Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News

October 21, 2023

Photographer John Bulmer uses modern editing techniques to add color to black and white photographs. Shown here: Monument Square, Troy, NY — 1949. (Original photo: Times Union Archive) 

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

We’re watching as the history of innovation repeats itself. Troy, New York, cradle of America’s industrial revolution, is now home to the first university in the world to host a quantum supercomputer. 

RPI’s new IBM Quantum Computational Center will focus on problems in health care, sustainability, artificial intelligence, and national security. RPI President Martin Schmidt says, “We believe that application space is vast and will include fields like drug discovery, modeling and predicting new materials and financial risk modeling. But we need to explore these areas now, so that when we are ready for the higher-powered quantum computers, when they emerge, we can leverage that. But in addition, we need to integrate quantum computing into our curriculum, so that we are graduating students armed with the skills to utilize these powerful quantum computers in the future.” 

Meanwhile, SUNY Albany and IBM also have established a new partnership to pursue AI research and create a SUNY AI Research Group. The Albany Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Initiative will add an unprecedented 27 new faculty members specializing in artificial intelligence, marking the next phase in an ambitious plan to incorporate elements of AI teaching and research across all academic programs. 

And the high-tech collaborations continue to the north at Lake George, where RPI, IBM and the Lake George Association continue their pioneering freshwater research, with a goal of using the data they’ve amassed locally not only to protect Lake George but to protect freshwater bodies nationwide.  The Economic Development Corp. of Warren County sees the Lake George region as a future national center for freshwater research and technology.  A public conversation about the opportunities will take place Oct. 24, and the public is invited.

COLORING WHAT WAS OUR WORLD: Singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson had a hit in 2008 called “In Color,” about old family photographs. The narrator in the song asks his grandfather to tell him about grainy black and white pictures. The grandfather responds, “If it looks like we were scared to death, like a couple of kids just tryna save each other, you should've seen it in color.” The song, in Johnson’s rumbling baritone, was a hit because so many people shared the experience. It pushes all the right levers for generations of listeners. Photographer John Bulmer has also found an enthusiastic audience for his series of historical image restorations in color, two of which are featured in this week’s edition of Facing Out. He finds images online without copyright restrictions and adds the color of people’s memories. The photographs are mostly street scenes from around the Capital Region, images that would mean little to an outsider but prompt a local viewer to stop, look closely and delve into a memory. John uses advanced editing techniques and a touch of guesswork based on the tone of the image to decode the original color of the subjects. 

“These shared images serve as a bridge using social media to connect people with their heritage and foster an appreciation for our shared history. For some, it's the first time seeing the past in color; for others, it's the spark of a memory. The project is an effort to ensure that our region's history remains accessible to all,” Bulmer said. You can find Bulmer’s colorized images and other examples of his work on Facebook and on his website.

STOP THE MOWERS, PLEASE: Habitat loss and climate change have reduced the known population of monarch butterflies by 80 percent. It may be possible to reverse that if milkweed, the source of nutrition for monarch caterpillars before they transform into butterflies, can be saved. Milkweed is often considered an unsightly and useless weed under a bridge or by the side the road – a prime target for highway mowing crews. But if we spare the milkweed, we may save the butterfly. 

HI, IT'S THE MAYOR! New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been a champion for reaching out to New Yorkers of all ethnicities and national origins, particularly groups who have been left out of the conversation in the past. Now he’s trying a new high-tech tack: Robocalls in multiple languages, most of which he does not speak, using artificial intelligence voice simulation. Creepy, critics say. But a city spokesperson said they’ve reached more than 4 million New Yorkers with calls in Spanish, more than 250 in Yiddish, more than 160 in Mandarin, 89 calls in Cantonese and 23 in Haitian Creole.  “When we went to those hiring halls and I heard people who speak Bengali, when I heard people who speak Urdu, when I heard people who speak Spanish, and said we heard your robocall in our language — we are becoming more welcoming by utilizing tech to speak in a multitude of languages.” 

STRIKE ZONE: You know about the UAW, Hollywood and Detroit casino workers strikes, Now, the union representing workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway is threatening to strike. A strike, the Seaway said, would close its system of locks and channels on the St. Lawrence River and other waterways that allow ships to go between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes."For a strike to actually occur in the modern day, this is this would be a big blow to the maritime industry in North America," said one observer.  

MVP: Hockey player Jenna Fireovid was playing in a normal club hockey practice at SUNY Plattsburgh last month when she noticed she was more winded than usual. She figured it was her asthma acting up and headed for the bench. That’s the last thing she remembers clearly. Fireovid passed out. Her buddy and Plattsburgh club teammate, Zach Coventry from Queensbury, N.Y., knew what to do when he couldn’t find a pulse. He and another teammate started chest compressions. Coventry, a first-year criminal justice major, used lifesaving techniques he learned in high school and as a summer employee at Six Flags Great Escape. Fireovid survived and has since returned to classes.

INTIMATELY DEGAS: Edgar Degas is most famous for his dancers, but a new exhibit at the Hyde Collectionin Glens Falls reveals lesser-known work and art by Degas’ talented friends. Reviewer William Jaeger writes for the Times Union, “Here at the Hyde, you won’t find a truly roiling masterpiece (in my view) like the 1869 ‘Interior’ (it’s at the Philadelphia Museum). You will, though, find clues to what made Degas the person who would paint a work like that, or like the great paintings inspired by his visits to the United States, or the smudgy views of women in brothels, and all those girls backstage, pure innocence in their tutus.”  “Edgar Degas, The Private Impressionist: Works on Paper by the Artist and His Circle” is on display until Dec. 31.

Photographer John Bulmer uses modern editing techniques to add color to black and white photographs. Shown here: Proctor’s Theater, Fourth Street, Troy, NY — circa-1940s. (Source unknown)

DRY DOCK: In Lake George over the years, soldiers’ remains from the French and Indian War era have been uncovered during construction projects on land. In St. Augustine, Fla., they find shipwrecks under the roads. Construction crews uncovered a 19^th-century wooden vessel during a road construction project last week. The Florida Department of Transportation said: “We believe the vessel may have sunk unexpectedly and, over time, was silted in. That is why it was preserved so well — it was encapsulated in soil and mud, so there was no air contact for it to decay. It’s truly an incredible find.” The boat was found under State Road A1A near the Bridge of Lions. We’re guessing the drainage improvement project underway there may take a little longer. 

TRADITION DISCONTINUED: Citing logistical challenges, and inflation, funding, and staffing and volunteer challenges, the Capital Region non-profit Equinox announced it will not deliver meals on Thanksgiving this year. “Just the logistics of handling such a large-scale operation have changed over the years,” said Christina Rajotte, Chief Development Officer for Equinox and Whitney Young Health. Equinox will continue its sit-down Thanksgiving dinner, a tradition that began in 1969. 

A FARM UPSTATE: The New York Racing Association, the organization that runs the Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack, has purchased Maple Sugar Farm in Dutchess County with the intention of using the 466-acre horse farm for a variety of purposes including a new center for equine health and safety research, veterinary education programing, Thoroughbred aftercare, off-track training, and layup services. NYRA paid $12.1 million for the property, which has a market value of $16.9 million, according to Dutchess County records.

LIFE EXPECTANCY: Life expectancy in the United States has slowly, gradually, and then precipitously fallen behind other rich countries – but not among everyone. Public health authorities in the United States record educational qualifications at death so that, after 1992, we can calculate life expectancy by college degree, starting at age 25, when most people have completed their education. It turns out that, on the eve of the pandemic, average life expectancy for those with four-year college degrees rose to 84 — up from 79  in 1992. For those without college degrees, however, life expectancy reached its peak around 2010 and has been falling since. It’s not the degree itself, it’s everything that comes with a college education: better jobs, better pay, nicer house, better neighborhood. All these have exceptions, of course, but the research is compelling.  

NATIONAL HONORS: Stately Saratoga Arms in Saratoga Springs, the Sagamore Resort in Bolton, and the Mirror Lake Inn, The Point, Whiteface Lodge and the Grand Adirondack Hotel in Lake Placid all have won coveted spots on Conde Nast’s 2023 top resorts. Meanwhile, The Travel says the most beautiful town in New York State to visit in 2024 is Lake George.  “Lake George's attractions stretch far beyond its shores. The village streets, with their charming cafés, boutique stores, and historic houses, almost seem to breathe with the spirit of generations past. In this charming setting, one can't help but feel connected to history.”

NEW LIFE CUT SHORT: Leonard Allan Cure spent more than 16 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit before he was released three years ago – only to die on the side of the road on Monday after he was pulled over by a Georgia sheriff’s deputy who shot him following a struggle.  Cure, who was Black, was pulled over in Camden County near the Florida border by Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge at about 7:30 a.m., according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The shooting is under investigation.

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, on trial in New York in connection with the collapse of his crypto empire FTX, hung his hat (probably his head, too) during the final days of his empire at The Albany, a 600-acre oceanside luxury resort community on the island of New Providence in The Bahamas. “Albany and its rare collection of amenities provide an exceptional way for residents and visitors to enjoy the pleasures of island life,” the web site says. 

SAN FRANCISCO never had to worry about its brand when Tony Bennett’s heart was there. It’s different now: Insane home prices, homelessness, drug use in public, crime. The visitors aren’t visiting. What’s the City by the Bay to do? Send for the ad guys! 

JOHN COURTNEY did clerical work for Bethlehem Steel at night while attending college during the day. He and his wife Pat made a home for their growing family in a trailer not far from Bethlehem Steel’s factory in Buffalo. When he got a promotion, Mr. Courtney moved his family to a second-floor flat nearby.  They were just scraping by, but the modest Irish Catholic service-minded Courtneys always found enough to help others. On holidays, they brought into their home developmentally disabled children who had no relatives to visit. And they collected food, clothing and furniture for families who were struggling in the region, hard hit by industrial decline. One of their six children, Kathleen, grew up to be Governor of New York. Mr. Courtney died Thursday while his daughter was visiting Israel, a trip he had encouraged her to make. He was 87.

LOUISE GLÜCK won the 2020 Nobel prize for literature, the first American poet to do so since TS Eliot in 1948. Announcing the award, the Swedish Academy praised the way her poetry’s “austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” She was known for her sharp directness and sometimes dark observation. Glück’s collection “The Triumph of Achilles” (1985) won the National Book Critics Circle award. Its melding of the personal and mythological became her trademark. She won the Pulitzer prize for The Wild Iris, a series of discussions between two plants and God, in 1992. Louise Glück was 80.

MICHAEL J. BRAGMAN represented the Syracuse area for 21 years in the New York State Assembly, including seven years as the Democratic majority leader, died on Friday. Bragman was first elected to the 118th Assembly District in 1981 and was re-elected 10 times. He resigned in December 2001 after failing to unseat longtime Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Bragman and his wife, Suzanne, founded The Bragman Companies in 1986. It is now one of the largest developers of residential subdivisions in Central New York. He was 83.

"We are NOT a Mickey Mouse parliament."
— German Member of the European Parliament Daniel Freund after a French train carrying members of the European parliament, en route to Strasbourg, ended up instead at Disneyland Paris due to a signaling error.


BRENT YOUNG didn't know which lottery ticket to buy at Prince Food and Gas in Visalia, California, so he left the choice up to the store clerk. Good move. The clerk handed over a California 200X ticket, which turned out to be a $10 million winner. "It's almost like God's intervention,” Young said.

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Principal Author: Leigh Hornbeck, Mark Behan

Sincere thanks to our contributors: Ryan Moore, Bill Callen, John Brodt, Troy Burns, Tina Suhocki, Kristy Miller, Claire P. Tuttle, and John Bulmer.

FACING OUT is what we do. We help companies, organizations and individuals work effectively with their most important external audiences – their customers, their shareholders, their communities, the government and the news media.  www.behancommunications.com

Facing Out features news and other nuggets that caught our eye, and that we thought might be of value to you, our friends and business associates. Some items are good news about our clients and friends, others are stories that we hope will leave you a bit more informed or entertained than you were five minutes ago. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. 

Let’s make it a conversation: mark.behan@behancom.com