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Zoning board wary of Bullock Road solar proposal to take down 34 acres of mature forest

by Sean Mulkerrin

Initially proposed in April as a 5-megawatt ground-mounted solar array with an ask to chop down over 41 acres of mature forest, Seaboard Solar in May presented the New Scotland Zoning Board of Appeals with a 4.2-megawatt system while shrinking the acreage it intended to fell for the proposed site. 

COVID-19 surges in Albany County

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Albany County is nearing an infection rate of 5 percent as 80 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday.

Masks to be required in county buildings

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Guilderland is “strongly encouraging” face masks be worn indoors and Albany County, starting Monday, will require anyone in a county building to be masked — both regardless of vaccination status.

Federal regulator says it will review rail deal, address Voorheesville’s concerns with proposal

by Sean Mulkerin

 If the acquisition application from CSX is approved by the Surface Transportation Board, big changes could be coming to the village of Voorheesville by April of next year.

Brewers call for parity in licensing

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Winemakers, since 1993, have been allowed to manufacture and sell wine while waiting for a permanent license. Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo’s bill, if signed into law, would allow all craft beverage makers — breweries, distilleries, cideries, and wineries — to apply for a six-month permit to get their business up and running, giving the State Liquor Authority 45 days to approve or deny a submitted application.

Night desk clerk at Comfort Inn charged with unlawful surveillance

BETHLEHEM — The night desk clerk of the Comfort Inn on Route 9W in Glenmont was charged on Friday, Aug. 6, with second-degree unlawful surveillance, a felony.

County trying to get word out about rent-assistance program

by Noah Zweifel

Albany County has at least $16 million to assist renters who are at risk of an eviction because of COVID-related hardships.

Week LXXIII: Transmission and infection rates climb, no county directives are issued

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

On Sunday, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Albany County has crossed over the line from “moderate” to “substantial” transmission of COVID-19, which triggers the new CDC guidance that even vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in public. The state has issued no directives on whether this guidance must be followed, with the governor saying it is up to individual municipalities to decide. As of Wednesday, Albany County — still in the substantial transmission zone — had issued no directives.

Westerlo antiques store finds its footing in the digital era

by Noah Zweifel

Ray Carucci, the owner of Westerlo antiques store Chipped, Tarnished, and Torn, said that Instagram helped him stay in business during the COVID-19 shutdown, cementing, for Carucci, the idea that even a business that deals in antiquities needs to adapt to the modern world. 

DEC seeks pool owners to track invasive beetle

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

During late summer, Asian longhorned beetles — an invasive species — emerge as adults and are active outside of their host tree.

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation wants to locate infestations of the beetles before they cause serious damage to the state’s forests and street trees.

Altamont detective: Lock your cars

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

ALBANY COUNTY — Altamont Police Detective Christopher Laurenzo is warning villagers to lock their cars during Fair Week.

The Altamont Fair, which serves Albany, Schenectady, and Greene counties, runs this year from Wednesday, Aug. 18, through Sunday, Aug. 22.

Intersection of routes 146 and 158 to get busier, eventually

by Sean Mulkerrin

Jonathan Phillips, the owner and president of his family’s hardware store, told The Enterprise he could have been up and running by the end of the year, but the issue is that the general store and Dunkin’ would be built long before a gas tank would ever get put in the ground. 

Guilderland Center plaza sold for $890K; assessment cut by 49%

by Sean Mulkerrin

Morgan Guilderland Shopping Center LLC on June 25 sold the 15,554-square-foot Park Guilderland Shopping Center and its disputed acreage to K and K Guilderland LLC, a Niskayuna-based limited-liability company that formed a month earlier, according to Department of State filings. 

House deal helps Altamont Police

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

ALTAMONT — In a red-hot housing market, real-estate agent Ryan Clark came up with an idea to make his client stand out.

He noticed police uniforms in the garage of the Guilderland home being sold by Joseph Mazzone, an officer with the Altamont Police.

Cuomo urges biz and schools to require vaccination

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Nine new vaccination sites will open, including one at the Empire State Plaza’s concourse in Albany. With the first wave of the pandemic, in March of 2020, Cuomo used a state of emergency to issue executive orders. Currently, with no state of emergency declared, he said,  “Local governments are now trying to figure out how to deal with the local guidance.”

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