It’s almost that time, CivMixers…time to start making plans for the weekend. Thursday turned out to be rather lovely in the end – at least in my neck of the Capital Region – though it was pretty touch and go there for a while with some very heavy rain.
I hope everyone managed to stay safe and dry. There might be a few more isolated thunderstorms about, but it’s going to clear up and be beautiful tomorrow through the weekend and into the beginning of next week.
Lots of stuff to do this weekend, including the Arena Football League championship game that’s returning to the TU Center in Albany Sunday after a 20-year absence. The Albany Empire will play the Philadelphia Soul.
Also, “Disney’s Newsies,” performed by the students of Playhouse Stage Company, will be onstage tomorrow and Saturday in Albany’s Washington Park Playhouse.
…or maybe a little fish counting is more your speed?
There’s something for everyone, I guess.
In the news…
Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director who was fired for statements he made about communications between the F.B.I. and the press, sued the F.B.I. today, alleging that the dismissal was retaliatory and politically motivated.
The entrepreneur and former tech executive Andrew Yang – A Capital Region native – became the ninth Democratic presidential candidate to qualify for the next debates after a new poll of Iowa voters released Thursday showed him earning 2 percent support.
President Donald Trump and the RNC have raised at least $10 million through fundraisers that are set to take place in the Hamptons tomorrow – including one at the home of developer Stephen Ross, which has caused controversy.
Equinox and SoulCycle, two luxury fitness brands owned by private parent company The Related Cos., of which Ross is the chairman, are seeking to distance themselves from a Trump fundraiser scheduled for this week at the home of their parent company’s chairman.
Ross defended holding the fundraiser, but noted that he still at times disagrees with Trump on some issues.
At least four gun-related incidents have been reported at Walmarts across the country — including a murder outside a California store — since Saturday’s mass shooting at an outlet in El Paso, TX.
Former President Bill Clinton has re-engaged in the gun control debate, calling for the return of the assault weapons ban he signed into law in 1994.
Uber set two dubious quarterly records today as it reported its results: its largest-ever loss, exceeding $5 billion, and its slowest-ever revenue growth.
Radio personality Howard Stern over the weekend ran into Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a party and thanked him for signing a bill into law that banned the declawing of cats.
Speaking of felines….did you know that it’s International Cay Day today?!
Cuomo today signed three pieces of legislation expanding protections for victims of domestic violence.
An aide and one-time chief of staff to state Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz has been arrested on a wire fraud charge.
New York state has a new law making it a felony to intentionally cause a car crash in order to collect an insurance payout.
First responders and everyday citizens used naloxone, the overdose-reversing drug, about 17,500 times last year across New York in an urgent push to keep those gripped by opioid addiction alive. The tally comes as early statistics show drug overdose deaths nationally declined to 68,000 in 2018.
In an effort to promote the inaugural Aurora Games in Albany, Olympic medalists Nancy Kerrigan and Donna de Varona as well as tennis champion and ESPN commentator Rennae Stubbs met with fans today at the Saratoga Race Course.
Willie Nelson has canceled dates on his current tour because of a “breathing problem” — but he is still expected to be at the Sept. 7 Outlaw Music Festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, according to a release from LiveNation, the show’s promoter.
South Colonie Schools Superintendent Jonathan Buhner will retire next March, after more than 11 years on the job. The state Board of Education will begin a search for his replacement this fall and hopes to have a new superintendent in place by January.
Albany police released three photos showing the man suspected of opening fire on a Central Avenue building that houses the Department of Motor Vehicles and a Planned Parenthood health center, and are asking for the public’s help in identifying him.
A man was injured when he was hit by a truck near the intersection of Madison and Dove streets in Albany.
A Cohoes man who urinated on his dangerously intoxicated friend before leaving him to die on the front lawn of his grandmother’s home two years ago will serve six months in jail.
For the second time in a month, hate-filled messages have been seen posted on poles and walls in downtown Troy. Many included the Hundred-Hander’s name, a suspected white supremacy group.
Legislation introduced by New York’s two U.S. Senators to rename a post office in honor of a former Hudson Valley congressman (Ben Gilman, also a former assemblyman) has passed in their chamber.
A company purporting to offer student loan debt relief has been barred from collecting debts by students who purchased its services as part of a legal settlement announced by Attorney General Letitia James’s office.
Outgoing Chairman Ed Cox believes the state Republican Party is in good financial shape for new chair Nick Langworthy, with nearly $330,000 in its state and federal accounts.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to enter a Brooklyn homeless shelter Tuesday night but were turned away after failing to produce a warrant, said Christine Quinn, the shelter network’s director.
Just 10 days away from the first football practice, the question remains of which programs or levels will have to be cut if the Johnstown Athletic Department does not reach their fundraising goal.
Rotterdam police are warning about large groups of bicyclists gathering and blocking traffic.
Happy 75th birthday to forest fire prevention icon Smokey the Bear.
Some bison that escaped a farm in Sharon Springs last month have been safely recovered, while others remain on the loose.
Bishop Douglas Lucia was welcomed into the College of Bishops this afternoon at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, taking the reins of the Syracuse Diocese from Bishop Robert Cunningham.
Friends and family said goodbye to the Romulus native, 25-year-old Trevor Irby, who died in a festival shooting in Gilroy, CA.
A New York City judge rejected Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” actor Cuba Gooding Jr.’s request to have his groping case thrown out.
The infamous Rosie Ruiz, who was caught cheating in the 1980 Boston Marathon, has died at the age of 66.
Photo credit: Silvia Lilly.
