Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News

February 17, 2024

Photo of Albany skyline.We can thank the phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering for the beautiful and orange and pink hues characteristic of sunrises like this one illuminating the skyline of Albany, N.Y. John Bulmer

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

Two of America’s obsessions — football and guns — collided this week when a terrifying scene unfolded at the end of a parade in Kansas City to celebrate back-to-back Super Bowl victories for the Chiefs.

One person died and 21 were injured, including at least 11 children, in what is just the latest incident of gunfire erupting at a championship celebration. Evidently, according to police, the event wasn’t targeted; the gunfire resulted from a dispute, not that that changes the outcome or the depth of the tragedy.

It’s clear the city, and the nation, are very fortunate to have avoided a massacre. The same is true of Plattsburgh, N.Y., where police, acting on a tip from the suspect’s brother, stopped and arrested a man carrying a loaded semi-automatic shotgun blocks from a hospital where he had recently been fired. “In many ways, we have been sheltered from the harsh realities of today’s troubled world,” the hospital’s president said in a statement. “Today, that reality was made clear in a truly frightening way.” Clinton County Sheriff David Favro told the Press-Republican of Plattsburgh, “this is about as close as I’ve seen to what could have ended up in a mass casualty situation.”

Maybe one of these days, someone will come up with a cogent explanation for why so many people — unique to the United States — have developed such little regard for their fellow humans that they evidently think nothing of devastating countless other lives. What have we become?

LEGENDS, ALL: For nearly 60 years, the Philadelphia Orchestra has made the Saratoga Performing Arts Center its summer home. In this their 58th season, the Philadelphians will offer three weeks of performances that celebrate music in many forms – from a 100th anniversary celebration of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” to evenings with Yo-Yo Ma and, interestingly, John Legend.  Meanwhile, the Albany Symphony offered its own spectacular tribute to Gershwin’s classic on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the original work. The Albany, N.Y., Times Union called it a “rousing, almost perfect performance.” The Schenectady Daily Gazette said: “The crowd jumped to its feet at the end with a sustained applause.”

THE NORTHERN BORDER: We hear a lot about the Southern Border, but the problems at the Northern Border — the boundary between the United States and Canada — are growing. The U.S. Border Patrol recorded nearly 200,000 people trying to cross into the United States last year from Canada, and that number includes just those who were intercepted. Migrants see the Canadian border, longer and less fortified, as an alternative route into the United States. They fly in from Mexico, India, Venezuela and elsewhere and are totally unprepared for the reality of winter. “The weather is so severe you just can’t survive,” said one local official. “Border Patrol is working extremely hard to save people’s lives because that’s what it’s come down to.” 

WHAT A RIDE: Ride-sharing app Lyft executives showed investors a slideshow late Tuesday projecting a 500 basis point increase in gross margins. Lyft’s stock price surged 67%. Then Lyft quickly corrected course. Typo alert: Margins were expected to rise just 50 basis points. The stock tumbled sharply. Lyft otherwise had a positive report but, as one investment analyst put it, “when a pilot lands at the wrong airport, it doesn’t send a sign of confidence to investors.” 

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER: There is growing interest in the idea of Albany, N.Y., rediscovering its historic connection to the Hudson River. The Albany WaterWay Canal Project would literally channel the river into the city again by restoring the canal that for 400 years brought commerce and life to Albany. Imagine the possibilities for public recreation, arts, culture and sustainable development if Albany became Venice on the Hudson.

BRACING FOR IMPACT: The Remington factory in Ilion, N.Y., a tiny village in the Mohawk Valley upstate, has been producing rifles and shotguns for two centuries, but the massive factory that a decade ago employed 1,300 people will go quiet next month. The company is consolidating operations in Georgia, costing 300 people their jobs and leaving a huge hole in the community. “When Remington leaves, it’s not going to be like a facility leaving, it’s going to be like part of your family has moved off,” Jim Conover, who started at Remington in 1964 packing guns and retired 40 years later as a production manager, told The Associated Press. The president of the local union told the AP, “My mom worked there. My dad worked there. My wife works there with me now. My daughter works there with me now. My second daughter works there with me now. And my son-in-law works there. So it’s a double-hit for me and my wife: two of us out of a job.” 

ECLIPSE EXCITEMENT: Several upstate New York communities will experience the total eclipse on April 8, an event planners have spent months preparing for. Communities and organizations across the Adirondacks are hosting events centered around the eclipse, with Tupper Lake stretching its celebration across the previous weekend. The Adirondack Explorer has a handy list of places to consider if you want to share the experience with others. Many, including public officials, have voiced concerns about an influx of inexperienced visitors trying to hike the High Peaks, which are in the path of totality, at a time when a miserable combination of thick mud and deep snow challenge even the most skilled and prepared mountaineer. A word to the wise.

Photo of ice skaters.A melt and refreeze made for ideal skating conditions in the Adirondacks. Nancie Battaglia

GOT FARMS? The loss of farms nationwide and in New York State continues. A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found New York state lost 2,788 farms from 2017 to 2022, including 1,865 dairy farms, a third of the dairy producers in the state. The number of farms in the U.S. declined by nearly 142,000 over that five-year period. Yet food production remains about the same. Some small farmers are leaving the business, others are consolidating, and food production has become much more technologically advanced. “I’m concerned about the state of agriculture and food production in this country,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told reporters, adding that the loss of farmland acreage nationally was the equivalent of “every New England state with the exception of Connecticut.”  

WARMING TRENDS: The nation’s snowiest city, Syracuse, N.Y., is missing 60 inches of snow this winter. Syracuse.com’s Glenn Coin writes: “In the middle of February, Syracuse is suffering a bit of an identity crisis. Our national reputation, after all, hinges on two things: Syracuse University basketball and snow. Now, Jim Boeheim has retired, and snow is sitting the bench.” Meanwhile, last month was the warmest January in recorded history worldwide, slightly warmer than 2020, the European climate agency reports. International Falls, Minn., famous for brutal winter temperatures, reached 53 degrees on January 31, its first-ever 50-degree January day. The owner of a golf course south of Minneapolis told The Associated Press about 1,000 rounds were played in January, a number equaled in February. The typical number: zero. The ramifications are much more dire for polar bears, according to a study that found the animals are struggling to adapt their diets more to land because of the loss of sea ice. Researchers who monitored 20 bears over the course of three weeks — about the amount of extra time they have to spend on land compared to 40 years ago — found that 19 lost weight, an average of 47 pounds. A University of Washington biologist and polar bear expert told the AP, “This paper adds to a growing body of evidence that polar bears cannot sustain themselves on land as we continue to lose sea ice due to climate warming.” 

CAREER ADVICE: Grover, the furry blue Muppet who’s talked about his many jobs on “Sesame Street,” broke the news this week that he has a new gig: news reporter. A lot of journalists played along good naturedly, but several offered more pointed responses evocative of the dismal state of the industry, as NPR reports. “UPDATE: Unfortunately, Grover was part of the latest round of newsroom cuts,” tweeted the account Stuff Journalists Like. “I regret to report a hedge fund has since purchased Grover's paper and laid him off,” reporter S.P. Sullivan wrote in a tweet with over 1,000 likes.

01_Nuggets.jpgPUPPIES RULE: Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched television program of all time, with nearly 124 million viewers across television and streaming platforms. But the real news is that the Puppy Bowl – filmed in Glens Falls, N.Y. – continues to be a huge fan favorite after 20 years.

BEST OF THE WILD: The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, N.Y., has been nominated again for a “Best Science Museum” award in the USA Today national readers’ choice awards. In 2023, The Wild Center finished second among the top 10 science museums on a list that included The Museum of Flight in Seattle and the Michigan Science Center in Detroit. 

TRANSPORTATION TREVAILS: A man riding a bus tried to smuggle three Burmese pythons across the U.S.-Canadian border into the United States by hiding them in his pants. On the bright side, no one on the bus had maggots falling on them, as happened on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, courtesy of spoiled fish in someone’s carry-on.

CLOUDED JUDGMENT: Forgive your friends in Burlington, Vt., if they’ve been a bit grumpier than normal lately. They’ve just endured the cloudiest January since 1951, with average cloud cover at 88% and zero days categorized as “fair,” according to the National Weather Service and as reported by Vermont Public Radio. An NWS meteorologist pointed to well-above-normal temperatures, noting that warmer air tends to hold more moisture.

WELL DONE, DEC: As job recognition goes, this beats Employee of the Month. Two employees of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation — Josh Thiel, Invasive Species Coordination Section Chief, and Emma Antolos, a Public Participation Specialist — won New York State Emmy Awards for producing the documentary, “Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species.” Its purpose is to raise awareness of the threat that invasive species pose to the state's ecosystem. It’s free to watch on YouTube.

02_Lives.jpgWILLIAM “BILL” POST returned from service in World War II to the company where he had started as a teenager, but instead of washing the trucks, he was learning the business. He was plant manager for the company, Hekman Biscuit Co., when Kellogg’s executives asked the company to create a new breakfast product, a pastry that could be toasted. Four months later, Post and his team had created Pop-Tarts, which debuted in 1964 with four original flavors and remains a pantry staple, with billions sold annually. He was 96.

KELVIN KIPTUM four months ago ran 26.2 miles faster than anyone in recorded history, setting the world marathon record of 2 hours, 35 seconds in the Chicago Marathon. He seemed destined to continue a line of great Kenyan distance running champions, a group that includes the marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, the previous record holder. He lost control while driving in Kenya. The accident killed both Kiptum and his 36-year-old coach, Gervais Hakizimana. “We were lucky to witness his greatness on the streets of Chicago,” the race director there told CNN. “The sport of marathon running has suffered a tragic loss.” Kiptum was 24.

BOB EDWARDS greeted listeners of public radio with a rich baritone and warm delivery every weekday morning for nearly a quarter century. As host of “Morning Edition,” one of the network’s flagship programs, Edwards conveyed an unhurried ease expressed with elegance, a result of his passion for preparation and great writing. His former co-cost, Susan Stamberg, told NPR, “his was the voice we woke up to … he was Mr. Cool, he was Mr. Authoritative and straight ahead.” Listeners enjoyed his weekly conversations with old-time sportscaster Red Barber, the subject of one of three books Edwards would author. He left NPR full-time in 2004 after being told he no longer would be on “Morning Edition,” later hosting a show on Sirius XM Radio and contributing “Bob Edwards Weekend” on many public radio stations. He was 76.

SI SPIEGEL was among the last surviving American B-17 pilots of World War II, a milestone made even more impressive when you consider that he survived a crash landing and escaped by piecing together the good parts of two crashed planes and flying from Soviet-occupied Poland to an American base in Italy. Blocked from a career as a commercial airline pilot because he was Jewish, he bounced around before landing with the American Brush Machinery Company, where he operated machines that made wire brushes. Years later, by then a senior machinist, he was tasked with closing the company’s unsuccessful artificial Christmas tree factory. Instead, The New York Times reports, he adjusted the machines to make something that more closely resembled natural trees, patented new techniques and left to form his own company, which grew to generate annual sales of $54 million, employ 800 people and allow Spiegel to retire a multimillionaire. The trees he designed remain the standard for artificial trees. He was 99.

03_Almost Final Words.jpg“We are so excited to see this beloved tradition continue. Thank you to the new Valentine’s Bandit crew for keeping Kevin’s spirit as well as his message of kindness and love alive.”
—    Jessica Grondin, city spokesperson for Portland, Maine, after residents continued a tradition the late Kevin Fahrman carried out for decades, papering the city in the middle of the night with hearts for Valentine’s Day.

04_signoff.jpgLIVING GENEROUSLY: A man visiting Benton Harbor, Mich., for a friend’s funeral turned his grief into unexpected joy for wait staff at the Mason Jar Café, adding a $10,000 tip to his $32 breakfast bill and directing that it be shared among the eight servers, $1,250 apiece.

05_Bottom.jpgSome of the linked material in Facing Out requires a subscription to read.

Principal Authors: Mark Behan and Bill Callen

Sincere thanks to our contributors: Ryan Moore, John Brodt, Troy Burns, Kristy Miller, Leigh Hornbeck, Tara Hutchins, Claire P. Tuttle, Nancie Battaglia, 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 conversationmark.behan@behancom.com

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