it and got power back in reasonably quick fashion.  Ditto for the DPW and other highway workers in the area clearing the streets.  Thank you.
• For a number of reasons, we needed this snow pack that is slowly melting.  The beneficiaries ranges from the waterways and water table to the ski centers and maple syrup producers.
• With all these 40+ degree days, there were still people ice fishing on Lake Lonely as recently as last week(!).  Or presumably so, considering cars (read trucks) parked along Union Avenue near nothing but some woods and a trail going from the Saratoga National Entrance, behind Longfellows (or, more appropriately, behind the property formerly known as Longfellows) then to Lake Lonely.  Who owns that trail?  I believe I read somewhere that Saratoga National created it, but I don’t know for sure.
• Speaking of Longfellows, there is a new sign out front – apparently placed there by the new owners.

• So somebody bought the Brentwood Motel, across from Nelson Ave. portion of Saratoga Race Course and The Horseshoe Bar & Grill for something like $3 billion.  OK, it was $1.6 million, but man that sure seems like a lot of money for a tiny motel (motel with an ‘m’).  The new owner, Paresh Patel of Oakland California, also bought the Community Court Motel on Broadway near Congress Park last summer which was previously owned by the late Kevin McGrath.
• Staying on the subject of motels, the Robin Hood Motel on Rt. 50 at Northline Rd. is for sale.  Mr. Patel are you reading this?  So is the former credit union next door in a separate listing.  Lots of traffic goes through that intersection so I have to believe at some point a developer will acquire both properties, raze the buildings and build…something.  Likely a Cumberland Farms – or something as equally unappealing.
• Staying on Rt 50 just a short ways north, with all the money going into housing and resorts around here, I have to believe the Villa Balsamo property will be developed at some point in the next few years.  Let’s hope the old mansion remains.
• And a little further along Rt 50, is there a reason the traffic signals at both ends of East-West Rd (Rt 50 and Rt 9 ends entering into the Spa State Park) are fully functioning all winter instead of blinking yellow?  I realize they have to be tripped to change, but still….  There can’t be that many cross country skiers and winter hikers there justifying the need for a the light to be tripped everytime a car leaves.

• Speaking of downhill skiing’s boring counterpart (Kidding!  Sort of), those of  you that have been with me since FunSaratoga days will recall I had a “secret agent” back then.  Well he was looking to rent cross country skis last weekend.  Apparently rentals are no longer offered at the Spa State Park or Alpine Sports Shop, and no one answered the phone out at Brookhaven Golf Course.  I since found out that Wilton Preserve rents skis, but only on the weekends.   It seems to me with the Spa State Park offering nice trails that someone in Saratoga Springs should offer skis for rental.  Well, winter is over so maybe that is a good proposal for participatory budgeting.
• And Participatory Budgeting is back with Cycle 2!  You have until May 1 to submit proposals.  Many of you know I submitted a successful proposal to offer curling as an activitiy through Saratoga Rec.  Through diligent work by Commissioner Minita Sanghvi, Samantha Clemmey and the rest of the Finance staff at City Hall, followed up by John Hirliman and Jill Ramos from the Recreation Department, we did indeed have curling and I was happy to say I made most of the sessions!  We all had fun, and this past Friday was the last session of this season.  And who was the best curler of all of us that showed up Friday?  Not me.  Nope – it was a guy named Jim, who is a few months shy of his 78th birthday!  It’s a great sport for seniors and Jim exemplified that.  I am really looking forward to it next year!

• If you find yourself near the strip mall in the Malta Price Chopper, stop into The Twisted Bagel Company.  I had a bagel from there and it was terrific, but what blew me out of the room was their hand-mixed cream cheese!  OMG that stuff is heavenly!  Next time I get some I am going to heat it up and drink it with a straw.
• I would have bet cash money that Pope’s Pizza on Washington Street closed years ago, and I would have lost that money.  I stopped in the other day and had a slice.  I’ve lived here 17 years and had never been there.
• So I went to the press event for the new PDT Market, on Railroad Avenue in the old Price Chopper location.  It was really, really impressive.  It’s basically several businesses in one – and I won’t remember to cover them all here but think of it as a grocery with a hot bar and grab-n-go items, deli, bakery, restaurant, cooking class center with what looks like a TV studio and a lot more. The vision is really ambitious, and I am already a fan.  The physical location and the whole operation, however, screams lots of overhead and a large staff that requires an incredible amount of sales in order for the large place to survive.  I plan on being a regular customer and I hope things work out great.  It should be opening any day now.
• This past weekend my 5 year old asked me if I knew who Wednesday Addams was.  I was like “Oh sure, Daddy knows everything – there was Wednesday, Morticia, Gomez…”.  Uhhh No.   Apparently “Wednesday Addams” is a netflix series that, according to my friend John who lives on the lake, is about “the shenanigans that occurred when Wednesday Addams was sent off to prep school.”   What? Thing doesn’t get her own spin-off?   Anyway my daughter likes her because of  this viral dance video.  Oh Lordy it’s happened:  I’m old and I’ve become my father.  But not all is dismal.  Suddenly my daughters are also into Elton John (!).  That’s very cool and makes me feel (slightly) less out of touch.  Back to the Addams family, ironically the actress who played the original Wednesday Addams, Lisa Loring, died just two months ago.
• Didn’t Uncle Fester run for Governor of New York not once but twice?  Or was that Grandpa Munster?  Herman?  I would have voted for Fred Gwynn.  Even Saratoga’s politics never got that zany.  Yet.
• So I’m a white retired cop who grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo.  Not a big surprise that I disagree with much of what the local Black Lives Matter movement is saying, their tactics, etc.  I bristle when I hear people allege Saratoga Police officers “killed” Darryl Mount, or that Saratoga Springs is a racist city.  But you know what?  A little of what BLM is alleging has merit.  To wit: The Civilian Review Board limped along – some might say crawled – and still is not up and running.  Also, I believe it was Kristen Dart that chastized the council near the end of the March 7 Council meeting for failing to completing one of the 50 points on the Saratoga Springs Police Review Task Force’s Plan that sure seems like important yet low-hanging fruit to me.  Number 17 on that list says: “Provide annual report to the public and the City Council summarizing all significant policy changes adopted by the department.”  OK, some of these points are controversial, hard, and ultimately undoable, but say that.  How hard is it to put a one-page report together saying these 35 are done or almost done, we are progressing on these 10 other ones, and these last 5 are either undoable,  really gnarly, contrary to law, or will require other entities to agree to changes (ie the city’s collective bargaining contract with the PBA).  There you go – #17 would be accomplished.
• I’ve made it clear that I’m not a fan of Commissioner Jim Montagnino, but he took hit after hit at that March 7 meeting, and some of the speakers were vicious.  I believe I heard him called a “f-ing racist”, “piece of shit” and more.  To his credit he was steady and pushed back vigorously but professionally.  I felt for him and wished a fellow board member would come to his aid at least once.  It was an ugly meeting because besides all those bombs thrown by the speakers, board members were trading barbs – mostly Montagnino and Mayor Kim (weren’t they attached at the hip as recently as February?) but also Montagnino and Commissioner Dillon Moran (who was on a giant screen via Zoom -adding an element of oddity to it all).  Jim specifically pushed back on Dart’s criticism, noting the progress made on what he asserted were some of the most compelling points in the plan.  OK, fair enough, but again if the council simply would have issued a report as I noted above that #17 required, he would have had those assertions out there already and perhaps the city would not have been so open to criticism.
• Jim seems to have alienated the Democratic base, some of his fellow city council members, former allies, the District Attorney (alongside Mayor Kim) and who knows who else.  I’m not saying everything he did has been wrong but it’s fair to say he’s shooting himself in the foot and then is quick to reload.  If there’s a Democrat on the board that’s vulnerable in November at this point it’s him.  But it’s a long way until November and there’s plenty of time to make amends if he knows how to right his political ship – but I’m not sure that he does.  Full disclosure:  I am a fan, but not part of the campaign, of Montagnino’s likely Republican-line opponent, retired FBI agent Tim Coll, who I think would make a terrific Public Safety Commissioner.
• Do I need to start a Gofundme page to get the Saratoga Diner sign on South Broadway removed?

• Be careful parking on Church Street next to Adirondack Trust across from the Post Office.  I accidentally drove up on the curb ever so slightly and the metal strip that has separated from the concrete curb and it punctured my tire.  Rather than play with the donut, I had AAA tow it to my mechanic.  The tow truck driver told me I was the fourth driver suffering a punctured tire he towed from that location in the last two years.
• When I was at the Albany Airport in April I saw this sign advertising the Saratoga Silks bistro.  I recall a similarly-named business already being there pre-pandemic.  Those Saratoga-themed things feel kind of like a rip-off.  So I can get a “Trifecta sandwich with 3 meats of my choice and a Secretariat Shake?”.  Sigh.  Remember the short-lived Siro’s 2 in Manhattan?  Don’t worry if you don’t, it was a dumb idea and lasted all of five minutes.

• Did you get the offer in the mail for a reduced membership at BJ’s?  I did, but not sure if BJ’s fits my shopping needs.  If I have a need for a #10 can of kidney beans I guess I’ll reconsider.
• Staying with shopping, that whole “Kohl’s bucks” thing is brilliant.  I go there to cash in my “free” $30 coupon, and inevitably spend over $100.  Same with using Kohl’s for Amazon returns.  Ooh, an extra dollar .98 off if I use my Kohl’s card!  Where do I sign???
• So NYRA has changed the pricing procedure for entrance to incentivize customers to buy online at least a day ahead of time.  That will probably work out because if you know bettors like I do – if they already spent money on a ticket they will show up whether it’s raining, someone in their family got rushed to the hospital etc.  NYRA also made a significant change to allow any patrons into the Clubhouse – in other words there will be no extra charge and anybody can walk in there.  That probably makes sense from a business angle, but when the Clubhouse bathrooms are full of drunk 20-somethings on Travers Day, I can see the people in the boxes not being happy and letting NYRA know that.
• I was sorry to see Creative Sparks, the paint-your-own pottery place on Phila Street, close.   I believe that happened at the end of February.  I reached out to inquire about it but did not get a return call.  That’s a pretty good location so it will be interesting to see what goes in there.

• Is the Upper Hudson Wine Trail something new or has it been around for a while?  I recently noticed signs on West Avenue and RT 9N, but for all I know they’ve been there for 10 years.

OK folks, time to wrap it up here.  If you’re looking for me I’ll be teaching my daughters to snap their fingers and sing a dry, haunting TV jingle hoping they become the next international Youtube sensation.  Anyone know a local organist that can pass for Lurch?

dan@saratoga-report.com

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