Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week

September 14, 2024

Photo of hot air balloons.The 51st Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival opens Thursday in Glens Falls and Queensbury, N.Y., as welcome a sign of fall as cider doughnuts and colorful hillsides.

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

Schools should be places of safety and growth, centers of their communities. But where once joy reigned and happy voices rang out, there is a heavy presence of fear and anxiety in many schools these days.

The potential for violence hangs over every door. In just three days this week, five threats were called in to a school in suburban Albany County. In Springfield, Ohio, made famous by ludicrous and false accusations of immigrants eating pets, bomb threats closed schools for half the week. School shootings dominate the evening news. Students, parents, teachers and administrators are rightfully on edge.

We’re also still dealing with the effects of COVID. Some students regressed in emotional maturity during the pandemic, and their behavior and ability to pay attention has deteriorated. Teachers are burned out, don’t feel supported and are leaving the profession in record numbers. 

And yet some teachers are finding ways to restore hope. They are turning their classrooms into cozy little homes away from home. Gone are the austere classrooms of years ago. What’s in now are TikTok-worthy classrooms with soothing colors, soft lighting, inviting armchairs and ottomans — a coffee house coziness among the cubbies. Teachers who have embraced the trend swear by it. “I think it helps with a theme I convey to our class, which is that we are a family and this is our home, so we have to take good care of it,” one teacher told The Wall Street Journal. “I’ve even noticed the students trying to be careful around the reading corner, to keep it extra neat.” Of course, not everyone is buying. One school administrator near New York City groused about giant floor cushions “that our fire marshal won’t really like but lice will really love.” 

CARING EXPANSIVELY: Glens Falls Hospital last week announced a $25 million campaign to renovate and expand its emergency department to care for the more than 40,000 people who arrive at its doors each year and their loved ones. The department will be 40 percent larger, with more rooms for seriously ill patients and for treating people with behavioral health issues. The Emergency Department is an extraordinary facility: While situated in a small city, it serves a vast area of the Adirondacks — five counties and more than 6,000 square miles, an area larger than Connecticut. It cares for not only permanent residents, of course, but also for people who visit the region each year. This will be the largest fundraising campaign in the hospital’s history. Beyond serving as an indispensable health care safety net for much of Northern New York, Glens Falls Hospital also is a singular economic force: It is one of the largest employers in the region, with 2,500 on staff. Our chairman and founder, Mark Behan, is among the community leaders co-chairing and supporting this important campaign to enhance emergency health services in our region.

THE UPSTATE OF RAIL: For the first time, the United States will begin making high-speed trains in a new facility in Horseheads, N.Y., near Elmira. Siemens Mobility will build a 300,000-square foot, $60-million complex and create 300 jobs to build 10 “American Pioneer 220” trainsets that can reach speeds of over 200 mph. The trains will be purchased by Brightline West for use on a high-speed rail project under construction between the Southern California region and Las Vegas. “Upstate New York is unmatched in rail car manufacturing capabilities, with a deep proud history pioneering the rail industry and a community that is excited to get to work building America’s future,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who helped land the funding.

MARSHALING RESOURCES: Warren County, N.Y., has the good fortune to have within its borders an abundance of places people want to visit, from amusement and adventure parks to downhill ski areas to miles and miles of scenic trails and pristine shorelines. Hospitality, tourism and outdoor recreation accounts for about a third of the jobs in the county, according to a report by the county government, which found that travelers spent $859 million in Warren County in 2022, the most of any county in the Adirondacks. Now it’s working with consultants on a strategic plan for the outdoor economy that will include cost estimates and project recommendations for improving recreational assets and luring more people to enjoy them.

GOVERNOR LIFESAVER: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s sharp eye and quick actions saved a contestant who had begun to choke while in a lobster roll eating contest. Sununu, on a stage behind the participants, grabbed contestant Christian Moreno and started performing the Heimlich, dislodging the lobster from his windpipe. Moreno, in truly flinty Northeasterner spirit, returned to the competition and downed seven more rolls.

Photo of a sunrise in the Adirondacks.A spectacular sunrise lights up the Adirondacks and brings welcome warmth to break the chill. Nancie Battaglia

THE WEIGHT OF FAILURE: Researchers at Northwestern’s Kellogg School are calling into question the conventional wisdom that failure is a precursor to success, or at least something that can benefit most people in some way. This belief can have all kinds of harmful real-world impacts, including assumptions that people in halfway houses or addiction programs, for example, don’t need extra help to get back on their feet. “We think people learn and grow from failure more than they actually do,” said Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, an assistant professor of management & organizations and one of the researchers who examined the issue. “Teachers, coaches, and commencement speakers try to be inspirational when it comes to failure. But we find that being too inspirational — exaggerating the benefits of failure — is actually de-motivating. The takeaway is that when we talk about failure, we should aim to be accurate.”

EIFFEL’S APPENDANGE: The mayor of Paris is stirring controversy with her plan to keep the Olympic rings permanently affixed to the Eiffel Tower, with her deputy defending the choice by saying, “We're not disfiguring anything. We are going to add a powerful symbol to this iconic structure and this historic Parisian monument.” Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that she intended to take down the five interlocking rings, which are too heavy to remain on the monument, and replace them with new lighter versions, France 24 reported. Descendants of the tower’s designer, Gustave Eiffel, don’t like the idea, and a petition in opposition on Change.org has already drawn 34,000 signatures, the outlet reported, to which Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan replied, “When you take decisions like this, you're always faced with criticism from people who don't want things to change.”

COMMISSIONER TAKES HEAT: WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s advice that players tune out the racism and homophobia directed at them did not sit well with players across the league. Englebert, responding to a question about some of the vitriol between fans of rookie rivals Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese crossing the line, compared the Clark-Reese rivalry to the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson NBA rivalry of the 1980s, saying, “the one thing I know about sports, you need rivalry. That's what makes people watch. … They don't want everybody being nice to one another,” and that players should ignore the hate. The players’ union issued a statement that read, in part, “this is not about rivalries or iconic personalities funding a business model. This kind of toxic fandom should never be tolerated or left unchecked. It demands immediate action, and frankly, should have been addressed long ago.”

’TIS THE SEASON: New York’s Four Seasons luxury hotel, closed for four years, is about to reopen in time for the busy holiday season. It was once the city’s priciest hotel, 52 stories of stunning IM Pei design, but was among the several five-star hotels that closed during the pandemic. It remained closed as its billionaire owner fought with the hotel management company over labor costs. And coming next: Some apartments in addition to hotel rooms.

01_Nuggets.jpgRIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME: Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi was on a Nashville bridge to film a video this week when he saw a woman in distress, gripping the railing, the Cumberland River below. He approached, spoke with her and helped her back to safety, according to Nashville police. “It takes all of us to help keep each other safe,” Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a statement.

LOCALLY FAMOUS: Philadelphia Cream Cheese may bring to mind the City of Brotherly Love, but if you’re a true fan of the velvety spread, you may know it’s made in Lowville, N.Y., at the nation’s largest cream cheese plant, a fact the town celebrates each year with an annual Cream Cheese Festival. This year’s is next Saturday. Admission is free.

SOUP’S OFF: It owns Goldfish crackers and Prego and Rao pasta sauces. So now Campbell’s wants to drop Soup from the name it’s had since 1922.

ROYAL UPDATE: Britain’s Princess Kate released a video this week, accompanied by her husband Prince William and their children, in which she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would be resuming some public duties. She added that the path to full recovery would be long and she would “take each day as it comes.”

02_Lives.jpgJAMES EARL JONES commanded every scene with his physical presence, every dialogue with a voice that at turns resonated with thunderous authority or oozed with gentle grace. His was the menacing voice of Darth Vader, the dignified tones of the animated Mufasa, the brusque baritone declaring, “This is CNN.” Legendary for his work on stage and screen, he is one of a handful of actors ever to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, in addition to a Golden Globe, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. Not one to rest, he accumulated more than 70 television credits, in addition to an impressive list of movies and stage productions. Asked by The New York Times in 2014 why he worked so much, Jones replied, “The secret is never forgetting that you’re a journeyman actor and that nothing is your final thing, nothing is your greatest thing, nothing is your worst thing. I still consider myself a novice.” He died at his home in Pawling, N.Y., at 93.

MICHAEL S. ELDER was, as one of his close friends said, a “legal warrior” with a passion for public service. He practiced law for 53 years, at the U.S. Department of Justice where he was a lead attorney on the landmark Love Canal case, and at the Maryland and New York Offices of the Attorney General, a public defender’s office, and at the General Electric Co. In retirement, he continued to take select cases, practicing law until his final days. He was a valued member of the Susquehanna, Md., Hose Company, achieving Firefighter One in his 60s. An avid hiker and traveler, he particularly enjoyed exploring the deserts of the American Southwest and conquering the harsh Patagonia region of South America. His other interests included marathon running, canoeing, golfing, and reading. He died while hiking near his home in Havre de Grace, Md. He was 77.

MARIA E. REDO revolutionized the way older people lived with a simple idea — retail prices were too high for senior citizens on fixed incomes; would a toy store consider offering reduced prices to help its older customers afford gifts for their grandchildren? The manager said yes, and so did dozens of others in New York City, the beginnings of what became the nonprofit Community Concern for Senior Citizens, which eventually signed up thousands of retailers and service providers, who signaled their participation with stickers in their windows. The senior discount programs she started in 1971 spread nationwide and remain popular today. She served four decades as a board member of the nonprofit Carter Burden Network in Manhattan, which provides services to older New Yorkers. She was 99.

CHUCK SIMON was a thoroughbred trainer for 20 years, having apprenticed under such legendary horsemen as H. Allen Jerkens, D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito. A native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., his horses won 359 races and more than $11 million in purse money, but he gave it up in 2019, citing the challenges in maintaining a stable. Known as a mentor who cared deeply about the issues challenging the industry, he had a particular concern for the backstretch workers and for making sure his retired thoroughbreds were well cared for. “If there was a parade for the little guy, he’d be in the front carrying the flag,” Carlo Vaccarezza, another trainer, told The Daily Gazette of Schenectady. He died of cancer at 57.

ED KRANEPOOL played more games in a New York Mets uniform than any other player, appearing in 1,853 over an 18-year career that started when the franchise did, in 1962. A native New Yorker, Kranepool debuted as a 17-year-old and spent his entire career with the Mets, hitting a crucial home run in the 1969 World Series that helped propel the Miracle Mets to the championship over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. A member of the Mets Hall of Fame, he remains one of the most beloved players in franchise history, and was a team ambassador in the community for years after he retired. He was 79.

EDWARD B. JOHNSON played a key role in one of the most dramatic and daring rescue missions in modern times, though his involvement was kept secret until a 2023 podcast by the CIA highlighted it. He was with fellow CIA officer Antonio “Tony” Mendez on a mission to rescue six American diplomats who had fled the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and were hiding in Tehran. The mission was depicted in the Oscar-winning 2012 movie “Argo,” starring Ben Affleck as Mendez, though Johnson’s role was not revealed. “Ed’s legacy will continue to inspire those who walk the halls of Langley for generations to come,” the agency said in a public statement. His family in a statement honored him as having “a name that whispered through the corridors of intelligence” … and who “was, at once, the ordinary man next door — husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend — and an extraordinary agent of the state.” He was 81.

03_Almost Final Words.jpg“We acknowledge that the process to determine whether or not Zach qualified for the grand prize took too long and his incredible kick should be rewarded. We are committed to an improved and more transparent contest for future games, and we appreciate the public’s scrutiny of the process to help us evolve and make this challenge even better and more fun than ever before.”
— Trey Rohrman, director of operations for an Indiana car dealership that sponsors a halftime kicking contest at Purdue football games. The dealership was heavily criticized when it ruled that Zachary Spangler’s winning 40-yard kick had come .05 after a timer expired. The dealership made good on the prize, $5,000 in cash.

04_signoff.jpgA TIME TO REMEMBER: Spotted at 8:46 a.m. Wednesday, September 11, 2024, along the Adirondack Northway between Exits 8 and 9: A New York State Trooper standing alone and at attention outside his patrol car in a highway turnaround, clutching his Stetson to his chest in silent tribute to those who lost their lives 23 years ago.

05_Bottom.jpgCORRECTION: We got ahead of ourselves last week in a photo caption about the Adirondack Canoe Classic. The event was last weekend, not the week before.

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Authors and Contributors: Bill Callen, Mark Behan, Ryan Moore, Kristy Miller, John Brodt, Claire P. Tuttle, and Nancie Battaglia.

FACIMG 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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