Peter Golden described the optimism he felt in his youth with Kennedy’s election: “The country’s going to move again … we’re going to dance on the moon and all these things people felt when he got elected — and quite the opposite of course is what happened. I wanted to try and explain that feeling of loss to my son and to my daughter-in-law and why their parents would look back in a different way than they do.”

According to the state’s General Municipal Law, every local government must annually file a financial report with the state’s comptroller, which is known as the Annual Update Document or AUD. A town like Knox, with a population under 5,000 has up to 60 days after the close of its fiscal year to file its AUD. Knox, however, is several years behind in filing its AUDs. 

January is named for Janus, the ancient Roman god of transitions. He is frequently portrayed as having two faces — one looking back and the other looking forward.

The year 2024 was a time for both the town of Guilderland and the school district to look forward.

The brawl was filmed and the video posted to social media. The video shows a man wearing a yellow jacket labeled “Security” standing back as the fight unfolds. Then a burly police officer, wearing a vest labeled “K-9 Unit,” wades into the melée, breaking up the fight.

The Guilderland School Board was chosen for the “nice” list because it filled a board vacancy by conducting interviews in a public videotaped session. Mark Grimm was lauded for his push for government transparency.

While the waiting list for Guilderland is long, James Mastrianni explained that just 76 of the 333 applicants on that list either live or work in town and those applicants move up the list faster than out-of-town residents.

The town board agreed to hire Core & Main to install about 10,000 water meters in homes across town for just under $5 million and also agreed to a table of updated fees, requiring building permits for the first time for projects like replacing windows, roofs, and siding.

While one board member said it feels like the Foundry Square developer is holding a gun to the town’s head, the town planner said there was no threat and the developer has made compromises and will do heavy lifting to solve longstanding pollution and traffic problems.

Sarecha has enlisted two of his Hindu friends to help him gather signatures for a petition to recognize Diwali as an academic holiday, a day off from school so they can pray and celebrate with their families.