Talbot, who studied architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, has an extensive background in computer mapping and geographic information systems. The start of the pandemic gave the Loudonville resident an opportunity to further explore the mapping software he was using, and the Erie Canal gave him a topic.

“I just had this curiosity, and when I get curious, I start to dig into things,” Talbot said.

A support network among the Canal Society of New York, the New York State Canal Corporation and the New York State Archives formed to support Talbot’s research, connecting him with maps, historians and documents.

“A little bit of recognition of the history of the canal will encourage people to look at the entire landscape,” said Craig Williams, president of the Canal Society. “Upstate New York is so rich with its history that obviously goes back thousands of years. And when all we see tends to be what’s in front of the windshield, I think we lose a lot of that richness.”

Today, a project such as the Erie Canal would be drafted out during its planning stages before breaking ground, Talbot said, but technological restraints of the early 1800s meant surveyors worked directly from the field to figure out the canal’s path. That meant Talbot had to rely on a jigsaw of three maps drafted after…

“Oh, man, it’s a completely different atmosphere,” Mead said before the ValleyCats (30-21) played Friday’s home game against the Evansville Otters. “It’s fun, I really look forward to coming to the ballpark every day. Great group of guys we’ve got here. We’ve got some serious talent.”

Mead, a New Jersey native, played his first 31 games of the season on the road with the Greys, a travel team. The Greys were in Troy to play the ValleyCats when Empire State manager Mark Mason notified Mead at the team hotel that he was being released.

Though Mead was batting a respectable .264 with six homers, the Greys were letting him go to make room for more pitching, Mason told him. Empire State dropped to a 10-36 record the night before with an 18-4 loss to Tri-City.

“I hate to sound cocky here, but guys were shocked that I was released and I literally had a smile on my face,” Mead said. “I was kind of relieved because, honestly, the travel is tough. It beats you down and not ever having someone cheer for you, too, is another tough thing. I just had a feeling someone else was going to pick me up.”

Mead went to Bruno Stadium to get his gear out of his visiting locker. He was going to get a ride back to Tupper Lake, where the Greys have a practice field, to get his car.

But before he left Bruno, Mead went over to the Tri-City bullpen to say goodbye to ValleyCats pitcher Dwayne Marshall, a travel teammate in New Jersey when they were 14 years old. 

…

The Wilton, that was run on Saratoga’s main track out of the Wilson Chute that was re-installed last year, drew a field of five 3-year-old fillies that were all seeking their first win in a stakes race. The field was reduced to four when trainer George Weaver scratched Sacred Wish.

Randomized, the betting choice at 7-5 on the morning line, was out of the starting gate first under Irad Ortiz, Jr., last year’s Saratoga riding champion. Once they straightened away for the run up the backstretch, Ortiz took the bay daughter of Nyquist to the rail, an area that seemed to be the fastest part of the drying track.

From there on, it was a clear lead all the way home to a length-and-a-half win over Just Katherine, ridden by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who was seeking his second stakes win in as many days following his opening-day trophy ride aboard Becky’s Joke in the Schuylerville.

Following a stumbling start, Just Katherine was 10 lengths ahead of the show horse, Unsung Melody, with Luis Saez up. Randomized’s stablemate, Accede, was the trailer.

“My goal was to be on the lead without using too much. I realized the other filly (Unsung Hero) had showed speed before. But, my filly helped me,” Ortiz said.

When asked about a possible start next in the seven-furlong, $500,000 Grade I Test Stakes on Aug. 5, Brown replied, “It’s time maybe for her to go back up in class and…

They located a fencing school, Beaches Sabre Club in Troy. That set Savoy on a path that led him to his first national championship last week.

Savoy, 16, entering his junior year at Shenendehowa, won the Division III men’s sabre title on July 5 at the 2023 USA Fencing National Championships and July Challenge in Phoenix.

In a field of 200 competitors, Savoy went undefeated in 13 matches, including a 15-11 victory over Alex Piwowar of Massachusetts in the final. The first fencer to reach 15 points wins.

“It feels really, really good,” Savoy said. “Obviously, I’ve been looking a long time for this and I feel like every day I wouldn’t think about, ‘Oh, I really want to be a national champion.’ I would just stick to my game plan and that obviously paid off in the long run.”

Division III is an open division that is below Divisions I and II based on experience in national tournaments. His competitors in Arizona ranged from his age to about 25 years old.

“I would be nervous, but then rather than dwelling on things that could go wrong, I sort of emphasized more on what my strengths were, and when I was able to do that, I feel like I was able to really crush the competition,” Savoy said.

Savoy’s mother, Angela, and coach, Carolyn Lapham, were in attendance in Phoenix. His father watched via a live stream.

Angela called herself a “proud mom,” as much for Luca being a straight-A honor student as for his fencing.

…

That surface was listed as “muddy” during the morning hours and was upgraded to “good-harrowed” a half-hour or so before the card started. But, the damage had been done and the trainers came in droves to scratch 22 of the original 95 entries listing “off the turf” as their reason for withdrawing their horses.

By the third race, a light, southeast breeze and a partly cloudy sky had dried the track and changed the condition to “fast.”  

With only four fillies — out of the original field of nine — running in the third race, the winner, Lightlovenlaughter, paid $5.40 to win and $2.90 to place after getting the mile out of the Wilson Chute in a respectable 1 minute and 38.78 seconds. The five scratches shot down all show, trifecta and superfecta wagers. 

The most drastic of the betting cuts came in the sixth race, a 1 1/16-mile contest for non-winners of two races that was scheduled for the inner turf course. The race became a win betting only affair when Danzigwiththestars, Battle of Normandy, Tiz a Giant, Al’s Rocket, Fighter in the Win and the New York-bred Shutters were declared out by their trainers.

Ouster and Prince’s Spur, both of whom were favored to be factors on a fast main track, were also scratched. With only three horses remaining, all place, show, trifecta and superfecta wagering was gone.

Blue Devil, who was 10-1 in the original field of 11 horses, won the race at odds of…

Six years later, her lawsuit alleges that Wiggins ensnared her in an 18-month campaign of deception and sexual manipulation — conducted under the premise that he was taking her through a “training exercise” for a career in espionage. 

“I own you … you must accept that … for all of this to work … this is not for fun … not a game … this is VERY real … you do what I say,” Wiggins told the woman, according to excerpts of WhatsApp text messages included in a 58-page lawsuit filed Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. The civil action, first reported by the Daily Beast, was filed under the provisions of the state Adult Survivors Act, which in November opened a one-year “look-back window” for previously time-barred sexual abuse claims.

The lawsuit said the woman, believing she had no choice but to comply, told Wiggins what he wanted to hear due to the fear of scrapping her chances for a CIA post.

Jon Bell, an attorney for Wiggins, told the Times Union on Friday that his client denies the allegations. He said that due to the ongoing litigation, he could not comment in greater detail.

“The allegations are false. I expect my client to be completely exonerated, and we will vigorously defend this lawsuit,” Bell said in a phone interview. “He’s going to come out innocent and fully exonerated.”

Wiggins, 59, is a prominent member of the Saratoga Springs community. He ran for a seat on the city’s school board in 2019 and for a county supervisor seat in 2022 — both times without success. Amid the tumult that followed the 2020 death of George Floyd, Wiggins — who is Black — chaired a “community…