IT’S STILL THE SAME

When I go away on an extended business trip like the one I just returned from I never read the local papers while I am not here so I can be surprised what things changed.  The problem is it’s always the same cast of characters doing crazy things.

Let’s take NYRA for example.  Tom Noonan who is one of the best bloggers around keeps his hand on the pulse of NYRA and informs the public with information we would never really know. 

Chris Kay the CEO of NYRA who is really totally blank about the Corporation and industry he is supposed to be the leader of has started another domino effect to change Saratoga Race Course from the most historic, beautiful, fan friendly track in the nation to just another race track.  The list to start according to Mr. Noonan and the NYRA webpage is:

• ·         A permanent structure built on the other side of the horse path that runs next to the end of the current club house.  It would replace the tent and the temporary modular boxes that have been used in recent years.
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• ·         A new picnic table area along Union Avenue, replacing the parking area now used by owners and trainers.
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• ·         A "Top of the Stretch Club" to be built at the end of the grandstand, intended "to attract a younger crowd to the Race Course."
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• ·         Moving the jockey quarters from the administration building to the Paddock.
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• ·         Eliminating the Open House held on the Sunday before opening day (which was always a fan favorite and a fan experience).

• ·         The continuation started last year of charging admission on Labor Day which was always ‘Fan Appreciation Day’
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• ·         Turning the lower Carousal into a Sports arena which would eliminate the free seating and replace it with a high end sports bar with a $40.00 admission fee.

Kay is also said to be looking into charging fans for taking water from the water fountains around the track and installing paid toilets.  If Cuomo who started this mess 2 years ago and extended the current board with Kay at its head for another year doesn’t make the change to privatize the track, Saratoga will be changed forever and its appeal will slowly dwindle.

This picture of Chris Kay was sent in by a racing fan, I cannot verify its authenticity as I have never met Mr. Kay.

I also see that the ‘Spirit of Life’ restoration is completed and the company that did all the work did a fine job.  However, this being an election I also see that Commissioner Scirocco is taking all the praise for his Department doing a great job, what about all the money paid to the firm that did the job?

The words ‘City in the Country’ keeps being thrown around and our feeling is that it is just a nostalgic notion that citizens want to keep in their minds.  I am sorry but that term does not apply to Saratoga Springs anymore.  We are just a concrete & brick City with big City problems.  A big problem we have that some areas I was in do not have is the washboards we call streets.  This would be just one problem I would be embarrassed about if I were Scirocco or Buckley.  This City’s streets are deplorable.  Come on Skip, do something about this.

A funny story in the news was the Commissioners getting into racing (harness) gear and sharing a sulky with a professional driver and running a race, everything was going fine I heard until Madigan put on the brakes and Skip, who was behind her stopped so suddenly he flew out of his seat and up Madigan’s 'wazoo' where it usually is during Council meetings.  The story, as related to me was that the 'wazoo' intake propelled Madigan into first place and the track’s vet separated the two with little problem.

As we all know or we all should know is that confessed child porn star John Tighe will be shipping out to prison in the Boston area at the end of July to a hospital that fits his health needs. 

The story floating around is that John won the lead part when he visited the slammer as Curly in the show ‘Men in Tights’.

I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July, we should all take time out of our celebrations to remember those who fought and those who died to make this great Republic and if you see Skip Scirocco, thank him for screwing our all American 4th of July celebration by selling our Congress Park out for the day (the first such screwing ever on this Holiday). 

JUST SOME SHORT NEWS

I read Commissioner Madigan’s Readers View and her grandiose plans in Sunday’s paper.  First of all she wants to appoint a Revenue committee to look for current and potential revenue sources.  Ms. Madigan, it is because of your votes against revenue sources that may put the City in a perilous position.  The ‘new majority’ of yourself, Scirocco and Mathiesen keep putting the City in embarrassing positions where Council meetings have become a three ring circus.  I think the three of you will be facing strong opposition come this Fall and deservedly so.  You were a very vocal proponent of getting rid of a major revenue source which were the water hookup fees.  Did your comrade in arms ever tell the citizens at a Council meeting that a developer pays $3,000.00 for the first water hookup then $1,000.00 for every unit after that (not $3,000.00 each), did you or your other 2 partners ever tell the citizens at a Council meeting that most of the work Bonacio did to offset that $880,000.00 was part of the approval process to get his project off the ground?  You, most of all could have saved that revenue source and voted to table Siroccos’ plan to push the motion through and ask that the language be changed so the REVENUE could be used in an area that DPW is lacking in water upgrades.  I’m sure that there is an enormous amount of work that could be done using that money for water & sewer improvements along with the ‘new’ revenue source you and your buddy set up.  Remember this, Commissioner Scirocco is already raping homeowners with a special tax that went from $12.00 to $48.00 on their water & sewer bill and a large increase in water taxes during his 6 year reign.

Another of Ms. Madigan’s beauties is the Spa Solar Park that you envision, which undoubtedly will be given to none other than your Deputies husband who just happens to be in the solar business.  Also, it seems that the ‘other department’ was smarter than you as some of these allegations you refer to seem to be gaining steam with the State.  I do hope you ‘3 Jalapeños’ will still be around at election time.

What’s with the City trucks plowing private driveways?  I drove by Roohan’s apartments on East Ave. yesterday (Monday) and saw a City Truck coming down the driveway with its plow down and also clean up the scraper bank at the bottom.  I wish Commissioner Scirocco would tell us how we can put an order in to have our driveways done.

Does anyone think that at $300.00 per year for the daily paper that the Saratogian is a good deal?   Almost all the daily papers start out with State and National news, why not Saratoga news the State & National inside?

Just an FYI, John Tighe’s sentencing on computer hacking charges was postponed.  The report in November said he could face up to 1 year in jail for those charges when sentenced on Jan. 7^th.  He still faces a trial or a plea deal on child porn charges.  We’ll see what happens.

More to come in time.

THE TALE OF BABY FACE TIGHE

It had to happen.  The blogger who hated everyone and everything except Scott Johnson & Shauna Sutton has gotten himself in a pickle.  This is the blogger that spent every day for 3 years in the Mayor’s office getting material for his written attacks on other people, what do they think of him now?  The Past Mayor & Deputy certainly knew how dirty he played and what sickening attacks on the people he wrote about without any evidence, but hey, that’s how they wanted to play.

John the blogger is now an accused child pornographer and child porn promoter who is out on bail, some of his ardent followers say that he is being set up, State Troopers say Baby Face could face more charges, his attorney said “John certainly took on a lot of very powerful people in Albany and Saratoga counties … I don’t want to speculate on anybody’s involvement in what led to the charges.”  There will be a lot more happening in this case, we may still have the Russian connection he always talked about making an appearance.

The only thing I can say at this time is that there is a supply of soap- on- a- rope at the dollar store and Baby Face should stock up now because Mamma, he may be up the river.