Issue: November 2014
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In a town that said no, Wal-Mart tries again
By THOMAS DIMOPOULOSContributing writer BALLSTON, N.Y. For the town of Ballston, it’s 2004 all over again. Back then, the town was in an uproar over Wal-Mart’s proposal to build a massive new superstore along Route 50, just outside the village of Ballston Spa. Although supporters at the time touted the store’s potential economic benefits, opponents read more
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Chasing a dream, crossing a channel
Vermont woman achieves ‘Mount Everest’ of long-distance swimming By EVAN LAWRENCEContributing writer WALLINGFORD, Vt. Bethany Bosch admits that the last seven hours of her swim across the English Channel were “pretty intense.” She had already been stroking freestyle through 62-degree water for more than 10 hours as the tidal currents pushed her west toward the read more
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On exhibit: A real-life rural town
New Lebanon tests a new approach to spurring tourism By JOHN TOWNESContributing writer NEW LEBANON, N.Y. Ruth Abram is the founder of “Behold! New Lebanon,” a new program that encourages visitors and local people to discover the variety of real-world skills and enterprises among the town’s population. The program coordinates instructional demonstrations at local read more
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Seeking the inner harmony
‘Vibroacoustic’ technique taps healing power of musical vibrations By STACEY MORRISContributing writer GLENS FALLS, N.Y. The asphalt streets of downtown Glens Falls are only a few hundred feet from Dennis Dominick’s office on Thomson Street office, but in figurative terms, the concrete jungle and all of its stressors are a million miles away. Inside, Dominick read more
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Celebrating W.E.B. Du Bois
Center explores context of a civil rights pioneer’s legacy By TELLY HALKIASContributing writer GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. W.E.B. Du Bois wasn’t born until three years after the Civil War ended, but the war and its aftermath were crucial in shaping the views of one of the nation’s first prominent African-American scholars and civil rights activists. With read more
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Ballston Spa battles again over Wal-Mart and sprawl
One of the happier changes in Saratoga County over the past 10 or 15 years has been the revitalization of downtown Ballston Spa. Although it’s often overshadowed by Saratoga Springs, its bigger, better-known neighbor to the north, Ballston Spa has become a destination in its own right. Like Saratoga Springs, it has a pedestrian-friendly downtown read more
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County seeks refund as land deal raises questions
The chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors is asking the local economic development corporation to pay back $114,000 in taxpayer funds that were used to buy land included in a deal that has become the focus of a series of conflict-of-interest allegations. Supervisor Patrick Grattan, R-Kinderhook, wrote to the Columbia Economic Development Corp. read more