The nadir of the workweek is upon us – at least that’s how Wednesdays often feel to me. You’re deep in the thick of it, and the slog is real. But the light at the end of the tunnel (AKA Friday) is dimly visible in the distance. It’s getting brighter as you forge ahead.
We can only go up from here.
OK, so I’m feeling a little overwrought this morning, clearly.
The other day I was walking the dog and smelled one of my favorite fall smells – woodsmoke. I love a good outdoor fire, but generally speaking I prefer it from a distance, because that smell is STRONG. It really permeates pretty much everything – hair, clothes, skin – and it’s hard to get out.
I am being deliberately specific here in saying that I like an “outdoor” fire. Indoor wood fires, while cozy in the moment, are also messy, smelly, and potentially not good for you – especially if you suffer from asthma or some other breathing ailment. (For the record, we have gas fireplaces, one of which we converted from wood, and I like them very much).
If you are going to have an indoor wood fire, there are some best practices to keep in mind: Check your flue to ensure proper ventilation, only burn seasoned wood, build hot (in other words, not slow and smoldering) fires, and clean out your ashes regularly.
It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: ALWAYS keep potentially flammable materials (curtains, rugs, furniture, books, kids, pets, etc.) away from open flames. To be clear, though, your fireplace is not the biggest threat – from a fire-in-the-home standpoint – you have to worry about. Cooking and faulty heating systems are actually the leading causes of all U.S. home fires.
When it comes to outdoor burning, New York has a number of rules and regulations for that. The DEC helpfully informs us as follows:
Open burning is regulated under Part 215, which describes the types of fires that are allowed and the materials that may be burned in an open fire. Towns, villages, cities, and counties can pass ordinances that are stricter than Part 215. You should check with local authorities before having an open fire to find out if local law requires a permit or prohibits open fires.
There are a lot of dos and don’ts here.
A few of them to keep in mind are related to the size and height of an outdoor campfire, staying away from accelerants (like, say, gasoline, which is a big no-no), using dry wood, removing flammable objects and debris, and banking the fire well after it dies down and before you move on to the next site. This means making ABSOLUTELY sure that the fire is out by stirring water or dirt – or both – into its remains.
According to the National Park Service, somewhere between 85 and 90 percent of wildland fires – which have been increasing in both frequency AND intensity due to climate change – are caused by people, and burning degree or arson are the two top culprits. Also fireworks, which is why, according to one study, the Fourth of July is the biggest day for wildfires, with 7,762 fires ignited on that date over the 21-year study period.
Why am I all fired up (ahem) about fire? Oct. 6-12 is Fire Prevention Week, (the focus this year is on smoke alarms), which has been observed since 1922, making it the longest running public health and safety campaign of its kind on record. National Fire Prevention Day falls in the middle of that week – Oct. 9. In other words, today.
In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, with the goal of raising public awareness about the risks of deadly fires and commemorating the thousands who had lost their lives to a wide variety of blazes.
For those of you who might be planning outdoor excursions today, the fire risk at the moment is low to moderate statewide. We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds this morning, followed by mostly clouds in the afternoon. Temperatures will be in the low 60s and there will be a slight chance of a rain shower. Dress accordingly. The key to life right now is layers. Lots of layers.
In the headlines…
Voters are more likely to credit Vice President Kamala Harris than Donald Trump with representing change and caring about people like them, as she takes a slim lead in the race for the White House, according to the latest New York Times/Siena College poll.
The finding is the first time Harris has led Trump in the Times/Siena poll since July, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Democrats rallied behind Harris as his replacement.
Harris has vowed to extend Biden’s policies to more drugs and more Americans. She plans to use savings from expanding negotiations to help pay for a sweeping new proposal that would cover long-term care at home for people on Medicare.
Harris, in a blitz of interviews, pitched a proposal to help people raising children while caring for aging parents and denounced former President Donald Trump, calling some of his statements “surreal” and saying he was too friendly with Russia’s president.
Harris’ interview with Stern was one of the longest and most revelatory she has given about herself as a person. The two bantered about the vice president’s favorite cereal and workout preferences, and her favorite musicians and racecar drivers.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota called for abolishing the Electoral College as a means of electing American presidents, reiterating a position he has articulated in the past while he and Harris are in the heat of a campaign for the White House.
Harris is criticizing Trump following new reporting by the journalist Bob Woodward that the former president secretly shared COVID-19 test machines with Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a moment in 2020 when tests were out of reach for most Americans.
Woodward reportedly cited an anonymous Trump aide as the source for his reporting. Trump disputed the claim, saying of Woodward: “He’s a storyteller. A bad one. And he’s lost his marbles.”
Also in Woodward’s book, “War,” is a documentation of the long and complicated relationship between Biden and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu — one that has taken an especially intense turn in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks.
Former first son Barron Trump has been “doing great” since he matriculated to New York University this fall, Melania Trump told Fox News’ “The Five”; he “loves his classes and his professors.”
A majority of the Supreme Court appeared sympathetic to the Biden administration’s restrictions on kits that allow people to make untraceable homemade guns.
The case centered on whether the federal agency responsible for regulating firearms had acted lawfully in enacting a rule to address a surge in “ghost guns,” weapons made from kits available for purchase online and heralded as easy to quickly assemble.
Several of the court’s conservatives — and all of its liberals — appeared skeptical of the notion that the kits are geared toward a tradition of gunsmithing hobbyists.
Hurricane Milton re-intensified yesterday and again became a dangerous Category 5 storm as it took aim at Florida’s Gulf Coast, which is still reeling from Helene’s record-breaking landfall just over a week ago.
NBC News forecasters said that the storm could weaken back to Category 3 before it makes landfall tonight on the west coast of Florida.
A wave of antisemitic rhetoric and online threats has been leveled at state and federal officials in North Carolina in recent days as they respond to the destructive aftermath of Hurricane Helene, according to a report by a nonprofit group.
Researchers with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the nonprofit, found that on X, the social media platform, 33 posts that contained misinformation about the flood response had together generated more than 160 million views as of Monday.
About 3.3 percent of high school students identify as transgender and another 2.2 percent are questioning their gender identity, according to the first nationally representative survey on these groups, published by the CDC.
The data come from a survey of more than 20,000 high school students conducted in public and private schools across the country every two years. The 2023 survey was the first to ask teenagers in all schools whether they identified as transgender.
A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from New York and 13 other states are suing TikTok for allegedly harming young people’s mental health while misleading the public about the safety of its popular social media platform.
A bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team that defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union in Lake Placid at a period of high tension during the Cold War.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration is planning to open a trade office in Taiwan – a bold move that comes amid accusations a former staffer tried to thwart efforts to recognize the country’s sovereignty as a spy for China.
At the biggest environmental event of the year in New York City, numerous advocates, politicians and business leaders worried that self-professed climate “champion” Hochul is on the verge of walking back the state’s ambitious emissions goals and deadlines.
Hochul is considering three bills that are part of a bipartisan effort to solve New York’s child care crisis.
Voting by mail is increasingly popular, but mail ballots are rejected far more often than in-person ones. In Pennsylvania and elsewhere, parties are battling over which ones to count — or not.
A New York state Supreme Court judge in Syracuse ruled that the new state law that will move many local elections to line up with state and federal elections in even-numbered years violates the state Constitution.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has agreed to turn over its internal disciplinary files on thousands of cases involving correction officers under a recent settlement with the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Mohamed Bahim a former top official in Eric Adams’ administration, tampered with witnesses and potentially destroyed evidence in the corruption case against the mayor, prosecutors claimed in a bombshell complaint.
Bahi allegedly instructed a business owner and campaign donors to lie to the FBI in June. Bahi is also accused of deleting an encrypted messaging app, Signal, from his cellphone in July while FBI agents were executing a search warrant at his home.
After weeks of legal chaos and unprecedented upheaval in city government, Adams is replacing his first deputy mayor and planning to restructure government in the hope of quelling questions about his ability to lead the city.
First Deputy Mayor of New York City Sheena Wright officially resigned yesterday, making her the latest high-profile casualty of a sweeping federal corruption probe that’s shaken Adams’ administration to its very core.
Maria Torres-Springer will replace Wright, Adams said, telling reporters: “Maria has more than two decades of experiences leading multiple city agencies and executed on one of the most successful housing and economic development agendas in the city.”
Torres-Springer will team up with Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack to “conduct an immediate review of personnel, programs and policies” in City Hall, Adams said.
Torres-Springer has strong relationships with the city’s business leaders, who are losing confidence in the mayor.
Adams stood by his decision to finish out his term in office and run for re-election despite the ongoing turmoil plaguing City Hall. “I think when both sides of this come out, people are going to have a second look at this entire event that’s taking place,” he added.
Federal prosecutors have turned over evidence showing that a key witness in the criminal case against Adams lied, his defense attorney said.
Veteran political reporter Andrew Kirtzman weighs in on whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo might run for mayor of New York City – and if he has a shot of winning if he does.
Top city and NYPD officials Chauncey Parker and Kaz Daughtry are reportedly on a shortlist of candidates Adams is considering for the deputy mayor for public safety post in the wake of Phil Banks’ resignation.
A retired FDNY chief accused of fast-tracking safety inspections for thousands of dollars in off-the-books kickbacks pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit bribery.
A leader of a pro-Israel Democratic group blasted the anti-Israel mob that “crossed a line” and assaulted him during a protest in Manhattan Monday on the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack.
A class-action lawsuit argues that the New York City school system falls short in helping students with emotional disabilities, leaving them to miss too many school days.largest, most expensive restoration project.
High school students across New York plan to participate in a walkout on Oct. 24 to protest transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.
The suspended Columbia University student that proclaimed “Zionists don’t deserve to live” stood by his incendiary remarks after an anti-Israel campus group walked back an apology it offered over the shocking statement last school year.
After $160 million and three years of construction, Lasker Rink and Pool, Central Park’s biggest eyesore, is poised to become one of its main attractions as part of the new, 11-acre Harlem Meer Center.
Vandals smashed the glass facade of Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s Upper Manhattan office and flung red paint at it early yesterday – the day after anti-Israel protests rocked the city.
A man and woman charged with attacking former Gov. David Paterson and his stepson — son of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa — during a bizarre late-night quarrel on the Upper East Side are claiming they are the true victims.
Sean Combs, the embattled music mogul fighting racketeering and sex trafficking charges, filed an appeal of a judge’s decision to deny him bail, arguing that concerns he would intimidate witnesses if released from jail were unfounded.
Albany Medical Center hospital is suing one of the Capital Region’s major health insurers for $50 million in what hospital officials say are present and possible future underpayments for health services that have been going on for months.
The Hearst Corp., one of the nation’s largest information and media companies, announced it has become the latest major publisher to sign a content partnership with the artificial intelligence giant OpenAI.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares might have been cruising to a sixth term, and a hefty raise, if he had just waited a year.
Property taxes would increase by 4% for the highway and general funds under a preliminary Niskayuna town budget for 2025.
Spirit Halloween won’t be moving out of town once the spooky season is over. Instead, the Colonie Center location will transform into Spirit Christmas, a new venture for the Spirit brand owned by Spencer Gifts
The ripe cannabis fields behind homes on Spier Falls Road in Moreau are emitting an odor so strong and penetrating that it has lingered over the neighborhood for weeks, prompting residents to demand that the air be cleared
Photo credit: George Fazio.
