Category: Capital Region

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Momentum is an often-used word in sports. In horse racing, it can refer to the horse’s staying power on the track. And it can be used to describe the continuous success of the humans associated with those horses. Bustin Bay, jockey Jose Ortiz and trainer Linda Rice all drank from Momentum’s bucket…

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Heat and humidity greeted thousands at Saratoga Race Course on Thursday, the first day of a racing season expected to draw large crowds to the historic track five days a week through Labor Day weekend. First-time attendees joined annual veterans, many of whom lined up to be the first ones through the entry gates…

BETHLEHEM — The entrance to the Bethlehem Public Library was surrounded by rainbows Thursday as parents, children and other attendees headed inside for the library’s drag story hour. Wearing a yellow vinyl dress resembling a school bus, drag performer Noelle Diamond began the story hour with a sing-along of “The Wheels on the Bus,” before…

ALBANY — Albany’s sprawling Catholic hospital network is taking heat from the local diocese over its decision to close Burdett Birth Center at Samaritan Hospital in Troy.  The Albany Roman Catholic Diocese leadership has jurisdiction over St. Peter’s Health Partners and is tasked with ensuring the health system complies with Catholic teachings and values.  Albany Diocese Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger on…

HUDSON — The former president and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce pleaded guilty Thursday to grand larceny for stealing money from the organization when he led it. Jeffery Hunt, 54, pleaded guilty to grand larceny, a felony punishable by up to seven years in state prison. State Police arrested Hunt in September 2021…

KINGSTON — The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued an ozone warning for the Hudson Valley until 11 p.m. on Thursday. The advisory is the third ozone warning already this month that the DEC has issued for the lower Hudson Valley region, which includes Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Ulster and Sullivan counties. The advisory is also in effect…

ALBANY — The most fortunate building in Albany might be the structure at the corner of Second Avenue and Odell Street in the city’s South End.  The vacant and dilapidated building, built in 1900 and assessed at $70,000, is set to be rehabbed with a $1 million federal grant received by the Albany County Land Bank.…

The National Weather Service of Albany “can’t rule out the possibility of a tornado.” July 12, 2023Updated: July 12, 2023 8:19 p.m. Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union ALBANY — Just days after floodwaters surged through parts of New York, collapsing roads and prompting emergency rescues, another powerful storm system is expected to strike the Capital Region.…

ALBANY — Common Council President Corey Ellis called for a new approach to addressing quality-of-life issues businesses and residents face in the city at a news conference Wednesday.  Ellis said he wants to the city to pursue a public safety model that involves employees charged with identifying quality-of-life “hot spots” and working to come up…