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Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety Peter Martin Will Not to Seek Re-Election
SARATOGA SPRINGS - Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety Peter Martin announced today that he will not seek re-election for a new term starting in 2020.
“I would like to pursue opportunities outside of my role as Commissioner of Public Safety," said Martin, in a statement. "During this past year, I have treated the time and energy commitment of this position as a full time job. I believe that it would not be fair to the people of Saratoga Springs to treat it as anything less. Therefore, I have made the decision not to seek re-election as Commissioner of Public Safety for a new term commencing in January 2020.
“I will forever be grateful to the people of Saratoga Springs and to our Public Safety Department staff. I have enjoyed working with the dedicated and talented employees at city hall. I do not make this decision lightly. It comes after several weeks of difficult and personal reflection. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the City as your Commissioner of Public Safety," Martin said.
“Over the past year, we have accomplished much – and there remains a great deal more yet to do. As I said, this job is a full time position, and I intend to remain a full time Commissioner for the rest of this year. I believe that working in cooperation with other members of the City Council, we can accomplish some great things over the remainder of this year."
In November, elections will be held for all five City Council member seats, including mayor.
George Benson, Norah Jones, Trombone Shorty Headline Two-Days Saratoga Jazz Fest in June
SARATOGA SPRINGS - Twenty-two musical groups, highlighted by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center debut of Norah Jones and the return of George Benson and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, are slated to perform at the 2019 Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival June 29-30.
“I am over the moon to have Norah Jones featured at the jazz festival for the first time. And we welcome back, with open arms and hearts, the legendary George Benson, who will make his 12th festival appearance and first since 2009,” said Danny Melnick, the festival producer and President of Absolutely Live Entertainment, in a statement. “The festival has a deep history of, and is committed to, presenting important and diverse new artists and this year’s edition continues that tradition with Kandace Springs, Veronica Swift, Antonio Sanchez, Cha Wa, Donna Grantis, Youn Sun Nah and Kansas Smitty’s House Band.”
Back by popular demand is Los Van Van 50th Anniversary, Django Festival All-Stars with Edmar Castañeda and Grace Kelly, Joshua Redman Quartet, and James Carter Organ Trio. Fifteen emerging artists making their Saratoga debuts include Kandace Springs, Donna Grantis, Joey DeFrancesco Trio, Mercy Project which features Jon Cowherd, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, and Steve Cardenas, Antonio Sanchez & Migration, and Cha Wa. The festival will also feature a record number of groups led by women artists, highlighted by Allison Miller, Veronica Swift, Ruthie Foster and Youn Sun Nah.
The festival takes place Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Performances will begin on the Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage at noon and 11 a.m., respectively, and on the main Amphitheater Stage at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
SPAC also announced that Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Friday will return on Friday, June 28, when scores of live jazz events, themed dining, and social dance options will be held in downtown Saratoga Springs.
Founded in 1978 by jazz impresario George Wein, Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival is the fifth longest-consecutive-running jazz festival in North America. Initially founded as “the Newport Jazz Festival at Saratoga” the weekend event was renamed Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival in 1998. With an inside seating capacity of 5,200, and lawn seating of 20,000, the two-day, two-stage festival continues to be one of the largest jazz music events in North America.
Tickets for the festival will be available online at www.spac.org beginning Feb. 15 to the general public and starting on Feb. 4 to SPAC members. Single-day adult tickets range: $68 lawn, $78-$108 inside; Two-day pass: $116 lawn, $136-$196 inside. also, $20 amphitheater ticket options are available for children ages 15 and under and students with school-issued ID at time of entrance. Seating is best available with some exclusions. Lawn seating is free for children ages 15 and under. Parking for the event is free. For more information, go to: spac.org.
The Price of Forever
SARATOGA SPRINGS – When the United States Postal Service first issued its “Forever” stamp in 2007, it boasted a unique commodity. Here is a non-perishable product that would maintain its value in one ounce-weight, no matter how much costs may increase in the future.
Forever stamps are non-denominational first-class postage, which means that they can be used to mail First Class letters no matter what the postal rate. In other words, if you purchased the stamps in 2007, which cost 41 cents at the time, then they may continue to be used in the present day for a normal-sized letter weighing one ounce or less, even as postage rates have increased. Forever stamps have also gone up in price - to 42 cents in 2008, 46 cents in 2013, 49 cents in 2014.
This week, the USPS raised the price of new Forever stamps up to 55 cents, which went into effect Jan. 27.
Since their first issue in 2007, a variety of faces have graced forever stamps – from songwriter John Lennon to America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride; from the animated Great Dane Scooby-Doo to TV’s Mr. Rogers. There are stamps which have honored Americans who participated in WW I, and others recognizing First Responders.
Brand new, or soon-to-be-released Forever stamps include tributes to entertainer Gregory Hines, and to tennis champion Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly Brinker.
Additions to the 2019 Stamp Program – although not all will be marked as “Forever” stamps, will include: the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad; multiple works by artist Ellsworth Kelly (1923–2015); a tribute to Marvin Gaye, and one commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock music festival. Another will celebrate murals created inside five different post offices during the era of the Great Depression that were designed to add a touch of beauty to post office walls and help boost the morale of Americans.
While not included in the Post Office Mural pane, locals will note the Saratoga Springs post office on Broadway displays two murals titled “Saratoga in Racing Season,” which were painted by Guy Pene du Bois under the Treasury Relief Art Project in 1937.
On another local note, artist Ellsworth Kelly – whose work will be featured on a 2019 stamp - has been exhibited at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, on the campus of Skidmore College. In 2015, the Tang received a $100,000 challenge grant from the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation for the purpose of supporting the conservation and care of its 7,000-plus-work collection. Additionally, Ian Berry, the museum’s Dayton Director, worked as a studio assistant for Kelly in the 1990s.
As to how the illustrated face of a stamp is chosen, USPS spokeswoman Maureen Marion says a Postmaster General’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee meets quarterly and is involved in the decision-making process.
“They look at thousands of recommendations that come through,” she says. The CSAC was established in 1957. Their meetings are closed to the public.
One notable proposal floated during the lick-and-stick stamp days was a four-panel beer stein depiction which had a pretzel flavored taste to it when you licked the back of the stamp, Marion says. “But, that didn’t come to pass.”
The Richard Nixon stamp, issued in 1995 after the former president’s passing, was the first stamp on a major scale that moved away from the lick-and-stick variety and on to the adhesive option.
“Just imagine, there are people graduating college now who have never licked a stamp,” Marion says.
As for the Stamp selection process, the U.S. Postal Service welcomes suggestions for stamp subjects that celebrate the American experience. Any proposal that meets the established criteria will be considered. That criteria may be found at: https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/csac/criteria.htm. As of January 2018, no living persons will be honored on a stamp. Deceased individuals will be honored no earlier than three years after his or her death.
Saratoga Springs Native Son Stages Homecoming Thursday
SARATOGA SPRINGS — More than a dozen albums ago, Saratoga Springs High School friends Pete Donnelly, Mike Gent and Guy Lyons first got together to form a musical ensemble they called The Figgs.
Thirty-one years and some 1,500 shows later, Donnelly - who calls Philadelphia and South Jersey home these days – returns Jan. 31 to Caffe Lena, where he will be joined by Fred Berman on drums, Ray Long on bass, and John Cunningham on guitar.
In addition to his founding-member in-standing with The Figgs, Donnelly’s musical path has traveled through Terry Adams’ legendary NRBQ, Soul Asylum, the Replacements’ Tommy Stinson and Graham Parker, among others.
There was a TV commercial for a luxury car in 2013 that featured the catchy post-new wave riffs of the Figgs’ “Je T’adore,” and with the song “Your Smile Is a Deadly Thing,” released in 2016, the band showcased THE most addictive guitar riff of the year. Go ahead, give it a whirl HERE.
Coming back to Saratoga, “still pretty much feels like home,” Donnelly said, during a phone interview in advance of New Year’s Eve return to perform at First Night Saratoga 2017.
His most recent solo album, 2018’s “Phases of The Moon,” features an all-star combo and signals a departure from Donnelly's past work. While the pop songs remain, the jazz predominates. (As was written in these pages upon the album’s release last year: The piano serves as a driving force, merging seductive jazz riffs laced with a sweet soul muse, topped with the familiar jingle-jangle of an electric guitar).
Ten of the album’s 18 tracks are instrumentals and include recreation of works by Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Oscar Pettiford.
“As a kid I loved jazz music, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, and I think a lot of people are surprised by that. Those were my idols,” says Donnelly, whose first instrument was the bass - and specifically an Ibanez Roadstar II, purchased at Drome Sound in Albany on his 13th birthday. Growing up in ‘80s, bands like Hüsker Dü and Black Flag helped inspire his music “counter to the cheesy, schmaltzy ‘80s pop world we grew up in during the Reagan Era. Our music was an affront to that. It was an expression of searching for an identity in a banal world,” he says. “It almost feels like it’s a return to that now.”
Pete Donnelly performs 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31 at Caffe Lena. Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 members, $10 students and kids. For more information, call 518-583-0022, or go to: caffelena.org.
Pick Of The Week: “Shelter From The Storm” at Rochmon Record Club Dylan Night Wednesday
SARATOGA SPRINGS – In the waning months of 1974 and following the conclusion of his tour with The Band, Bob Dylan recorded 10 songs that would emanate from the grooves of his vinyl release in the new year. The album - “Blood On The Tracks” – includes the now-standard Dylan tunes “Tangled Up In Blue,” “Simple Twist of Fate,” “Shelter From The Storm” and “Idiot Wind.”
Wednesday night, the Rochmon Record Club calls its popular sonic gathering to order at Caffe Lena to listen, learn about and discuss Bob Dylan’s epic 1975 album “Blood On The Tracks.”
In addition to revisiting the stories and songs of this iconic album, the night also provides a neat prelude to the scheduled 2019 Netflix release “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese,” which focuses on the singer-songwriter during his The Rolling Thunder Revue tour. That tour hit the road shortly after the release of “Blood On The Tracks” and featured a plethora of musicians (Joan Baez to Roger McGuinn to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to Mick Ronson), writers (Sam Shepard) and poets (Patti Smith turned the tour down, but Allen Ginsberg showed up). There was even a push by Saratoga Springs café owner Lena Spencer to stage the tour locally (One Night Only, Nov. 18, Six Bucks).
The Listening Party on Wednesday, Jan. 30 begins at 7 p.m. with a live audio and video presentation by Chuck Vosganian, aka Rochmon. The Caffe Lena kitchen will be open for light food and drinks. General admission is $8. For more information, go to: caffelena.org.
Early Primaries This Year: City Dems Seeking Potential Candidates for 2019 Election Season
SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee announced today that it will start interviews soon with candidates who are interested in securing the Democratic Party endorsement for municipal elections later this year. Due to changes in New York’s primary election date, SSDC interviews will be held earlier than in previous years.
The SSDC is seeking to hear no later than Sunday, Feb. 10, from those who are – or may be – planning a run in 2019.
The November 2019 election in Saratoga Springs will include races for mayor and all other City Council slots, including the commissioners of accounts, finance, public works and public safety. Two County Supervisors also will be elected to represent the city.
The SSDC will invite interested candidates to meet with its Nominations/Endorsement Subcommittee to discuss the local Democratic platform and the candidates’ positions and qualifications. The full SSDC then votes on endorsing candidates for each position.
Earlier this week, the state Senate and Assembly approved voting reform legislation, including a bill to move up New York’s primary election from September to June, consolidating state and federal primary dates. An earlier primary means that the petition process, whereby candidates seek to secure party lines on the ballot, also will occur much earlier. This in turn accelerates the SSDC’s need to interview those seeking its endorsement.
All inquiries should be directed to SSDC Chair Courtney DeLeonardis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Local Development Corporation Facilitated More Than $200 Million in Financing; Partners in New Local Business Management Project for 2019
BALLSTON SPA – In August 2012, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to create the formation of the Saratoga County Capital Resource Corporation, or SCCRC, and named Anita Daly the organization’s chair.
Charged with promoting community development and the creation of jobs in both the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, the local development corporation this week announced it had facilitated more than $200 million in financing since its formation.
That financing benefitted health care, education and affordable housing organizations headquartered or operating in Saratoga County. Projects have included enabling low-interest financing for a segment of a new science building at Skidmore College, the expansion at Saratoga Hospital, updates to the Raymond Watkin apartments and for a St. Peter’s Hospital project.
“In the case of Saratoga Hospital, they expanded their ER and the size of their OR, and (at the Watkin apartments) they did a huge renovation to the facility that enhances the quality of life for residents there,” said Daly, who continues to serve as chairwoman of the not-for-profit SCCRC.
“By being a conduit for tax-exempt financing, it helps not-for-profits maintain low costs in financing or re-financing a project. By keeping the cost down, it allows them to save money for their operation or do an expansion, or whatever their goal may be,” Daly said. “Sometimes it makes the difference whether they go ahead with their goal or not.”
In a new initiative for 2019, the agency is providing grants to small businesses and organizations which may not otherwise have the resources to participate in the newly launched Saratoga County Institute of Management. The program is designed to help local incumbent staff members develop leadership and management skills.
“It was created at the request of different business people in the area who expressed the need to better advance certain skill sets of existing employees and new hires,” Daly said of the partnership forged between SCCRC, the county Chamber of Commerce and Empire State College with the idea of grooming future leaders. “We created a program that was directly the result of requests made by businesses, so that we can help our businesses with their workforce development needs.”
The program is organized into three different three-month tracks: sessions in Operational Management - such as recruitment and retention, and knowledge of HR and legal issues; Self-Awareness - which includes time management and effective listening, and sessions in the Management of Others, which features motivation and conflict resolution techniques.
The cost for businesses to send employees to the management program is $1,500 (Chamber members) to $2,000 (non-members) per employee, per track.
“What the Saratoga County Capital Resource Corporation was able to so with some of its funds is to invest in the project by way of scholarships,” Daly said. “Particularly for some smaller not-for-profits that may not have the funds available in their budget to send some of their employees to this management institute, we underwrite the cost for them to attend.”
The agency – comprised of seven members at full capacity - is self-sufficient and doesn’t rely on any taxpayer or government funding, Daly said. The group’s annual budget calls for contractual CEO and administrative expenses but is comprised of a volunteer board. Fees associated with application charges provide revenue, Daly added. Bond administration fees typically account for $75,000 in annual revenue, according to the agency’s budget.
“The whole purpose of creating Saratoga County Capital Resource Corporation was to give our not-for profits in Saratoga County an opportunity to work with a local development corporation as opposed to having to go through the state Dormitory Authority - a much more cumbersome and expensive route for them,” she said. “We’re very proud of the organization we put together and pleased that we have been were able to offer this avenue for financing and we believe it’s come back to benefit everyone across Saratoga County, and even beyond.”
SCCRC holds public meetings on a quarterly basis at minimum, and with more frequency when working with an application or project that needs further review. For more information, call 518-435-5903, or go to: https://www.saratogacountyny.gov/departments/saratoga-county-capital-resource-corporation/.
The Future Is Here: Artificial Intelligence Panel Comes to Saratoga
SARATOGA SPRINGS – 5G. AI. Blockchain. The possible eradication of disease and abolishment of poverty. The potential wiping out of your job. So many questions. A free, city-based “Lunch and Learn” event with a focus on artificial intelligence will take place Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Saratoga Springs City Center.
“The AI Opportunity: Developing an AI Ecosystem in Upstate New York” will include a panel discussion, and a Q & A session: What is artificial intelligence? Why does AI matter? What opportunities does it present locally and regionally?
Panelists will share ideas, experiences, and viewpoints about AI technology, research and development, ethics, and policies and will be moderated by Michele Madigan, city Commissioner of Finance and chair of the Saratoga Springs Smart City Commission.
“This series—on topics such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, innovation, and energy—works to position the region to spur economic development by leveraging applications of emerging technologies to practical business challenges,” Madigan said, in a statement.
Marty Vanags, president of Saratoga County prosperity Partnership, and one of the sponsoring organizations of the event, points to things like the Apple Watch, robot vacuums and Alexa as things inside the home that depict AI is already here.
“On my phone I have The Weather Channel App. Algorithms are generating information and pretty darn accurate information about what the weather is going to be like into the future, from temperatures on an hourly basis to how much and where snow is going to fall,” Vanags says. “I was at a consumer electronics show last week and Samsung has something called The Hub - this giant screen on the refrigerator that organizes your family activities, totally interactive.
Do you watch movies on Netflix? That data is put to use for the next time you want to watch a movie and shows up in recommendations: because you watched THIS movie, try THESE movies. “It may not be an exact fit, but the technology, that algorithm will learn over time,” Vanags says. “Machine learning, which is part of Artificial Intelligence. It keeps re-defining until it really begins to know and understand what it is you like.”
It is anticipated that the deployment of 5G will lead to the mainstreaming of autonomous, or self-driving vehicles.
Asked whether there may be a danger with all the gathering of data that may lead to humans not being exposed to new things, or perhaps other downfalls, Vanags says, “technology needs to have limits and controls, just like anything. It’s an interesting conundrum. We like our technology we like our conveniences and at the same time we don’t want to be felt imposed upon by companies that are using that technology.”
An “Open Letter” penned in 2015 and signed by the likes of Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, the late Stephen Hawking and thousands of others, the importance of focused research to maximize the societal benefit of AI was stressed. “Our AI systems must do what we want them to do,” the Open Letter states. “The potential benefits are huge… the eradication of disease and poverty are not unfathomable. Because of the great potential of AI, it is important to research how to reap its benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls.”
The future impact of AI is also anticipated to cause the elimination of some jobs - taxi drivers and truck drivers as examples among them - when self-driving vehicles become mainstream.
“It’s hard to predict. I’m not predicting this, but some people have predicted that you will go to a restaurant and essentially robots will take your order,” Vanags says. “I don’t know, I think the human element is still important and I like my waiters and waitresses at Cantina, so I don’t see that necessarily, but there could be applications in AI that predict what I might order, an Artificial Intelligence application that actually generates the food that I’m going to eat, but there are a lot of costs involved and I think that’s well into the future.”
“The AI Opportunity: Developing an AI Ecosystem in Upstate New York,” a Lunch and Learn session of the city partnering with IgniteU NY, will be held noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Saratoga City Center. Lunch will be provided. Panelists include Bob Bedard, the President and CEO of the software company deFacto Global, Inc., Dr. Craig Skevington, CEO of managed service provider STEADfast IT, and Colin Garvey, a Ph.D. student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) specializing in AI risk governance.
The event is free and open to the public, but it is limited to 100 attendees. For more information, GO HERE.
City Events: Martin Luther King Celebration Weekend
Friday, Jan. 18
The 4th Annual Dr. King Challenge, Win and Place Room, at The Holiday Inn, 232 Broadway. 7 p.m.
Opening Reception, light finger foods and cash bar. 8- 10 p.m. - Micro-performances in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., expressing the critical, "in-our-face" realities of our time - by regional performance artists, followed by dancing to the world jazz beat sound of Heard.
Saturday, Jan. 19
Caffé Lena, 47 Phila St. - 3 p.m. “Shout It Out!” with Garland Nelson. A historical, interactive African-American musical experience; 5 p.m.
Yaddo Presents: "Empowering Artists of Color" A Conversation with Kima Jones; 7:30 p.m. Creative Action Unlimited: a 40-minute staged reading performed by a cast of women who share their personal experience with issues of race, class and gender.
Sunday, Jan. 20
Workshop: Equity, Inclusion, and Understanding Implicit Bias with Ray Anderson, 2 -p.m. at Saratoga Springs Public Library, 49 Henry St.
Aretha Franklin Tribute and The Heavenly Echoes, 7 p.m. at The Parting Glass, 40 Lake Ave.
Monday, Jan. 21
Day of Service Volunteer Project, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at Dutcher Community Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library.
CommUnity Celebration with Special Guest Artist/Activist Daryl Davis, 2 p.m. at Presbyterian New England Congregational Church, 24 Circular St.
An Evening of Music and Conversation with Daryl Davis, 7:30 p.m. at Caffe Lena. Tickets $15, to benefit MLK Saratoga. Advance purchase recommended for this event.
Events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. For more information, go to: https://www.mlksaratoga.org/celebration/
Singer-Songwriter Returns to Stage of Musical Origin on Jan. 18
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Amanda Platt calls Asheville, North Carolina home these days, but a decade-and-a-half and six albums ago, the then-musical novice would drag her banjo to Caffè Lena on Open Mic night, building a foundation for her life in the arts. Platt, with her band the Honeycutters, returns to the stage of her formative years Jan. 19.
“Caffè Lena is where I first learned to perform, the first place I started playing my songs out,” recalls the singer-songwriter, who attended classes at Skidmore College, worked in Ballston Spa and took lessons on playing the banjo from local musicians Trish Miller and John Kirk.
“I started playing at the Thursday night Open Mic in the winter of 2005 and I found a real receptive community at Caffè Lena. All the regulars at the Open Mic were very welcoming and kind to me and made me feel that I wasn’t being totally ridiculous to want to write songs and sing them,” Platt says. “It’s really where I started everything, where I had my first real show and where I made a promise to myself that I was just going to keep going.”
As a band, the Honeycutters – billed as a country roots group who blend Honky Tonk music with Appalachian folk – have released five albums. Platt also has a solo record to her credit and the band is readying a live album for release in June.
The date in Saratoga Springs is sandwiched between tour stops in New Haven, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., and just before the band crosses the Atlantic for shows in Germany and The Netherlands in March. “People are really into American music over there,” says Platt, who grew up on Hastings-on-Hudson. her father has a musical background.
“My Dad used to make music professionally in his twenties. “After he got married, my mom said: you’re going to figure something else out,” says Platt, with a laugh. “He went to law school and became an attorney, but music has stayed in his life, playing weekends.” Her dad lives in nearby Columbia County and may sit in with the band for a few songs at Caffè Lena. The show will also mark Platt’s first return since the café underwent renovations. “I am excited to come back and see it,” she says.
Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters perform at Caffè Lena at 8 p.m. on Friday Jan 18. Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 café members, $10 students and kids.
