Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News

March 15, 2025

A rare Blood Moon total lunar eclipse, the first since 2022, offered a spectacular sight for Capital Region residents who got up in the middle of the night Friday morning. John Bulmer

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The sad news of actor Gene Hackman’s final days illustrates the challenges and potential hazards of single caregivers for people in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and other debilitating diseases.

The Alzheimer’s Association estimates there were 6.7 million Americans living with the neurodegenerative disease, the most common cause of dementia, in 2023, a figure that is expected to reach 13 million by 2050.

A behavioral scientist who researches ways to support caregivers told the BBC, “With the aging of a population, we also simultaneously have a shrinking of the number of people in the family, number of children, or relatives who live nearby.” As a result, there can be less support for the caregiver when it comes time to make decisions such as when to place a loved one in a managed-care setting.

Authorities in New Mexico said Hackman, who was 95, lived for about a week after his wife and caregiver, Betsy Arakawa, 65, died of a rare virus. No one knows what went on during that time, though his autopsy indicated he had not eaten.

Emma Hemming Willis, the wife and caregiver of actor Bruce Willis, who lives with aphasia that has progressed to frontotemporal dementia, posted a video this week urging people to remember the needs of caregivers and support them. “I think that there's this common misconception that caregivers ... got it figured out. They got it covered. They're good,” she said. “I don't subscribe to that. I think that we need to be showing up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person.”

INVESTING IN MANUFACTURING: GE Aerospace announced this week that it plans to invest nearly $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing operations, benefitting more than two dozen communities across 16 states. That includes $200 million in military engine production at facilities in Lynn, Mass., near Boston, and Madisonville, Ky., and more than $100 million to scale innovative materials and parts. The company also announced it will hire about 5,000 U.S. workers this year, including both manufacturing and engineering roles, a year after adding more than 900 engineers and 1,000 new manufacturing workers. “Investing in manufacturing and innovation is more critical than ever for the future of our industry and the communities where we operate,” Chairman and CEO Larry Culp said. “We are committed to helping our customers modernize and expand their fleets while scaling technologies that will truly define the future of flight. Together, this will keep the United States at the forefront of aerospace leadership.”

SLAINTE & SAVE: Looking for a way to save some green while celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? You’re in luck. A group of Lake George hotels and restaurants are collaborating on the St. Paddy’s Pub Crawl. For $80 plus tax, you can purchase a “gold coin” that includes a free overnight stay on March 17 at your choice of three hotels, a free drink at the six participating restaurants, and 10% off food. Participating locations include The Lakeside Restaurant, Adirondack Pub & Brewery, Charlie’s Bar & Kitchen, Duffy’s Tavern, The Lagoon and TR’s Restaurant & Lounge. Hotel choices include Fort William Henry Hotel, Holiday Inn Resort Lake George, or Courtyard Lake George. Event registration will be at The Lakeside complete with green beer, corned beef, Irish music, and more. Pro tip: If you need something non-alcoholic along your Pub Crawl, sip on Adirondack Pub & Brewery’s new non-alcoholic beer, Northern Altitude, which tastes like a hazy IPA. All of this led us to wonder: Are the Irish drinking less these days? Yes. A study by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland found that alcohol consumption is down 31% since 2001, a decline driven by people under the age of 30 who are heading to the gym or the coffee bar and sipping alcohol substitutes.

SHOWING THEIR BEST: When Anora swept the Academy Awards with best picture honors and four other top awards, three Glens Falls, N.Y., area natives were suddenly thrust into the spotlight. RPI alum Stephen Phelps was the production designer on the film. He had recruited his brother Christopher to work on set decoration along with their friend Ryan Fitzgerald, who served as art director. As kids, the three made short films and music videos in South Glens Falls. For the past 15 years, Phelps has been working on independent films with small budgets like Anora. Though Phelps now lives in Brooklyn, the three still have a studio space in the Shirt Factory, a home for artists, craftspeople and small businesses in Glens Falls.

A hard winter in the Adirondacks is ending, but it wasn’t too late to skate on Cascade Lake. Nancie Battaglia

RETHINKING THE KENNEDY CENTER: Paolo Zampolli, the former modeling agent who introduced Melania Knauss to Donald Trump, was appointed by President Trump to the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, and he’s floating ideas about how to make the center a more exciting destination for entertainment. How about a Kennedy Center Marina on the Potomac with a Cipriani restaurant, Valentino fashion shows, and maybe even launching some art into space? The fresh ideas come as performers continue to cancel shows in the wake of President Trump’s takeover of the institution. His Vice President received a less-than-cordial welcome when he showed up this week to take in the opera.

CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT: Beekeepers in the Northeast and across the nation are reporting alarming losses in bee populations, with the president of the Vermont-based Champlain Valley Bee Association telling the Adirondack Explorer that his 100 or so members lost more than half their bees over the winter, “and we do not know yet why.” Cindy Elsenbeck, education coordinator with the Southern Adirondack Beekeepers Association, lost the entirety of her operation in December. “It’s going to affect agriculture,” she told the Explorer. “We’re going to have to import apples, cherries and blueberries, because we’re not going to have the bees to pollinate them this year.” Meanwhile, bird flu was confirmed in a juvenile bald eagle found dead in Willsboro, N.Y., near Lake Champlain, where other bald eagles have been spotted feeding on dead geese, concerning local observers. The environmental news is better for Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, where efforts to curb salt pollution by reducing the use of road salt and rerouting runoff are bearing fruit.

PIGS RESCUE US: More than 100,000 Americans are on waiting lists for donor organs, most needing a kidney, but only 25,000 human donor kidneys become available each year. Miniature pigs being cloned on a farm in Wisconsin may provide an answer. Scientists are cloning the pigs and editing their genes so they can harvest kidneys, hearts and livers compatible with the human body. Through genetic engineering, some researchers believe pig organs could be designed to be so compatible with humans that patients won’t have to take anti-rejection drugs that make them vulnerable to infections and cancer. Babies born with serious heart defects might be given a pig’s heart temporarily while waiting for a human donor heart. A pig’s liver could potentially serve as a bridge for those in need of a human liver.

IT'S 4:30 SOMEWHERE: From the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2024, the average American worker wrapped up their typical work day 42 minutes earlier, though more also were putting in time on the weekend, according to data from ActivTrak, a productivity software company that tracked the workplace behaviors of more than 200,000 employees across 777 companies. Despite the shorter workday, Bloomberg reports, the data suggest that overall productivity has increased by about 2%. “I hope to see these numbers remain consistent year-over-year when it comes to workday span and productivity,” said Gabriela Mauch, the head of ActivTrak’s Productivity Lab. “These are healthy numbers. We’ve adapted to a traditional workday on average, while offering flexibility and fluidity in a way that meets employees where they are.” The company’s figures show the average workday in the fourth quarter of 2024 ended at 4:39 p.m.

TO NEW HEIGHTS: Dr. Anastasia L. Urtz, provost and senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, will become the next president of SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury in July, succeeding Dr. Kristine Duffy, who is retiring. Dr. Duffy oversaw more than $50 million in capital investments and helped secure nearly $20 million in grants to expand facilities and ensure student success.

BEST AND BRIGHTEST: Regeneron, developer and maker of life-changing medicines and a major employer in the Capital Region, this week honored some of the brightest young minds in the country, winners of the annual Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.

WILL TO LIVE: An Indiana woman with severe leg injuries survived six days while trapped in her wrecked car, which was invisible from the road, by dipping her hooded sweatshirt into a small creek and sucking the water from it, according to authorities in Newton County, near the Illinois border.

THIS IS (NOT) THE TIME: Billy Joel announced this week that he is postponing eight concerts, including one originally scheduled for April 11 in Syracuse, N.Y., as he recovers from surgery. Also on the IL: golf legend Tiger Woods, who underwent surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon this week and likely will miss most if not all of the 2025 season, the latest in a series of injuries that have derailed the career of the 15-time majors champion.

ELECTRIC SHOCKS: Utilities continue to seek double-digit increases to build new infrastructure and comply with state renewable-energy mandates. Ratepayers are pushing back. More than 1.3 million household customers in New York State were at least two months behind in their utility payments at the end of December, and owed an aggregate $1.85 billion, according to data from the state’s Public Service Commission.

EXTRA CRISPY: Wildfires that broke out last weekend on Long Island and prompted an emergency declaration and burn ban from Gov. Kathy Hochul likely were caused by a resident making s’mores in a backyard, according to authorities.

JUNIOR BRIDGEMAN played 12 seasons in the NBA and became one of the league’s steadiest contributors off the bench, but as good as he was on the court, he enjoyed even more success as an entrepreneur, business leader and mentor. He built a fast-food empire that, at its peak, totaled more than 450 franchises nationwide. He also became a Coca-Cola bottling distributor with territory in three states and into Canada, and purchased Ebony and Jet magazines. More recently, he became a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, the team he once played for. In February, Forbes estimated his net worth had surpassed $1.4 billion, making him one of the most financially successful former athletes in history. As a child in East Chicago, Ind., he had wanted to be a Boy Scout, but his family couldn’t afford the $1.25 fee. “Junior was the ultimate entrepreneur who built on his impactful 12-year NBA playing career by becoming a highly respected and successful business leader,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “He served as a mentor to generations of NBA players and athletes across sports who were eager to learn from him about what it takes to thrive in the business world.” He died of an apparent heart attack at 71.

JOHN FEINSTEIN got his start at the Washington Post on the night police beat because there wasn’t an opening in Sports, but he shifted soon after and became one of the most celebrated and prolific sports journalists of the past half-century. He was a best-selling author of 48 books, including the groundbreaking A Season on The Brink, an inside look at the Indiana University basketball program under Bob Knight that spent 17 weeks as a No. 1 bestseller and was later made into a TV movie. Other notable titles included A Good Walk Spoiled, about the golfers scratching out a living on the PGA Tour that also reached No. 1, and A Civil War, about the Army-Navy football rivalry. He also wrote for Golf Digest and was a frequent contributor to a variety of radio programs, including a regular stint on NPR. He filed his final column for the Post, about Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo, the day before his death, at 69, of a heart attack.

CRAIG WOLFLEY was a two-time All-American as an offensive lineman at Syracuse University, which named him to its All-Century football team in 1999, before spending most of his 12-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A native of the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, where the Bills play, he was known for his uncommon work ethic and power, placing fifth in the World’s Strongest Man competition in 1981, early in his career with the Steelers. He returned to Pittsburgh and became a popular and affable media figure, serving as a Steelers sideline reporter and, later, radio color analyst, as well as a community leader known for his many charitable activities throughout the region. He died of cancer at 66.

RON NESSEN was Gerald Ford’s second choice for press secretary when he became President upon Richard Nixon’s resignation in August 1974. Ford’s first press secretary, Jerald F. terHorst, had served only a month when he resigned to protest Ford’s pardon of Nixon. Nessen struggled to restore trust between a skeptical, scandal-hungry White House press corps and the Ford Administration. He was the first press secretary to persuade a President to appear on “Saturday Night Live’’ where, of course, the cast regularly poked fun at Ford’s clumsiness. Complaining to Nessen about journalists’ penchant for pillorying him for the same, Ford quipped, “I’ll bet those people get their exercise sitting on a bar stool.” Nessen was 90.

“Changing our bags policy would be value destructive.”
— Ryan Green, who was then in charge of Southwest Airline’s transformation strategy, at the airline’s investor day in September 2024. This week, the company announced that it was ditching its popular and longstanding “Bags Fly Free” policy.

BREW CREW: Moosehead Breweries, Canada’s oldest brewery, last week released its “Presidential Pack,” a giant crate available only in Canada containing 1,461 cans of lager, which it said was “just enough to get through the full presidential term” of Donald Trump.

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Principal Author: Bill Callen.

Contributors: Mark Behan, Ryan Moore, Kristy Miller, Jim Murphy, Amanda Metzger, 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 conversation: mark.behan@behancom.com