Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News

September 2, 2023

Don’t worry, friends. Labor Day is not summer’s sunset. The peace of Saratoga Lake sunsets will still beckon for another month at least. Go enjoy them! (Tina Suhocki)

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

And just like that, it’s Labor Day. A very happy long weekend to all our readers and friends.

So, how’d you spend your summer? Dylan Stone-Miller set out to meet some of his 96 kids. The prolific sperm donor quit his job as a software engineer and began a 9,000-mile quest to figure out how he fits into the lives of his children. All of this is possible because of the unforeseen union of in vitro fertilization, the internet and low-cost DNA testing. These advances have made it possible to find biological fathers who in the past were kept largely anonymous by sperm banks.

JON ROMANO nearly died last August 29 when a man wielding a sword cut off his arms and hacked at his legs in a homeless shelter in Albany, N.Y.  Romano was working there as a way to find peace and purpose in his life. He forgave his attacker and, in the year since, has focused on regaining the use of his arms and legs, resuming his life, and finding purpose again. He’s raising money for the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless shelter where the attack took place and hoping to begin giving speeches again to call attention to the need for comprehensive mental health services, suicide prevention and humane prisons. This is the same Jon Romano who nearly two decades ago entered his East Greenbush, N.Y., high school armed with a shotgun and fired at his classmates. He spent 17 years in jail and turned his life around.

MEET THE DAVISES: As Saratoga’s racing season draws to a close, we want to draw attention to the first family of Saratoga racing. Not the Phipps nor the Whitneys. Not even the Ortizes. For our money, the big name in horse racing right now is Davis. Robbie and Marguerite Davis raised their six kids in Saratoga Springs. For decades, he was one of New York’s top jockeys. In the summers, the kids followed their Dad to the track as he made his way from the backstretch and the barns and to the racetrack and jockeys’ room. Three of the kids, Dylan, Jackie and Katie, grew up to be jockeys. Edmund is a trainer. Meet the Davises who ride with pride and gratitude.

THAT SMELL: The skunky stank of marijuana in public is bothering people. At the U.S. Open last week, Alexander Zverev, the 12th-seeded man, said: “Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room.” Greece’s Maria Sakkari complained, too. At the U.S. Open last year, Nick Kyrgios complained about it. Smoking violation complaints to New York City’s 311 system are up an average of 86% since adult-use marijuana was legalized in 2021. Smoking complaints in parks are up 44%.

THE BLOOMBERG BOOT: Mike Bloomberg thanked them for their service, then fired the entire Board of Directors of his $12-billion-a-year global financial data and media giant. He said it was “time to build on what they did and get the next generation into place.” He also installed a new CEO and a new president.  Media types speculate Bloomberg plans eventually to leave the company to a philanthropic trust that would benefit from having a new, high-profile board after he’s gone.

OENEOPHLE OUTRAGE: France is about to destroy 100 Olympic-size swimming pools worth of wine. You read that right. And the intentional wasting will likely cost the nation about $216 million. French wine producers have a surplus of wine because consumption has declined. Bordeaux and other most famous wine-producing regionsare struggling, so the government has stepped in to help producers reduce the surplus in order to maintain profitability. In June, the European Union gave France about $172 million to destroy nearly 80 million gallons of wine, and the French government announced additional funds this week. Producers will use the funds to distill their wine into pure alcohol to be used for other products, such as cleaning supplies or perfume.

THE BLESSING OF A SLOW GOODBYE: Almost to the end, Jacqueline Seidel still had the old sparkle in her eye. She lived for her family, weddings and showers, and loved strawberry shakes with whipped cream from McDonalds. She loved a party and hated to leave – even her last one. This is the story of a mom giving her adult children one final gift – time to prepare for her death, time to learn that she once went skinny dipping, time to hear about the beautiful music only she heard now, the little children only she saw and the long-dead husband who comforted her at night. Throughout all this, she was attended by angels, but they were real. They were from hospice.

PASS THE GRUB: The Brits have a nice way of classing things up. While we settle for mosh pits, they opt for gravy wrestling. This week at the Rose ‘N’ Bowl Pub in Stacksteads, near Manchester, wrestlers donned fancy dress and grappled in a gravy-filled pool for the 15th annual World Gravy Wrestling Championships. The event raises money for a local hospice. 

WORMING HIS WAY IN: First came the abdominal pain and diarrhea, then the forgetfulness and depression. Doctors feared the patient’s mystery symptoms pointed to a brain tumor and indeed an MRI revealed a spot on her brain. After doctors in New South Wales, Australia, operated, they had good news and bad news for their patient. The good news: No cancer. The bad: She had a live worm in her brain.

GRUMPY OR DOPEY? Nothing is without controversy. Disney’s remake of Snow White, the first since 1937, is stirring debate. Rachel Zegler, who plays the princess in the upcoming film, says: "The reality is that the cartoon was made 85 years ago, and therefore is extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world." But the son of the original director says his father and Walt Disney would be outraged at changes to the original story. "I'm afraid of what they're going to do with the early films... [the company's] thoughts are just so radical now. They change the stories, they change the thought processes of the characters, they just aren't the original stories anymore. They're making up new woke things and I'm just not into any of that."

MAKING THEIR OWN KIND OF MUSIC: A new symphony, “The Promise of America,” celebrating the common history and values of the nation, was set to premiere at this year’s well-regarded Lake George Music Festival — until the professional musicians refused to perform it over concerns that it represented only one composer’s view of the world. The Lake George Mirror broke the story.

BOBCAT APPROACHING: The Six Flags Great Escape fun park in Queensbury is about to make its largest investment in the park in 25 years -- a new wooden rollercoaster, The Bobcat, the first in New York State since 1999. The Cat hits speeds of up to nearly 40 mph, at 55 feet high and 1,412 feet long. Pending Town of Queensbury approval, it will begin its prowl next spring, just in time for the Great Escape’s 70^th anniversary.

Jack McEneny at home with two good friends.

BIRTHDAYS OF NOTE:  Philosopher, physician and “father of liberalism,” John Locke, August 29, 1632 … Mary Shelley, the young novelist who gave us Frankenstein, August 30, 1797, … and Albany institution Jack McEneny, August 30, 1943.  Jack is the fourth generation of his family to make his home in Albany following his great-grandfather’s arrival from Ireland in the mid-1800s. But Jack has not merely lived in Albany. He has studied it, served it and loved it. Every question about Albany lore, particularly its political history, leads to the same answer: “You should call Jack McEneny, he’ll know.”  Jack is the author of the illustrated history, “Albany: Capital City on the Hudson,” first published in 1981 and updated several times. Both his encyclopedic knowledge of the city’s history and his enthusiasm for sharing make him a treasure to call our own. Indeed, he has been around long enough to remember Democratic Party boss Dan O’Connell, and astute enough to do things differently. In 2012, when he decided not to run again for State Assembly after 20 years in the job, Jack told an Albany Times Union reporter, "There are people coming up, younger people, that are going to have different priorities for a different generation. The longer you hang on, you're denying them that opportunity. I had my opportunity. I made my mark. I had a front row seat on history ... I just felt it was time, and I'm glad to pass the torch."

• The Saratoga Economic Development Corp., which attracted GlobalFoundries in the biggest coup among economic development agencies in Upstate New York in decades, has a new leader: Greg Connors, a former local government official and senior leader of government relations for GlobalFoundries.

• Hurricane Idalia hit particularly close to home for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. His wife Casey posted pictures online of a massive, 100-year-old oak tree that toppled onto the Governor’s Mansion.

• The G rating, the thumbs-up for family films, has nearly disappeared. Twenty years ago, there were more than 30 G-rated films. This year there will likely be none.

• America’s oldest public school, the Boston Latin School, for boys only, opened in 1635.

BOB BARKER’S big break came at five minutes past noon on Dec. 21, 1956, when game-show producer Ralph Edwards hired him to host TV’s ”Truth or Consequences.”  At the time, Barker was hosting his own audience-participation show on KNX radio, the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles. Every Dec. 21 after that, Barker recalled, he and Edwards met for lunch and at five minutes past noon, drank a toast to their long friendship. Barker went on to host “The Price Is Right” for more than three decades and became one of America’s most prominent animal-rights activists. He was 99.

ZIJIE YAN was remembered for his brilliant smile, his brilliant intellect, and his generosity with colleagues as well as for his groundbreaking work in nanotechnology materials. He earned a Ph.D. at RPI, did post-doctoral work at the University of Chicago, taught at Clarkson and was teaching at the University of North Carolina when he was killed by a student he was advising.  His RPI adviser remembered publishing 17 papers with him while Yan was still learning English. “He would knock on my door with incredible experimental results and a huge smile,” Doug Chrisey said.

SAMUEL WURZELBACHER was throwing a football around with his son in his working-class neighborhood in Toledo on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, when Barack Obama happened by. Sen. Obama was campaigning for president and Mr. Wurzelbacher took the opportunity to ask the Democratic nominee about his proposed tax increase on some small businesses. Mr. Wurzelbacher said he was concerned about being subjected to higher taxes just as he was approaching the point where he could finally afford to buy a plumbing business. News cameras recorded the encounter that became an internet sensation. Joe the Plumber was just 49.

PETER BALET was woven into the tapestry of neighbors and public servants that makes up Malta, N.Y., the kind of guy his family and his community could depend on. Peter, together with his wife, Marie, began selling local farm products and flowers at the Saratoga Springs Farmers Market in 1978. Suzanne Balet-Haight, one of Peter and Marie’s two children, grew the business and established a greenhouse in Malta where Balet Fowers and Design is known for gorgeous high-quality plants and flowers. Peter served the town of Malta for 22 years, 17 as the Highway Superintendent until he retired in 2002 after nine unopposed elections. His obituary reads in part, “if you lived in or around Malta, you probably know Pete, his love for the outdoors, and his passion for a good day of hard work. As the old guy down the road, he mentored many of us, he had a big heart, he looked out for others, and said of his hometown 'I've been here all my life.'’’ He was 83.

DON’T HAVE A COW: The call to police came in as a man driving his car with a cow inside. When the police patrol arrived, officers discovered not a calf nor a cow but Lee Meyer of Neligh, Nebraska, and his very large Watusi bull named Howdy Doody stuffed in a car too small for the load. A few routine warnings were issued, but no tickets, and the officers advised Mr. Meyer and Howdy Doody to get on home.

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Principal Authors: Mark Behan, Leigh Hornbeck

Sincere thanks to our contributors: Tina Suhocki, Bill Callen, Ryan Moore, John Brodt, Kristy Miller, Troy Burns, Claire P. Tuttle, Emily Behan, and Tara Hutchins.

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