The Week: What Caught Our Eye
June 4, 2022
June brings us the summer solstice and with it, long days of sunshine. Beautiful sunrises
at 5:45 a.m. over Washington County, N.Y., are not uncommon.
Dear Colleagues and Friends:
We open this week with a fond farewell to an icon of Americana.
HoJo’s is no mo’.
Howard Johnson’s, once the largest restaurant chain in the U.S., had disappeared from American roadsides, with one stubborn exception, on the southern approach to Lake George, N.Y. This week came word that it, too, had closed just before Memorial Day, a humble end for the welcoming and reassuring orange roof that greeted visitors arriving in Lake George for nearly 70 years. Alas, no more clam rolls, no more 28 flavors of ice cream.
HIGH AND OUTSIDE: A miniature golf course operator in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is setting aside 4 to 9 p.m. each Tuesday for players 21 and older who wish to smoke marijuana while playing. Owner Brian Brumley started offering “Puff Puff Putt” Tuesdays in 2021. “Saratoga, in my opinion, is based mostly on alcohol, restaurants-themed adult activities,” Brumley told Albany’s ABC-10. “When marijuana became legal to smoke in New York State, I thought it’d be a great idea to give adults that aren’t into drinking and going down to Caroline Street a place to come and openly smoke marijuana with people that are like-minded.”
CHANGE OF HEART: Craig Apple, the popular sheriff of Albany County, N.Y., who announced his candidacy for a state Senate seat in mid-May, has reversed course, writing in a Facebook post that he loves his job and had entered the Senate race only after some prodding.
SIGNING DAY: If you follow high school or college sports even a little, you know that signing day is a big deal. The most sought-after high school student-athletes make their signing day announcements live on national television. Thousands more sign their letters-of-intent in small ceremonies witnessed by parents, coaches and local news cameras. Jacob Bradley was proud to sign his letter-of-intent, too, announcing in a ceremony at Kentucky’s Montgomery County High School that he would be joining Fast Flow Plumbing as an apprentice. “His dad and I are just over the moon,” his mother, Angie, told TV station WKYT.
INCENTIVIZING GOOD BEHAVIOR: For 15 years, a researcher offered young men a small amount of money and an opportunity for therapy to help them escape a life of crime. They practiced managing their behavior and exerting self-control. They used the money to get a haircut, buy some better clothes and gain a measure of self-respect. It worked. The experiment took place in Liberia. Now Chicago is giving it a try.
EXPLAINING THE INEXPLICABLE: Jillian Peterson and James Densley, academics in the fields of criminology and criminal justice, are looking closely as others look away. Their research is centered on mass shootings — more precisely, the common characteristics and experiences of the perpetrators, including, importantly, that most want to die as a result. They have documented mass murders committed since 1966 and public mass shootings since 1999, and compiled detailed biographies of 180 shooters. Their work has, in their view, created data-driven rationale for mental health-based approaches to identify and defuse potential attackers before it’s too late. Their hope is that lawmakers will begin to engage more deliberately in finding and funding solutions.
CATSKILLS REBOUND: Like much of Upstate New York, the Catskills region steadily lost population in recent decades as manufacturing jobs disappeared and the once-popular summer resorts faded into nostalgia. But new Census figures show what was anecdotally apparent — that pandemic-fueled relocations, primarily from New York City, landed the five counties of the Catskills among the top 10 counties for population growth in the state between July 2020 and July 2021. New York City, meanwhile, saw its population dip by 305,000 over the same period.
OLYMPIC DREAMS: Lake Placid, N.Y., a small, picturesque village in the heart of the Adirondacks, has twice welcomed the world for the Winter Olympics, and revels in its place in Olympic history (think Miracle on Ice and Eric Heiden’s five speedskating golds). Many have since written off Lake Placid as simply too small to host a third Olympics, but with the 2023 World University Games headed there, state legislators think it’s time to seriously consider the possibility of pushing for another Olympics, this time in cooperation with New York City.
PIANO MAN: So, you’re sitting at a piano on a public street in Boston, casually playing “Ophelia,” when a stranger who has been watching you says it’s a great song and asks if he can play. Sure, you say, and the stranger proceeds to keep going without missing a beat. Of course, the stranger is Jeremiah Fraites, a founding member of The Lumineers, the band that first recorded “Ophelia.” “I was essentially in shock for at least an hour afterwards,” the street musician, Sam Spencer, wrote on Instagram. Fraites was in the area for a nearby performance by The Lumineers, and gave Spencer tickets to the show.
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun; And find your shoulder to light on;
To bring you luck, happiness and riches; Today, tomorrow and beyond – Irish blessing. (Skip Dickstein)
MOUNTAIN LAURELS: Carl Hunnell was a 17-year-old high school football player in Ohio when the school librarian, who Hunnell and his buddies hung out with before school, asked if they’d like to take a backpacking trip that summer to the Adirondacks. This was in the 1970s, when such an invitation wouldn’t have drawn as much scrutiny as it might today. Sure, they said. Sounds like fun. Some 44 years later, writing from memory, Hunnell, now an editor, offers a hilarious account of their adventures and challenges in climbing Mount Marcy, the state’s highest peak, including a laugh-out-loud description of his plunge into what looked like an innocent mountain lake. Be sure to read both parts. And if Marcy alone isn’t enough, there’s the toughest trek in the Adirondacks — the Great Range Traverse.
POLICE BEAT: To save a hostage being held in a convenience store in Troy, N.Y., police posed as a television news crew so the hostage taker could get his story out. It worked.
PET SMART: Americans adopted millions of pets during the pandemic, when offices were closed and people who could worked from home. It seems a lot of those folks don’t like leaving their pets alone. Now Colonie Center, a shopping mall near Albany, N.Y., is telling them they don’t have to. The mall announced this week that dogs were now welcomed in about 30 stores. Storefront stickers will let shoppers know where they can bring their dogs.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: The senior class at Marblehead High School in Massachusetts had never attended a school-sponsored dance — the pandemic wiped out the sophomore semi-formal and junior prom — so you can bet they were hoping their senior prom would be a night to remember. Thanks to a connection to the Boston Red Sox, that is exactly what they got, dancing in the open air while watching a game at Fenway Park.
BRACE FOR IMPACT: Jamie Dimon’s words carry a lot of weight by virtue of his position atop JPMorgan Chase, so when he uses words like “hurricane” to describe what’s coming in the economy, it may be time to board up the windows. Dimon told investors at an annual conference that the ongoing war in Ukraine, combined with tightening money policies to combat inflation, portend rough economic times, a view shared by other market experts. “You better brace yourself,” Dimon advised.
TANGLED NETFLIX: Don’t look now, but Netflix has lost more than 70% of its market value in six months, and the short-term outlook is for a continuing exodus of subscribers. An early effort to stop the sharing of passwords appears to be backfiring, with annoyed subscribers canceling in greater numbers than expected. With competition from other streaming services on the rise, Netflix, in the words of one analyst, is facing “a perfect storm of bad market conditions.”
LIVES
CHRISTOPHER KOSTOSS was a captain of the New York State forest rangers, a hardy team of professionals who provide public safety and state land protection through expertise in wildland search, rescue, fire, law enforcement and incident management and are indispensable in the rugged reaches of the Adirondacks and other state lands. He led a number of search and rescue missions in the Adirondacks, and had spoken of the emotional as well as the physical strain on rangers in life-and-death situations. He died by suicide at 49. If you or someone you know is in need of mental health assistance, help is available. The New York State Office of Mental Health has resources on its website (or you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.
KENNY MOORE knew of what he wrote, and it showed. A three-time collegiate All-American for the storied University of Oregon cross-country program under the legendary coach and shoe pioneer Bill Bowerman, he finished fourth in the marathon in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, a year after he started what would become a 25-year career writing primarily about track and field for Sports Illustrated. “If it is run right, a marathon inflicts some damage,” he wrote about his race in Germany. “I ran it right, the crowd’s approval roaring in my head, on a cushion of blood blisters.” He was 78.
ALMOST FINAL WORDS
“I don’t want to be defined by any of my struggles. I want to use those experiences to create an impact.”
— Ashley Adirika, a Miami Beach High School senior who was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools and will attend Harvard in the fall.
THE SIGNOFF
COOL HEADS: People on both coasts made news this week for cool-headed responses that quite likely saved a couple of wild animals who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. In Brooklyn, a woman walked into a bar and casually picked up by the scruff a possum that had wandered in and was freaking out the patrons, releasing it to resume its place among the rest of the night life and enjoying an evening of free drinks and gawking admirers. South of San Francisco, a custodian opening the local high school early Wednesday spotted a young mountain lion wandering through campus and watched as it entered an empty classroom. He quickly shut the door and summoned wildlife authorities, who tranquilized and removed the wayward cat.
- - - - -
PLEASE SHARE: Feel free to pass this along to your friends and colleagues.
THANK YOU to our contributors: Bill Callen, Bill Richmond, Claire P. Tuttle, Skip Dickstein, John Brodt, Lisa Fenwick, Tina Suhocki, 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
Recent Posts
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 23, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
November 16, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 9, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 2, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 26, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
October 19, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
October 12, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 5, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 28, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 21, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
September 14, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
September 7, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 24, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 17, 2024
Drew FitzGerald Joins Behan as Sustainability Advisor
August 14, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 10, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 3, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 20, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 13, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 29, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 22, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 15, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 8, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 1, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 25, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 18, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 11, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 4, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 20, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 13, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 6, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 30, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
March 23, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 16, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 9, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 2, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 24, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 17, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 10, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 3, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 20, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 13, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 6, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
December 16, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
December 9, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
December 2, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 18, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 11, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 4, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 28, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 21, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 14, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 7, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 30, 2023
The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 23, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 16, 2023
Facing Out: The week’s most interesting news
September 9, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 2, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 26, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 19, 2023
August 12, 2023
August 5, 2023
July 29, 2023
July 22, 2023
July 15, 2023
July 8, 2023
July 1, 2023
June 24, 2023
June 17, 2023
June 10, 2023
June 3, 2023
May 27, 2023
May 20, 2023
May 13, 2023
May 6, 2023
April 29, 2023
April 22, 2023
April 15, 2023
April 8, 2023
April 1, 2023
March 25, 2023
March 18, 2023
March 11, 2023
March 4, 2023
February 25, 2023
February 18, 2023
February 11, 2023
February 4, 2023
January 28, 2023
January 21, 2023
January 14, 2023
January 7, 2023
December 17, 2022
December 10, 2022
December 3, 2022
November 19, 2022
November 12, 2022
November 5, 2022
October 29, 2022
October 22, 2022
October 15, 2022
October 8, 2022
October 1, 2022
“The Week What Caught Our Eye”
September 24, 2022
September 17, 2022
September 10, 2022
September 3, 2022
August 27, 2022
August 23, 2022
August 20, 2022
August 13, 2022
August 6, 2022
July 30, 2022
July 23, 2022
Ryan Moore Named CEO of Behan Communications
July 20, 2022
July 16, 2022
July 9, 2022
July 2, 2022
June 25, 2022
June 18, 2022
June 11, 2022
June 4, 2022
May 28, 2022
May 21, 2022
May 13, 2022
May 7, 2022
April 30, 2022
April 23, 2022
April 16, 2022
April 8, 2022
April 2, 2022
March 26, 2022
March 19, 2022
March 12, 2022
March 5, 2022
The Week: What Caught Our Eye 2
February 26, 2022
February 26, 2022
February 19, 2022
February 12, 2022
February 5, 2022
January 29, 2022
January 22, 2022
January 15, 2022
January 8, 2022
December 18, 2021
December 11, 2021
December 4, 2021
November 19, 2021
November 13, 2021
November 6, 2021
October 30, 2021
October 23, 2021
October 16, 2021
October 9, 2021
October 2, 2021
September 25, 2021
September 18, 2021
September 11, 2021
September 4, 2021
August 28, 2021
August 21, 2021
August 14, 2021
“The Week What Caught Our Eye”
August 7, 2021
July 31, 2021
July 24, 2021
July 17, 2021
July 10, 2021
July 3, 2021
June 26, 2021
June 19, 2021
June 12, 2021
June 5, 2021
May 29, 2021
May 22, 2021
May 15, 2021
May 8, 2021
May 1, 2021
April 24, 2021
April 17, 2021
April 17, 2021
April 10, 2021
April 3, 2021
March 27, 2021
March 20, 2021
March 13, 2021
March 6, 2021
February 27, 2021
February 20, 2021
February 13, 2021
February 6, 2021
January 30, 2021
January 23, 2021
The Week: What Caught Our Eye 1/16/21
January 16, 2021
January 9, 2021
December 19, 2020
December 12, 2020
December 5, 2020
November 21, 2020
November 14, 2020
November 7, 2020
October 31, 2020
October 24, 2020
October 17, 2020
October 10, 2020
October 3, 2020
September 26, 2020
September 19, 2020
September 12, 2020
September 5, 2020
August 29, 2020
August 22, 2020
August 15, 2020
August 8, 2020
August 1, 2020
July 25, 2020
Saving the Day: Ed Bartholomew’s Game
July 24, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 11, 2020
July 4, 2020
June 27, 2020
June 20, 2020
June 13, 2020
The Week: What Caught Our Eye 6/6/20
June 6, 2020
June 6, 2020
May 30, 2020
Coronavirus: Talking To Employees About Risk
May 26, 2020
May 23, 2020
Lake George History of Resilience
May 21, 2020
May 16, 2020
May 9, 2020
The Year The Kennedys Came to North Creek
May 8, 2020
April 25, 2020
April 18, 2020
April 11, 2020
April 4, 2020
March 28, 2020
March 21, 2020
March 14, 2020
March 7, 2020
February 29, 2020
February 22, 2020
February 15, 2020
February 8, 2020
February 1, 2020
January 25, 2020
January 18, 2020
January 4, 2020
December 28, 2019
December 21, 2019
December 14, 2019
December 7, 2019
November 30, 2019
November 23, 2019
November 16, 2019
November 9, 2019
November 2, 2019
October 26, 2019
October 19, 2019
October 12, 2019
September 28, 2019
September 21, 2019
September 14, 2019
September 7, 2019
August 31, 2019
August 24, 2019
August 17, 2019
Different Name, Same Great Experience
August 15, 2019
August 10, 2019
Noah John Rondeau: The Famous Hermit of the Adirondacks
August 9, 2019
August 3, 2019
Johnny Podres: Witherbee’s Hometown Hero
August 1, 2019
July 27, 2019
July 20, 2019
July 19, 2019
July 13, 2019
July 6, 2019
June 29, 2019
Portrait of an Adirondack Poet
June 28, 2019
June 22, 2019
June 21, 2019
June 15, 2019
Thomas Edison and The Prospect House
June 14, 2019
June 8, 2019
June 1, 2019
May 25, 2019
May 18, 2019
May 11, 2019
May 4, 2019
April 27, 2019
April 20, 2019
April 13, 2019
April 6, 2019
A Century Ago: A City on the Rise
April 4, 2019
March 30, 2019
March 23, 2019
What caught our eye - Mar 16, 2019
March 16, 2019
What caught our eye - Mar 9, 2019
March 9, 2019
What caught our eye - Mar 2, 2019
March 2, 2019
What Killed the Amazon Deal ... and What Can Be Learned
March 1, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 23, 2019
February 23, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 16, 2019
February 16, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 9, 2019
February 9, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 2, 2019
February 2, 2019
Things that caught our eye - Jan. 26, 2019
January 26, 2019
Things that caught our eye - Jan. 19, 2019
January 18, 2019
November 20, 2018
Winning the war for talent: Helping you catch rising stars
November 19, 2018
Who’s to Blame for Political Attack Ads?
November 1, 2018
October 9, 2018
Is that my pizza in a pothole?
June 14, 2018
Preparing for the Unthinkable: Schools Now Lead in Crisis Management and Communications
April 2, 2018
Great Obituaries Will Save Newspapers
March 8, 2018
New Website for Albany Diocese Created by Behan
February 7, 2018
Behan Team Helps Propel Second Statewide Referendum Victory
November 8, 2017
A Graduation Letter to My Kids
May 9, 2017
Donald Trump Is the Media’s Best Friend
May 5, 2017
United Airlines Does Not Have a PR Problem
April 13, 2017
What Do I Need in My Next Communications Chief?
April 6, 2017
Mark Behan joins board of directors of financial holding company
December 5, 2016
Your Firm Will Get Hacked — How Do You Respond?
September 9, 2016
10 Questions Every CEO Should Ask About Crisis Management
October 25, 2014
15 Tips for Effective Employee Communications
March 15, 2012