Good morning, it’s Thursday, which is one day away from Friday, in case you needed a reminder.
I was very excited when we purchased our current house a few years back that it came with an in-ground pool in the backyard. I had always wanted a pool and was an avid swimmer as a child. I spent a considerable amount of time growing up at the Moriello Pool, which was a short bike ride away from my house in New Paltz.
When I got a little older and more proficient at cycling, I also sometimes went to the Ulster County Pool, which is much larger but has a less friendly feel than the Moriello, in my opinion. (Also, I thought the snacks were better, but it has been some time since I availed myself of flying saucers, grilled cheeses with ketchup and pretzel rods, which were my swim fuel of choice at the time).
It turns out, though, that owning a pool is kind of a headache. It requires constant maintenance – from ensuring the chemical balance is right to cleaning the leaves and debris from the filter to fishing out bugs and frogs, chipmunks, and the occasional snake. We did purchase one of those robots that slowly crawls along the pool bottom and climbs its walls, sucking in dirt as it goes. The thing gives me the willies, I have to admit, but it is fairly effective.
Another smart thing we did was hire a pool expert to come in once a week and make sure everything is running the way it’s supposed to. Getting your pool chemical balance right is extremely important, as failing to do so can be dangerous – even deadly. I have been toying with the idea of switching over from chlorine to salt water, which apparently is less of an ordeal than it seems. But that, like everything else involving pool ownership, comes with a cost.
It’s a heck of a lot easier to simply pack up your stuff and visit a public pool, though then you have to deal with the downsides, like parking, entry fees, and, of course, other people. Also, dogs aren’t generally allowed in public pools, which I consider a significant drawback. Skinny dipping in a public pool is also a no-no, and no one tells you what you can and can’t wear in your own backyard.
I was not aware until I started doing some research for this piece that public pools are slowly going the way of the Dodo across the nation. This doesn’t make any sense, given the fact that summers are getting progressively hotter and people are in desperate need of some respite from the relentless heat, but it’s definitely happening.
It turns out that the expenses that I face as a residential pool owner are multiplied many times over when it comes to maintaining a municipal pool. Also, many of the country’s public pools were built decades ago and require significant upgrades and/or repairs. There’s also the challenge of finding enough lifeguards to safely staff pools, as fewer young people are interested in going through the training and testing requirements to get certified.
There’s also an historical element at play here. Faced with desegregation requirements decades ago, some municipalities opted to shut down their public pools rather than integrate them, and a wave of private swim clubs and home pools cropped up in their place – for those who could afford them, that is. This has disproportionately impacted inner city communities, which arguably need public pools more than suburban communities, given the intense heat (fewer trees) and lack of air conditioning in many lower-income homes.
The earliest public pools were actually public baths, dating back to 2600 BCE (give or take several hundred years). These were primarily used either for religious reasons, for physical fitness, or cleanliness.
America’s first recorded public swimming pool opened on this day (July 23) in what is now the Roxbury section of Boston in 1868. The facility was called the Cabot Street Bath and was located in a densely populated area of the city where most homes lacked indoor plumbing.
The Cabot Street Bath was neither filtered nor chlorinated, so the only way to clean it was to drain it entirely and then refill it. Needless to say, the water could get pretty dirty and unappealing over time. Brown University in Rhode Island, was reportedly the first to attempt to sterilize a pool using chlorine in 1910.
You would think that given the fact that the first U.S. pool opened on this day in history that July 23 would be a good bet for National Swimming Pool Day. But you would be wrong. That apparently took place on July 11, but I missed it, and so this is my way of making up for that oversight. Mea culpa.
It will be mostly sunny today with highs flirting with 80 degrees – not bad weather for sitting poolside, if you have the time and the inclination.
In the headlines…
The bodies of four American service members killed during the Iran war returned to the United States in flag-draped cases on Wednesday, their families and President Donald Trump looking on.
The four service members being flown to Dover Air Force Base were 28-year-old Angel S. Rampersad of NY, 30-year-old Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Carolina, 25-year-old Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii and 19-year-old Isabella Gonzales of TX.
The Trump administration is weighing military action in the West African country of Mali to target an al-Qaeda-affiliated group known as JNIM, said current and former U.S. officials familiar with the deliberations.
Oil prices continued to rise today as fighting between the United States and Iran and its allies escalated, adding to fears about shipping energy out of the Middle East.
The Trump administration announced that it had officially signed a deal with Saudi Arabia that officials have said could help the country enrich its own fuel for nuclear reactors.
A divided House on Wednesday approved a $1.15 trillion defense policy bill as Republicans pressed ahead with a historic increase in military spending over the opposition of Democrats who voted against the plan in protest of the war in Iran.
Republican leaders muscled through resistance in their own ranks to approve the budget blueprint for the war and other measures, but its prospects were far dimmer in the Senate.
House Republicans managed to overcome internal disagreements and approve a budget framework Wednesday — a key step toward unlocking the power to skirt the Senate filibuster and pass a $95 billion package.
Some Republicans fear the eye-popping new tariff’s that Trump threatened to slap on Canada and generic drug makers will aggravate Americans who were already blaming the tariffs for stubborn inflation ahead of a midterm election dominated by economic issues.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to endorse Troy Jackson, who is expected to become his party’s nominee in Maine to face Sen. Susan Collins in a crucial Senate race.
Trump’s science adviser told lawmakers the Trump administration intended to drastically overhaul the US approach to scientific research, including by shifting research funding away from universities toward individual researchers and private companies.
Republican candidate Bruce Blakeman is defending his use of AI-generated ads against his opponent, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Hochul spoke about the future of AI centers across New York on Wednesday, adding that the state doesn’t need to shut out data centers completely.
Hochul touted her data center ban as protective of utility ratepayers, natural resources and local control, as Long Island officials assess a battery storage plant’s impact on wells and North Shore groups press for more control over a pending high-voltage cable.
Speaking at a roundtable of local officials and community leaders in Babylon, Hochul said her one-year pause on permits for the facilities that power artificial intelligence would help the state develop responsible regulation of the fast-growing industry.
When the governor signed an executive order establishing the first statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers, it was both a win and a disappointment for groups in Lansing, near Ithaca, who are fighting against a data center proposal in their community.
Hochul announced that the state is now accepting proposals for the State’s annual 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit awards.
One day after President Trump announced 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods — ranging from Canadian alcohol imports to cement — contractors in New York state were evaluating the potential impacts.
Ongoing legal battles between New York’s powerful teachers unions and the State University of New York have renewed debate over whether SUNY should retain its broad authority to approve charter schools.
Nearly 270 law enforcement officials from across New York gathered at the State Police Academy in Albany this week for specialized training intended to help officers identify staged crashes and investigate other forms of financial and insurance fraud.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on New Yorkers to hold protests against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the mayor admitted he lacked the legal authority to order the arrest of a head of state.
The video instantly reinforced Mamdani’s stature as a pre-eminent voice of the international left, and gave the issue prominence at a time when Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza has groups inside and outside of Israel to accuse him of perpetrating a genocide.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations blasted Mamdani as a “clown” for demanding that federal authorities arrest Netanyahu when Netanyahu arrives in the city.
The UJA-Federation of New York, the leading Jewish group in the city, said: “New Yorkers elected a mayor to lead this city — not to make Israel the centerpiece of your political grandstanding.”
In a move that seemed designed to satisfy both business leaders and his democratic socialist supporters, Mamdani on Wednesday appointed two people whose perspectives might seem at odds to head the Economic Development Corporation in New York City.
Mamdani announced that progressive antitrust regulator Lina Khan will serve as the chair of the city’s Economic Development Corporation and government veteran Tony Shorris will be EDC president.
Months after scrapping a $9.9 million McKinsey & Co. consulting contract as part of an effort to rein in city spending, Mamdani turned to a veteran McKinsey partner who had worked on that contract to lead New York City’s top economic agency.
A group of landlords is suing the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, claiming the board, which is designed to operate independently, made a “sham” decision to implement a rent freeze.
The complaint, filed in Staten Island Supreme Court, alleges Mamdani placed undue influence on the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board — which then cherry picked data to understate landlord costs and overstate incomes.
The landlords claim the nine-member board skewed its own data, ignoring a slew of economic conditions to justify a “predetermined,” “irrational result” and deliver a political victory for Mamdani, who campaigned on a promise to “freeze the rent.”
Mamdani insisted that the Legionnaires’ outbreak was under control Wednesday as he faced mounting questions over his administration’s response while the deal toll climbed to five with more than 80 people becoming infected.
Some 2,800 people have applied to join Mamdani’s new Public Interest Technology (PIT) Crews, an early show of interest in City Hall’s experiment with building digital government services more quickly and with in-house talent.
All of the city’s non-emergency trucks will be required to have audible turn alerts by 2029, under an executive order expected to be signed by Mamdani today, and all new non-emergency vehicles will be required to have intelligent speed limiters going forward.
The MTA on Wednesday wrapped up a five-year renovation to the Borough Hall station in downtown Brooklyn. The $106 million project replaced the station’s once-crumbling ceiling, a piece of which collapsed and hit a woman in 2018.
Beginning this Monday, the American Museum of Natural History will display the Larry O’Brien Trophy bestowed upon the Knicks after their historic victory at last month’s NBA Finals.
A former headmaster of a private girls’ boarding school in western Massachusetts was indicted on Wednesday on one count of reckless endangerment of a child.
Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are pressing the Trump administration for answers about a Newburgh facility leased by ICE, saying a lack of transparency has fueled community concern over its intended use.
Mamdani acted lawfully in disbanding his predecessor’s controversial effort to change the New York City Charter, a state judge ruled yesterday.
Mamdani is hatching plans for months-long pressure campaign demanding a sweeping slate of state tax hikes — along with a renewed push to slap new levies on already burdened city property owners.
Security guards at several Capital Region hospitals — and other areas of the state — would be given peace officer authority, including the ability to take someone into custody, under a bill being considered by Hochul.
Bethlehem Police Chief Gina Cocchiara is running to succeed Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple after he announced last week that he would not seek a fifth term. Apple has served as sheriff since 2011.
Save A Lot by 2028 intends to occupy space for a grocery store in a newly proposed $115 million mixed-development project between State and Albany streets.
An expansive store remodel continued this week at the Trader Joe’s on Wolf Road in Colonie, with the storefront’s former neighbors now demolished to make room for additional store space, more parking and a new entrance at the popular grocery store.
After more than 10 months on display nearly 4,000 miles away in Czechia, a piece of World War II history returned to the land of Grandma Moses in Hoosick Falls.
With backing from the state attorney general’s office, the vice chair of the Upstate Conservative Coalition spoke uninterrupted at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
A building collapsed at the corner of Bradford and Ontario streets in Albany on Wednesday, sending bricks and other debris spilling into the street.
The City of Rensselaer Common Council unanimously voted to raise its water and sewer bills last week amid a public hearing influenced by a social media post and a notice that publicized inaccurate increases.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
