What caught our eye - 7/13/19

July 13, 2019

Saratoga_DancingRain_7-11-19.jpegThe pageantry that is Saratoga kicked off Thursday, and a little rain  didn't dampen the enthusiasm for the first day of the 2019 season. (Skip Dickstein)

BILLIONAIRES, BOURBON, BOTOX AND THE BACKSTRETCH: Local legend has it that sometime around 1950 the venerable New York sportswriter Red Smith gave these directions to Saratoga Race Course : “From New York City you drive north for about 175 miles, turn left on Union Avenue and go back 100 years.” It’s a useful aphorism for the festival of old money and new; smart money and foolish; hot tips and big tippers, big talkers and hot walkers; sleek private jets and little kids at breakfast; the hipsters and the hats; the audacious, bodacious, salacious and rapacious – all in town to be seen and to see, lest we forget, some of the finest thoroughbreds on Earth. They are not off at Saratoga. They are most definitely onhttp://bit.ly/TrackOpeningDifferentFeel

SIRO’S PICKS A WINNER: Since the 1930s, Siro’s has been the just-off-track, post-race gathering place. “Siro’s can’t be explained. It must be experienced,” says a veteran maître d’ of the racing-season-only institution. Outside, the vibe is plastic cups and an anything-might-happen frat party. Inside, it’s clubby, welcome-back fine dining. Now, new operators have placed Siro’s kitchen in the hands of Chef David Britton of Glens Falls. This the Great Britton, once of The Sagamore, founder of Springwater Bistro in Saratoga Springs and the DownTown City Tavern in Glens Falls; operator of the current Pies on Wheels and the food manufacturer Da’kine Cuisine.  http://bit.ly/SirosHiresChefBritton

TAKE A LONG HOLIDAY: The Saratoga Springs Holiday Inn helped create modern, vibrant Saratoga Springs when it opened on August 15, 1964. Downtown Saratoga Springs was in decline, devastated by fires, a crumbling commercial base, and a lack of new investment, its many historic hotels only a memory. Unwilling to wait for outside investors to turn the community around, local business leaders led a community-based campaign to raise local money – and their success instilled the can-do spirit that’s animated Saratoga Springs for half a century. They persuaded the international hotel organization to wager on Saratoga. Great bet. Last week, the Holiday Inn was sold for $21.8 million. http://bit.ly/SaratogaHolidayInnSold

CUISINE ON THE RISE: Glens Falls once proclaimed itself the City on the Rise, a nod to its annual Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival. Now, it’s a city with a rising reputation for culinary innovation and excellence. (See [farmacy] and Morgan and Co.) The Times Union’s Steve Barnes celebrates Chef Colin Miner of the Queensbury Hotel and a change in culinary course as dramatic as the multi-million dollar makeover of the historic hotel itself. http://bit.ly/TUonChefMiner

Sloan_A Roof in Chelsea New York.jpgJohn Sloan, A Roof in Chelsea, New York, c. 1941/51,
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College,
purchased through the Julia L. Whittier Fund. P.946.12.2.

WORTH SEEING

UP ON THE ROOF: Painter John Sloan, who dropped out of school at 16 to support his family, was fascinated by struggles of early 20th century New York immigrants. Days of hard work in summer’s heat sent them to tenement rooftops for relief in the evening.  Sloan was a founder of the gritty Ashcan School of Art, and this summer his work is on display at The Hyde Collection in what The Albany Times Union calls “a thoughtful, joyous, and keenly focused” exhibit. By the way, the Hyde is launching new summer hours, open seven days a week. http://bit.ly/SloanAshcanArtatHyde

DAVID SMITH’S LAKE GEORGE: America’s greatest sculptor, David Smith, who brought steel to heel to create abstract sculptures at his Bolton Landing farm, also was a gifted painter of Lake George landscapes. This summer, the upscale readers of Quest magazine (“the last magazine devoted to society with a capital S, covering the socially prominent in New York, Greenwich, The Hamptons, Palm Beach and Miami.”) are getting a close look at Smith’s paintings highlighted in a new display in the Bolton Historical Museum, thanks to an expert piece by Lake George Mirror editor Tony Hall. http://bit.ly/SculptorsLakePainting

RIVER RISING: The Hudson River exhibit at the New York Historical Society this summer celebrates the ecological transformation of a great commercial waterway, a reminder, the Wall Street Journal says, that what is now is depicted as callous exploitation was, in fact, unintended consequence. “Every age has its requirements and its blind spots.” http://bit.ly/HudsonRiverReflections

INDOMITABLE SPIRIT: He was a radical, a non-conformist who dispatched artistic convention. He created art that reached “into the very essence of human life, fusing the physical and spiritual in ways that had never before been and — would never after be — reached.” When he died alone 350 years ago, his fame and fortune were at an ebb, his work auctioned to pay debt. Rembrandt van Rijn has been gone for 350 years this summer, but his work remains very much alive in a new exhibit at The Frick and every day at The Hyde.   http://bit.ly/RembrandtIndomitableSpirit

THE DAILY TRUTH: Has your organization been transformed by digital, real-time decision-making data? The technology’s there; sometimes the culture is not. http://bit.ly/TheDigitalTransformation

LONG AND WINDING ROAD: The Beetle was born in the world’s darkest hours. It came to symbolize Germany’s economic renaissance and middle-class prosperity. It was an emblem of American 1960s counter-culture and a design triumph as recognizable as a Coke bottle. Soon, it will be yesterday. http://bit.ly/EndOfTheBeetle

NEWS HOOK

BIG ASS BASS: For the first time, the St. Lawrence River has been named the best bass fishery in America by Bassmaster Magazine. Record-breaking fish are being caught there and on Lake Ontario as well. http://bit.ly/StLawrenceBass

DON’T GET THE LURE: At the only full-service hospital emergency room inside the Adirondack Park, the medical staff has become expert in plucking fishing lures – not from the fish but from every intimate nook and cranny of the anglers. http://bit.ly/HookedOnLures

THE GOODWILL HUNT

WELCOME SIGN: A small school in Maine is welcoming its first hearing-impaired student and everybody is learning the ABCs of inclusiveness.   http://bit.ly/KindergartenersLearnSignLanguage

THE GIFT OF SINGH: Deryck Singh worked for 32 years at Stewart’s Shops, frequently representing his fellow employees at community events where he dished out donated ice cream. When he retired, Stewart’s gave Mr. Singh and the community a sweet sendoff. http://bit.ly/GiftofSingh

ABOUT TIME: Fifty years after it opened, the Northway is finally getting an exit between 2 and 4. http://bit.ly/NorthwayGetsExit3

FRANK’S ON THE MENU: Of all the good things Price Chopper offers, the friendly wisdom of Frank Murphy may be the most valuable.  http://bit.ly/PriceChoppersMayor

ON THE UP AND UP

HOTEL ROCHELLE: The U.S. hotel industry is in the midst of a building boom, and New Rochelle, N.Y., White Plain’s quieter sibling, is pursuing a downtown revival. The largest hotel in Westchester County in 20 years is being built there. http://bit.ly/NewRochelleHotel

34TH STREET MIRACLE: Manhattan’s building boom continues. Macy’s is considering an 800-foot office tower above its iconic Herald Square store. http://bit.ly/MacysTowerPlanned

LOVIN’ SUMMER

YOU CAN HAVE TOO MANY? Twenty years after Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa saved the game with home runs, baseball faces another challenge: Too many homers. We may see more than 6,600 this season — nearly 1,000 more than were hit in 2000, the height of the steroid era. http://bit.ly/TooManyHomeruns

WHO’S COUNTING? JUST TAP IT IN: Six of the 20 best mini-golf courses in Upstate New York are located in Lake George, Lake Placid and Saratoga County, Yelp says. http://bit.ly/UpstatesBestMinGolf

A LITTLE FUN WITH YOUR PHILANTHROPY: The Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor in Queensbury are offering a half-priced admission ticket on Saturday, July 20, to any guest who makes a $10 donation that day at the park’s ticket windows to Make-A-Wish® Northeast New York. There is no limit on the number of tickets one can purchase. http://bit.ly/GreatEscapeDonorDiscount

REELIN’ IN THE YEARS: While the credits were rolling for their competitors, the Caro Brothers, Ed and Tom, have managed to keep a family summer tradition alive. Grab the blankets, kids. The Malta Drive-In is turning 70. http://bit.ly/MaltDriveInTurns70

MOW PATRIOTIC: Zac and Bobbi Williams have a beautiful lawn and it shows their stripes (and stars). http://bit.ly/PatrioticMowers

NEARLY FINAL WORDS

“A difference of opinion is what makes horse racing and missionaries.’’
- Will Rogers

THE SIGNOFF

TWITTER TO THE RESCUE: Sometimes a brief video clip is all you need. http://bit.ly/DogPicksReporter

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

THANK YOU to our content contributors John Brodt, Bill Callen, Bill Richmond, Tina Suhocki, Lisa Fenwick, Colleen Potter, Nolan Murphy, Audrey McCarthy and Barbara Cataldo.

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 conversationmark.behan@behancom.com

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