What caught our eye - 4/27/19

April 27, 2019

This weekend's Whitewater Derby on the Upper Hudson River will
whet your appetite for a great season of outdoor fun. 

NAVIGATING THE TUMULT: Not political – the rapids. Next weekend (May 4 and 5) is the annual Hudson River White Water Derby in North Creek. For more than 60 years, this race of speed, strategy and nerves through the roiling rapids of the Upper Hudson has been a spectacle to behold. http://whitewaterderby.com/

HOME, SWEET COMPLICATED HOME: Lake Placid’s Kate Smith was the “First Lady of Radio” who sang America through World War II and inspired patriots for 80 years. Her signature rendition of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” is iconic among Flyers fans in Philadelphia and won appreciation among younger audiences in the dark days after 9/11. Her legacy is being re-examined because of songs she sang in the 1930s that included racially insensitive lyrics. http://bit.ly/LakePlacidsKateSmith

FIRST FAMILIES: The Capital Region’s heartfelt salute to community leader Jane Golub got us thinking about local companies like Golub Corp. and Price Chopper/Market 32 that, through good times and bad, have remained in family ownership for multiple generations and contributed to the betterment of the region. Consider these names, only a partial list: The Dakes of Stewart’s Shops, Waits of Adirondack Trust, McCormicks of TrustCo, Humes of the Schenectady Gazette, O’Connors of Mohawk Paper, Massrys of Tri City Rentals, DiMannos of Poopie’s, Della Bellas of cars, Feigenbaums and Cudneys of dry cleaning; Havenses of Falls Farm and Garden, Fitzgeralds, Vukelics and the DeCrescentes of beverages; Crisafullis of Plumbing and Heating, Collinses of D.A. Collins, Flackes of Fort William Henry,  Moores of The Queensbury Hotel, Spruce Hospitality and French Mountain Commons & Log Jam Outlets, Hoffmans of Turf Hotels, Purdys of wine and spirits, and many others. Surely, we’ve overlooked somebody. Tell us and watch this space next week.

DARK BLESSED NIGHT –The darkest skies on the East Coast are over the Adirondacks, and they  are a sight to behold.  Soon, thanks to help from the down-to-Earth folks at Stewart’s Shops, the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory will make it possible to explore the great beyond in a new 18,000-square-foot museum and planetarium.  http://bit.ly/AdkSkyCenter

THE GRAY, GRAY, GRAY, GREAT ESCAPE: The magical place Charley Wood built turns 65 this summer. Storytown, USA opened a year before Disneyland. And true to Mr. Wood’s spirit of innovation, the modern-day Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom refuses to show its age. It will debut a new super-soaking attraction this summer Hurricane Harbor featuring Bucket Blasters and Shipwreck Cove, and a new Park President, our friend Rebecca Wood, who takes the helm after a decade in sales and marketing at the park. http://bit.ly/GrayGreatEscape (Editor's note: an eagle-eyed reader noted Storytown was not the first theme park in the country as we originally wrote. North Pole Village in the Adirondacks preceded Storytown by five years (opening in 1949) and Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind., opened even earlier — in 1946.)

Summer’s bounty of fresh flowers, vegetables and fruits beckons as outdoor farmers markets reopen next weekend in Troy, Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs. (Skip Dickstein)

UPCOMING
Albany Empire arena football team opens the season today (April 27th).
Fort Ticonderoga daily programs and Lake George Steamboat Company cruises both begin Saturday, May 4th.

LAKE GEORGE LEADERSHIP: The FUND for Lake George’s strategy of partnership, innovation and investment to protect The Queen of American Lakes is becoming a model for other freshwater communities across the country. International freshwater expert, advocate and author Sandra Postel agrees. “However large the problems, when you look out into the world, you can see examples of people and communities working together to solve these problems,” Ms. Postel told the Lake George Mirror. “Our challenge is to ‘scale up’ these local solutions.” Hear more from Ms. Postel when she keynotes The FUND’s Annual Meeting at The Sagamore Resort on Saturday, July 6. Reservations: (518) 668-9700. http://bit.ly/FreshwaterSolutions

WARM TRIBUTE TO MARK FROST: At a time when the mainstream media are under attack and newspapers are struggling financially, The Glens Falls Chronicle is popular, successful and fiercely, proudly independent. In honor of the principles of “free speech, free press, free society,” the Warren County Bar Association has chosen Chronicle founder Mark Frost for its prestigious Liberty Bell Award. Mark, a Glens Falls native, graduated from the University of Maryland Law School and was admitted to the bar but decided to pursue justice through his first love, journalism. The weekly newspaper he founded turns 40 next year. Mark is a former Baltimore Sun television critic, local radio commentator, author of three books, and the founder of the annual Chronicle Book Fair. He has been a champion for the revitalization of Downtown Glens Falls, an advocate for the best interests of Northern New York, and a key leader in the transformation of a former downtown department store into Glens Falls’ Charles R. Wood Theater and the creation of the Adirondack Theater Festival. The Law Day event will be held at 7:30 a.m. Friday, May 3, at the Glens Falls Country Club. Tickets may be purchased by contacting admin@wcbany.com.

A RAIL BEAUTY: The Adirondack, Amtrak’s scenic service between New York and Montreal, with breathtaking views of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain, is the most scenic route in the East, says Smarter Travel. http://bit.ly/ARailBeauty

WOODSTOCK MEETS THE MAN: For every Age of Aquarius kid who loved stickin’ it to the man in ’68, there’s this: Woodstock at 50 is having trouble getting a Health Department permit.  http://bit.ly/WoodstockMeetsTheMan

DOWN FOR 90-SECOND FLIGHTS? You won’t have time to get your ear buds in. http://bit.ly/90SecondFlight

HOME PLATES: Jeremy Jeffress, an all-star relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, loved the fried fish they served at the little seafood joint in his rural Virginia hometown so much that he bought a food truck that serves it at the Brewers’ home ballpark. http://bit.ly/HomePlates

DAD, KEEP THE KEYS: Who needs to drive when you have Uber and Lyft, mass transit and social media? http://bit.ly/KeepTheKeys

WORLDS APART: The selection and packaging of news and commentary tailored to the political views of the core audience, and the self-imposed lack of exposure to other points of view, is creating a society in which large segments experience completely different realities. http://bit.ly/GrowingDivide

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Research finds that rural communities tend to have stronger economies when they’re near larger suburbs or cities, and suggests a roadmap for improving opportunities in rural areas. http://bit.ly/RuralLinksToCities

MOVE OVER, BRAN MUFFIN:  Pastel de Nata, a century-old Portuguese treat, has become a global brand. http://bit.ly/RisingPrideOfPortugal

THE COST OF LIVING: More than 20 percent of Americans 65 and older still work, a figure that shoots to 53 percent for those with a college degree, both categories having doubled since 1985. The reason is straightforward — they can’t afford to retire. http://bit.ly/ElderWork

GIVE, GROW, REPEAT: Bill Gates and other super-wealthy people who have pledged to give away all or most of their vast fortunes are finding it’s a lot harder to do than you might expect, especially in good economic times.  http://bit.ly/JustKeepGiving

MEDIA

KINDLING A COMEBACK: Books are making a comeback, led by independent bookstores like Saratoga Springs’ Northshire Books. Maybe it’s the pure pleasure of holding a book, maybe the need to take a break from the screen. Whatever the cause, it’s good in our book. http://bit.ly/KindlingAComeback

IT’S AN HONOR: Congratulations to Mountain Lake PBS, honored by the New York State Broadcasters Association in the category Outstanding Specialty Programming for an episode of the weekly series Mountain Lake Journal that focused on a little-known 1957 story of racial inequality at Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake. The episode is titled “Fulton Fryar's Closet, A Spotlight Special.” All the segments from the winning special, plus bonus video clips, are available at http://bit.ly/StoryOfFultonFryar

AN ICON TURNS 30: The Game Boy started occupying thumbs in 1989 and changed the way video games were played. A device that sold 110 million units worldwide in its first 12 years and solidified Nintendo’s hold on the video game market remains popular 30 years after its debut. http://bit.ly/GameOldMan

PRIME-TIME PLAYER: James Holzhauer has quickly reached legendary status among watchers of the popular evening game show Jeopardy!, whose ranks have grown as the young champion, a professional sports gambler, demolishes records and demoralizes opponents with a combination of encyclopedic knowledge, quick reflexes and cold-blooded willingness to let it ride. http://bit.ly/NotInJeopardy

THE SIGNOFF

THE HOME OFFICE BLUES: Working remotely is a common feature of the modern workforce, but along with the freedom and flexibility come a host of stumbling blocks that, left unaddressed, can impose steep physical and mental costs. http://bit.ly/HomeOfficeBlues

WON’T YOU BE OUR NEIGHBOR? Like what you read in Facing Out? Why not share space with the folks who bring it you? Check out what we have available in our downtown Glens Falls offices. https://glensfallsoffice.com/

PLEASE SHARE: Feel free to pass this along to your friends and colleagues.

THANK YOU to our content contributors John Brodt, Bill Callen, Lisa Fenwick, Colleen Potter, Tina Suhocki and Bill Richmond.

FACING OUT: 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