Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week

September 7, 2024

Paddlers dot the surface of Long Lake last weekend during the Adirondack Canoe Classic, an annual three-day event that takes participants from Old Forge to Saranac Lake, N.Y. Nancie Battaglia

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

It’s hard to imagine a better time to be a New York sports fan, or a fan of sports in general, for that matter.

Both the Yankees and Mets are solidly in playoff contention, the Mets having recovered from a poor start that had the organization considering a reboot.

The Jets and Bills will kick off the NFL season with mutual Super Bowl aspirations. The Giants … play football, too. College football is off and running in the first year of a new 12-team playoff format.

A string of high-profile upsets has added unexpected intrigue to the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, always an event to have a great time and a magnet for celebrities and brands.  

Lest we forget, the Olympics provided two sparkling weeks of entertainment and drama, attracting all-platform audiences that dwarfed those of the Tokyo Games three years earlier, and the WNBA continues drawing record crowds and TV audiences.

TV, celebrities, money. It feels like something powerful is going on in sports. Has it become the one place we can gather and cheer for our teams and have fun without cultural and political division? Seems like we’re all watching.

FEDS FAN OUT: The political sideshows were a little more colorful than usual in New York this week, and potentially much more serious than the customary chicanery. First, a former top aide to New York governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul was arrested, along with her husband, on charges of acting as agents for China in exchange for lavish gifts that allegedly funded a life of luxury including, tantalizingly, salted duck. A federal indictment, part of a broad effort to root out covert agents working in the U.S., alleges Linda Sun, who started in state government as a legislative aide, and her husband were paid millions in kickbacks. Later in the week, the Justice Department flagged a Russian influence campaign that was pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into supporting right-wing media influencers in the U.S., with the goal of sowing divisions that weaken U.S. support for Ukraine. The Justice Department said the influencers were unaware that their work was being funded in part by the Kremlin. And in New York City, federal authorities conducted several raids of the homes of senior officials in Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle, including, notably, the NYPD commissioner and the first deputy mayor. This comes on top of another corruption investigation involving the mayor’s office, all of which is raising questions about Adams’ ability to manage New York City.

COMPOUNDING CONSEQUENCES: A study in the journal Science suggests the loss of bat populations in the U.S., mainly the result of a devastating fungus, has indirectly contributed to the deaths of potentially more than 1,000 human infants. The dramatic drop in the populations of bats, voracious eaters of insects that damage crops, has caused farmers to pump up the volume on their pesticides. An environmental economist at the University of Chicago examined infant mortality rates in counties hit with widespread disease among bats and found an 8 percent spike in infant deaths, ruling out other potential contributing factors like substance use and unemployment.

WORDS THAT ENDURE: “The Power Broker” turned 50 this week. Robert Caro’s epic 1,246-page tome on the life and legacy of Robert Moses, the literal urban legend whose decisions shaped the landscape of New York City in the early- to mid-20^th century and whose influence continues to be felt, was first published in 1974, but it’s hard to find a city official or journalist today who isn’t familiar with it. There’s even a podcast devoted to the book. One mayoral candidate told The New York Times the enduring lesson, to him, is that “local government can either be an immeasurable force for long-lasting good, or, with shortsightedness, lack of inclusion and arrogance, a tool for permanent harm.”

The pace is a bit slower on the foot bridge to Jennings Landing in Albany, N.Y., than on the interstate below. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation headquarters is in the background. John Bulmer

PRIZED PRESERVATIONS: Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), a historic preservation nonprofit whose mission is to promote better public understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the region’s unique and diverse architectural heritage, will recognize four spectacular projects at its annual awards ceremony on October 4. They include the rehabilitation and restoration of the iconic A-frame building that long greeted visitors to the Frontier Town theme park and the transformation of The Lodge at Schroon Lake. 

CHOOSING HOME: A late August report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that gay male couples tend to gravitate toward major cities on the East or West coast while lesbian couples preferred more pastoral settings like the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts and Ithaca, a college town in upstate New York. Crissi Dalfonzo, director of the Center for LGBT Education, Outreach and Services at Ithaca College, told The Associated Press the locations aren’t entirely surprising, since they fall in line with cultural stereotypes of gay men being urban creatures and lesbian women being athletic and outdoorsy. Amy Stone, a sociology professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, had another explanation: “It’s where people feel safe living or where they find support. Where gay couples feel safe and where female couples feel safe isn’t always the same place.”

SLOWING DOWN: Typical workers in New York and across the country are putting in fewer hours than they have in years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, continuing a downward trend. Full-timers are still averaging more than 40 hours a week, though even they are working, on average, 90 minutes a week fewer than those working 30 years ago. Declines in hours among part-time workers dropped the average of all private-sector employees in New York to 32.7, the lowest in 17 years, the Albany Times Union reported.

DEADLY ENCOUNTER: Two loggers were killed, another was injured and two are missing after allegedly encroaching the lands of an uncontacted indigenous tribe deep in the jungle of the Peruvian Amazon. The loggers were killed with a bow and arrow, the latest in a series of attacks against loggers by the Mashco Piro. “It’s a heated and tense situation,” Cesar Ipenza, an Amazon-based lawyer who specializes in environmental law in Peru, told The Associated Press. 

PARENTAL ADVISORY: The surgeon general of the United States has been warning us about a lot of social ills lately, including that social media is eroding the mental health of teens. Now Dr. Vivek Murthy is talking about the stresses confronting U.S. parents, and the toll it is having on them, and their children. Nearly half of parents report overwhelming stress most days — about twice the rate of other adults — and Murthy is calling on lawmakers, bosses and communities for help. “Struggles like how to manage the harms of social media, how to deal with gun violence in communities and the youth mental-health crisis are newer issues that the current generation of parents are dealing with and they need to be a priority,” Murthy told The Wall Street Journal.

SARATOGA SUCCESS: An average of 27,000 fans a day poured through the gates at historic Saratoga Race Course for the 40-day summer thoroughbred meet, generating an estimated $400 million impact on the regional economy, according to the New York Racing Association. Now there’s talk about racing at Saratoga next July 4.

SLIME TIME: New York’s Finger Lakes, renowned for their beauty and the source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands, were fouled in many areas with outbreaks of harmful algal blooms, the toxic green slime that has been known to kill pets and wildlife. The state is spending $42 million on a program to help farmers reduce nutrient runoff, a major contributor to the blooms.

WASTE NOT: An 800-pound butter sculpture featured at the New York State Fair will be processed through a digester and converted to energy, the ninth consecutive year that Noblehurst Farms in Pavilion, N.Y., will do the honors.

BABE’S BIG NUMBER: A jersey worn by Babe Ruth in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, when he allegedly “called his shot” shortly before hitting a home run off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root, sold at auction for $24.12 million, a record for a sports collectible.

PEAK PEEPING: Expect prime leaf-peeing conditions through upstate New York and the North Country, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports, though you’re likely to be disappointed if your fall travel plans take you to New England. Visitors to Lake Placid can check out the view from the Cliffside Coaster at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.

PAUL CZAJKA was a titan of the legal community in Columbia County, N.Y., serving six terms as district attorney and nearly two decades as a county court judge. Before that, he was an assistant district attorney and a public defender. “He gave tirelessly to the people of Columbia County, and he was an inspiration to many,” said Columbia County Republican Chairman Pete Minahan, who said he admired Czajka “as a professional, a mentor and a friend.” Former Congressman John Faso said Czajka “dedicated his life to keeping the people of Columbia County safe” and “was a fearless defender of the rule of law. He will be greatly missed.” He declined to seek re-election as district attorney in 2023. He died of cancer at 70.

LEONARD RIGGIO upended publishing when he founded Barnes & Noble, creating the chain from a single lower Manhattan bookstore that he purchased in 1971. He pioneered the concept of the bookstore as something more, offering games, stationery, cafes, magazines and large children’s collections where parents and caregivers were encouraged to linger. Before Amazon came along, an estimated one of every eight nonacademic books sold in the United States was bought at Barnes & Noble or its smaller B. Dalton stores, which the company acquired in 1987, The New York Times reported. For a time, Riggio was vilified for driving independent bookstores out of business, unable to compete with Barnes & Noble’s volume pricing and hard-nosed tactics. He later became a successful horse owner and a board member of the New York Racing Association. He died of complications of Alzheimer’s at 83.

REBECCA CHEPTEGEI competed a few weeks ago in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, finishing 44^th for her home country, Uganda. She had purchased property in Kenya to be near that country’s elite training facilities and was heard arguing with her partner about it. He allegedly doused her with gasoline and set her ablaze, causing burns over 80 percent of her body. She died of her injuries at 33.

“I would like the Secretary of State to focus on inviting voters in and getting ready for election 2024 rather than thinking of additional obstacles or to cause Ohioans to question the integrity of our elections. He’s feeding into some of the worst myths surrounding our elections.”
— Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, where the secretary of state is calling for the legislature to restrict the use of ballot drop boxes and provisional voting and require proof of citizenship before a voter can register.

THROW NO: Croix Bethune, a rookie star for the Washington Spirit and a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic women’s soccer team, suffered a season-ending injury while throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals game.

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PRINCIPAL AUTHOR: Bill Callen.

CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Behan, Ryan Moore, Troy Burns, John Brodt, Kristy Miller, Claire P. Tuttle, 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