Ray Wood’s hobby of finding the fathers of Amerasians living in the United States has brought peace and contentment to local restaurant owner Van Nguyen, who was able to meet and bond with his father over the months before the older man’s death in 2018.

Two of the three New Year’s appointees have never served on Guilderland boards before.

GUILDERLAND — Principal Alicia Rizzo of Lynnwood has started an unforeseen medical leave of absence that will last at least several weeks, Superintendent Marie Wiles informed parents this week in a letter.

GUILDERLAND — Federal grant applications for improvements to Route 155, Watervliet Shaker Road, and Albany Shaker Road that have been completed recently by Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy and Colonie Supervisor Paula Mahan would improve the portion of Route 155 that is within or close to Guilderland.

ALBANY COUNTY — Building permits for multifamily housing outpaced those for single-family homes in the Capital Region in 2016 for the first time in recent memory, said Mark Castiglione, executive director of the Capital District Regional Planning Commission.

The same trend continued in 2017, he said, but to a lesser extent.

Tod Mell received his $91,290 annual salary from the Guilderland School District from the time that he was placed on administrative leave in April 2018 until Dec. 27. His letter of resignation was accepted by the school board at its Dec. 18 meeting.

School backpack programs do what they can to help hungry students get through the long holiday.

Both Jay Coleman, who has liver cancer, and his wife, Alison Coleman, have devoted their lives to helping people who are caught up in the criminal-justice system. After a quarter-century of incarceration, Jay Coleman created a pioneering program to help others make the most of their time in prison.

Guilderland Police are working with the managers of stores that have been targeted, giving them tips on how to recognize a situation that fits the recent pattern of disruptive incidents, and how to respond.  

The Rosenblum Companies, the developer that owns Great Oaks, says that office-space rentals are lagging. Proposed apartment buildings would have amenities open to office tenants and would, the developer hopes, make the commercial space more attractive to potential tenants.