Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News

August 16, 2025

Cyclists enjoy the Adirondack Rail Trail, soon to be completed from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake, N.Y., on a summer evening. Nancie Battaglia

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The Hudson River’s environmental challenges have been exhaustively reported over the years.  The story of the river’s remarkable comeback has received far less attention. We love when the good news about the Hudson gets the attention it deserves.

It happened in 2023 when a British endurance swimmer, Lewis Pugh, swam the 315-mile length of the Hudson to call attention to the importance of clean rivers, and it happened again this summer when John Henkelman, a PhD candidate at the University of New Hampshire, chronicled his own paddling journey from the Adirondacks to New York City, collecting and testing water samples along the way.

“Everybody that isn’t a paddler thinks that the water is the dirtiest thing in the world,” he told Gothamist. “So far, all of my tests have been clean.”

“That’s just something I wanted to highlight,” Henkelman said, noting some studies suggest the river is the cleanest it's been since the Civil War.

NO ROOM AT THE INN: For decades, the Baseball Hall of Fame and the renowned Glimmerglass Festival coexisted splendidly in the tiny town both call home. Baseball fans would flock to Cooperstown, N.Y., for hall of fame induction ceremonies each July, just as opera fans were settling in for the season. That dynamic still exists, but the presence of the hall of fame spurred the development of a youth baseball complex on the outskirts of town that draws hordes of kids for camps. The issue isn’t the kids — they bunk up at the facility — it’s the parents who also tag along to share their kids’ baseball experience, making it harder and harder to find hotel rooms anywhere near Cooperstown.

BROKEN RECORDS: Last week we shared some numbers to illustrate the impressive levels of spending and charitable contributions in New York’s Capital Region this summer. Two more: The two-night Saratoga Fasig-Tipton yearling sale shattered a long- established record, topping $100 million in sales for the first time. And in Lake George, the Lake George Land Conservancy met its $9 million campaign goal ahead of schedule. Then, to celebrate, donors at a gala at Fort William Henry’s Carriage House contributed an additional $330,000. Conversely, the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the state agency tasked with managing the state’s winter sports facilities and driving winter sports tourism, reported it lost a record $50 million in the fiscal year that ended in March, despite a $6 million gain in revenue. An emphasis on attracting big, international events contributed to higher operating costs, as did employee compensation. The report was published days after news that one of the most well-attended events in Lake Placid, the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, scheduled for December, was being moved to Germany because of needed repairs to the observation deck at the Olympic Jumping Complex.

Internet sleuths were certain the photo above was fake. They were wrong. (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)

SEEING IS DISBELIEVING: When a 14-year-old hiker needed to be rescued in a remote area of the Adirondack backcountry, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation called in a State Police helicopter for support. The helicopter flew rangers to the Elk Pass area of Nippletop Mountain, where they rescued the unconscious teen, carrying him through waist-deep water and mud. DEC released a photo of the dramatic rescue, and it was immediately dismissed by online commenters as a fake, AI-generated image. The Adirondack Mountain News looked into the matter. The rescue happened, the photo was authentic, and the keyboard warrior critics remain warm and dry on their couches.

PICTURE THIS: Hard to believe, but Kodak warned investors this week that it may not be around much longer. Founded by George Eastman in Rochester, N.Y., in the late 19th century, Kodak became a global giant after introducing the Kodak #1 camera in 1888, bringing photography to everyday consumers and coining the phrase "Kodak moment." Despite its early success, the company struggled to adapt to the rise of digital photography. It filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and has since shifted focus to printing, specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In an earnings report, Kodak revealed there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue to service more than  $470 million in debt. Discount carrier Spirit Airlines is warning that it, too, may not survive the year as it struggles to regain profitability after emerging from bankruptcy.

WINNIE THE POO: We get that in these unsettled times, there are fewer and fewer points of broad agreement. But we thought Winston Churchill’s standing as an exalted wartime leader who confronted Hitler, encouraged Great Britain and preserved democracy for Europe — if not the world — was settled, at least in the West. Apparently not. Revisionist historians who see the world through a morally challenged lens have been blaming Churchill for escalating the war after Hitler’s forces invaded Poland in 1939. One, a candidate for elected office, wrote online: “In Britain specifically we need to exorcise the cult of Churchill and recognize that in both policy and military strategy, he was abysmal.” Author Andrew Roberts, a member of the House of Lords, begs to differ in The Wall Street Journal: “As their failure to win the endorsement of any of the hundreds of serious historians of World War II suggests, their arguments, such as they are, cannot survive contact with the reality of the historical record.”

FAILING OUR KIDS: Clyanna Lightbourn, a mental health professional in Albany, N.Y., writes that the attention to youth crime and violence in the city is missing an important constituency — the young people who live  there. “Teenagers in this city are living with trauma, poverty, housing instability and a public that talks about them more than with them,” she writes in the Albany Times Union. “They’re not being asked what they need. They’re being reduced to a problem to solve — or worse, to a stereotype. Basketball tournaments, backpack giveaways and sneaker swaps suggest that we think their futures are limited to entertainment or crime. If we want to talk about youth violence, we have to start with where it’s happening and why.” Citing an array of depressing health statistics and protests about living conditions in public housing, she adds, “These are not isolated conditions. They are signs of long-term neglect — the same neglect that fuels hopelessness and harm. ... Albany doesn’t have a violence problem. It has a neglect problem. A poverty problem. A leadership problem. We can change that — but only if we stop and really listen to those at the center of the issue.”

BIRTHDAY BLUES: The U.S. considers you an adult when you turn 18 and lifts restrictions to vices like alcohol and tobacco once you’re 21. But since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, a different age has marked the transition to independence — 26, which is when the federal government no longer allows someone to be on a parent’s health insurance. For many, it’s become a terrifying hellscape fraught with worries that the wrong decision can leave you burdened with medical debt forever. A reporter in West Virginia told The New York Times he considered joining the Navy to get insurance before deciding to stay in his job and do without. It could get worse, especially for those without employer-provided plans — subsidies to help Americans buy insurance are set to expire at the end of 2025 if Congress doesn’t extend them, potentially pushing insurance out of reach for many more young adults.

WHALE TALES:  Hudson, N.Y., was founded in 1784 by whalers and merchants, largely from Nantucket, who purchased Claverack Landing from Dutch settlers. Hudson eventually became a U.S. Port of Entry, a hub of whaling and transatlantic voyages, where, between 1784 and 1845, 47 whaling voyages originated. Shipbuilding concerns sprang up on the wharves, as did companies making rope, sails, soap and candles. Hudson’s history as told through personal letters from the whalers to their families and friends will be celebrated on Thursday, September 4, at 6 p.m. at the Hudson Area Library’s Community Room. “Epistolary Drama: The Tale of Whaling” was conceived by library trustees Miranda Barry and Gary Sheffer using letters uncovered during research for an exhibit on Hudson’s whaling past.

A NOTEWORTHY TRIP: Ibogaine is a psychoactive compound that’s illegal in the United States. But some say it’s a miracle drug that can arrest substance abuse, reduce suicides, reverse neurodegenerative disorders, and extend brain life. Now, it’s getting attention because former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a known conservative, and former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a known liberal, have publicly described their experiences experimenting with it.

LONG WAY HOME: Richard Guilford was repairing the electrical systems of vehicles when his wallet slipped out of his shirt pocket, landing in a red 2015 Ford Edge SUV. He had no idea what had happened, beyond knowing his wallet was gone, until a mechanic in Minnesota last month discovered the obstacle that was preventing him from putting the vehicle’s airbox back in place. Ten years and 151,000 miles later, the wallet is back in Guilford’s possession.

BASEBALL HISTORY: Veteran minor league umpire Jen Pawol last weekend became the first woman to umpire in a regular-season major league game, working the bases in a Saturday doubleheader and then behind the plate for a series between the Marlins and Braves in Atlanta. “I think Jen did a really nice job,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “She handled and managed the game very well.”

EXIT SANDMAN: Yankees legend Mariano Rivera, the only unanimous selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame, tore an Achilles tendon while running after a flyball during the club’s Old-Timers’ Day game last weekend. He’ll need surgery to fix it.

WE MEAT AGAIN: Eleven Madison Park in New York was widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in the country, maybe in the world, and it made news four years ago when, citing climate change, it took meat off the menu. The reviews were mixed. Bookings suffered, wine sales slumped, and chefs said they felt their creativity was limited. Starting October 14, meat’s back.

THE GOAT! On his You Tube tour of pizza places in the Glens Falls, N.Y., area, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy happened upon a culinary surprise at Crave Pizza of Queensbury. While customarily he reviews only pizza, Portnoy’s appetite got the best of him. He sampled Crave’s Jamaican barbecue – with goat, no less – and gave it an enthusiastic 8.7. The pizza earned a 7.7. 

DO WE STACK UP? Facing Out is now on the popular social media platform Substack. Though we’d gratefully accept contributions from those who like us, it’s free of charge. Thank you for sharing part of your weekends with us.

WILLIAM H. WEBSTER was director of the FBI for nine years and led the CIA for four more, and remains the only person to lead both. He spent time as a federal prosecutor and was a federal judge for nearly nine years before coming to Washington, where he was renowned for his honesty and rectitude. “Every director of the CIA or the FBI should be prepared to resign in the event that he is asked to do something that he knows is wrong,” Webster said after he agreed to lead the spy agency in 1987. President Carter selected Webster, a Republican, for a 10-year term as FBI chief as the bureau sought to improve an image tarnished by revelations of domestic spying, internal corruption and other abuses of power. Webster also stepped up the FBI’s anti-terrorism and counterintelligence activities, which helped prepare him for the CIA post, where he is credited with building morale within and beginning its shift from a Cold War stance. He was 101.

“The conduct of certain residents throughout this process has been deeply disappointing and, frankly, embarrassing. Rather than engage in thoughtful discourse, they have resorted to tactics reminiscent of Jan. 6: shouting down others, spreading misinformation, leveling personal insults and substituting emotion for evidence.”
— Attorney William A. Hurst in a statement to the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union after his client, facing hostile opposition, withdrew an application to build a pet crematorium in the Hudson Valley.

MEASURE TWICE:  On Whitney Day, one of the biggest racing days of the Saratoga season, with 42,316 people watching, Fidelightcayut was declared the winner of the 12^th race. Then it turned out the race was run at the wrong distance: 1 1/16 miles rather than the 11/8 miles it was supposed to be. The gates had been placed incorrectly. The New York Racing Association acknowledged the error but confirmed the result of the race.

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Principal Authors: Bill Callen and Mark Behan.

Contributors: Ryan Moore, Amanda Metzger, John Brodt, Kristy Miller, Jim Murphy, John Bulmer and Nancie Battaglia.

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