Archive » April 2022 » News

DEC: Threat from southern pine beetles is expanding

Southern pine beetles, a destructive forest pest, pose a “significant threat” to pine forests, particularly pitch pine like that found in the Albany Pine Bush, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

Major rail deal with local impact receives federal approval

by Sean Mulkerrin

The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday signed off on CSX’s acquisition of Pan Am Railways, paving the way for work to begin on 15.5 miles of railroad track that runs through the heart of Altamont and Voorheesville. 

A retired teacher educates others on Adirondack mountain names

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Robert C. Lawrence and his wife, Carol Ann, were kayaking on an Adirondack lake, watching some loons, when she asked him how the mountain looming over them, Blue Mountain, got its name.

Lawrence thought he’d buy a book on Adirondack place names at the Blue Mountain Museum to answer the question. But there was no such book.

Westerlo Planning Board votes to move embattled wedding venue app to public hearing

by Noah Zweifel

Angela Carkner, who owns several businesses, submitted an application early last summer to turn her Westerlo farm into a wedding venue and found, to her immense frustration, that the process was more complicated than she anticipated. 

Despite hiccup, GCSD board adopts $110M budget proposal

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

So far, the Guilderland school district has spent about $1.6 million out of the roughly $7.8 million it has been allocated in federal funds to deal with the pandemic.

Guilderland Police seek info on shooting

GUILDERLAND — After gunfire in the Best Buy parking lot of Crossgates Mall on Sunday wounded a girl’s hand, Guilderland Police said on Thursday that they are trying to identify two groups involved in the gunfire exchange.

Miller Road resident murdered at home

Police on Wednesday were asking nearby residents for doorbell camera footage of a pickup truck leaving the area. 

Local group raising funds to house homeless female vets with children

by Noah Zweifel

The Veterans and Community Housing Coalition is striving to build medium-term housing for homeless female veterans who, on top of dealing with the usual stresses of transitioning into civilian life, risk being separated from their children because traditional support housing doesn’t usually accommodate families.

Guilderland zoning board asks DEC to review contractor yard proposal

by Sean Mulkerrin

At its April 6 meeting, the Guilderland Zoning Board of Appeals passed a motion to proceed with an uncoordinated review of Bernard Radtke’s special-use permit application that would allow him to store roll-off containers, trucks, and heavy equipment at 4304 Frederick Road.

Week CIX: COVID cases nearly double in Albany County, hospitalizations creep up

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Some experts believe that part of the reason the current BA.2 uptick isn’t as severe as the drastic Omicron surge in January is because so many people were infected then that, vaccinated or not, they have immunity. 

Felon charged with arson

BETHLEHEM — A Troy man with two prior felony convictions was charged on Tuesday for setting a house at Quincy Court in Glenmont on fire on Sept 20, 2020.

SABIC penalized for 2020 styrene leak

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

SABIC will have to pay $322,400 in penalties and make facility improvements.

Decades of inspection reports outline Helderberg Lake Dam’s fall from compliance

by Noah Zweifel

Although the Helderberg Lake Dam, in Berne, had cracks and other deficiencies over the decades that it had undergone inspections by the New York State Department of Conservation, it was not considered to be out of state compliance until 2016, because of a lack of an engineering assessment due two years prior, and again in 2018, following an engineering assessment.

Wells shut after high manganese levels detected at Brandle Road site

by Sean Mulkerrin

On Feb. 23, Altamont was notified that a Feb. 17 sample from its Brandle Road wellsite contained 0.59 milligrams of manganese per liter; the maximum contaminant level allowed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency is 0.3 milligrams per liter. The village then resampled on March 8 and found levels were below the maximum level, at 0.28 milligrams per liter.

Bohl believes tenants, not just landlords, should be notified on land use

by Melissa Hale-Spencer

Guilderland residents, at a public hearing on May 17, will have a chance to weigh in on an updated local law that would codify the current practice of notifying residents within 500 feet or 750 feet of a proposed building project.

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