Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News

March 2, 2024

Photo of South Glens Falls High School dance marathonOver 46 years, the music has changed and so have the dance moves, but not the generous spirit. The students of South Glens Falls High School continue their nearly half-century mission to dance their way to a more caring community. (Gus Carayiannis)

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

By the time you read this, the students of South Glens Falls High School will have danced the night away with many hours still to go. Their tired feet are filling some big shoes, carrying on a proud and remarkable tradition as one of the most successful and abiding fundraising events in Upstate New York. 

Since 1978, students at South Glens Falls — really, the entire school district and community — have planned and conducted a year-long fundraising effort that culminates in a dance that lasts an entire weekend, a feat of both endurance and enduring generosity. Annually, the students raise something on the order of $600,000, which places this event in the top five or so fundraising events in their region of Upstate New York. The others are all managed by professionals. 

The first South Glens Falls Marathon Dance was held on March 10 and 11, 1978, with 20 couples dancing for 28 hours in a mostly empty gym. The inaugural effort raised just $3,000 — and almost no one noticed. It did not even merit a mention in the 1978 school yearbook. Over the years, the South High Marathon Dance has raised $10.55 million. This year the money goes to 21 local individuals and families in need and 13 charitable organizations, all chosen by the students. To support the impressive effort of these kids or watch the live feed, please go to www.shmd.org

BUZZER BEATER OF KINDNESS: The fifth-graders of Bolton Central School were playing their peers from Queensbury in a tournament in Glens Falls recently when an extraordinary act of kindness and inclusion unfolded. As the game clock ticked toward zero, a Queensbury player intentionally passed the ball to a 10-year-old Bolton player with Down’s syndrome so he could take the final shot. He made the basket, and the crowd went wild, in the gym and across the United States. 

CAMPUS COURSE CORRECTION: Michael J. Hicks writes with insight and authority about economics and current events from his perspective as a Ph.D. economist and college professor at Ball State University, where he directs the Center for Business and Economic Research. He’s also a lifelong conservative who has, over three decades in higher education, watched the campus worldview at public universities tack so far left — including in conservative states like Indiana — that they now “are among the least ideologically diverse institutions in the world,” taught by professors and cultivating campus activities that “are so ideologically conforming that it nurtures an intolerant and illiberal climate.” He cites the example of a Ball State colleague who suggested at a brainstorming session that highlighting the quality of local schools might help attract new faculty to live near the campus. “Most normal folks view this as self-evident,” Hicks writes. “Yet, this professor was scolded by a senior university administrator, who said the university would not discuss that because ‘concern about school quality is white privilege.’ This is an example of how progressive orthodoxy inhibits debate. A campus climate like this should outrage taxpayers, legislators and most especially my fellow professors.”

CASH OR DIPLOMA? Billionaire Peter Thiel’s advice runs counter to traditional wisdom. Instead of encouraging high school graduates to go to college, Thiel offers to pay new graduates to stay away from higher education. Since 2010, Thiel, an early Facebook investor, has offered to pay students $100,000 to drop out of school to start companies or nonprofits. Thiel started his fellowships in 2010, disenchanted with leading colleges and convinced they weren’t best suited for many young people. Since then, public opinion has shifted toward his perspective. More Americans are rethinking the value of a college education. In the past decade, the percentage of Americans who expressed a lot of confidence in higher education fell from 57% to 36%, according to Gallup. A decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2011 has translated into 3 million fewer students on campus.

THE PRIDE OF TROY: Maureen Stapleton made her way up from First Street in South Troy, N.Y., starting her acting career at home at 10, talking to imaginary friends in the living room. She went on to fame on Broadway and in films, appearing in Bye Bye BirdiePlaza Suite, and The Money Pit. She won an Academy Award for her performance in Reds, a Golden Globe for Airport, and two Tony Awards. Her alma mater, Catholic Central High School in Troy, from which she graduated in 1942, will honor her in March.

Photo of the New York State Court of Appeals building in Albany.The New York State Court of Appeals in Albany, where Gov. Kathy Hochul this week called provocatively on the state court system to act as a counterweight to the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in Hochul’s words, is “abandoning its responsibility as the defender of our constitutional rights.” John Bulmer

NOT-SO-PROUD MOMENT: A harsh spotlight turned on the City of Troy this week when the Albany Times Union reported that four city police officers had used theirs to harass two New York State troopers who had come into the city in their marked cruiser. One of the officers also used his car’s PA system to inform the troopers they “don’t belong here.” A trooper recorded the incident. The police chief said the officers would be disciplined, but the Times Union says that’s not enough, writing in an editorial: “This can’t be passed off as a few rogue idiots. This was a group working in concert to harass people — fellow members of law enforcement … It’s time to take away the gun and the badge before something much worse happens.”   

GLENN’S CONNECTION: The City of Glens Falls, N.Y., has had many names, official and unofficial, over the years: Wing’s Falls, the Queen City, and Hometown, U.S.A., among others. In February 1962, when Col. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in space, his bravery and accomplishments caught the world’s attention. Many communities congratulated Glenn, but the Glens Falls Common Council went further, unanimously agreeing to change the name of the city temporarily, to Glenn’s Orbit.  

MARTIN WHO?  They called him Old Kinderhook — Martin Van Buren, a son of New York’s Hudson Valley, the second shortest American president, the first to be born an American citizen and the only one who spoke Dutch as his first language. The eighth president helped invent the two-party system over the vehement objections of many of the Founding Fathers, figuring one would effectively check the passions of the other. Van Buren was a skilled politician who served as senator, Secretary of State and Vice President to Andrew Jackson. Today, almost nobody remembers him because of the Panic of 1837.

Photo of a cyclistThe calendar has turned toward spring, the warming and lengthening days beckoning to their enjoyment. Nancie Battaglia

CLEAN EM UP, SHIP EM OUT: When we dine at a fine dining establishment, our food is presented beautifully. Then we demolish it, and the dishes are whisked away. This remarkable New York Times video shows what happens next. Drevon Alston happily manages the dish pit at Gage & Tollner, the historic fine-dining restaurant in Brooklyn. While cooks furiously arrange oysters and clams on seafood platters and baste steaks with butter, Mr. Alston and his fellow dishwashers happily scrub pots, scrape char off grill grates and run stacks of plates up and down the stairs.

CONNECTIONS THROUGH TIME: Author Sarah Gristwood, long a student of women’s history, spent months reading hundreds of women’s diaries spanning more than four centuries, compiling the most compelling entries in a new anthology that aims “to discover how women’s experience — of men and children, sex and shopping, work and the natural world — has changed down the years. And, of course, how it hasn’t.” Fights for justice, the grief of loss, abusive spouses, and lack of status played out over thousands of pages, but the most common theme, she writes, is frustration. The good news, from Gristwood’s perspective: “These diaries prove there is an army at our backs, reassuring us, nudging us, urging us on every inch of the way.”

DELIGHTFUL? DEBATABLE: It’s always a risk to change a name that is synonymous with a successful event or place, as organizers of the road race that for more than four decades was The Freihofer’s Run for Women are learning. The Freihofer’s, a 5-kilometer road race through Albany, N.Y., got its name when Freihofer’s Baking Company started sponsoring it in 1980. Now the title sponsor is Sara Lee Delightful Bread, and the race is being renamed the Delightful Run for Women. Delightful? Not sure those who are serious about preparing for and running hard in the race would see it as delightful, but here we are. The Albany Times Union is soliciting thoughts.

01_Nuggets.jpgWILD CENTER IS TOPS: The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, an inspiring celebration of nature, has been voted the “Best Science Museum” in the country according to USA TODAY’s 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. The museum opened in 1999 to showcase the natural world of the Adirondacks in a comprehensive way through science-based exhibits and experiences.

WENDY’S WHIFFS: Wendy’s trial balloon had barely gotten aloft when it was returned, burned to a crisp, to Earth. CEO Kirk Tanner suggested the company wanted to raise menu prices based on demand, a model used by ride share providers. Hit with backlash, the company backtracked a day later: “Wendy’s will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest. We didn’t use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice.”

GREEN COUNTY: Rensselaer County is home to more Irish residents than any other county in the state and has the 10th-highest Irish population by percentage in the U.S. in 2021. For Irish in New York State, Saratoga and Warren County are numbers 2 and 3.

HOME ICE: The men’s and women’s hockey teams of Union College will begin playing at a new $50 million arena at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady, N.Y., in 2025. Mohawk Harbor is the new address of Schenectady’s renaissance, 60 acres of luxury homes, hotels, high-tech offices, restaurants, retail, public recreation and the Rivers Casino and Resort along the Mohawk River. 

RETURN OF THE CHAMPION: Whitney Houston, Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson and now…Freddie Mercury. The company which manages the Queen front man’s back catalogue has filed a trademark for his name in 3D and virtual reality. The move means Mercury could be digitally recreated to perform on stage, like the ABBA Voyage residency in East London. Legal papers show the name has been reserved for “immersive 3D virtual, augmented, and mixed reality experiences” and for “virtual environments.”

02_Lives.jpgRICHARD LEWIS earned a place on Comedy Central’s top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and in GQ magazine’s list of the 20th century’s most influential humorists. He delivered his diatribes dressed all in black, earning the nickname “The Prince of Pain.” A familiar face to late-night TV viewers over many decades, he also played opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the ABC series “Anything But Love,” as Prince John in “Robin Hood: Men In Tights,” and opposite Larry David in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He died of a heart attack at 76.

CHUCK MAWHINNEY followed his father into the Marines, enlisting at the height of the war in Vietnam. The Marines had decided for the first time since World War II to train and deploy dedicated snipers, and he was among the first trainees, graduating at the top of his class. After he was assigned to regular infantry, he faked a toothache, setting in motion a chain of events that would land him where he wanted to be, as a marksman, where his lethal skills resulted in the deaths of as many as 319 enemy combatants. Renowned for his patient endurance and constant vigilance, he was the deadliest sniper in the history of the Marine Corps. He was 74.

LANDO: Our colleague Leigh Hornbeck and her family said goodbye to their beloved dog, Lando, on Tuesday. Lando began life in Tennessee and lived in an animal shelter before catching a ride to Saratoga Springs in 2018. At 9 months, he met Leigh’s family at an adoption event at the local PetSmart. The bond between the small black and brown mutt and the family was instant. In 2020, Lando, named for Billy Dee Williams’ dashing character in Star Wars, was diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disease found in dogs and people that causes low platelet levels. Most people and animals recover with medication. Lando developed side effects to the treatment. Leigh, her husband Josh and their two sons, along with Dr. Kyra Haring at For Pet’s Sake in Glens Falls, were dedicated to Lando’s care. Lando was Josh’s best friend, often joining him at work where he greeted customers politely before returning to his spot in the sun. He loved the woods, he loved to chase a ball, he loved belly rubs and he was deeply loved by his people. This week, despite the efforts of the staff at the Capital District Veterinary Hospital, Lando could not recover from his latest bout of ITP. He died in the arms of his best friend, surrounded by his family.

03_Almost Final Words.jpg“I’ve lived in Florida my whole life. They’re calling these ‘events.’ I’m calling this (expletive) Tuesday afternoon.”
—    James Gordon of DeLand, Fla., a contestant in the Florida Man Games, where thousands paid $45 apiece to watch competitors in events that poke fun at the state’s reputation for bizarre behavior, often involving some combination of booze, brawling and gunfire.

04_signoff.jpgHEAVY METAL: A weightlifter in India is recovering from surgery to remove 39 coins and 37 magnets from his intestine, consumed because he believed “zinc helps in bodybuilding.”

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

Principal Authors: Bill Callen and Mark Behan.

Sincere thanks to our contributors: Ryan Moore, John Brodt, Troy Burns, Kristy Miller, Leigh Hornbeck, Tara Hutchins, Claire P. Tuttle, Gordon Woodworth, Michael Burgess, John Bulmer, Nancie Battaglia and Gus Carayiannis.

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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